Montreal retailers need to adapt

Re: “City’s economy in major slump, study finds” (Gazette, Feb. 26)

Infrastructure and demographics are among the factors cited for what ails the city’s wheels of commerce in the recently released BMO Financial Group report on Montreal’s lagging economy. But let’s isolate one major contributor to any local economy: consumer spending.

Retailers here need to stop being in denial and recognize that the Internet is redefining shopping; that there exists over the border a more appealing merchandise mix in terms of price and selection for two key drivers of spending: clothing and home furnishings.

Whether it’s the independent store owner or the suits at head office, it’s time someone looking at the sales receipts acknowledged that Montreal’s retailing landscape needs an overhaul, especially with the Internet changing not just how we shop, but our accessibility to a global marketplace of goods.

Adapt or keep kvetching.

Dorothy Lipovenko

Montreal