2021 was a year of transition for Pittsfield. The city not only elected a new slate of City Councilors, but it, along with the rest of the commonwealth, shifted out of the state of emergency.
The goal will be to think about how Pittsfield can be a thriving place to live, work, and play for all members of broader communities. President Branden Huldeen explained that he sees three ways that everyone can move forward together: innovation, collaboration, and the very important work in equity, diversity, inclusion, and access. I want to recognize it, it s been a rough year. And rough is probably the kindest word I could probably use for right now. But I m proud of the number of businesses that have been able to push through so far, Huldeen said at Thursday s annual meeting.
PITTSFIELD â For small retailers, the holiday shopping season usually is the most wonderful time of the year.
It brings in more revenue from Thanksgiving and Christmas than the rest of the calendar year, with holiday sales, on average, representing 20 percent of annual sales for most industries, and even 30 percent or higher for some others, according to the National Retail Federation. Tis the season, indeed. But, this year, the holiday season is even more important to small retailers in the Berkshires than it normally is. It s hard to be jolly when the COVID-19 pandemic has turned everything upside down.
Many small retailers in the Berkshires were forced to shut for several weeks this spring when the COVID-19 pandemic began to affect the local economy. So, they are putting more emphasis on the holiday season this year as they try to end the year with a traditional bang and make up for the revenue that they didn t expect to lose.