Sage Sohier
Jeff Ring
48
Cheryl Griffin
43
Fort Walton Beach, Fla.
Ring and his sister Griffin have worked in their father’s Buccaneer Gift Shop all their lives. As the BP disaster cut into their business, they began discounting their Coca-Cola collectibles—bottle carriers, piggy banks, cowboy hats, signs—by as much as 30 percent. They cut the price of a 1957 vending machine from $3,499.98 to $2,998.98. Still, sales are down roughly 20 percent. They have about $150,000 worth of inventory in the store, so if tourists don’t come back, the shop will have to switch to a “different battle plan” and sell more over the Internet, Ring says.
