Page 56 - BusinessWest December 8, 2021

Coping
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consumer confidence levels, said Rome, noting, as others did, that pent-up demand remains high for all types of vehicles, but especially new models.
“Our clients, in general, have more money than they had two years ago, they have more savings, they have more equity in their homes,” he explained. “And they also feel like they want to do something good for themselves. They’ve been locked down for the past 20 months, and they’ve been looking at the same
car all that time. They want to do something nice for themselves.”
Such dramatic reductions in inventory also make for obvious changes and adjustments, including those that need to be made for the holidays, said Cosenzi, noting that many of those desiring to put
a new car in the driveway on Christmas morning understood that, to make that happen, they needed to place their order in November. And they might also have had to settle for their second choice when it came to color.
Meanwhile, more consumers are looking toward used cars, which are in greater abundance but still not in the pre-pandemic numbers, she said, and also at keeping a car that is coming off lease instead of trading it in for a new one.
“And a lot of those buy-out values are under cur- rent market values,” she said. “It’s a good deal for the customer.”
While things certainly aren’t normal, in some respects, the picture is actually starting to improve, said Sullivan, noting that arrivals are expected to pick up in December and be ahead of October and November levels and well ahead of months earlier this year, when supply-chain woes peaked.
“There’s cars coming in, and there’s cars going out,” he said, adding that his general managers —
Gray
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or locally owned franchises. Supporting those busi- nesses, which were hit the hardest during the pan- demic, has been something we’ve really tried to put our efforts into.”
That statistic surprises some people, she noted. “Some consider us to be the big-box destination and forget there are so many businesses in this center that are locally owned, here and at Hampshire, and I like to remind people of that. They live in your commu- nity, they’re supporting your kids’ schools and sports teams, and they also lease space at a shopping center. It’s not just about the big box and the large retailer.”
The good news, for tenants of all sizes, is that traf- fic numbers at the malls are up — not just from 2020, but from 2019.
“I think that’s a testament to people itching to get out,” Gray said. “They’ve been missing that in-person connection and getting outside their four walls, and we’ve been able to give them a reason to do that.”
And they’ve been, for the most part, gracious about safety protocols that still fluctuate between communities; in fact, Holyoke Mall currently recom- mends mask wearing, while Hampshire Mall requires it.
“They want to get out, so they’re going to do what they can to follow the rules so they can continue to frequent those businesses,” she added.
Leading by Example
Gray has long been active in the community, and for the past two years, she’s been president of the board directors at the Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce.
and there are nearly 20 of them — have reported as a group that the company should expect a solid December.
Meanwhile, looking down the road, or trying to, anyway, dealers said it is difficult to say when ‘nor- mal’ — as in lots full of cars for people to choose from — will return, or even if they will return.
“I don’t think we’ll see it in 2022,” said Sullivan. “I think it will be 2023 before you drive by a dealer-
“
will get better over the next few months, but it will take a long time for us to recuperate and get back to the inventory levels that we were accustomed to before COVID.”
ship and see a stock full of cars. It’s not until the third quarter of 2022 where you’ll see maybe 65% of what you’d normally see for ground stock.”
Cosenzi concurred, but noted that projections vary with the brand, with some manufacturers responding to the worldwide microchip shortage and supply-chain crisis better than others.
“We’re anticipating that things will get better over the next few months, but it will take a long time for us to recuperate and get back to the inventory levels that we were accustomed to before COVID,” she said. “I think it will take at least a year.”
As for the longer term, Sullivan reiterated com- ments he made earlier this year when he said some manufacturers may not go back to those days when
“They were obviously two of the most challenging years for small businesses in particular, so being part of a chamber supporting them was really gratifying,” she said. “Being able to be in the trenches with the executive director and the board of directors and all the various committees that were supporting busi- nesses staying open and surviving the pandemic ... I’m really proud of the work we did there.”
She also serves on the board of the Amherst Boys and Girls Club — another family connection, as her mother served on the board of the Chicopee club for many years. She’s also a state ambassador in Mas- sachusetts for CHERUBS, an organization that raises awareness and funds around congenital diaphrag- matic hernia (CDH), a condition that affects newborn babies, including Gray’s own baby, who passed away seven years ago.
As the mother of a 19-year-old son, “I think it’s important to set an example for him that it’s not just about getting up, going to work, doing your job, and coming home at the end of the day — it’s about outreach and community development and being out there. It doesn’t just make you feel good, you’re actually doing good. I think it’s important to set that example for our future leaders as well.”
At her day job, of course, she supports businesses in other ways.
“It’s a little win every time we see a new business open, whether it’s an existing business or a small business just starting up. Pyramid is a leasing com- pany; that’s what we do. We want to lease our spaces, we want to stay fresh and relevant, so every time we have a new tenant that’s opening up, we’re excited
to share that news. I think it’s a testament to us as a developer that we’ve been able to celebrate so many
they built cars and then hoped dealers would sell them. They likely won’t build to order, although that’s possible, he said, but they may build fewer cars and put the hard focus on models they know the custom- er wants.
“Most of the manufacturers have decided that just ‘build, build, build, build, build’ isn’t that profitable for them,” he explained, “because all the cars end
up on our lots, and we have to find a way to get rid
of them, and they have to put incentives on them. There is a level of production that makes more sense to them.
“We’re not going to be this order-to-delivery industry, because when people want something, they want it very quickly, and some want it now,” he went on, adding that, despite this, levels of over- all ground stock will likely be lower in the years to become, perhaps 75% of their current levels.
Bottom Line
But there are still far too many unknowns to make any hard projections about the future, said those we spoke with, adding that, right now, they’re dealing
with right now.
And that’s the picture that comes clearly into focus
on that screen in Rome’s office. Things are not as they were, and they may not be like that for a while — if ever again, in some respects.
“This is a year unlike anything I’ve seen in all
the years I’ve been in this business,” said Cosenzi, who spoke for everyone in the industry with those comments, adding that, while the picture is slowly improving, what would be considered normal is still far down the road. u
George O’Brien can be reached at [email protected]
new openings.”
Gray has heard the rumors over the years that
shopping centers aren’t doing well, or are on the decline.
“But people still want to open businesses in suc- cessful centers. We’re seeing more and more walk-in requests to look at spaces. There was a time when the phone wasn’t ringing at all, but they’re starting to see that the trend is going up and people are craving being out and about and not just holed up in their homes anymore.”
She also loves working with existing tenants on ways to expand and market their businesses. “They really took a hit, so anything we can do to support the business and spread the word, anything we can do to keep the businesses going, I want to be part of that.”
Gray’s mother no longer works in the shopping- center world; she’s in residential real estate now. But she was very excited to hear her daughter was now general manager of Holyoke Mall.
“She said she’s really proud, and I said I’m really proud, because I went from selling gift certificates at the customer-service desk and answering phones to actually leading the charge for Western Mass.’s largest shopping center. I’m the first woman general man- ager at Holyoke Mall, and I’m really proud of that. I’m proud to share that story because maybe a little girl can hear that and know that you can start small, and if you grow and work hard at it, someday you can do this too.” u
Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]
We’re anticipating that things
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