Greetings from St. Thomas USVI!

I’m down in the islands visiting some buyers and thought I’d share with you some of what I’m seeing on the retail business front. So how are sales? First off, it’s the off season here. Hotels are less expensive but it’s still less crowded. For a vacation getaway that sounds perfect, but what does it mean to retailers?

St. Thomas is one of the bigger islands in the United States Virgin Islands. Spanning 32 square miles, the island has a population of 51,000. So clearly revenue from tourists is the lifeblood of the island. This time of year, those shoppers have many accomadation choices, from mainstay properties like the Marriott and Wyndham properties to beautiful boutique resorts like Sapphire Beach, Magen’s Bay, and the Ritz. There’s even surfing on the north side of the island at Tropaco Point.

The two biggest areas to shop are at Havensight and Charlotte Amalie, which is the downtown area. Both are ports of call for the cruise lines and each area depends on these ships heavily. During the summer only one or two come in a day, but during the winter you can have up to 5 or even 6. Each ship carries about 3,000 people, so it gets busy here -- even these days.

Havensight is a big mall made up of several outdoor buildings right on the waterfront. You can find everything you can imagine. In fact, you’ll find stores that carry expensive jewelry on one side of the store and souvenir items on the other.

So which stores should you be aware of? Consider The Caribbean Market Place (a great place for souvenirs), Caribbean Surf Company (which has all your usual surf brands of clothes plus great packs and luggage from Dakine and more), and also Local Color, The Bikini Factory, Soft Touch Boutique, and the Outrigger. All these stores should be on a sales manager’s radar.

The downtown Charlotte Amalie area is on the waterfront. It’s a bustle of markets and little alleyways where you’ll find inexpensive and expensive stores side by side—and great food all over. Parking is hard to find, but it’s only a three-minute cab ride from Havensight Opening soon right next to Havensight is Yacht Haven Grande, which will house such store as Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Coach, Bebe, BCBG Max Azria, Bulgari, and other clothing, jewelry stores and restaurants.

According to the retailers I spoke with, while the economy is still shaky, people are still traveling. Perhaps they aren’t spending much or are staying closer to home, but that’s not such a bad thing for these islands.

I’m off to St. John now…more later.

An eye-catching guest at Frenchman's Reef Marriott St. Thomas

Cruise ships coming into Havensiight Port St. Thomas.

A very crowded Caribbean Surf Company in St. Thomas.

Red Hook Harbor in St. Thomas