Announcement
Posted on July 13th, 2008
As you may have heard, after five years, Mary Jane will close for good after the summer season. The reason for this decision is a complicated mess of personal and business issues, but here’s the short version:
It’s not working.
Despite a lot of hard work from many dedicated people, it just seems impossible to make the business successful given the rising rents, increased competition, and decreased sales of the past couple of years. The current rents in Newburyport are simply out of line with the foot traffic in the city. In addition, the arrival of another store in town that carries every single one of our top selling footwear brands has led to decreased sales. The economy hasn’t helped either!
We have reinvented Mary Jane a couple of times already but there just aren’t enough hours in the day to do what would need to be done to make it worth all the work. (It would require moving to a new, less expensive location for sure, plus finding all new footwear brands, for starters.) To do all this and still have a decent family life - or decent credit, for that matter – is beyond my reach!
I still believe that what Newburyport needs is a hotel and a parking garage. If we could get more people here to fill our shops and restaurants, we could all afford the rent. As it is now, the cart is pulling the horse; the rents are already set for a bustling destination but that is not yet the reality.
We cannot thank our loyal customers enough – you know who you are! It has been a real pleasure. For the people who have heard the news and expressed sadness, thanks. We’ll take it as a compliment. Who knows, maybe we’ll try it again someday!
xo-Lise
PS Please come in and use those store credits and gift certificates asap!
July 14th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
Dearest Mary Jane,
Now where will I go to buy the shoes that I am so desperately in need of?
July 14th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
Dear Lise,
I am very sad to learn of your closing. You have been a reasonable voice throughout all the debate about downtown, the hotel, parking and all the other issues that beset us.
My wife and I have been selling our greeting cards and paper products to small retailers all over the country for 13 years now. The issues you have been facing are being faced by small retail all over the nation. Many of our long standing accounts have closed their doors, for many of the reasons you have mentioned, not to mention just being worn out. The retail enviroment is going through some severe changes, and it is getting more difficult to survive for all of us.
I wholeheartedly agree with your desire for a waterfront hotel. A parking garage may be part of what we need, but in my opinion, what we really, really need is a parking management program. I am hopeful that the Mayor, the City Council and the NRA can work together to make this a reality.
Again, thank you for all of your efforts and community spirit.
All best,
James Shanley
July 15th, 2008 at 7:03 pm
Thanks so much to each of you for taking the time to reply. (There are also some interesting comments on the topic at http://tomsalemi.blogspot.com for those who are interested.) I’ve also had many conversations with customers this week and it is nice to know that the store will be missed! I do think that Newburyport will be a great place to have a shop at some point in the future; I am just not financially able to wait it out.
Thanks again-
Lise
July 20th, 2008 at 8:14 pm
What can I say - the best little shop in Newburyport is closing and I’ll have less reason to go downtown. Every women in town (and visitors too) goes to Mary Jane to “get their groove back”. Where on earth will we go now? To me, downtown was Mary Janes with a bunch of other shops and restaurants clustered around it. :{ :{ :{
BOO HOO Big Time.
July 30th, 2008 at 7:43 pm
Im very sad mary janes is closing, I thought the store was GREAT and will still go whall it is open!
August 5th, 2008 at 10:40 pm
Oh, we love Mary Jane so much! I bought my son’s first shoes there, gifts, shoes, socks, bags– every time I need a gift for a friend I stop in at your store! I’m so sorry it’s not working. Please know that your store is wonderful, and it will be so missed. Best in Newburyport! I drove by the other day and saw the sign, and called my friend, and we were both so sad! She was actually wearing a shirt she bought there while we were talking on the phone. Bless you in whatever endeavor comes next, and I hope this difficult situation all goes as smoothly as possible.