Summerland Closed for Business Stores Closing What gives

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royalmike
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Summerland Closed for Business Stores Closing What gives

Post by royalmike »

What’s happening in Summerland so many stores closing for good, so recently have heard McDonalds closed, Cronie Auto Parts has closed, Dollar store, Bakery, Willow brook Lane all on Main Street closed or closing soon so many empty stores there.
Was suggested by somebody that the city’s new bus service is partly to blame in taking business out of Summerland to Penticton as this rate there won’t be any retail left turning into a ghost town.
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johnhenry
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Re: Summerland Closed for Business Stores Closing What gives

Post by johnhenry »

One week ago, on Friday night, we tried to make a reservation at a local restaurant for 30 people for breakfast the following morning. We were told that they would not be able to accommodate us. We took our business to Penticton (White Spot). I'll never patronize that business again. If that's the way they do business then they may as well close too.
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Chimera
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Re: Summerland Closed for Business Stores Closing What gives

Post by Chimera »

My problem with a few shops/restaurants in Summerland is that some don't follow their posted business hours. You show up only to discover they closed early for the day. In addition, I don't think there is any store in Summerland that is open past 5pm? It is hard to stop in and buy something if you're not open! My quirk with McDonalds was that they looked like they were closed even when they were actually open - signs not lit at night, etc. Perhaps that could have partially contributed to their demise. Unfortunately, I have to shop where the prices are cheaper. If I happen to be in Penticton I will get my groceries there. Heck, it's obvious what the problem is, Penticton is just too close. Why shop in Summerland when Penticton is only 15 minutes away and they have better selection and better prices?
0gopogo
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Re: Summerland Closed for Business Stores Closing What gives

Post by 0gopogo »

royalmike wrote:What’s happening in Summerland so many stores closing for good, so recently have heard McDonalds closed, Cronie Auto Parts has closed, Dollar store, Bakery, Willow brook Lane all on Main Street closed or closing soon so many empty stores there.
Was suggested by somebody that the city’s new bus service is partly to blame in taking business out of Summerland to Penticton as this rate there won’t be any retail left turning into a ghost town.


Huh?? Cronies has a different business in their place, Dollar store is still there, McDonalds will be a DQ and the bakery is there. The bus has only been operating for 2 months and the ridership is mainly a few seniors.
Get yer facts straight. Sheesh.
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Daspoot
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Re: Summerland Closed for Business Stores Closing What gives

Post by Daspoot »

While there are many vacancies in the downtown core, the examples given in the original post are flawed as pointed out above. Summerland is a small town, and main street does occasionally have tumbleweeds rolling down it after 5pm. but that's part of it's charm I think. 15 minutes to Penticton, 20 minutes to Westbank, that's a tough thing for them to compete with I think.

On the other hand there are many very successful businesses thriving and even expanding in Summerland, the market is just changing a bit I think, some businesses have moved, some became obsolete for reasons besides lack of buyers, some others just weren't good ideas in the first place for a small town.

BTW JohnHenry, I'm pretty sure I know the breakfast restaurant you speak of. I've had similar problems, couple that with a cash-only policy and it's a wonder they are as busy and successful as they are. I've been turned away from there because they wouldn't seat 7 people together. 30, no way. The main draw is there is a real shortage of good restaurants in Summerland, so no real competition, and nowhere else to go.
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old boy
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Re: Summerland Closed for Business Stores Closing What gives

Post by old boy »

In a nutshell,business's need customers to survive,new ones too,with the almost no growth rate over the past 15 yrs.,it is no wonder Summerland Business's are having a hard time surviving!!! It also doesn't help that a lot of people shop where they work,Penticton and Kelowna.
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Daspoot
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Re: Summerland Closed for Business Stores Closing What gives

Post by Daspoot »

old boy wrote:In a nutshell,business's need customers to survive,new ones too,with the almost no growth rate over the past 15 yrs.,it is no wonder Summerland Business's are having a hard time surviving!!! It also doesn't help that a lot of people shop where they work,Penticton and Kelowna.


Gotta disagree with you there, it isn't the lack of customers that are generally the problem in my opinion. The bar is set pretty low in the Okanagan for service, selection and price. You don't need to be great to have a successful business, just be good and you're ahead of much of the competition.
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old boy
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Re: Summerland Closed for Business Stores Closing What gives

Post by old boy »

There are a lot of reasons for business's struggling,I just gave you what I thought was the "nutshell version" in my opinion,I certainly don't disagree with what you said.
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Daspoot
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Re: Summerland Closed for Business Stores Closing What gives

Post by Daspoot »

I guess lack of paying customers is certainly a reason, I just look at it as a symptom of the real problem ;)
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bipdl
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Re: Summerland Closed for Business Stores Closing What gives

Post by bipdl »

Gotta agree with Daspoot. There is not shortage of money in Summerland. Quite the opposite. Just take a look at all the RV's parked in everybody's driveways and the average age of the cars people are driving. Furthermore, there is a huge percentage of seniors, the so-called "recession proof" demographic group, that has supposedly driven most of the community's recent economic development (or so we were all told would happen when "planning" was being done a few years ago). So no, simply adding more people to Summerland’s tax base definitely has not resulted in boom times for most of the local retail businesses, and, likely won't make much of a difference into the future so long as the shopping situation remains clichéd and meagre.

We can point blame for the tumbleweeds blowing down Main Street Summerland in all sorts of directions, but the bottom line is that there exist all too few merchants offering the sort of exceptional service needed to justify paying the higher prices for less selection we see. My experience taught me that any business, regardless of size, that goes above and beyond merely saying "Thanks, come again" at the cash register has a huge advantage over any competition that doesn't. People will actually pay more, remain faithful and not 'price shop' one’s competitors if you not merely meet, but exceed, customer expectations. Moreover, they will provide your business with free advertising that no amount of money can buy, namely, word-of-mouth recommendations.

Considering the practically indifferent, albeit friendly, calibre of the Summerland shopping experience in a world dominated by Walmart, it’s little wonder people are gravitating to low-ball retailers. And, as far as a good many (certainly not all!) of the service businesses are concerned… well, all I can say is; “Pathetic! You call that service??”

If you don’t like the businesses in Summerland, just wait a few months. That’s about as long as it takes for enthusiastic aspiring new merchants to learn the hard lesson that just because they scrape together enough money to go into business, doesn’t automatically make them good at doing business. The proof can be seen in all the vacant store fronts in Summerland. Status quo thinking is clearly not working, but there come excuses galore (and vehement resistance) if someone dare proposes something fresh. More homes and/or yet another (yawn) golf course is NOT fresh thinking!
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