{"id":29925,"date":"2015-09-24T16:15:19","date_gmt":"2015-09-24T14:15:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.w-t-w.org\/en\/?p=29925"},"modified":"2015-09-24T16:15:19","modified_gmt":"2015-09-24T14:15:19","slug":"entrepreneur-alert-pope-bobbleheads","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.w-t-w.org\/en\/entrepreneur-alert-pope-bobbleheads\/","title":{"rendered":"Entrepreneur Alert: Pope Bobbleheads?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Joshua Keefe writes:\u00a0Pope Francis’ \u2019historic visit to the city could be a gift from God for street vendors and small businesses.<\/p>\n

Enterprising merchants have already started to cash in on His Holiness\u2019s arrival, hawking a wide array of papal swag \u2014 from solar-powered pontiff figurines to key chains and buttons of the beloved Catholic leader.<\/p>\n

The $25 \u201cSolar Pope\u201d statues were lighting up registers at the West Village home-goods store Kikkerland.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been getting a lot of attention. Our sales have definitely increased,\u201d store employee Alex Holland, 25, said of the statues, which wave at passersby. \u201cPeople seem to really like them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pope Francis merchandise was also selling briskly in tourist-heavy parts of Midtown and near St. Patrick\u2019s Cathedral, where he will celebrate Mass.<\/p>\n

Two blocks away at souvenir shop Grand Slam New York, magnets, T-shirts and umbrellas with the pope\u2019s image sold faster than indulgences during the Middle Ages.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe [$6] magnets have been selling very good,\u201d the store\u2019s manager, John Palha, 52, said just after he sold two pope shirts for $10 apiece.<\/p>\n

Pope mania has also been inspiring peddlers to give back.<\/p>\n

Christopher Burrus, 53, hawked $3 prayer cards of Pope Francis at a table set up a couple blocks from St. Patrick\u2019s. The retired cook said that a nearby Episcopal church that feeds the homeless will get some of the money he makes.<\/p>\n

“I’ve agreed to donate $70 of my proceeds to the church, but I might give more,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

While many merchants saw the visit as a blessing, some were praying that street closures wouldn\u2019t hurt business.\"Pope<\/a><\/p>\n

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Joshua Keefe writes:\u00a0Pope Francis’ \u2019historic visit to the city could be a gift from God for street vendors and small businesses. Enterprising merchants have already started to cash in on His Holiness\u2019s arrival, hawking a wide array of papal swag … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29925","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-entrepreneurs","category-finance"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t