Sept. 11 to bring pause to business activities

SOLEMN EVENTS

From staff and wire reports

On the anniversary of a day that forever will be linked with terror, U.S. businesses are preparing -- publicly and privately -- to do the only thing that seems appropriate a year after. They will pause, once again. And this time the slowdown will be purposeful, with a sharpened sense of community and resolve.

"It is my guess that every organization, company and individual will find a way to commemorate the day somehow," said Frank Scanlan, a spokesman for the Society for Human Resource Management in Alexandria, Va. "Planting a tree, a moment of silence, meditating alone at home -- it's appropriate if it takes time out of the usual hectic day and it feels right."

Businesses will give employees room to reflect, and time off to participate in church and community services remembering the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Retailers and other marketers will pull back on advertising and promotions to respect the mood of consumers.

Wearing U.S. colors

At Nordenia USA in Jackson, Mo., the 350 packaging plant employees have been encouraged to wear red, white and blue clothing, said Mary Hiler, who works in human resources. They will also hold a moment of silence and a memorial prayer, she said.

"We did this the day that it happened," Hiler said. "We want people to be able to express their feelings. It's one of those things -- we're stuck here in Southeast Missouri, we want to do something to help. Well, I can say a prayer. That's my way of helping."

At BioKyowa, which makes animal feed supplements in Cape Girardeau, plant manager Bill Hinckley said they have similar plans for a moment of silence and prayer.

"That was a national tragedy," Hinckley said. "We need to give people the opportunity to stop and reflect on that tragedy. If they're at work, they need to be given time to do that at work."

This year, the country will be somewhat immobilized that day, said Mark Hill, owner of Destinations Unlimited, a Cape Girardeau travel agency.

"The reports are that will be the lowest day in years as far as traffic in airplanes," Hill said. "Some of the airlines are cutting flights back for that day."

Airports will be less crowded, with traffic expected to be subdued and solemn pilots asking passengers to remember those who were lost. Several online travel services, including Travelocity and Expedia, have reported that bookings for the day's flights are down 20 percent as of the last week of August from where they were at the same time last year.

Hill said that people are probably a little afraid of flying on that date. But mostly, he said, "I just don't think they're in the mood to go anywhere, especially on that date. That whole week, I don't think there will be a whole lot of business going on."

Quiet retail day

Stores are likely to be relatively quiet Sept. 11, retail experts predict, but most will be open and conducting business as usual.

"I think you'll see retailers mimic what consumers are doing," said Scott Krugman, spokesman for the National Retail Federation in Washington, D.C. "They're going to quietly go about their day-to-day lives on Sept 11."

Target in Cape Girardeau -- which will have 15 seconds of silence announced over the store speaker -- isn't expecting blockbuster business that day, said store manager Rick Done.

"It's hard to say but my gut feeling is that a lot of folks are going to be staying home," he said. "There will be tons of memorials on TV and people really aren't going to be in the mood to shop. I just think it's going to be a little slow."

Still, overall revenue for the day and month almost certainly will be stronger than last year, when stunned Americans sat glued to their television sets and some shopping centers shut down completely. In the days and weeks after Sept. 11, some consumers continued to shy away from malls, fearing they could become the target of terrorists, and sales there fell 8.1 percent last September, according to the shopping centers council.

In all, retailers lost about $6.3 billion in sales as a result of terrorist attacks, according to the National Retail Federation.

With the anniversary of that grim period nearing, some retailers have decided to pull back on promotions and advertising, retail experts say. Target Corp., for example, will suspend TV advertising Sept. 11.

Other major advertisers, too, are reluctant to run television commercials on Sept. 11 for fear of being viewed as insensitive. Some are looking for "tasteful" ways to sponsor network programs.

Companies including General Motors Corp. and Pepsi-Cola Co. are refraining from buying television ads, but a few, including Boeing Co. and Procter & Gamble Co. plan to be on the air Sept. 11.

Southeast Missourian staff writer Scott Moyers contributed to this report.