Home improvement businesses, secondhand stores doing well during recession

Randy Mulvaney hasn't had much downtime lately, but the owner of Heartland Home Repair in Cape Girardeau isn't complaining.

Mulvaney said his employees have done many remodeling jobs and additions to homes from Cape Girardeau to Sikeston, Mo. The company is booked into September.

In the past people might have bought a new home, Mulvaney said, "but because the housing market isn't like it was a few years ago people are choosing to add more footage."

Heartland Home Repair isn't the only business flourishing these days. Secondhand stores, hardware stores and repair shops are also doing well.

Ellen Davis, spokeswoman with the National Retail Federation, said the recession is the main factor.

David Meyer, owner of Midwest Mechanical & Appliances in Cape Girardeau, installs a new motor on a washing machine Monday. He also replaced the water pump. The repair charge was about half the cost of a new machine. (Fred Lynch)

"We've seen an increase in do-it-yourself projects, whether people buy from a home improvement store, going through a contractor or going to a thrift store for a used appliance," Davis said. "When times are great, there's not as much of an incentive to do it yourself. But when everyone is pinching pennies, they're willing to spend a little more time to save the money."

Sheila Kaiser, manager of the Teen Challenge Thrift Store in Cape Girardeau, said customers are not purchasing as many big-ticket items as in the past but are opting to buy clothing and smaller pieces of furniture that cost less than they would new.

"Saving money is something more people are trying to do." Kaiser said.

Another Cape Girardeau secondhand store, the Habitat for Humanity ReStore, reported its greatest week in sales last week. Store manager Walter Wildman said half of 100 rolls of commercial-grade carpet donated by Drury Industries last month had been sold by Saturday.

"Our business is increasing every month, with our seeing people who own property purchasing more items more frequently," said Wildman, adding that business at the store so far this year has grown 35 percent compared to the same period in 2008.

Wayne Umfleet, owner of Cape Home Improvement in Cape Girardeau, said he expects transactions to continue to increase for such businesses as long as the economy is down.

"I can't tell we're in a recession at all," Umfleet said. "Our business continues to increase, which wasn't the case when the housing market was really good and moving. I don't know if there is a direct correlation between the housing market and the increase in our business, but it makes you wonder."

At Fruitland Hardware, owner Rodney Kline has seen a sharp increase in business this year.

"More and more people are fixing up instead of hiring out," said Kline, who has been in the hardware business for 30 years. "... The end result may not be as nice a job as if they're hired someone, but they're holding on to their money to get something they can be satisfied with."

David Meyer, owner of Midwest Mechanical and Appliances in Cape Girardeau, said buying used appliances from businesses like his makes more sense than purchasing new ones at retail prices. Meyer purchases most of his items from a supplier in St. Louis and offers appliances and parts that can be up to 20 years old.

"But even if they are old, they work pretty good for the customer," Meyer said. "Are you wealthy enough to spend thousands of dollars on a set of washer and dryers when I can sell you one that's a few years older for a few hundred bucks?

"That's what I've been doing for years," Meyer said. "And that's what people are looking for -- good appliances that will hold up and at a good price."

bblackwell@semissourian.com

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Pertinent addresses:

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5943 U.S. 61, Jackson, MO

201 Darby Circle, Cape Girardeau, MO

178 Chickasaw Lane, Cape Girardeau, MO

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117 N. Middle St., Cape Girardeau, MO