New Ottawa businesses head into holidays with cheer

By Allison McNeely and Micki Cowan

Toys for sale at Baby enRoute. Photo by Micki Cowan.

This stroller liner is a popular item at Baby enRoute. Photo by Micki Cowan.

The Sakura knife set at Knifewear. Photo by Micki Cowan.

More knives at Knifewear. Photo by Micki Cowan.

Bracelets for sale at Stunning in ByWard Market. Photo by Micki Cowan.

Stunning sells a variety of jewellery pieces at every price point. Photo by Micki Cowan.

A number of Ottawa boutique owners heading into their first Christmas season say they’re feeling optimistic about sales despite the opening of retail giants such as H&M and Target.

“I’m pretty dialed into how people shop,” said Mandy Gosewich, owner of Stunning, a new fashion accessories store in ByWard Market. “At the end of the day what it all boils down to is assortment, what you bring into your store, and service.”

Gosewich, a fourth generation ByWard market business owner, opened her accessories shop in May of this year. She said her shop has something for everyone, from $12 earring studs to statement necklaces selling for hundreds of dollars.

Jill Wilkinson, assistant manager at Baby EnRoute, a baby store in Westboro, shares Gosewich’s commitment to excellent service and product selection.

Wilkinson said the store offers a variety of European brands that are “not available at Target.” Sales have increased since the store opened in July, with many parents coming in looking for chariots, the all-terrain vehicle strollers that are robust enough for winter snow and aren’t available in-store elsewhere in Ottawa.

BMO Financial Group released its holiday spending outlook in November and predicted Canadians will spend an average of $1,810 this year — up 12 per cent from $1,610 in 2012.

Darren Clare, retail specialist at Avison Young, said Ottawa is a reliable place to open up shop.

“Ottawa traditionally has a very strong retail market, especially with the government. There’s stability there,” Clare said. “The consumers get out there and they spend their money with confidence.”

Clare said geographic location and store size have an impact on whether or not stores are in competition. He said big stores in malls are not competition for smaller boutiques downtown.

“H&M being thousands of square feet and a mom-and-pop, somebody in the Glebe with 1,200 square feet, I’d be shocked if there was any impact,” Clare said. “Target’s competition is obviously Walmart.”

However, it is getting more expensive to rent retail space in Ottawa’s upscale neighbourhoods. The Glebe currently rents for $50 to $55 per square foot, plus operating costs, due to the construction condos and the new CFL stadium, which drives up land prices in the area, Clare said

Gosewich acknowledges that in an entrepreneur’s first year of business, it’s essential to do the work.

“I’ll be here seven days per week until Dec. 24,” Gosewich said. She relies heavily on foot traffic through the Market and word-of-mouth, including social media, to get people into her shop.

Knifewear, a shop in the Glebe selling high-end Japanese kitchen knives, has relied on the chef community to spread the word about its wares.

“About 20 per cent of our customers are chefs. They are certainly the early-adopters of our product,” said Heather Erven, manager of Knifewear. “We target the chefs first because they are the ones that understand the quality of the tool.”

The store has a board at the back of the shop where chefs can post job openings and resumes. Building a community around the shop since opening in July was intentional during the first few months of business and it’s paying off, said Erven.

“People come in our store and we hand them a knife to try,” Erven said. “Once you experience what a Japanese knife can do it kind of speaks for itself.”