THE RELUCTANT SHOPKEEPER - AND THE RIGORS OF DAY TO DAY RETAIL
IN MUSKOKA THE ANTIQUE SHOP IS STILL CONSIDERED A "TOURIST TRAP"
WHEN WE OPENED OUR FIRST ANTIQUE SHOP, IT WAS IN A SMALL VICTORIAN ERA HOUSE, AT THE BOTTOM (HOLLOW) END OF BRACEBRIDGE'S ONTARIO STREET. WE CONVERTED THE LIVINGROOM AND PART OF THE EAT-IN KITCHEN TO SHOP SPACE. WE OPERATED IT UNDER THE ALLOWANCE OF HOME OCCUPATION. IF YOU THINK THIS WAS EXTREME, AND THE TREMOR OF A BAD RELATIONSHIP EARTHQUAKE TO COME, I'M GOING TO TELL YOU SOME OTHER STORIES THAT ARE JUST AS BAD…..IF NOT WORSE. (TOMORROW) WE ANTIQUE AND OLD BOOK DEALERS, ARE USUALLY PRETTY CRAZY ABOUT STUFF LIKE THIS, AND COMPROMISE IS GENERALLY AN EVERYDAY THING…..FOR ALL FAMILY MEMBERS, AND NEIGHBORS, FORCED TO CONTEND WITH OUR EXCESSES.
WE OPENED OUR SECOND SHOP IN A SMALL BUNGALOW ON GOLDEN BEACH ROAD, ACROSS FROM LAKE MUSKOKA, IN THE LATE 1980'S, THANKFULLY THE GARAGE COULD BE CONVERTED INTO RETAIL SPACE. THERE WAS LOTS OF CLUTTER IN THE MAIN HOUSE, BUT A LIGHTER VERSION THAN OUR PREVIOUS HOUSE. WHEN LATER, WE GOT AN OFFER TO PARTNER IN SOME MAIN STREET RETAIL SPACE, IN BRACEBRIDGE, WE JUMPED AT THE OPPORTUNITY, BECAUSE OUT IN THE COUNTRY, THERE WAS VERY LITTLE CHANCE OF HAVING A TWELVE MONTH A YEAR BUSINESS. BEFORE SUZANNE AND I MARRIED, I HAD PARTNERED WITH MY PARENTS, TO OPEN A FAMILY ANTIQUE BUSINESS, A LITTLE FURTHER SOUTH ON MANITOBA STREET, AND IT WAS A PERFECT LOCATION BUT ALAS, THE LOCAL POPULATION WOULDN'T SUPPORT IT. IN THE LATE 1980'S, SUZANNE AND I FOUND OUT, THAT A DECADE HADN'T CHANGED A THING. ONE MINUTE AFTER THE THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY, WE WERE SCREWED UNTIL THE 24TH OF MAY…..AND THE VICTORIA DAY HOLIDAY. THIS IS THE TRADITIONAL COMMENCEMENT OF THE VACATIONING SEASON HERE IN THE ONTARIO HINTERLAND. WHILE WE KNEW ALL ABOUT THE TRADITIONAL, SEASONAL DOWNTURN OF THE ECONOMY, IN THE FALL, WINTER AND SPRING, AS SUZANNE'S FAMILY HAD RUN A MARINA AND SMALL RESTAURANT ON LAKE ROSSEAU, AND I GREW UP IN A TOURIST-ECONOMY DRIVEN TOWN, WORKING FOR A PRODUCE COMPANY THAT DELIVERED TO SUMMER RESORTS…..IT STILL HIT US HARD, THAT ON THE MAIN STREET OF TOWN, IN A GREAT LOCATION (ACTUALLY BOTH MY SHOP LOCATIONS WERE GREAT), MOST LOCALS WOULDN'T CROSS THE THRESHOLD OF THE STORE. WE HAD OUR SUSPICIONS, BUT WHAT DROVE US NUTS, WAS THAT WE COULD HAVE HAD ALL OF OUR INVENTORY MARKED "FREE TO GOOD HOME," AND NOT ONE PIECE WOULD HAVE LEFT THE BUILDING. YOU'D GO OUTSIDE AND SEE HUNDREDS OF CARS PASSING BY, AND YET TRAFFIC MEANT ABSOLUTELY NOTHING IN THE SHOULDER SEASON. IN THE SUMMER, WE WERE RUSHED OFF OUR FEET, AND MADE LOTS OF SALES. JUST NOT TO ANY ONE LOCAL. HONESTLY. IT WAS HUGELY DISCOURAGING. THINGS DID IMPROVE SOMEWHAT BUT NOT ENOUGH TO KEEP US IN THAT MAIN STREET SHOP.
