Tony Georgetown now attracting bargain hunters

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By Sarah Riordan THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Georgetown shoppers are used to variety, but this summer they are seeing something really unusual: giant sale signs in almost every shop window.

Shoppers are accustomed to seeing the discounts at the end of summer, not during the first week of July.

While bountiful bargains are good news for shoppers, they are bad news for shop owners, their suppliers and the economy as a whole. Prices only get slashed like this when the economy is bleeding.

Nakita McLelland, owner of The Dutch Lady on M Street, sells embroidered linens and antique furniture. Because the linens are often seasonal, she is cutting prices drastically and says sales are worse than last summer.

"I have embroidered napkins that were once $125. Because I need to sell, they are now down to $35," Ms. McLelland said. "My prices are now 50 percent under what they were last year at this time."

Ms. McLelland, who describes her shoppers as "sophisticated," said loyal customers are no longer buying. As a result, orange sale stickers adorn nearly every item in her store.

"My customers have been hit hard because they are the investors. They have lost a lot of money and can no longer afford to buy things such as fine linens," she said.

"It's been hard. I have customers apologizing to me, saying they are unable to buy my things because of the economy," she said.

That economy is still sending bad signals.

Consumer confidence fell sharply in June, after three months of gains, according to the Conference Board.