By Brad Hodge
Published: Feb.9, 2013
When I was called with a proposal to write about the growing number of dollar stores in Squamish, I agreed and sat back to think about the so called ‘Dollar Stores’ , where they came from, and if they are an indicator of anything other than the popularity of their concept.
Certainly the concept plays a role.
Ever since the Woolworths created the first ‘Five and Dime’ stores back in 1879, there has been a special sort of appeal for stores where you sort of know going in what the price of most items is going to be.
How ‘Five and Dimes’ eventually became dollar stores is simply a matter of inflation. When dollar stores caught on in the early 90s, quality of goods was iffy – no name brand stuff — and generally at that time they were kind of looked down upon, as a place where only the poor shopped.
Recently, dollar stores have often been seen as an indicator of overall economic health, as they tend to do better in recessionary times when consumers are squeezed and begin to ‘downscale’ their purchases.
Do our dollar stores tell us anything about the economic vitality of Squamish?
Well, maybe.
Around town, there are a lot of commercial vacancies. However, we know that bricks and mortar retail generally is under assault from online competition.
This has led to more retailers either going out of business or going online. The economy is also, worldwide, not in the best health. This is not unique to Squamish.
According to Agriculture Canada, 53 per cent of Dollar store customers are families with incomes under $30,000.
So if that statistic is correct, it’s possible that the store owners have done their homework and concluded there are enough low income families to support them, which is worrying. In my job, I often encounter local families where one or both parents are working low wage jobs because there isn’t anything else out there.
However, dollar stores have also changed a lot from the early days. In many you won’t see many actual $1.00 items. And they have been moving upscale, taking on brand name items in addition to low quality ‘no name’.
One US retailer, ‘99 Cents Only‘, has apparently been scouting for space on tony Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills! Personally, I make trips to the dollar store and our family income is definitely above $30,000. There are some things frankly we just can’t find at other places.
On other items, like gift wrap, sometimes you don’t care so much about quality and just want it cheap.
So does the ‘proliferation’ of dollar stores in town say anything about Squamish in particular? Probably not. According to Colliers International, there are more dollar stores out there than drug stores. We have about half a dozen drug stores in town, but only two (soon to be four?) dollar stores. We have a ways to catch up, in other words.
I would suggest the high number of our residents having to commute to the city to work every day probably indicates more about the health of the Squamish economy than the arrival of more dollar stores.
Jean says
Tong in cheek …..does anybody think Squamish is not an affluent place where a Dump attendant can earn what I don,t believe ….but it was printed by the DOS
Council authorized staff to execute an agreement for provision of a Landfill Attendant with 0875477 BC Ltd./ dba DeSchutter and Associated Consulting, for a 26 month term with a total value of $342,000.00
Dave says
An hours drive to Vancouver to a decent job? ….wouldn’t bother me overly and I wouldn’t blame Squamish for having to……Great scenery anyway!
People have been doing this for many decades on a worse road and when there were well paid jobs around too in town. Stop fretting about our so called declining economy. Some people just like living in this great valley, even if they do work a few miles away.
Or, should we bring back Woodfibre, mercury polluting chemical plants and beehive burners? If we could find a plentiful source of iron ore we could have a steel mill complete with belching bessimer converters. We do have a great shipping opportunity and all we have to do is carve into some more of that marshy estuarine land to expand it……..”just fooling around that’s all!”
Brad Hodge says
Well, I don’t know if I’d call 30 miles to West Van ‘a few’, but I did live the commuter experience and I understand people do what they have to do. However having been in business here 12 years with little need of Vancouver, I can say it’s kind of nice to stay up here full time also. Does that make it wrong to want the same opportunity for others?
When I did the commute I was keenly aware that I was spending 2-3 hours a day of my life in the car. (Sitting! Apparently sitting is now a silent killer..) Hours I would not get back, hours of pumping CO and CO2 into the air. And as more people moved out and chose to live as I lived, the roads were getting more and more busy, and that time in the car went up.
I’m not suggesting we park a nuclear plant Downtown, but there have been at least a few economic opportunities here that don’t quite rise to that level of environmental catastrophe: a gravel pit, woodchips, etc. And let’s not forget the examples you cited were mostly built with technology dating from decades ago or earlier, operating under very different or non-existent regulations compared to today. I highly doubt a new chemical plant would risk the public outcry of simply allowing mercury to pour into the ground. I could be wrong.
It’s a fundamental difference in vision and it’s one where I don’t think there is a right or wrong answer. My personal view is that I would rather have opportunities for employment here if people want and need them. I would not relish seeing Squamish turn into an upside down soul patch of pricey townhomes and condos with a few big box stores to satiate Whistler-bound traffic. I am watching the increasing number of homeless, crime vandalizing the half-empty Downtown every other night, and I am saying, as a 14 year resident, it was not like this when I moved here, and this is not good. But again, that’s just my opinion, I do respect the views of others.
Dave says
Brad.
Good, and welcome reply….That’s what this whole forum is about….”Like I said: “Just foolin’ around, that’s all” (Royal Canadian Air Farce c.1990)