By Max Marbut
Staff Writer
Doug Ganson, owner of Sundrez at the Landing and For All Seasons at AT&T Tower 301, said he attributes his success in retail Downtown to three factors:
“We provide great customer service, our stores are always clean, and we’re able to rapidly adapt to our customers’ needs.”
Ganson also operates the Dipper Dan ice cream stand at the Landing, but the two variety stores have become Downtown’s “general stores,” he said.
He began his career in retail at his parents’ store Downtown, then opened For All Seasons in 1987. Six years later, The Rouse Company, the original developers of the Landing, approached Ganson about opening a store.
He started in a tiny 200-square-foot shop upstairs, and then moved into a larger space downstairs in 1994. He moved Sundrez again in 2006 to its present location near the escalators.
The inventory reads like a list of just about anything a person might need, from snacks and soft drinks to office supplies and gifts.
There’s a walk-in cigar humidor at Sundrez, which also stocks basic office supplies, hardware items, souvenirs, and toiletries. Ganson even sells corkscrews and can openers.
Sundrez also has Downtown’s largest selection of greeting cards and gift-wrapping supplies.
In August 2008, Ganson cut the ribbon on a U.S. Postal Service Contract Postal Unit, which offers all services available at a post office except mailboxes.
“We carry a little bit of everything and we adapt to our customers’ needs as times have changed,” said Ganson.
For example, he said, five years ago his stores didn’t carry cell phone accessories or sunglasses. Now those items are some of the top sellers.
One of Downtown’s longest-standing retail business owners, Ganson has seen the neighborhood’s ups and downs and isn’t reluctant to share his opinions.
He said he’d like to see better public transportation to move people between the nearby historic neighborhoods and Downtown. He also supports the findings of the Jacksonville Civic Council’s Northbank Redevelopment Task Force final report.
“Having a convention center in the Northbank core would be a tremendous asset. Downtown needs to be developed along the riverfront,” said Ganson.
“Having a vibrant downtown has been shown everywhere to increase property values, even in the suburbs,” he said.
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