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Chattanooga: Architectural exchange presses on in slowdown

By: Brian Lazenby
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Anna Roberts

Staff Photo by Dan Henry
Whitwell, Tenn., residents Lewis Trine, and his wife Kaye Trine look at the leaded glass windows while visiting Architectural Exchange for the first time. Architectural Exchange has been in business for 10 years specializing in architectural antiques including lighting, windows, doors, mantles, and columns.

Anna Roberts has operated her architectural antique store on McCallie Avenue for about 10 years.

Like most small businesses, Ms. Roberts said her first year running Architectural Exchange was tough, but national economic conditions have made this year almost as bad.

“It’s killing me. Besides the year I opened, this is the worst year I‘ve had,” she said. “Building materials have gotten so expensive.”

Still, Ms. Roberts vowed that she will not give up. She will continue doing what to her has become a labor of love.

“I love what I do, and that’s why I won’t quit it,” she said.

John Riddell, vice president of the Center for Entrepreneurial Growth, said good management often determines whether businesses survive or fail during rough times.

“If they have good management, if they keep their fixed costs down and their variable costs up, they will do OK,” he said.

Even in the current economic climate, Mr. Riddell said, “there are some businesses that are doing really, really well.”

Ms. Roberts’ store at 1300 McCallie Ave. is filled with antique doors, claw-footed bath tubs, windows, wrought-iron railing, mantles and just about any style of antique hardware a person could want, she said.

There is still plenty of inventory in the store, but she said she has to travel farther now to find it. It isn’t unusual for her to go to Pennsylvania, Indiana or some other state looking to salvage antique items from houses slated for demolition.

But in the current economic state, people looking to buy antique items have all but dried up.

“Everybody is holding on to their nickels and pennies right now,” Ms. Roberts said.

To combat the economic downturn, Ms. Roberts said she has been forced to make some changes.

“I’ve increased my Internet presence, and I have increased my sales outside of Chattanooga,” she said.

She also said she has begun selling consignment items for other people and adjusted her hours to Thursday through Sunday, or what Ms. Roberts calls “long weekends.”

Mr. Riddell said one of the key signs of good management is the ability to be flexible during tough times.

Many businesses often cut their sales and marketing budgets during slow periods, he said, but these are the last areas that should be cut.

Ms. Roberts said she is expecting the economy to turn around after November’s presidential election. In the meantime, she said she doesn’t have much sympathy for those who complain about the economy.

“Support your local economy and your country’s economy,” she said.

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