'Bricks and clicks': Why some Winnipeg retailers are expanding storefronts during a pandemic

While some big retail stores like Hudson's Bay are downsizing amid the pandemic, others like furniture manufacturerEQ3 and the Japanese variety store Oomomo are expanding their storefronts in Winnipeg.

Oomomo is opening its second Winnipeg location, on St. James Street near Polo Park, on Saturday, expanding into a retail space that was once occupied bya Hudson's Bay Home store.

The new storefront is approximately 23,000 square feet, stocked with aisles of household supplies, kitchenware, beauty products, stationery and groceries from Japan.

"Just seeing everything come together is a really exciting feeling, so we're really happy," said Stephanie Liang, Oomomo's regional marketing manager.

Liang owns the store with her husband, Wilson Guo. The couple opened their first Winnipeglocation at St. Vital Centre in June 2019.

She said their expansion plan has been executed over the course of a year, but not without challenges from the pandemic. Since last April, they've seen a dropin sales due to public health restrictions.

"With the uncertainties of everything happening, you don't really know what's going to happen next, especially with all these restrictions in place. You don't know if there's going to be a second lockdown,so it makes it hard to plan," she said.

Liang and her husband had to adjust by building an e-commerce platform and expanding their services to customers on Instagram.

"We would chat with them through video and kind of show them around the store, so it was almost like a personal shopping experience with them, especially during lockdown, when non-essential items were banned" from in-store sale, said Liang.

Retailers in southern Manitobacan now sell all items in store, but are still under capacity restrictions of 25 per cent of maximum capacity or 250 people, whichever is lower.

For their St. James location's official opening on Saturday, Liang said they're planning to follow public health orders and add extra precautions, like asking staff to get their temperature checked before starting their shift.

WATCH | Businesses expanding their storefronts:

Winnipeg retailers expanding storefronts during a pandemic

4 years ago

Duration 2:30

While some big retail stores like Hudson's Bay are downsizing amid the pandemic, others like furniture manufacturer EQ3 and the Japanese variety store Oomomo are expanding their storefronts in Winnipeg.

As for surviving the economic lull, Liang believes the products they offer are unique and desirable enough to ride through the storm.

She and her husband fell in love with Japanese products aftertravellingto the country in 2014. When they came back home, they found there was no way to purchase Japanese goodsin Manitoba.

She said Oomomo's items typically have a low price point most are$3and customers are excited to see cute and fun Japanese productsavailable here.

"There's really nothing like us here," said Liang.

In-store shopping experience

Mark Letain, president of EQ3, said the company has seen a higher demand for its furniture in 2020, with its e-commerce revenue increasing by 150 per cent.

Letain believes the future of retail lies in a combination of brick-and-mortar and digital commerce, or what he calls "bricks and clicks."

The Winnipeg furniture manufacturer, designer and retailer is moving its current storefront at the corner of Portage Avenue and St. James Street into the old Sears building at CF Polo Park mall expanding from 11,000 square feet to a single floor that's 44,000 square feet.

"A lot of companies are shrinking their store sizes [but] you'll see digital natives like Amazon, Casper, Warby Parker they're actually opening up brick-and-mortar stores," Letain said.

"We're strong believers that there's a great future for brick and mortar."

Letain said the company started conversations with mall owner Cadillac Fairview in early 2018. EQ3 wanted a bigger space to diversify its products and partner with more Canadian manufacturers.

"You have to really give customers a reason to come and see the product," said Letain.

"We want to design an experience in the store where customers can not only connect more holistically with the furniture, but also leverage off the expertise of our design consultants."

Letain said social distancing isn't typically hard to maintain within EQ3'sstore.

He said they've installed plexiglassshields and hand-sanitizer dispensers, and require staff and customers to wear masks inside to abide by public health orders.

"The public have been great about following the protocols and so we feel confident thatwe've got it worked out."

He said EQ3 is aiming to have the new location open by Aug. 15. The expansion will also include a caf, where people can enjoy food and beverages as they get help with design ideas.

"We're really excited. We think that space is going to be a great gathering place for people to come and imagine their homes," said Letain.