The art of e-commerce

On Saturday, Francie Schenck will be leaving her “second home.”

Schenck, the owner of Joolz, a hand-crafted jewelry store at 112 S. Main St. in Canandaigua, is closing her store Jan. 28. However, this won’t mean the end for her business: While she will no longer have the physical store, Joolz will continue through its website.

“I’ve been struggling with (the decision to close the store) for several months,” Schenck said. “I have two grandchildren — one in Los Angeles, one in Denver — and it’s almost impossible to go visit them. I have to plan ahead; I can’t do anything spontaneously.”

She added that this holiday season was a good example of why she made her decision to close the store.

“I needed to be here for Christmas Eve this year, because it was on a Saturday and I knew I would have those men with a ‘deer caught in the headlights’ look coming in, and I didn’t feel it was fair to take off and leave my employee to handle that by herself,” she said. “But it was very hard to be away from my family at Christmas.”

Online only
Joolz opened in 2007 near Pizano’s Italian Kitchen on Main Street. A year later, it moved across the street to 112 S. Main St. and has remained at that location since then.

Schenck said there is one aspect in particular that she will miss from her downtown Canandaigua location.

“It’s a very social experience — having a jewelry store — people are usually coming in for happy reasons, and it’s just wonderful when they find a piece of jewelry they absolutely love. They just light up,” she said. “That kind of positive feedback will not be as immediate. I won’t see it on their face.”

While Schenck has made the change for flexibility and family reasons, the elimination of the store will also eliminate some costs, including payments for the location and for staff. (At the time of closing, Schenk had one employee.) However, she doesn’t yet know how the change will affect business.

“I think you don’t know until you try it,” she said of the online-only store. “When I first started (Joolz), someone gave me very good advice. They said either open an online store or open a physical store, but don’t open them both at the same time because they both require full-time attention.”

Best of both worlds
Even some of the long-established Main Street stores have recognized a need to go digital.

“It increases our range,” said Mark Hogan, owner of Davidson’s Shoes Inc. on 153 S. Main St. “The range for local customers is probably 60 miles. (The website) opens up our customer base.”

Hogan said he wouldn’t eliminate the physical store, though. Davidson’s has been on Main Street since 1894 and has been selling via its website since 1999.

Both Hogan and Jeff Anthony, owner of Dick Anthony Ltd. on 166 S. Main St., said that in today’s retail world, it’s essential to have both aspects — digital and a “brick-and-mortar” store. The store itself helps connect with local residents, while the websites allow a store on Main Street, Canandaigua to sell its product on a national or even global scale.

Anthony added that his business’s website essentially has one function.

“It’s strictly a selling tool,” he said. “Our three biggest-selling states are — in order — California, Florida and Texas. Before we had our website, we didn’t ship a lot to California.”

Moving away from Main Street
The departure of Joolz from Main Street makes it the second business to leave that area since late December — Floyd Rivers of Riv’s Barber Shop retired Dec. 24. Currently, there are four empty storefronts on Main Street — not including the former All Things Art Building, which has an owner — said Liz Winter, executive director of the Canandaigua Business Improvement District.

She added that the empty storefront figure is less than at this point last year, and that out of the empty locations, there is expressed interest in two of the vacant spots.

Despite her exit, Schenck noted she feels downtown is still a vibrant area.

“I think it’s poised for great things,” she said. “It’s unfortunate that I won’t be there for that.”