Customers pour into Umbrella Shop as it prepares to close
Rainy weather and a liquidation sale have created a perfect storm at The Umbrella Shop.
Sales are booming now that Corry Flader, the third generation of the Flader family to operate the business, has decided to close The Umbrella Shop by the end of the year.
At times, she said, the West Pender store is selling upwards of 250 umbrellas an hour. Customers are flocking to the store to take advantage of special offers of 50 per cent off, or more on bulk sales.
“They’re coming in and lining up inside. Before the store opens, there are about 10 people waiting outside. It’s like a new Apple product has arrived,” she said.
“People have been sending in tags for me to autograph. Isn’t that insane?”
Flader said she is not closing The Umbrella Shop because of declining sales. It was for personal reasons: her health.
“I’ve been in an out of hospital with a heart condition for the past few years,” she said.
“I’ve known for about two years that I needed out. I just finally made the decision. Sometimes the best way to leave a party is when they still want you.”
The West Pender store is the only one of the company’s three stores to remain open for retail sales. Granville Island has closed and West Broadway is closed for repairs. Flader said the plan was to keep retail going until the end of December, but sales have been so brisk at West Pender that the company might run out of stock before then.
The business was started by Corry’s grandfather, Isadore Flader, a Jewish immigrant from Poland, in 1935.
The Umbrella Shop sells more than 20 styles of portable umbrellas, plus patio umbrellas.
“While we have loved serving you, Vancouver, and other rainy locales around the world, it’s time to shut our doors and recharge for the next step in life: retirement,” Flader said on the company website.
For years, Flader ran the business with her brother Glen. He was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2001 and died two years ago.
Over the years, the Fladers built a brand recognized around Metro Vancouver. It was a brand that Corry Flader didn’t want to sell.
“I made a decision that we were going to close the door and do it as champions,” she said.
The closure of the stores is so emotional for Flader that she is working from home rather than going in to oversee the store. She told her staff to have fun selling everything.
“I can’t do it. I’m not going in,” she said by phone. “It’s like watching your child go forever.”
The Umbrella Shop website says that “our designs and love will live on in the rainy streets around the world, but it started with you, Vancouver . ... Thank you for giving us the honour of sheltering you from storms, no matter how temporary.”