In the central region of the South that includes Kentucky, inflation hit an annual rate of 4% in March, hotter than the 3.5% national average. Wiltshire Pantry owner Susan Hershberg said price pressures in Louisville have been “brutal,” but she suspects the Downs’ expanded all-inclusive offerings have weighed on her business, too.While she used to field 400 to 500 boxed lunch orders each day during Derby Week, “this year I only have orders for several hundred boxes, and some people are taking them to Derby parties, not to the track,” she said.
People pick and choose what they want to do with their money … I help them do that. I just don’t rob them.
Carol Hampton, owner of Pix Shoes Louisville
Prices are staying put all the same. “The people who buy the boxed lunches are my regular customers,” Hershberg said, “and right now we’re eating the difference, because there’s only so much sticker-price shock people can handle.”Carol Hampton, who owns Pix Shoes Louisville, said her costs are up as well. She added that rival milliners buy her hats, fascinators and other accessories and sell them at a markup, but moving large volumes helps her keep prices down.
“People pick and choose what they want to do with their money,” Hampton said. “They want to look nice, they want to shine, and I help them do that. I just don’t rob them.”
She estimated 150 customers visited the 50-year-old downtown shop on Thursday alone and expects to sell over 8,000 pieces of fancy headgear by the end of the weekend.
Read the full article here
