Gentle retailer, as you know, Christmas is a scant four weeks away.
If things are not moving at your store — take the hint — lower the price, discount it deeply, as time is a wasting.

Shoppers, all armed with cash and those plastic debt producers (credit cards) are watching to see what the small town merchant will do.

Or not do.

The Black Friday numbers, while some economists shout were encouraging — as other disdained the impact as so successful — those numbers  are about like the unemployment numbers we are all bombarded by almost every nightly newscast.

The numbers are good for some, bad for others. Was the kickoff to the shopping season encouraging for the Republicans and discouraging for the Democrats? Or visa versa?

There is one major thing the holiday season will do for all of us: It sort of stymies the political rhetoric and dulls the shouts from the nation’s capitol. And all those occupy folks have now been relegated to that category called: “And in other news … .”

There is little all those Presidential candidates can do this time of the year to compete with shopping and Saint Nicholas. Other than have the candidates work the telephones for cash; shake a few hands in very partisan settings; and as always attack one another on all forms of electronics media from Television, Twitter, and of course, on Al Gore’s Internet.

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The City of Rogers was bemoaning the dip in the price of recyclable materials in a sister-publication to “The Free Weekly” last week.

The slick and popular drop-off center in north Rogers has seen a decline in folks dropping off cardboard, plastics and other recyclable materials this year. And the city leaders wonder why? Perhaps it is the price of gasoline may be to blame. The price at the pump — even for econ-friendly folks — has been high most of the summer.

Also it is the time of the year when paper mills and others who purchase these items from recycling centers, tend to slow their buying in the fourth quarter and use its stockpiles to make it through the end of the year.

Also, as an industry many paper mills and other large manufacturing plants shut down over the holidays for major repairs and extended closures due to weird holiday schedules and employee demands for time off.

So keep recycling and support all the cities in Northwest Arkansas that have recycling programs to keep valuable materials out of the area landfill.

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And it looks like Burt Hanna and one of his many affiliated business ventures is starting up as a  computer recycling business located down on Armstrong Drive in Fayetteville.
Hanna and associates are coming late to the game in Northwest Arkansas with ESCO Processing and Recycling Inc., of Rogers (now in the old Daisy BB Company building on old U.S. 71) already with boots on the ground and  working commercial and other big accounts where lots of computers, printers and other electronics can be found. ESCO recently assisted in a giant free computer drop off at the Arvest Ballpark in Springdale sponsored by the area watersheds, solid waste districts and other agencies.

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Superior Industries, the aluminum wheel manufacturer in Fayetteville, has moved at least one of its affiliated companies or vendors back closer to their location in Fayetteville. A wheel polishing operation — Bright Technologies — is preparing to move from a Lincoln industrial building back closer to Armstrong Drive and the area where Superior sits.
The move will eliminate hauling the product to Lincoln where it was polished and returned to Superior. And save, no doubt, on fuel costs.

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Once again, has Walmart suspended its online, “How Are We Doing?” campaign?

Looks like the world’s largest retailer is so busy ringing up its way to profit, it has suspended the online chance to win some extra dough.

The noticeable absence of the 4-to-6 inch addition to your typical Walmart receipt has been missing since the start of the holiday season.

Well, as they say, there is always “next year.”

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Not a lot has been said about Walmart’s smaller version stores in the state.

The plan was to build the trio of Walmart Expresses and see how it goes. There have been some built in other markets, but is there a trend here?

Daddy W. really wants to know.  Don’t you?

Maybe the smaller size Walmart, with limited hours, is not such a big hit as it seemed to be here in Walmartville or Arkansas.