Transcript for the Piece Audio version of Retro Product Proves Recession Proof

DEBBIE MILLS AND HER HUSBAND PETER STARTED ‘SARAH’S HAT BOXES’ TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO IN THEIR LIVING ROOM.

LIKE TODAY, WIDE-BRIMMED HATS WEREN'T EXACTLY IN STYLE AT THAT TIME. BUT CREATIVE MARKETING AND STEADY INNOVATION SPURRED GROWTH. AND AS PETER IS QUICK TO TELL YOU, A LITTLE HARD WORK ALSO HELPED.

Peter: We don't know what the word 'vacation' means. When you are chief, cook and bottle washer, you have to be here. We have the store open on the weekends, nights, holidays. That’s when people come to us.

SARAH’S WILL SELL AROUND TEN-THOUSAND HAT BOXES THIS YEAR, A MAJORITY TO OTHER BUSINESSES THAT’LL PUT THEIR PRODUCTS INSIDE THE FABRIC-COVERED BOXES. THINK UPSCALE POPCORN TUBS AND SCENTED CANDLES, JEWELRY AND FANCY LINGERIE.

THEIR WEBSITE, WHICH HAPPENS TO BE NUMBER ONE ON GOOGLE, LISTS A HUNDRED WAYS A BOX COULD BE USED OTHER THAN ACTUALLY KEEPING HATS INSIDE.

You could put love letters in them…but really you can put anything…my granddaughter calls it a place to put stuff. And it’s perfect you know.

NOT EVERYTHING’S PERFECT, THOUGH. THE RECESSION HAS HURT SALES THIS YEAR. BUT BECAUSE THE BUSINESS DOESN'T NEED MUCH IN TERMS OF CREDIT, PETER SEES A BRIGHT SIDE TO THIS ECONOMY.

Peter: Slow times are nothing to be afraid of. That’s when you have to have the ability to go and do and get those things at a cheaper price.
You feel like you are in a better position because of the recession?
Absolutely. Everybody is.

[Sound of low humming glue machine]

ON THE WALL ABOVE THE HUMMING GLUE MACHINE IS A MAP STUDDED WITH PINS. PETER AND DEBBIE’S SON PHIL EXPLAINS.

AX (Phil): Every time we get a retail order, I map it out. I think I've got thirteen states remaining. We just got a new one the other day. Kinda interesting...and I'm relearning my geography at the same time. Where's Wisconsin? [laugh]

BOTH PETER AND PHIL AREN’T EXACTLY THE TYPE OF GUYS YOU’D EXPECT TO WORK AT HAT BOX COMPANY. FATHER AND SON HAVE DIRT UNDER THEIR NAILS, BEER BELLIES, AND AN AFFINITY FOR WATCHING THE PATRIOTS.

PETER SAYS IT’S THE CHALLENGE OF RUNNING A FAMILY BUSINESS UP AGAINST GLOBAL COMPETITION THAT EXCITES HIM. HE’S GOT SOME ADVICE FOR OTHERS IN HIS SHOES.

Peter: You do it honestly. That's business to me: is honesty. You throw it on the table. And you do it the right way, which is: Give ‘em what they want. If you have a good product at the right price, it will sell.

WITH SALES HAS COME EXPANSION. A FEW YEARS AGO, SARAH’S MOVED INTO A 15,000-SQUARE FOOT FACILITY, COMPLETE WITH A SHOWROOM. EACH STEP OF HAT BOX MAKING PROCESS HAPPENS HERE. IT STARTS WITH CUTTING THE RECYCLED CARDBOARD DOWN TO SIZE.

[sound of machine starting]

Phil: So this is just cutting the sheet in half. The sheets are sixty inches long, I'm gonna cut it down to thirty. You would think that for a fabric covered box there would be no precision involved, but my father was a machinist for years, so very precise measurements...

Phil: This machine weights a little over 10,000 pounds. I brought it home in one of my dump trucks in the middle of an ice storm over the mountains of Vermont. It was a white knuckle ride. But we got a really good deal on it...we weren't gonna pass this guy up.

MANUEVERING A SMALL BUSINESS IN THIS ECONOMY IS ANOTHER WHITE-KNUCKLE ADVENTURE. BUT SO FAR, SARAH’S HAT BOXES SEEMS TO BE ENJOYING THE RIDE.

IN HANCOCK-NEW HAMPSHIRE, I'M TODD BOOKMAN.