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Gift Report

The Nature of Sales (From page 84) best-selling items are rabbit furs (the least expensive pelts he carries), nonfiring replica guns, and books which Camp said are hard to keep up with. He said he used to have the guns in a locked, glass case but moved them high on a wall, too high to touch, and sales improved. Camp preaches the importance of good lighting, especially because the trading post is fairly dark. The trading post is about 20 feet by 20 feet, and the regular shop is about 16 feet by 26 feet, and they average $350-$400 in sales daily.

Becky Canada , the gift shop supervisor at Cumberland Falls State Park in Corbin, Ken., said they have been at full speed since reopening. Her best-selling items are anything with the Falls on it: magnets, patches, T-shirts, cups. They are just as busy as before COVID and she has brought in more items specific to the area. She displays Cumberland Falls -specific items to the right of the door, and general Kentucky items to the left. She also sells a line of Kentucky-made products in the center of the store. Canada described the store as

“not a very big space” but they do very well, averaging $5-9,000/day. Some of the hand-made pottery is as high as $45 and she also sells Willow Tree angels. She is also selling more snacks and cold drinks because the snack shack at the Falls couldn’t open due to short staffing.

The Pearl Harbor National Memorial, and the store on site, in Hawaii were closed for four months in 2020 due to COVID. Director of Communications and Development Jim McCoy said they’ve experienced a growth of sales since reopening and are close to achieving pre-COVID revenue levels. Their best-selling items are American flags flown over the Pearl Harbor National Memorial and the USS Arizona Memorial with certificates. T-shirts, hats, coins, and pins also do very well. They also sell a “multitude” of books including those written by Pearl Harbor survivors. In a store like his with its unique story, McCoy said the eye-catching displays are the ones that passionately tell a story such as one for a book and DVD package by Lauren Bruner, a sailor stationed aboard the USS Arizona who survived the attack. He passed away in 2019 and was interred in the USS Arizona during a special ceremony on Dec. 7, 2019, to be with his fallen shipmates in eternity. Of course, all displays need to

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