After 49 years in business, Greetings & Readings, Hunt Valley, Md., is closing January 20, WBAL reported. In a statement, owners Steven and Fran Baum, who are husband and wife, and Steve Spund and his wife, Amy Baum Spund, said, "This decision was exceptionally hard and not without much thought and prayer. We have explored every avenue and yet we faced the inevitable realization that the current retail environment is not sustainable."
President Steven Baum told WBAL that sales began to drop in 2008, during the recession, and that in 2018, they dropped 15%. The owners tried to find a buyer or merger partner, but without success.
Vice-president Steve Spund said that online competition was difficult and had been exacerbated by bad weather. "This year we have exceeded the all-time record for precipitation," he stated. "When the rain comes traffic disappears. Snow flurries make the shopping centers desolate except for the food stores. In past years, you could make up some of the drop off, but now when the weather is bad people just shop online."
Greetings & Readings opened in 1969 in Loch Raven Plaza, then moved in 2005 to a larger location at the Hunt Valley Towne Center.