‘There are great opportunities’: Expert optimistic on future of small scale retail in Nanaimo
NANAIMO — A battered big box retail climate in Nanaimo could provide opportunities for smaller niche companies hoping to gain traction in the Harbour City.
Raymond Shoolman, senior consultant with the Vancouver-based business consultant firm DIG 360, told NanaimoNewsNOW the demise of Sears opens doors in communities like Nanaimo for smaller retailers to pick up the slack
“Particularly in smaller communities because many people in smaller communities didn’t want to open up stores because people like Sears and Target would just eat up all the business.”
Big box retail is reeling in Nanaimo with the closure of Target and Future Shop in 2015 and the pending closures of Sears and Wholesale Sports affecting hundreds of jobs. Toys “R” Us, which has a Nanaimo location, announced recently it’s filing for bankruptcy protection in Canada.