Business & Tech

Banana Tree Owners Say Time Is Ripe to Close Shop, Move to the Web

Asian import store says customer buying habits have changed with today's rapid technologies

Home furnishings store Banana Tree is planning to close its shop on King Street and move its retail operations to the web. 

The store, which has been in business since 1986, is having a major sale until Apr. 3 to clear out inventory.

The store located at 1223 King St. stocks antique, vintage and Art Deco Asian home furnishings from Thailand, India, Indonesia and Burma.

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The Bergins import goods from Asia and go on several buying trips there a year.

“When we started doing this, it was at a time when the fax machine didn’t exist. The internet didn’t exist. None of today’s rapid communications existed,” said co-owner Monique Bergin. “Over 25 years, that working model has become less feasible for us. Part of it is the customer has changed. Their buying patterns have changed. If they wanted to buy furniture, they used to get in a car and drive someplace, and walk around and look in windows. They’re no longer doing that, They’re a looking at a computer screen. That’s how they’re window shopping.”

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Bergin said owning an expensive retail shop is no longer a business model that works for her and her co-owner husband, Bob Bergin.

She added that she was pleased to be part of a pioneering community that helped develop upper King St: “When we moved, upper King Street was in its developmental stages with a lot of empty buildings. We kind of pioneered the…area. It worked very well for us.”

The company's new, upgraded website is a work in progress and won’t be fully operational with e-commerce for several months.

The Bergins, who are residents of Fairfax, still plan trips to Asia, and Bert will continue writing novels and articles.

Monique said the decision to close shop does not stem from a higher cost to lease the space. “In our 18 years in the King Street space we’re in, our landlord has been very fair,” but she expressed concern about the transportation add-on tax and the high cost of metered parking, which she noted is getting resolved with new parking kiosks that accept credit cards.

“The parking issue…had left a bad taste in some people’s mouths. Who wants or has 13 quarters for two hours of parking?”


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