Detroit area flags show American spirit

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Marcy Clark kicked off the Fourth of July weekend by shopping for flag-bedecked T-shirts and sparkly headgear for her family.

Showing off her daughters’ new red-white-and-blue crowns and headbands, she reflected on the deeper meaning of Independence Day. She said she uses the holiday to teach Quinn, 7, and Zoe, 4, about America’s history and what it means to be an American.

“I’m an old-fashioned person who believes in love of country, and it’s a good chance to celebrate this,” said Clark, of Royal Oak.

More shoppers this year bought patriotic merchandise and planned to celebrate the holiday, some inspired by milestones such as the 10-year anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

And the trend is expected to last beyond today, with sellers of 9/11 commemorative items gearing up for a late-summer bump.

“I think feelings of patriotism are pretty high at the moment,” said Carolyn Yoon, associate professor of marketing at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.

The past decade has been rough for Americans, Yoon said. They’ve experienced wars and the worst economic slump since the Great Depression.

When faced with environmental, economic and social problems, people cling to cultural values — the pride of being an American.

These factors helped boost the number of people who planned to buy patriotic merchandise, said the National Retail Federation.

And these days, merchants from drug stores to department stores offer much more than flags. Hats, beads, flip-flops, T-shirts, household decor and disposable party supplies spice up the holiday.

Kohl’s this year offered T-shirts printed with themes such as “Liberty,” “USA” and the American flag for less than $5. Craft stores feature red-white-and-blue art supplies. And at Paper Party Palace in Clawson, practical items such as plates, cups and napkins are most popular.

According to the NRF’s annual Independence Day Survey, 20.1 percent of consumers said they would buy patriotic merchandise, up from 16.2 percent last year. And about 2 million more people this year own a flag, the NRF reported, up from 124 million in 2010.

‘We’ve been busier’

The American Flag & Banner Co. is one of the companies seeing more customers.

Sales are always more brisk from Memorial Day through the Fourth of July, but this year there’s a noticeable boost, said Bill Miles, president of the flag company in Clawson.

“We’ve been busier, and sale numbers have been up,” he said.

People aren’t asking about the 9/11 anniversary, Miles said, but he believes it’s a driving factor for the increased sales. Customers are looking at their tattered flags and thinking they should replace them to honor the anniversary. To help them, Miles began including a free “We Remember” ribbon with the sale of a 3-by-5-foot American flag.

Neighborhood tradition

Ron Dejaeghere, a 79-year-old Sterling Heights resident, bought his new flag there Thursday. His old one had become battered by his house’s bricks and gutter, so he also bought a pole to extend the new one farther from the house.

Each year, he celebrates by placing 12-by-18-inch flags near each driveway in his area.

It’s become a neighborhood tradition, he said. One year, when he was sick and unable to position them, people started asking where they were.

A Korean War veteran, he served 11/2 years in the Army and celebrates what America has given his family.

“I’m the offspring of some immigrants, and I appreciate what this country provides,” he said.

9/11 anniversary nears

Sales of 9/11 lapel pins, T-shirts and commemorative items are rebounding, but not to the same levels seen in the months directly after the attack.

NYCwebStore.com, an Internet-based seller of city merchandise, said customers started asking about 10th anniversary memorabilia at the beginning of this year.

The demand is two or three times greater than last year, which it said followed a five-year decline.

But so far, business is only about 20 percent of what it was in 2001 after the attacks.

The online store expects it will reach 40 percent of that initial demand.

“I think we will continue to see an increase in demand for the commemorative 10th anniversary line through September and possibly the holiday season,” and then it will drop, said Nathan Harkrader, CEO of NYCwebStore.com and CitySouvenirs.com.

The Brooklyn, N.Y.-based website created a line of embroidered polos, women’s tees and baseball caps for the anniversary, and it has sold a couple of hundred products since putting them online in early May.

Patriotic purchases

The desire to purchase 9/11 anniversary memorabilia will not likely be as high as in 2001 because time has made people more psychologically distant, said Matt Wallaert, behavioral psychologist and lead scientist at Churnless, a New York-based digital product consultancy.

However, many people will still purchase items, partly because of patriotic advertising and the desire to feel included in a nationwide event, he said.

Richard Keenan, president of Old Glory Flags and Flagpoles Inc., said customers are coming into the store asking about the anniversary.

Although the Livonia store sells memorial-type flags, he still recommends the traditional red-white-and-blue.

“The best way of honoring is just flying our good old American flag,” he said.

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