Calgary icon going out of business

[GordonH]

The company in the OP relies on sells & is somewhat limited by 1 area, western wears aimed mainly at urban cowboy & cowgirl (and odd rancher who's in the neighborhood).
Well if that market is fading into sunset so will those selling it. Icon or not

[Rwede]

The company in the OP relies on sells & is somewhat limited by 1 area, western wears aimed mainly at urban cowboy & cowgirl (and odd rancher who's in the neighborhood).
Well if that market is fading into sunset so will those selling it. Icon or not

Riley & McCormick survived decades with sub-$30 oil.

And if you mention ranchers, we can talk about Notley's Bill 6, the Farm Unionization Act, which has crippled many family farms with high WCB costs and the inability to use children from the family to help out with certain aspects of the family farm.

Notley has attacked farmers and ranchers with higher costs, and lo and behold, a business that caters to them is closing its doors.

Get it, yet?

[GordonH]

^^^ if no one is buying western tac & wears, the rest does not matter.

Buyers will buy no matter.... no buyers no sale = no more business

[hobbyguy]

There is also the key factor of online shopping. Even Amazon sells cowboy boots (84 pages of selection)... with free shipping...

That just has to bite where a specialty retailer used to have very limited competition. At the very least it impacts margins.

But, the company in question has an online store. So just parting of moving away from "bricks and mortar" retail?

Just so many pressures that play into this story, and so little of it has to do with government.

[fluffy]

Worth saying as well that even those still fond of western wear are going to see a new pair of boots or a new hat as a pretty big purchase in tight times, more than likely one that can wait for a while.

[Jonrox]

How do you know what the biggest hit is?

Would they still be open if Notley hadn't heaped a 20% tax increase, a 34% wage increase, and a soon to be determined carbon tax on them?

Seriously, if you're struggling with lower sales, should government hammer you with massive tax and wage hikes too?

Next time you see someone close to drowning, think wisely before you throw them a cannonball to hang onto.

You can blame whoever or whatever you want, but the guy who is running business had this to say (and I think he probably knows his business better than you do):

“The market is changing,” he said. “There’s always going to be a segment of the market that will wear western clothing and products. It’s part of our culture. Just not as many as there used to be.”

[frazdog]

Rwede cannot seem to grasp that market conditions change that necessitate changes in a companies business plan. For some companies that involves changes to their product line, for others an exit plan is sometimes the best option.

[Hassel99]

Niche Costume shops are not as popular as they once were.

[OREZ]

Yeah, I was surprised they were even still around. I thought that whole urban cowboy fetish was easily dead and gone by the 90's but I stand corrected; as usual, it was the ndp who destroyed the business, according to the gospel of Rwede.

[ferri]

*discuss the topic please, not each other.

[Jonrox]

Riley & McCormick survived decades with sub-$30 oil.

And during those decades western wear was still fashionable (arguably, haha)... especially in Alberta. This is just an example of changing fashion trends, nothing more.

Rwede, you're really reaching on this one.

[K_teela]

At least the title was changed from "NDP forces Calgary icon out of business" to "Calgary icon going out of business".
Wonder if it was the mods or the OP.

[Rwede]

At least the title was changed from "NDP forces Calgary icon out of business" to "Calgary icon going out of business".
Wonder if it was the mods or the OP.

Wasn't the OP.



If you were a rancher/farmer fond of your western wear, but after your government raised your taxes 20%, raised your WCB costs by about $1500 per employee per year, put carbon taxes on your supplies (how much fuel does a farm burn?), and increased the wages you pay to summer help by 34%, would you think twice about a new pair of cowboy boots?

I know I would.

Notley has put consumers on their heels with her idiotic taxation and socialist wage policies, and those consumers have reined in spending to the bare essentials.

When consumers are scared off, businesses go under. Not sure why you NDP cheerleaders can't figure that part out.

[Jonrox]

And if you were a consumer that stopped wearing western wear because it isn't fashionable any longer, would you keep buying it to sit unworn in your closet?

Not sure why you can't figure that part out.

[Omnitheo]

Because there are so many ranchers/farmers in downtown Calgary lol.

This was a niche shop, and appealed to a crowd that is rapidly dying off, in an area where those kinds of customers don't frequent outside of Stampede season.

As much as you want to make this out to be about the NDP you just can't. Nor can I realistically blame Harper for all those video stores and department chains that closed during his tenure.