Gananoque’s Business Sales During Holidays Affected By Weather
While the holidays usually translate to a strong season for shopping districts and retailers, things in Gananoque were a bit unstable – largely due to November & December’s erratic weather.
Some stores that operated in town during these months reported an increase in sales, while some apparently had a lackluster run for the holidays.
For Canadian Tire for example, sales were flat this year, which owner Dan Gostlin certainly understands. Sales during the end of the year are important for his business, and according to him, his weather related items like wiper blades, winter tires, windshield wash, ice salt, and others that are dependant on the weather season sold pretty well.
He adds that the good weather experienced by residents in the region during the weekends before Christmas encouraged them to head to Kingston, while the cold felt by many during the last days of the year helped local business. He further notes that despite having a-not-so-go year in 2009, sales of his other wares cushioned his losses.
For Brenda Charboneau, manager for Shoppers Drug Mart, the weather during Boxing Day on the 26th kept locals from heading to Kingston. Almost all of the shoppers during that day were locals, she said.
Both of them agree that Gananoque’s officials need to work on giving more attention to local businesses to encourage growth.
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