Since New Horizon Mall (NHM) reopened in May, Farida Memom will sometimes sit in her shop for eight hours without making a single sale.
"From Monday to Friday, we get about ten people here," said Memom, owner of The Gift Hut. "Some days, we have zero sales and some days only one."
Memom and other shopkeepers said they have seen few customers since the mall reopened on May 14, after being closed for nearly two months. Adrian Wong, manager of Eye Optix, said he typically has one customer per day during the week. Both Memom and Wong said the weekends are noticeably better, likely because the Prairie Horizon Fresh Market attracts more shoppers.
“We’re actually making sales then,” Wong said.
Still, rows of empty glass storefronts postered with "for lease" signs are a common sight at NHM, and Memom said many shops are leaving their security gates locked, anticipating no one will show up.
"Lots of people still don't know about this mall," she said. "Lots of people, when they come in and see the shops that are closed or empty, that makes them not want to come back."
The shopping centre has struggled with high vacancy rates since opening in May 2018.
The mall features 500 glass storefronts. Bob Parsons, general manager of NHM, said approximately 20 per cent of the stores are occupied, and between 40 and 100 stores are open daily.
He said health concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic are likely a reason some shopkeepers haven't reopened their store."Until those people are comfortable to come back and be amongst the public, it's a difficult scenario," he said.
The empty and closed storefronts may not give the greatest impression to customers, Wong said, but they're closed for a reason.
"[Owners are] not here because there is no traffic," he said. "It's just a waste of their time and money to be here."
He added some shopkeepers work two jobs so they can afford to pay the lease on their store.
"We're just doing what we can to survive," Wong said.
Memom attributes the lack of customers and the many empty stores to the poor economy, adding that many people are on budgets and can't afford to shop or open a store.
"Survival is the first priority," she said. "We are all in the same boat, the buyer and the shopkeeper."
Michelle Tom, co-owner of ACES HIGH custom crafting, opened her shop with her husband two months ago, right when the mall was reopening after the lockdown. Since then, she said she's seen some stores that haven't opened once. She believes the empty and closed shops contribute to the mall's struggles and may deter more customers from coming.
"People come in, and they see so many empty shops," Tom said. "They just pay their rent and are not opening."
Although Tom said the mall is “supposed to be bringing down fines,” for shops that are rented but remain empty or closed, Parsons said it is not up to the mall’s management to enforce this because the units are sold like condominiums.
Parsons said that although it's challenging to attract customers and "there's no instruction booklet on how to come out of a pandemic from a retail perspective," there is likely no shopping centre "that would suggest they're back to where they were pre-COVID." NHM is trying to do "anything and everything" to help draw more shoppers, he added, including daily events.
A teddy bear scavanger hunt, live jazz music and lego building contests are among the events that have been hosted in the mall this July. A live painting display by local artist Char Vanderhorst and a classic car show, are scheduled for July 25.
Still, not all the shops are struggling to find customers. Don Neurauter, who owns the specialty food shop The Clean Pantry with his wife Christina, said they sometimes have more than 20 customers during weekdays, and “easily 50 to 60 customers on a Saturday or Sunday.”
Their specific products have allowed them to build up a regular clientele, and their business was deemed essential during the lockdown period, allowing them to do non-contact deliveries.
"We're specialty enough that people who have a hard time finding this kind of product know we're here, and they tell their friends," he said.
Neurater said before the shutdown, they regularly saw new stores opening at NHM, but since then, things have seemed to go "on pause."
"The economy hasn't been the greatest, and it's hard to find businesses that are willing to start up in this type of atmosphere," he said.
Kate F. Mackenzie, AirdrieToday.com
Follow me on Twitter @katefmack
