With the holiday shopping season upon us, stores and businesses across New Mexico had begun stocking up on the inventory to meet the needs of Christmas shoppers and prepare for what is normally the busiest season of the year. That was before the Governor’s “two week reset” shut down of most small businesses. Just like in the first iteration of the NM lockdowns, big box stores will be open to serve customers (albeit with a reduced capacity this time) while small businesses are asked to close their doors and weather the storm with no support from the state or federal government.
KOAT news highlights the plight facing many of the state’s businesses by taking a look at Astro-Zombie comic book store on Central Ave in Albuquerque. Comic book stores have already faced a downturn in sales over the last decade due to the digitization of the medium and dwindling demand for the paper copies of fan favorites. Chris Losack, manager at Astro-Zombie, intended to make the most of the holiday season and stocked up on the toys, collectibles and potential gifts he could sell to keep his business in the black – only to be met with the Governor’s order to close for at least 2 weeks. Now the shop is faced with missing out on some, if not all, of the holiday season shopping window while sitting on the added inventory they need to move to remain open. This is just one example of the regressive nature of this shutdown order and the damage it’s doing to our already battered local businesses.
NMBC President and Founder Carla Sonntag was interviewed by KOAT on the issue: “We are seeing the selection of winners and losers and it is the big box national chains that are winning in New Mexico this year, at the expense of our local businesses.” Click here for the whole story.