NORTHAMPTON — Steven Weber knows a good deal when he sees one. It’s a trait that’s helped him run a successful retail shop in downtown Northampton — well, two shops, actually — for the last 16 years.
So just think what the longtime owner of Deals & Steals will be able to accomplish now that his apparel and food stores are consolidated under a single, large space at 1 Pearl St. In a phrase, “lower prices,” Weber says.
“By having everything in one store, we’re going to really be able to streamline our costs,” he said.
On Nov. 1, Weber, 61, moved the two Deals & Steals retail and natural food stores, at 76 W Pleasant St. and 7 Pearl St., to the new location, coverting former One Bar into a retail shop.
It’s a move two years in the making. That’s when Weber began looking for a space to merge the two shops to run his business more efficiently. By doing that Weber said he saves money, rather than paying two bills for rent and utilities, he now will just pay one.
Four months of extensive renovations to the new space included tearing down walls to open up space, installing brightly-colored carpet, and, with the help of landlord Tony Gleason upgrading the heating and cooling units and installing new LED lighting.
The new location is about 6,000 square feet, more space than his former two stores combined. The food store was about 2,000 square feet and the retail was about 2,500.
Weber says Deals & Steals will continue to employ its successful business model in the new location, one in which he buys products in bulk directly from distributors and then turns around and sells the items — from clothing to shoes to packaged food — at under wholesale value.
But the new location opens up many more possibilities for the businesses.
“I really wanted to provide more space for the food side,” Weber said.
That includes more natural, specialty and organic packaged food and said he has a large line of gluten-free products.
He also added a new section of greeting cards — which are two for $1 — and gift wrap.
Business in his blood
For Weber, business is in his blood. His mother owned a discount men’s shirt business in New Haven, Connecticut. In his teens, he helped manage the businesses stock and negotiated with salesmen.
“I learned at a pretty young age that people really wanted a deal,” he said.
He knew business was the field he wanted to go in and earned a bachelor’s degree in business from Western New England University in Springfield.
He opened his first store on Cottage Street in Easthampton in 1997. Three years later, Weber expanded to a space on 76 W. Pleasant St. in Northampton. Deals & Steals expanded again in 2009, opening a new store on 7 Pearl St. to separate retail and food products.
Weber buys products in bulk, dealing directly with 30 to 40 distributors. Weber said he gets deliveries everyday. In addition to running Deals & Steals, Weber sells products on Amazon and eBay as well as supplies food wholesale out of a warehouse in Florence to companies throughout the country.
Some products Weber gets for a low price are discontinued due to package, label or color change while others may have been overproduced.
“For me to get my prices down, I have to buy in large quantities,” he said.
Weber keeps major footwear brands in stock and said he buys 400-500 pairs of shoes at a time. “I sell footwear less than everyone in this area,” he said.
In the winter, Weber sells shoes leftover from the summer season at Flamingo Island Flea Market in Bonita Beach, Florida.
For food, Weber said he buys blind — meaning the distributors stock his empty trailers with various food items.
“It enables us to have really deep discount,” he said.
Weber said he tries to sell items for under the wholesale price. All chips are always buy one, get two free. For a box of 10 Larabar mini snack bars, the wholesale price is $6.19 with a suggested retail value of $9.29. Deals & Steals is selling the product for less than a dollar.
Weber plans to hold the Deals & Steals grand opening after the rush of Bag Day and Black Friday. For the grand opening, he plans to give away free items as well as giveaway prizes. “I’ve been in business almost 20 years,” Weber said. “I want to make a big splash.”
Caitlin Ashworth can be reached at cashworth@gazettenet.com.