WHEN THE BOYS OPENED UP THEIR MUSIC SHOP, HERE IN GRAVENHURST, WE WARNED THEM REPEATEDLY, THAT THEY MUST NEVER BE SEEN AS A TOURIST ONLY BUSINESS. I WAS FRANK WITH THEM, BECAUSE A LOT WAS RIDING ON IT….AND THEY DIDN'T HAVE MUCH MONEY TO GAMBLE. IF I CAN COME UP WITH ANY SINGLE REASON, WHY THEY'VE DONE WELL, AND ARE IN THEIR SEVENTH YEAR, IN THE SAME LOCATION, IT IS THIS "LOCAL BUSINESS" PERCEPTION. THEY WORKED HARD TO WIN THE TRUST OF LOCAL MUSICIANS FIRST. THEY WELCOMED TOURISTS AND COTTAGERS INTO THEIR SHOP, BUT THEY NEVER LOST SIGHT OF THE FACT, THEIR BUSINESS WOULD FAIL IF, BY SEPTEMBER OF THAT FIRST YEAR, THEY COULDN'T SATISFY THE MUSIC SUPPLY NEEDS OF EVERYONE WHO RESIDED PERMANENTLY IN TOWN.
OUR WORRY WAS THAT IF THE LOCAL RESIDENTS PERCEIVED THAT WE WERE ONLY OCCUPYING THAT OLD THEATRE BUILDING, TO "TRAP THE TOURISTS," THEN WE COULD EXPECT A BIG DOWNTURN IN SALES…….AND THUS MAKE IT HARD FOR THEM TO PAY THEIR RENT. WELL, THEY HAVE NEVER ONCE TURNED THEIR BACKS ON THE PLACE THEY CALL HOME. NO ONE WILL BE ABLE TO SAY THAT THEIR BUSINESS CATERS TO THE TOURISTS. YES, WE CATER TO CUSTOMERS, ALL OF THEM, AND OUR PRICES REMAIN THE SAME YEAR ROUND. THEIR LOYAL LOCAL CUSTOMERS REALIZE THIS "TOURIST TRAP" THING IS B.S., AND I THINK THEY'VE ACCEPTED THAT HOMEGROWN IN THIS CASE, MEANS A BUSINESS THAT WOULD OPERATE SUCCESSFULLY, EVEN IF THERE WASN'T A TOURIST BULGE EVERY SUMMER SEASON.
