Stores weigh in on Sears closure
Retailers anticipating more customers after closure of catalogue giant's outlet
Karen K. Ho
Northern News Services
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Appliance and furniture stores in Yellowknife have mixed feelings about the closure of the local dealer for Sears Canada, but they're also preparing for more customer traffic and orders.
Quality Furniture co-owner Jeannie Rocher, right, sits with daughter and assistant manager Jessie Borden in the sofa section of the store. Quality stocks a few appliances, but Rocher said the Yellowknife Sears dealer is still going to be missed after their closure this week. - Karen K. Ho/NNSL photo |
Steve Chung, owner and president of Arctic Appliances, said the news of the Sears closure has meant he's noticed more people looking in his store.
He said he expects the big influx of customers to arrive starting later this week.
Chung also said he offers the largest inventory of appliances in Yellowknife and emphasized his store's independent status.
"We are really local," he said. "At the end of the day, they were really just a front for a big national chain."
Currently, Quality Furniture only stocks a few fridges, washer/dryer sets and stoves. However, when it came to her store's inventory, Rocher said that she could bring in anything for her customers, including special order items.
Rocher lamented the end of the Sears store in Yellowknife.
"They're going to be missed," said Jeannie Rocher, co-owner of Quality Furniture. "And they're so much more than appliances."
At The Brick, store manager Afzal Suri said his store recently started selling floor models in response to the news of the Sears Canada closure.
"We're looking into storing a little more inventory," he said in regard to stoves, fridges, dishwashers and laundry sets.
But Suri said his 19,000 square foot store is also affected by the high cost of rent, as well as power and heating expenses.
That, combined with the additional cost of freight from the chain's warehouses in Edmonton, is why major appliances only make up about 25 to 30 per cent of the Brick's total inventory.
"We compete nationally," he explained, "Since we offer the same pricing as Edmonton, it often becomes a money-losing situation."
Deneen Everett, executive director of the Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce, said it's always disappointing when a business closes. She said her organization has repeatedly heard about the high cost of doing business and plans on putting forth a letter advocating there be no property tax increase for the second year in a row.
