Most stores reopen after Boston Marathon bombings

It has been a week since the Boston Marathon bombings devastated Boston and the entire nation, and Women's Wear Daily reports that most businesses are open and trying to return normalcy to the city.

The Boston area's typically busy shopping scene was understandably quieter than usual this weekend, but for some retail therapy was a simple distraction and way to get out and reconnect with the community.

Consignment chain Second Time Around, which has 11 stores in Massachusetts and three on Boston's Newbury Street, just a block from the explosions, reopened Tuesday and saw business start to return to normal by Saturday.

"We opened our doors on Tuesday morning, where we had a mixture of stranded tourists and heartbroken locals who would escape to our stores to see friendly and sometimes familiar faces," Jeanne Stafford, director of marketing, told Newsday. "By Saturday, the people of Boston were out in full force -- our business in our three stores on Newbury Street was busy with people who were looking for positivity in a negative situation. After a difficult week, and being cooped up all day Friday, folks were very excited to be out enjoying their city."

Saks Fifth Avenue's Boylston Street location, adjacent to the marathon's tragic finish line, reopened Saturday, though several blocks nearby remain cordoned off as a crime scene, including the area surrounding Lord & Taylor, whose security tapes were used in the investigation.

“The sense of pride for Boston is apparent throughout the city as its residents began to flood the streets and stores again, including Saks, which was busy on Saturday as customers shopped with friends and visited with sales associates, many connecting for the first time since the tragic events," Kathleen Ruiz, senior vice president of vendor and store marketing and public relations for Saks, told WWD.

Saks' friends and family sale starts Wednesday, and 10 percent of sales through May 1 will be donated to The One Fund, an organization created by Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino to raise money for the families affected by the bombings. Brooks Brothers, which has nine stores in the Boston area, will do the same.

For the staff at Lucky Brand in Copley Square, opening their doors Saturday was a way of opening their arms to the community.

"This is kind of like our home so we wanted to open it up as we would our home to let people know we’d be here for them," said Tionna Conley-Range, a store supervisor. "Reopening was just a way for us to let people know that we want to band together.”