В Саранак-Лейк закрылся единственный в штате Нью-Йорк кооперативный универмаг Village Mercantile

SARANAC LAKE — The Village Mercantile will be closing its doors next month, ending a 15-year run of providing Saranac Lake shoppers with the essentials of daily life as the only community-owned department store in New York. Despite the efforts of a group of locals who rallied to try to save the beloved store after they learned of its fate earlier this year, a viable solution could not be found and the store’s board of directors took a unanimous vote to dissolve the corporation. The Merc will be closing by the end of September, Mercantile founding board member and President Melinda Little said Monday. In a letter to shareholders, members of the working group tasked with trying to find a future for the store said they came to the same conclusion as the board: “The Village Mercantile was a successful and meaningful community endeavor whose chapter has come to a close. “We recognize this is disappointing news for many who hoped a path forward could be found,” the letter states. “We share that disappointment.” Little said the Merc will be holding discount sales though the end of September. They’ve brought all their inventory up to the main floor and they’ve stopped all product orders. The business has been struggling financially since it opened in 2011 as the first community-owned department store in the state. A community-owned department store is incredibly rare. Little said the Mercantile might be the only one in the country still functioning. The Saranac Lake Village Mercantile is a corporation with several hundred shareholders, run by a volunteer board of directors. When the board revealed in January that they were considering dissolving the corporation, the community reaction was immediate, energetic and sizable. Nearly 100 residents formed a standing-room-only crowd in the library to pitch a new future for the Merc. “It just wasn’t possible,” Little said. For years, the Merc has filled a critical gap in the Saranac Lake retail market. When the Ames department store in the village closed due to bankruptcy in 2002, it left a major hole. People had to travel to Plattsburgh, Malone or Potsdam to buy everyday essentials like underwear, children’s shoes, cooking utensils or craft supplies. The Mercantile — originally called The Community Store — stepped in to fill that need, selling clothing, bedding, kitchen supplies, craft supplies, winter jackets, children’s shoes, women’s boots and home decorations as well as having consignment selling local creators’ syrup, jewelry, art, books and candles. Retail has changed a lot since the store opened almost 15 years ago, Little said, adding that it’s a hard business to be in today. “Consumer habits have changed significantly over time,” the letter from the working group stated. “The growth of online shopping, along with increased competition from discount retailers such as Family Dollar, contributed to conditions that no longer support the business model.” In the letter, the working group outlined all that they’ve done — a thorough review of the store’s finances, significantly expanded its online marketing efforts, talked with a retail consultant and evaluated a range of potential operating models. “It’s very sad. I think a lot of people feel sad,” Little said. “It’s been 15 years, which, in a lot of ways, is a win.” The Saranac Lake Community Store was inspired by and modeled after the community-owned Powell Mercantile in Wyoming. The Powell Mercantile also had a 15-year run, opening in 2001 and closing in 2016. “The model just doesn’t work anymore,” Little said. Still, she said there’s something there to be built upon. The Merc filled a niche, maybe too many niches, she said. “You can’t be all things to all people,” Little said. The letter says the working group believes there may be opportunities for a different community-based retail venture in the future, but would require more time, expertise and financial resources than the volunteer group could provide. If anyone wants to try to fill the gap left by the Mercantile closing, Little said the board is happy to share information with them. She recommends picking one of the Mercantile’s niches — like clothing, kitchen supplies, craft supplies, souvenirs or home goods — and doing a lot of marketing. The shops doing well downtown are good at marketing, Little said. For a number of years after Ames closed, Walmart was in talks to open up a supercenter here, at the end of town where McDonald’s, Aldi and the village sand pit are. This was controversial, with fierce support and fierce opposition to the large company coming to town. The plan was eventually scrapped. As consolation, a group of locals started up The Community Store. They started selling shares in 2007, holding events like trivia nights where hundreds of shares were sold. After several years, Saranac Lakers raised the $541,700 needed to start the store. Some years have gotten close, but Little said they’ve never turned a profit and the business model was not sustainable. Depending on the year, the store has usually been around $18,000 to $50,000 away from being profitable. It has done around $350,000 in sales each year — up to $400,000 in several recent years. In 2018, the store rebranded and launched an online retail site and a crowdfunding effort to raise debt capital. The store carried a significant amount of debt — around $246,000. Throughout the Mercantile’s lifespan, Little said contributing to the vibrancy of downtown has meant a lot to her. Looking back on 15 years, she said there are many moments that stand out, like the opening of the store grabbing the attention of the New York Times, which dubbed it “the retail equivalent of the Green Bay Packers.” But to her, there are a lot of small moments. Seeing the gratitude of people finding household items at the Merc that they otherwise would have to travel up to an hour to get was “priceless,” Little said.