WHEN WE DECIDED TO LEAVE THE COMFORT OF OUR ONLINE ANTIQUE BUSINESS, TO HELP THEM EXPAND THEIR SHOP, AND DIVERSIFY THE ATTRACTION TO THE BUILDING, LAST SUMMER, WE HAD THE SAME CONCERN AS WE DID, STRUGGLING ON THE MAIN STREET OF BRACEBRIDGE. THE FACT THE BOYS WERE SELLING GUITARS AND AMPLIFIERS, IN THOSE FIRST FEW YEARS, DIDN'T NECESSITATE THE USE OF THE WORD "ANTIQUES." SO THEY WERE SPARED THE NEGATIVE ASSOCIATION IT CAN HAVE. VINTAGE WAS BECOMING A TRENDY WAY TO REFER TO OLD STUFF, BUT IT DIDN'T CAUSE ANY PALPITATIONS OF THOSE WHO FEAR THAT SELLING ANYTHING "COLLECTIBLE" OR BY DEFINITION, "OLD" WOULD MEAN WILDLY HIGH PRICES ONLY COTTAGERS COULD AFFORD. BUT YOU KNOW, WITH OUR EXPERIENCE IN THE PROFESSION, AND FEELING WE HAD A BALANCE THIS TIME, WE DIDN'T HAVE BEFORE, WE ACCEPTED THEIR OFFER, AND LOCATED IN THE BACK TWO ROOMS, BEHIND THEIR SHOP AND MUSIC STUDIO. WE OPENED ON THE JULY IST WEEKEND, AND FROM THAT POINT UNTIL LABOUR DAY, WE BARELY HAD ENOUGH TIME TO SIT ON OUR VERANDAH AT NIGHT. THERE WAS ALWAYS A STORE RELATED CHORE, MINOR REFINISHING CHALLENGE OR REPAIR TASK. WE WERE PLEASED WITH THE RESPONSE, BUT IN FAIRNESS, AND TO PLAN, WE KNEW IT WOULD BE POSITIVE AT THE MOST ECONOMICALLY SUPER-CHARGED TIME OF THE YEAR. BUT AS VETERANS OF THE SEASONAL ECONOMY THING, WE DID WHAT MOST YEAR ROUND RETAILERS AND BUSINESS HAVE TO DO……..PUT MONEY AWAY FOR THE LEAN MONTHS AHEAD. WE'RE SURVIVORS IN THE ANTIQUE TRADE, AND WE PUT ALL OUR EXPERIENCE TO WORK FOR US, IN ORDER TO TACKLE THIS FIRST WINTER RETAIL EXPERIENCE SINCE THE MID 1990'S.
A NUMBER OF YEARS AGO, I WAS TALKING TO A NEIGHBOR, WHO TOLD ME THAT SHE HAD TO GET CRACKING ON SOME SHOPPING NEEDS, STATING BLUNTLY THAT THE PRICES WERE GOING TO BE INCREASING AT ALL THE "TOURIST TRAPS," IN TOWN. IN OTHER WORDS, SHE DIDN'T WANT TO PAY THE IN-SEASON INCREASES, SHE ASSUMED VENDORS WERE ADDING ON, BECAUSE OF THE RUSH OF SHOPPERS BEGINNING ON MAY 24TH. I ASKED HER TO EXPLAIN WHAT SHE MEANT BY TOURIST TRAPS. "YOU KNOW, LIKE ANTIQUE AND GIFT SHOPS," SHE SAID. ACTUALLY THERE WERE DOZENS OF OTHER SHOPS, INCLUDING BAKERIES, THAT APPARENTLY, IN HER CIRCLE OF FRIENDS, GOOSED THEIR INVENTORY PRICES ON THE EVE OF THE TOURIST FLOOD INTO MUSKOKA. I'VE HEARD STORIES LIKE THIS BEFORE, AND IT'S COMMON FODDER IN ANY COMMUNITY THAT BENEFITS FROM THE SUMMER SEASON INFLUX OF TOURISTS. I HAD JUST NEVER HEARD IT CALLED A "TOURIST TRAP," AND HONESTLY, THE WAY SHE SAID IT, I KNEW IT MEANT PRETTY MUCH THE WHOLE RETAIL SECTOR OF OUR TOWN. I NEVER REMEMBER A TIME WHEN WE, IN THE ANTIQUE TRADE, TARGETED TOURISTS SPECIFICALLY, OR PUT UP OUR PRICES IN ANTICIPATION OF THE GREAT SPENDING POWER OF OUR VISITORS. MY EXPERIENCE, YOU SEE, WAS PRETTY MUCH THE OPPOSITE. WE HAD TO BE VERY COMPETITIVELY PRICED IF WE WANTED TO REAP WHAT WE NEEDED FROM THE SUMMER SEASON, IN ORDER TO MAKE IT THROUGH THE COMING WINTER. WE WOULD NEVER HAVE TAKEN A CHANCE, OF OFFENDING OUR SUMMER CUSTOMERS, OR BEING DISLOYAL TO THE LOCALS WE COUNTED AS OUR REGULAR CUSTOMERS……BY BEING FOOLISH AND OVER-PRICING OUR STOCK.
