29-05-2025
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
Academy Road retailer joins move online from brick, mortar
A Winnipeg retailer has departed Academy Road for its new address: a website URL.
Grace & Company shuttered its storefront May 23. On Monday, it launched a revamped website.
'I just decided that sitting in my store for six, seven hours a day and having two or three people come by was not really feasible,' said owner Dorothy Vannan.
MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS
The exit of her shop, and its European labels, follows neighbouring boutique Margot + Maude. The latter business opted for a fully online model — plus pop-up shops — earlier this year.
There's been a noticeable segment of small retailers leaving brick-and-mortars behind since the COVID-19 pandemic, industry experts say.
Vannan opened Grace & Company at 556 Academy Rd. in 2016. She built the brand over years. Right before the COVID-19 pandemic — 2019 — was 'phenomenal,' Vannan recalled.
Upwards of 20 people visited the shop daily, she relayed. Grace & Company started a website, following an industry trend, but only put 10 per cent of its wares online.
'If COVID hadn't happened, who knows where we would be,' she said Tuesday.
But the pandemic did happen. So in 2020, Vannan and her daughter built out Grace & Company's website. All the Polish, Ukrainian and Italian imports were listed, the dinnerware to the linens.
Sales rolled in as a 'shop local' sentiment persisted. The years succeeding pandemic-era lockdowns have been tougher, Vannan said. 'I had months where it was like literally nobody.'
She slashed store hours in 2024 — 'I can't stay open just to have two people in an eight-hour shift' — and watched as the number of online sales continued to outpace in-person transactions.
She paid off her pandemic-era loans, but even so, the accounting numbers aren't ideal, Vannan said. She chose not to renew her lease last year.
'This is a positive thing that we've done to save Grace & Company,' Vannan emphasized. 'It's not a pretty reality, but it's not a complaint.'
The overhead costs of a brick-and-mortar are gone. Vannan said she believes the next chapter will be 'great.'
Anecdotally, both the Retail Council of Canada and Canadian Federation of Independent Business have noticed small shops shifting to fully online platforms amid storefront cost increases.
Rent, utilities, property tax, insurance, labour and crime-related losses (such as theft and vandalism) add to the operating bill.
Firms like Shopify have made it easier to run an online business. Also, people have grown more comfortable shopping online due to the pandemic, said John Graham, Retail Council of Canada government relations director for the Prairies.
'There's a lot of risk in shifting to online-only,' he said. 'It's very hard to rely on a Google search in an online space where you're competing with … competitors around the world.'
Such a business model usually requires a 'substantial increase' in marketing. If a company can attract clients, then running online-only can be a positive change, Graham said.
Storefronts are affected by their location and parking set-ups, he added.
Leaving a physical boutique for solely website sales has been a learning curve for Regan Greenwood. Her business, Style Bar, exited 470 River Ave. last year.
Greenwood estimates her sales are half of what they'd be during a typical spring with a storefront. However, she's been focused on raising her young family. As her children go to school, she'll dive deeper into paid advertising.
'I don't regret my decision,' Greenwood said. 'Mentally and personally, it's been the best decision for me.'
Oversaturated spaces online are difficult to stand out in, she noted. But she has friends with physical shops who are struggling.
'Amazon is pretty relentless on these small-business owners,' said Tyler Slobogian, CFIB senior policy analyst for the Prairies and northern Canada.
Businesses that cut storefronts often reappear via pop-ups, he added. Grace & Company will likely hold pop-ups and may take a portion of a Corydon boutique next year, Vannan hinted.
She'd like to see more people shopping local: 'There's so many local businesses here that are not feeling the love that they should be.'
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A 'Buy Canadian' sentiment is still strong, but less so in import-filled retail sectors, Graham noted. He's seen consumers buying discount brands that are cheaper and similar in quality to brand-name competitors.
'It's sad to see … something close,' said Lenny Kerr, manager of Bump Maternity on Academy Road.
Kerr watched Margot + Maude exit. (Another business has since moved in.) Bump Maternity hasn't seen a decrease in foot traffic; Kerr attributes it to the customer base.
Manitoba experienced a 7.4 per cent increase in overall retail sales, year over year, in March.
Gabrielle PichéReporter
Gabrielle Piché reports on business for the Free Press. She interned at the Free Press and worked for its sister outlet, Canstar Community News, before entering the business beat in 2021. Read more about Gabrielle.
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