After nearly four years of business on the corner of Green Street and Cayuga Street, the women’s clothing store Morgan’s is closing. The self-described “New York-style boutique” is shutting its doors because its owner moved to another state and was unable to find a buyer.
Store owner Svetlana Davis said she and her husband tried to find people interested in taking over the business, but that other potential proprietors had difficulty obtaining loans.
“It is not easy right now in this economy,” Davies said. “People tried to buy, but [their] bank wouldn’t give [them] the money.”
Davies — who will close Morgan’s after she sells out the remaining inventory — said she felt that, while the location is ideal for a boutique-style business, she did not get many customers from Cornell.
“You don’t see them all the time because they’re very busy. Most of them don’t have cars. Cornell girls seem to shop on the Internet,” Davies said.
Davies said she believes that a majority of her clients are Ithaca College students.
“I don’t really know where [Cornell students] shop, but probably mostly on the Internet, or [they] go down to New York City,” Davies said.
Annabel Fowler ’12, who was at Morgan’s during their closing sale on Sunday, said she had not previously gone to Morgan’s.
“I never came here before because I get most of my clothes either at home or when I’m shopping in New York City, so I never have the need to get clothes in Ithaca,” Fowler said. “But, I was really free today. We were driving by, saw it was closing and so [we] decided to go in.”
Davies said that while she considered keeping the store open after moving, the distance made doing so impractical.
“It’s not easy to run the store from far away,” Davies said. “I just moved, so I have my own life to concentrate on.”
Davies said she felt that her store added variety to Ithaca, and that, without it, many shoppers might feel a loss.
“It is sad that it is closing because Morgan’s was one of the stores with the nicest clothing accessible to students … especially since choices are limited in Ithaca,” Karina Garcia ’13 said.
Alexandra Kuczynski-Brown ’12, a Sun senior writer, agreed. She said that Morgan’s is the only clothing store in Ithaca she shops at.
“I usually go there a couple of times every semester. I bought many formal dresses and things that are more business casual — they had a good mix of clothes,” Kuczynski-Brown said. “It would be nice if they put something trendy there, but I don’t think that will happen. Evolution and other stores near Morgan’s cater to a different style.”
Original Author: Tajwar Mazhar