Shop Talk is a low-pressure gathering just for merchants, makers, and small business owners who want to grow their business and connect with like-minded people. Expect real talk, not fluff — with practical advice you can actually use, no matter what stage you're at.
This month, the topic is:
Survival Tactics for Slower Periods
Real talk: slow seasons happen. Most retail businesses make 70% or more of their sales during the holiday season. Spending trends can be effected from everything to weather and political issues. So what about the down time?
We're workshopping real strategies. How to move product when foot traffic drops, promotion that doesn't feel desperate, and what actually works when Instagram isn't converting. Bring your questions and your war stories.
Lead by:
Georgia Varidakis Simoes, owner of 2 retails store in Williamsburg, Brooklyn from 2008- 2014, your MF curator and GM & Director of events for Lackawanna Station.
Michelle Ward, GM and Co-founder of RecRoom.
Free to Lackawanna Station Tenants, Montclair Flea vendors and RecRoom members. $10 for all other.
Important info:
🗺️ Getting here: Put “Lackawanna Station” or the Montclair location of Popeye’s in the GPS to get to the correct entrance. Using “RecRoom” or “1 Lackawanna Plaza” will send you to a weird side entrance.
🚗 Parking: Use the lots at 1 Lackawanna Plaza (our front entrance) or 227 Bloomfield Ave (our rear entrance) . Download the HONK app or scan a QR code on-site to pay ($2.50/hr) and avoid a ticket. First 45 minutes are free.
♿️ Accessibility:Lackawanna Station is an ADA accessible building with no stairs to navigate. We have a single-room, non-gender-specific restroom inside RecRoom, and there are 2 more inside the station.
📍Once You’re Inside: We’re the first door on the right when you come into the main entrance at 1 Lackawanna Plaza.