Lennoxville businesses brace for a quiet winter season
The inconsistent nature of the pandemic has forced the Eastern Townships into a red zone, resulting in Bishop’s University announcing a return to an online-heavy course load come the winter semester and subsequently reducing foot traffic in local businesses.
With many students likely returning home for the holidays and staying put due to health and safety restrictions, shops in the area are adjusting expectations when it comes to winter
sales. Kassandra Ryan, however, isn’t too worried about the potential loss of student revenue.
An assistant manager at the Hatley Boutique Outlet in Lennoxville, Ryan is confident the store’s customer base is strong enough to survive a relatively quiet winter season. They were able to maintain steady sales during the summer, she explained, which is a notoriously dead period.
“In terms of our sales, I can’t say we’re highly affected by the changes in schools,” Ryan said. “I saw it during the summer, we definitely maintained pretty regular sales even if students weren’t around; mostly from our community base.”
Losing the student population will have an impact, she continued, Hatley just won’t feel it as much as other stores in the area. The worst part about being in a second wave of coronavirus cases is that, in general, not a lot of people are out shopping, Ryan said.
But even though many residents have gone into an early hibernation, she believes the store will continue to attract customers throughout the holidays and the snow-filled months. They might not come out as much, Ryan continued, but when they do it’s to knock off a long list of items.
“We definitely have our very hardset regulars who have probably been coming to our business for 10 to 15 years, even when we were on the other side of the street,” she said.
Hatley Boutique is a discount store and according to Ryan, people are always looking to shop sales for their new grandchildren or nephews. The store is currently experiencing an increase in traffic, which she believes is mostly made up of pre-christmas shoppers.
“I think people are maybe a little bit afraid of what will happen over the holidays and they want to be as cautious as possible, so they’re shopping their Christmas presents in advance this year,” said Ryan.
Sarah Ahmadaly, owner of the Marché 5eme Saison, is living through a different situation. She sees a lot of students in her small Lennoxville grocery store, so losing them could be detrimental to her store’s survival.
But she is trying not to dwell too much on that at the moment. Ahmadaly remains optimistic. She believes people have altered their consumer habits throughout the last eight months. She suspects the ‘ shop local’ narrative of the first wave will continue for a long time.
“There’s really a crisis of consciousness of how important it is to shop locally, you know, because the money is staying in the city; it’s not going to people who are not in town,” said Ahmadaly.
Although most of Quebec shut down in the spring, she noticed an uptick in sales, as people she had never seen before began to pop into her store. They were likely avoiding the long lines at mainstream grocery stores, she explained, but she appreciated the support either way.
Ahmadaly explained that many of those people were one-and-done customers. Most of them probably found something closer to home, she added. And while students might leave, she is confident that her current clientele will continue using her services.
“I don’t see people really being scared, I don’t see a change in people’s habits even if we are in a red zone now,”