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  Barry Bernstein July 26, 2010 at 10:42am

  I have a unique insight into the merchant side of the A2 art fairs because I ran a shoe store on South University for a few years in the mid '70's. In fact, I learned more about marketing and merchandising from those employers, who's forte was buying failing businesses and turning into gold mines. Inspite of the hype, the Ann Arbor Art Fairs are for the merchants. It is a vital 4 days and is the difference, for many, between staying in business and going out of business. We did 30% of our yearly sales in those 4 days. We would take all the leftover merchandise from our 8 stores and sell it at a drastically reduced price. The hardest thing for any small business is selling the merchandise that doesn't sell. They buy everything with the hope that every style sells, but, mistakes are made and there are always left over stuff, after the markdowns and sales are over. This is basically "dead" merchandise that not only takes up space, but, ties up cash that could be used to buy fresh merchandise. After a few years that dead merchandise gets larger and larger. The A2 art fairs allow merchants to sell this merchandise freeing up valuable cash. It's critical for the life of any small retail business. That is why the whole town embraces it and it's why there are 4 shows and booths everywhere.