Owners find silver lining to shutting down their business

West Kelowna’s Esteem Lingerie, owned by Angela O’Brien and her mother, Florenda Pickett, has re-opened after being closed for almost two months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Along with lingerie, the business offers post-operative and mastectomy products.

Although the pair did offer some private appointments as required, the store closure basically halted two months of revenue, with business down to 10% of normal.

“Like every other business, we’ve had to rob Peter to pay Paul,” said O’Brien.

While nobody likes to see that big of a red number beside their bottom line, O’Brien said there are some positive things to come out of the closure. This is the first time in 14 years O’Brien and her mother have been able to take time away from the business at the same time.

“That’s one of the downsides of having a small business,” said O’Brien. “You’re tied to it.”

During the closure, the women had great times with their family along with being able to catch up on passions and hobbies that had been put on the back burner.

O’Brien said the closure would put them behind, and estimated it would take a year to 18 months to work their way out of it.

“We’re coming back to the business recharged, refreshed, excited about our business again,” said O’Brien.

The mother and daughter team has been in business 14 years and have run through some tough times, including the 2008 recession, which taught them to set up the business so they could make it work in good times or bad. On the positive side, O’Brien thinks the COVID-19 pandemic will see people starting to shop local.

An acrylic shield has been installed at the cash register and the number of people in the store at one time will be limited.

Because they work with cancer patients with weakened immune systems, O’Brien and Pickett have always kept a meticulously clean store. But there will be more time spent sanitizing and steaming garments to make sure there can be no transmission.

Due to the intimate nature of their products, there has always been a strict return policy. Now all sales will be final.

Every garment that gets tried on will be steamed afterward to sanitize it. They used to welcome moms bringing their kids into the store. “Now we’re saying, please don’t,” said O’Brien. “Just because kids touch everything and if they get into a rack, we have to sanitize the whole rack.”

Suppliers have had to scale back lines, so there may not be the availability and breadth of product in the fashion lines.