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Makeover comes to Ridge stores

By Joe Jordan
for The Brooklyn Paper
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The Brooklyn Paper / Joe Jordan
Students will soon give this Third Avenue pet store an “extreme makeover.”

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Bay Ridge businesses better start keeping up appearances if they want to stay competitive.

That was the message to local business owners at a Tuesday conference sponsored by the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce and the Merchants of Third Avenue.

Opening up with a presentation entitled “Visual Merchandising: A Guide to Attract Customers,” Berkeley College professor, and former Gucci designer, Robert Woods explained the importance of improving the look of streetscapes, storefronts, and interior product displays.

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“It only takes seven seconds for someone to size you up,” said Woods.

To demonstrate his approach, Woods will soon take a group of students to Skooby Doo Pet Supplies at the corner of 74th Street and Third Avenue to give the store an “extreme makeover.”

He hopes the makeover will be a model to help other local businesses improve their displays.

Owner Mike Alshabasy said he’s looking forward to what Woods’s students pull off. “The last six or seven years, business has been down all over,” he said.

Still, worries about impending economic woes and new sources of competition — including the Internet — remain a concern for some businesses. But Woods insisted that the Internet need not be feared.

“Shoppers aren’t just shopping for products, they’re buying experiences,” he said, referring to the importance of creative and visually pleasing shopping environments.

The conference comes on the heels of a Jan. 5 report in The Brooklyn Paper that found more than 30 empty storefronts in Bay Ridge. The article asked, “Is Bay Ridge out of business?”

But on Tuesday, Bob Howe, president of the Merchants of Third Avenue, answered a defiant, no.

“It’s just part of the natural business cycle,” he said.

©2008 The Brooklyn Paper

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