'A little goes a long way': New York's candy stores sweeten economic gloom

An important development from the financial markets: 'A little goes a long way': New York's candy stores sweeten economic gloom21 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleAlexis BenvenisteBusiness reporter, New York CityGetty ImagesWith US consumer confidence at historic lows, it's a tough time for retailers across the country. But in and around New York City one niche sector is expanding – candy stores. Mitchell Cohen, the third-generation owner of Economy Candy, on Manhattan's Lower East Side, has a theory – people will still buy candy (or sweets, as they are called in British English) – when economic times are difficult.

"The dollar isn't going as far these days," he says. "Inflation, uncertainty, all that, but there's always candy. "The business, the oldest sweet shop in New York, first opened its doors in 1937, towards the end of the Great Depression.

Economic Details

Initially it was a hat and shoe repair store, with candies sold from a cart out front as an extra earning stream. But people couldn't afford to get things repaired, Cohen says. So his grandfather entirely pivoted to what was still selling – the affordable sweet treats.

Eighty-nine years later, Economy Candy is still going strong. Economy CandyEconomy Candy has been selling sweets to New Yorkers since 1937While the most recent official data shows that US retail sales are still growing, up 4. 9% in April from the same month last year, US consumer sentiment hit a new all-time low in May, according to one closely-watched report.

Echoing the thoughts of Mitchell Cohen, Kate Bolger says that as candy has a low price point "everyone can partake" despite people feeling the economic pinch. Next month she is due to open The Village Confectionery, a candy store in Sleepy Hollow, the Hudson Valley town 28 miles north of New York City that is best known as being the setting of the 19th Century horror short story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Bolger, who previously worked as a movie producer, says that while consumers may be putting off making big, expensive purchases, they can still treat themselves to a piece of candy.

Analyst Views

It is an extension of the so-called "lipstick effect" economic theory that was popularised in the early 2000s, whereby people who couldn't afford to buy something really expensive would buy a little luxury item instead. Andrew PorterKate Bolger, who opens her store in July, says "everyone can partake" in candyBack in New York City, an upmarket candy store company called BonBon now has five shops across Manhattan and Brooklyn, and another in the Hamptons on Long Island that opened last summer. The business, founded in 2018 by three Swedish expats, imports its product range from Sweden.

Swedish confectionery, which has strict rules regarding the use of all natural ingredients, has in recent years seen a big rise in global popularity thanks to social media. BonBon co-founder Leo Schaltz says that a key company rule for its shops is to avoid main avenues. "You wouldn't want to be on Broadway," he says.

Economists are analysing what the news means for the markets.