Aspen Retail Sales Could Hit Nearly Half Billion Dollars

By Mitzi Rapkin, 5-04-06

Aspen’s businesses took in more than $62.8 million in retail sales in the month of March. That’s $5 million more than the yearly revenues of the island nation of Palau which has 20,579 people compared to Aspen’s 6,000.

The City of Aspen’s 2005 budget of approximately $100 million was more than the yearly revenues of 25 countries according to the CIA World Fact Book. That $100 million is just $7 million shy of East Timor’s yearly revenues and $4 million more than Sierra Leon’s.

The gist of a monthly financial report released yesterday is that Aspen’s economy is not slowing down. In fact, sales tax collections through this March are up 10.4 percent from last year. Aspen’s retail economy has not experienced a decline in taxable retail sales on a month over month basis since August of 2004. And if things continue, Aspen’s total retail sales could hit the $488 million mark by the end of 2006 ($6 million more than Tajikistan’s budget).

Residents and visitors must be celebrating something because so far in 2006 retail sales at liquor stores are up 16.3% from last year. Fur sales were up 27.9% and galleries saw a 65.1% increase in sales from last year. It’s tempting to conclude that fur-clad people have drinks in their hands while admiring their latest art purchases in their homes in Aspen and anywhere else they bring their purchases to. And T-shirts are OUT. T-shirt stores saw a 3.5% decline in sales since last year. T-shirts in Aspen must be so, well, LAST YEAR!

Finance Director for the City of Aspen, Paul Menter said the City should not sit back and think the money is endlessly flowing. “We need to be realistic; this is cyclical in nature and won’t continue.”

The 2006 budget is scaled back from the year before by a modest $6 million. Menter said when projecting this budget the City assumed a 2% increase in revenues. Currently the first three months of 2006 have shown a 10% revenue increase.

“I think when we look at our year-round population of 6,000 people versus our budget it must be incomparable in the world,” Menter said. “Not many towns of 6,000 people have a $100 million budget.” Not many countries do either.

It is doubtful however that there were $2.24 billion in real estate sales in Palau as there was last year in Pitkin County which includes the City of Aspen.

The economic boom comes with a cost however. The City has had the most development applications it’s had since 9-11 this year and the blistering pace of construction caused the City to call a 6-month moratorium on Land Use applications and building permits for most downtown building zones.

Meanwhile, if Aspen’s retail sector continues to enjoy consistent growth maybe even T-shirts will come back into style this summer and show that cotton can compete (sort of) with champagne, mink and Warhol on the wall.
[End of article]