STILL A PERCEPTION PROBLEM - AND IT GOES BACK A LONG WAY
Antique and collectible businesses are never a necessity for a town's retail sector. It's true they add a little historic character, but there are a lot of retail and service situations, which would be better received by most local residents. The idea planted in the minds of residents, that we set up our antique shop to "milk" the town's visitors, is still very much an impediment to ever being considered a true-blue local business. We have friends who won't come to see us……even for a visit. We know many collectors and antique enthusiasts, in our community, who shun our enterprise as if we are harboring pestilence and ill will. They will traverse their way to antique shops all over the province, and visit all the key malls, but there's no way in hell, they'll visit a homegrown antique shop, run by locals. Once again, Suzanne and I know the drill, and there's not much we can do, to convince local residents, that we're just as much a business for their collecting interests, as for our summer visitors. Everyone is welcome. We know many, many businesses that suffer the same off-season dilemma. It's never been the case that there's not enough business to go around. But because there is still the misconception, that our business especially, targets the fat wallets of tourists, and thusly, our wares are always grossly over-priced. Since the late 1970's, and my very first shop in Muskoka, I've been face to face with this conspiracy theory, that suggests rather vehemently, and annoyingly, that we in the profession, fix prices just to fleece the tourists; and any local that falls into "the trap." Although I do understand how misconceptions become legend over time, it really is nothing but a fiction that has gone on far too long. I did have one jerk "second-hand" dealer tell me, at a flea market once, that at opening of the sale, it was "time to massage our visitors' wallets." I didn't like that comment, especially from someone in the collectible trade……and I told him so.
As a kid, I can remember many of the gift and general merchant operations, getting out their tourist season inventories, in time for the Victoria Day weekend. Their shop windows were stuffed to over-flowing with souvenir items and water recreation merchandise, including rows of sun tan lotions. I suppose, back then, there may have been some "price gouging," and it would make sense then. The summer season was definitely two months. Today the actual tourist season stretches much longer. In fact, from the Easter weekend through to the Cranberry Festival in Bala. For us, the Cranberry Festival proved to be a good weekend, for sales, even though the event is held in Bala. We got the people going and coming from the event. So back in the 1960's, it was much leaner, and I think we'd all believe it was okay under the circumstances, if retailers and service related enterprises, had to raise their prices in order to stay in business over the long ten month downturn. It's not like that today, if you happen to be a business in any of the three major Muskoka towns. Most well run businesses should be able to survive in a modest competition environs. In the antique trade, we like multiple stores. The more antique shops, the more likely we become a destination shopping experience. Still, even if we had twenty antique and collectible shops in Gravenhurst, for example, it would be ridiculous to consider them "tourist traps," if by that definition, you are assessing that each shop is trying to massage the wallets of rich people. They would have to earn the trust and loyalty of the local population, in order to survive. That would mean, logically, more competitive prices all round. There isn't much chance of this happening in my lifetime, because the "tourist trap" block, in attitude, would stop up this kind of antique community development in its tracks. And that's a shame.
