Tagged: retail

You may have heard of "flash mobs," where a mass of people invade a public space to make a scene. Now the idea has been turned on its head by "cash mobs," where large crowds of consumers show up at small businesses to spend money. But it's not just about propping up the local economy.

It's 5 o'clock on a Friday, and mostly quiet in the Lander's Men's Store, a mom-and-pop clothing store in Jamestown, N.Y. But shop owner Ann Powers is anticipating a mob.

What if you had to drive 50 miles just to pick up a pair of underwear?

The geographically isolated town of Saranac Lake, N.Y. has fewer than 5,000 residents and no "big box" stores like Target or Wal-Mart.

So the people there decided to create their own department store.

See the story from this weekend's episode of New York NOW:

What to say about DestiNY USA? The ongoing saga of promises to create the biggest, greenest mall upstate has ever seen is still, well, ongoing. Why? Delays, budget overruns and litigation.

The latest development took place earlier this month: the City of Syracuse agreed to extend tax breaks six more months, in exchange for $1 million from developer Bob Congel.

The Post-Standard's longstanding DestiNY USA correspondent, Rick Moriarty, generously agreed to sit down with us for a conversation that would help put the news in some context. Below, we've brought you a very abbreviated excerpt. For more, take a listen: