After four-and-a-half years in business, Miniso, a China-based general goods store, will be closing permanently as of Oct. 31.
The owner of the 49 Street store redirected Yellowknifer’s interview request to the chain’s headquarters, but a response wasn’t forthcoming prior to press deadline.
“The store will close on Oct. 31, 2023. Thank you to all our customers,” reads a Miniso Yellowknife social media post from Oct. 7.
“I haven’t heard about that,” Adrian Bell, president of the Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce, said on Monday.
Bell emphasized that, in general, these have been a challenging few years for businesses in Yellowknife, especially those engaged in retail or tourism.
He mentioned that the disruptions caused by the wildfire evacuation and Covid-19 pandemic have hit the business community hard.
“Just when it seemed like things were getting back to normal, or like there was some hope for the recovery of tourism, we get hit with the evacuation,” he said.
For some businesses, he said it proved to be “the straw that broke the camel’s back.”
Despite efforts to increase aid for these businesses, Bell fears it might be “too little, too late” for some. He also highlighted the plight of ventures that don’t own their space and had to continue paying rent during the evacuation.
“Those costs were borne by the tenants and that is potentially crippling for a lot of businesses,” Bell explained.
He also pointed to challenges faced by businesses in the downtown core compared to those outside. While the local economy is not necessarily growing, rents continue to go up along with other challenges, such as inflation.
“It’s very hard as a small business to keep up with inflation without being worried about losing your customers,” said Bell.
Social issues and worries over staff safety are other realities for downtown businesses, he added. Public intoxication leading to violent encounters or intimidation has resulted in discomfort among shoppers, and some tourism operators stay away from the area, he noted.
“It’s challenging because you’re counting on these tourists and their spending, and they’re actively avoiding the downtown,” Bell said.
There are efforts being made to improve the situation, he remarked. However, he believes more needs to be done before it becomes enticing to conduct business downtown.