It truly is the most wonderful time of the year for those who operate retail stores. It is also the most pressure packed, stressful and hectic time of the year for those very same people.
“We probably do in the fourth quarter (of the year) what we’ve done for all the other three quarters,” said Karen Gayle who, with her husband Daren, operates Georgia Gifts & More. “The fourth quarter drives the year-end sales and it consistently has been very strong.”
Georgia Gifts & More opened right around New Year 2019 at their first brick and mortar retail location here in Tucker. The business, which stands along Lavista Road at the gateway to downtown, has been around almost a decade thanks to strong digital marketing and an online presence. But Gayle says opening the retail location has been a game changer for her business before COVID came along.
“Interestingly enough, the retail sales did just about what our website did,” Gayle recalled. “We didn’t really know what to expect moving into retail and moving into Tucker, but we knew we wanted to be on a visible street in an area where people are coming to shop.”
Gayle began her entrepreneurial journey in 1990, operating a craft business out of her home. Over the subsequent 30 years, her career has taken several twists and turns, many dictated by the status of the economy. But for most of the past decade, she and her husband have been thriving with Georgia Gifts & More. Their shop packages and sells gift baskets full of Georgia branded apparel, as well as locally sourced foods and sundries. A big part of their business involves shipping those baskets around the holidays. Gayle readily urged her customers not to make a common Christmas mistake: procrastination.
“We ship through all of the major carriers…and their cut-off dates have been moved back a little bit,” Gayle said. “I would give people a two-week window” for domestic shipping. For international shipping, she said, the window to make sure your package arrives by December 25 has already closed.
Whether it’s Georgia grown nuts, peach scented candles or a Tucker ski cap, Georgia Gifts & More will be representing the local area this holiday season and into 2021. You can visit them at 5001 Lavista Road or online at www.georgiagiftsandmore.com.
