HOLIDAYS CHEER AREA BUSINESSES

Many retailers report increase in their sales

BY CHARLES RUNNELLS

The receipts are in, and Cape Coral businesses have happy news about this year's holiday shopping season.

Most stores reported shattering their previous sales records.

And that's surprising, some say, since they worried Hurricane Charley, which hit in August, would slow down shopping.

"We did fantastic," said Roberta Reid, owner of Heart 'N Home Country gift shop. "This was our best year ever."

Many Cape shops saw 15 to 20 percent more sales than last year. And some did even better.

Sales at the Hidden Grotto gift shop - located in Midpoint Center at Santa Barbara Boulevard and Veterans Parkway - were up 40 percent over the previous December.

Of course, the store had just opened in that new location in December 2003, and people were still learning about the move, said manager Kathy Crump.

"We've just grown by leaps and bounds," Crump said. "It's crazy.

"On Christmas Eve day, we had two lines for two hours," Crump said. "We were helping them as fast as we could, but they just kept coming in."

Hefty sales have continued into January, and Cape stores said they're expecting to stay busy through at least March.

"A lot of this is just tourist season," said Patty Sole, owner of Artsy Fartsy art gallery. "Our New Year's business was very good, too."

Paradise Bicycles sold a lot of bikes and bike equipment last month, and this month is shaping up to be almost as busy, said owner Mark Chernin.

Overall business grew 20 percent last month compared to December 2003, Chernin said.

"We got busy and stayed busy," he said. "And that will probably continue until June or July."

Some businesses came into the holiday season after spending months recuperating from Hurricane Charley.

And while their sales may not have been dramatically higher than last year's, many of these stores consider themselves lucky to still be open.

John Michaels Fine Jewelry worked out of a mobile home for months after its store closed from hurricane damage. Then it moved into a new storefront at 1325 Cape Coral Parkway.

Owner John Michaels said sales have matched last year, and he's happy with that.

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