Changes affecting small-town business
Tysor describes some of the changes that have affected her business over the years she has been a businesswoman, including changes in clothing styles and the closings of suppliers.
Citing this Excerpt
Oral History Interview with Nancy Brown Tysor, October 19, 1999. Interview K-0811. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007) in the Southern Oral History Program Collection, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Full Text of the Excerpt
- BRUCE E. BAKER:
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What was different about it from then than now, in terms of how the store
was set up, what kinds of things did you carry back then that you
don't carry now? Probably not much, it looks like!
[laughter]
- NANCY BROWN TYSOR:
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Well, we had a better source, maybe, of seeds and plants. We did good in
that. Where all these discount stores or shopping centers and all have
come up with plants and seeds now, but we still do
pretty good, but not as good as we did back then. We didn't
have too much competition in that. We had a good line of hardware, which
now is hard to get. And we could get a better line of ladies'
wear than we do now. And, there were just so many companies that we have
bought from that have gone out of business now. It's hard to
replace what we were getting from them. Now, our customers, I think, are
mostly middle-aged or the elderly. And the clothing, it seems like, now,
that you buy, it mostly caters to the younger generation, not the style
us mature ladies and older ladies bought. It's hard to get
that now because as they say, the young people are going to spend their
money for it, and the older people are more conservative. So
it's been a great change in the buying of merchandise and
what you buy.