While this may read as a sour grapes kind of editorial, it's really not the case, and here's why. One of the conditions for opening the antique wing of our boys' shop, was that they would look after the operation generally, as part of their business operation. As Suzanne has now officially announced her retirement from teaching, effective the end of June 2013, we made it clear to the wee lads, that mom and pop were going to follow the open road as antique and collectible "pickers." While we would be glad to help out at the shop when needed, it wasn't going to be our mainstay. Suzanne and I love antique hunting, and traveling through the home region……all times of the year. We knew in early September she was going to resign at the end of the school year, so it was decided, to help the boys adjust to the expansion (which went real well), I'd man the shop through most of the week, and Suzanne would take a shift on Saturdays. Even then however, nothing was going to compromise our hunt and gather activities, which we have pursued since before we were married. As well, from the early going, we knew it was also, like our other shops, going to be incredibly difficult to sell the local residents on the new and improved idea, that antique shops aren't "tourist traps," no matter what their ancestors passed on as hearsay, up through the generations. We just left this to be worked out in time, and it seemed logical that if the citizens felt that our boys were running an A-okay local enterprise……their parents wouldn't betray their hometown, by only catering to tourists. Like determining whether someone was a witch or not, by a good old fashioned "dunking in the well," we realized it was more important to be true to our industry, and competent in the field, (of those items of a collectible nature, we were offering for sale)……and not to fret whether we would ever pass muster according to local standards. We decided early on in our adventure, that we wouldn't make any determined effort to force the issue, and to prostrate ourselves for examination. What we did, was haul out our shingle, every day, that simply read "antiques," and opted to deal with whatever presented itself. We weren't wrong. To this day, and I'm not kidding, one percent of our customers, are from Gravenhurst. Ten percent, by our conversational survey, are from Muskoka, oddly enough, with many of that number, coming from Bracebridge. The rest of our visitors, in the so called off-season, are from Orillia, Barrie and Toronto. In fact, Orillia is a really big contributor to our winter survival.
As a whole, our combined businesses have had a terrific year. The vintage music business side of things, had their best year in seven. For us, well, we don't have that kind of depth, but even before Thanksgiving, our returns were enough to extend our lease, and make plans for ongoing improvements. So despite the fact, many locals still see us as a tourist only business, we are making plans to launch our cookery resource collection, later this spring. We're really excited about this. It's not a strategic move based on summer season traffic, but on the fact Suzanne will be playing a lead role, and isn't available full-time until the end of June. This will be the first of its kind here, and certainly a first in Gravenhurst, and we hope it will come to have an international significance. I don't know if this will appeal to the local citizenry, but I'd at least hope they'd risk a no-cost (no purchase requirement) visit, to see what all the fuss is about. We've been building our cookery heritage materials for quite a few years, and this will be a first on many levels……and a big gamble for us…..not in money invested, but in time dedicated to getting it right. I will keep you up to speed on this, as we commence putting it all together…..which will take several months of organization and cataloguing the collection.
Just because you open a retail shop doesn't mean you automatically deserve the public's support. it just isn't a requirement. It would be nice, but it's up to the individual. But in today's stressed economy, those who open shops, are making a major commitment to the home town. Maybe they could have located somewhere else. Instead, they chose your, or our town. Maybe you don't care. Maybe you simply don't want to shop in your hometown, unless it's for grocery needs. Hey, you don't have to explain. If however, you are one who wants your community to prosper, and heal itself from a lot of calamitous years of economic chagrin, then maybe you could find it in your heart, to give local merchants a chance to earn your trust. As I've said many times before, we have a lot of fine retail and service businesses in this community, and our family, as much as possible, has remained loyal to those who have provided us with quality and reliable service. I'm not just blowing smoke here.
Every local business wants to have the support of the home community. Many businesses however, are treated as seasonal, tourist friendly enterprises, that don't need local support. This is faulty logic, and in the past, has killed quite a few good businesses, and dashed a lot of future plans……because of an old and tired belief, we cater to the tourists, and screw the locals. It's hurtful and it's not true. The only way of finding this out for sure, is to get a grip, adjust to the new normal, and visit those you may have scorned……to give them a fair chance to win your business. My bet, is that you'll have reason to shop locally more often.
Now and again, even antique dealers have to jump on the soap box for a little editorial. Thanks for visiting today's blog. I love the antique business, but mostly as a picker. It's that insatiable appetite for the open road, and all the potential great finds in the shops and at the sale between here and there. I'll be gone before sunset, and home by sunset. As for the shop. The boys have it covered. See you again soon.
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