This is the fourth holiday season for Georgetown Gifts at the Huron Village Shopping Center, a.k.a. in Ann Arbor as "the original Whole Foods mall," after residing at the troubled Georgetown Mall for years.

Tucked between Barnes & Noble and Panera Bread in the center located at the northwest corner of Washtenaw and Huron Parkway, the store has benefitted from heavier foot traffic and consistent mall management.

“We have been very happy here with the quality of our surroundings, and McKinley does a good job of managing this property,” says Laurie Wicks, who owns the store with her husband, Kevin.

Accounting for a large amount of their traffic is the fact that they are also a United States Post Office destination.

“There is an in-and-out convenience for people here,” says Wicks, who explains their only postal limitations are money orders and passport applications.

“You can come in and buy one stamp or overnight a letter to Hong Kong.” She adds that there isn’t a post office on that side of town, so the store “pretty much operate(s) as the southeast branch.”

The postal side of their business easily accounts for a couple hundred transactions a day, roughly 40 percent of their business. The postal business was grandfathered in from the previous owners, who had run the store for more than 40 years.

Having previously worked for Pitney-Bowes before purchasing the store 13 years ago, Wicks feels right at home on the postal side of the store.

“I had a strong mailing background already and worked with the post office for years. They love me because I make life easier for them.”

Wicks says that price point is the most important feature to her when selecting merchandise.

“I’m very price sensitive. I have a lot of very nice items in the store that start at $6.99, like napkin holders and ornaments. I have snow globes that start at $4.99.”

Wicks says they do very well with their Vera Bradley specialty bags, Jim Shore collectibles, and all kinds of kitchen items from potholders to aprons.

“If you wanted to come in and do your whole table we could do an entire theme from the linens to the centerpiece,” says Wicks.

In the spring, Wicks completed a total floor reset and changed many of the display units. “We now have what I call a ladies boutique section of the store,” says Wicks. “There, we have cancer survivor gifts, bracelets and earrings.”

Other popular items include a personal invitation and card service ideal for Christmas cards and holiday parties, calendars and boxed Christmas cards.

“We are an independent Hallmark retailer,” said Wicks. “We carry Hallmark, but we are not Gold Crown exclusive. Eighty percent of our items are non-Hallmark. We have a wide variety and don’t buy a lot of one item.”

Wicks is running several holiday promotions to make the most of this important retail season. This includes bag stuffer coupons and a regular email blitz with coupons to regular customers.

In addition, they run “gift with purchase” promotions. If a customer purchases as little as a 99 cent card, they get a free recyclable bag. If they spend $15, they get a small ornament; up to $25 offers a choice of free item; at $50 the customer gets another set of free choices.

Although the last three years have been a struggle with the economy, Wicks is “cautiously optimistic” about this holiday retail season.

“We had our holiday open house a few weeks ago and it was wonderful. People were upbeat and we got a lot of new customers that day. Sales were up over the last few years.”

Wicks encourages shoppers to stay local with their purchases.

“I have roll wrap that I know can beat the prices and quality at Target and Meijer, but if people keep shopping there instead the little stores aren’t going to be able to justify being here.”

This is one in a series of stories by AnnArbor.com’s Business Review about local retailers and their strategies during the biggest sales season of the year. Get more local business news by subscribing to the Business Review newsletter and breaking email alerts.