Small Business Saturday Spotlights Locally-Owned Firms

Squeezed between national chains and online vendors, San Leandro merchants are working harder than ever to win sales during the holiday shopping season.

To promote small businesses nationwide, for the second year in a row American Express is sponsoring a campaign to promote "Small Business Saturday" during the Thanksgiving weekend.

The idea is to remind shoppers that spending money with small businesses helps support their local economy.

But as consumers continue to hunt for bargains, small firms in San Leandro realize they can't rely upon holiday sales or shopper sentiment.

Instead, an informal survey of local merchants shows that they are finding new ways to compete.

To some extent that has meant being less reliant on holiday sales, when it's tough to match the prices of big box and online competitors.

Instead, savvy local businesses have adopted year-round strategies of providing unique products or services not available from larger competitors.

Here are a few of their stories.

Hobbies Unlimited

For the past 40 years,  has served as an adjunct Santa's workshop of sorts, supplying parents with toy trains and other gifts to set under Christmas trees all over the Bay Area.

First in San Lorenzo and since 2008 in the Manor Shopping area of San Leandro, the store has seen its business model turned on its head the last few years with the advent of on-line retail shopping, according to owner Al Gerace.

"The Internet hammers us worse each year," he said, "It is easier for shoppers to order something on-line and have it dropped off at their house."

Gerace said his customers have become much more price sensitive.

"Even kids will come in and shop with their parents but then tell them not to buy something, that they can get it cheaper off the Internet," he said.

Most of Gerace's customers today are adults purchasing hobby supplies for themselves.

"The bulk of my business has become adults," he said, "Kids once interested in building models are increasingly interested in electronic devices like their iPads, video games and laptop computers."

High rent and hefty sales taxes also take a bite out of small business owners, Gerace said. He said he was forced to move out of his San Lorenzo location when his rent essentially doubled. He also has trouble competing against on-line retailers who offer free shipping and no sales tax.

"If you are buying a $200 or $300 item and you don't have to pay 9 or 10 percent in sales tax, it makes a big difference," said Gerace, "and that is why brick and mortar stores are suffering."

Gerace wishes cities would realize small businesses need tax relief.

He also thinks there should be some kind of arbitration system in place for commercial property renters to appeal huge rent spikes.

"There are more storefront vacancies than ever before," he said. "And part of that is due to the high rent stores are being charged by landlords."

Although it came at the expense of other failed businesses, Gerace said he has seen some improvement to his own business because his is now only one of two hobby shops remaining in the East Bay.

The other is in Berkeley. Long-standing Hobby Town in Fremont closed last month and Wold's Hobbies in Dublin went out of business three years ago, he said.

Today Gerace relies mostly on repeat shoppers and focuses on the  personalized customer service he can provide them, trading on his years of experience in the industry.

As usual, he said, he will sell a small number of gift certificates this holiday season and a few people will likely still call looking for a train set to give their child for Christmas.

But whether they purchase it from him, or just come look at those on display in his store and then order the same model off the Internet remains to be seen, he said.

Carlene's T-Shirt Corner

At the same E. 14th Street location since 1976,  Carlene Mietz, owner of Carlene's T-Shirt Corner , has seen the economy struggle in the recent past. Fortunately, she said, she has worked hard to cultivate ties with long-standing key customers which has helped her business thrive.

The which designs custom screen-printed and embroidered apparel, supplies fire departments from throughout the Bay Area with clothing which the owner says is always in demand no matter the economy.

Production of the store's products is all completed in-house including digitizing, graphic design, embroidery and screenprinting.

"We come from a place of providing old fashioned customer service," she said, "and we know our customers. My longest employee has been with me 30 years and most others have worked here 10 years or more."

Counting on repeat business, she said she expects orders again this year from companies purchasing Christmas presents such as jackets or hats for their staffs.

"They always wait until the last minute," she said, "but they do order once they realize that the holiday is fast approaching and they need presents for their employees."