ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — Last spring’s lockdown in St. John’s forced the owners of Alpine Country Lodge to take a hard look at their business.
Realizing they had no easy way to serve customers who were suddenly unable to enter their store due to the COVID-19 pandemic, David O’Grady and Brad Squires knew they had to do something.
“Last spring, when we had the initial lockdown, we weren’t online at the time,” explained O’Grady, who first opened the store with his business partner Squires in 1994. “That forced us to do something that we had been talking about for years and years and years to do, but just never got around to doing it.”
Squires took the lead on getting the website set up. Even though the outdoor outfitting shop carries a lot of products people would normally want to try on before purchasing, O’Grady said the shop managed to generate a lot of online sales last spring.
Now, with the St. John’s metro area back in lockdown mode as active cases of COVID-19 rise, Alpine Country Lodge is ready to continue serving customers on the lookout for ski gear and apparel that can help them enjoy the great outdoors.
“We’re in better shape now than in the last lockdown, because we’re already set up online,” Squires said. “We can pivot right to that and have our customers order through that channel.”
Online ordering will hopefully keep Bobby Bailey busy, too. The co-owner and director of Tvål Skincare in downtown St. John’s said in addition to local shoppers, his business sells product to a lot of customers from other parts of Canada.
Back to curbside pickup
Although he dreaded the thought of dealing with another lockdown, Bailey said the business is very much ready to pivot back to curbside pickups. Tvål actually shared a post on social media Tuesday — the day before public health measures impacting retailers were announced — reminding customers they could take advantage of that service.
“We keep producing products,” he said. “Even though we’re closed, there’s always something to do here. And we’re lucky. We’ve done really well actually. Not that we want any of this. I guess soap is a commodity in these times. And also, treating yourself and being kind to yourself is on the uprise, and rightly so. People want to take baths and just treat themselves to a little bit of luxury in such dark times.”
Bailey said it helps too that the business has already been through this experience before with last spring’s lockdown.
“We know sort of what to expect,” he said. “It’s still scary. You don’t really know. Everything is uncertain right now. There’s just that general vibe. But we expect for it to be like last year. Steady orders coming in. Enough to keep us busy. Enough to keep us going and hopefully get through it.”
On the horizon
While the current lockdown is set to be reviewed in about two weeks, Bailey anticipates it will stretch beyond that date.
“I think it will be more like two months,” he said. “We’re rolling up our sleeves and getting ready. That’s what you have to do in times like this.”
O’Grady and Squires hope strong interest in snowshoeing and cross-country skiing keeps people coming to their store online and by phone.
“Last year, lots of people weren’t into it, but I think after living a year in this pandemic, more and more people are getting into the outside and the adventure and trying to do some back-country stuff,” O’Grady said. “We’re getting big requests on that kind of product.”
The business, like Tvål, offers curbside pickup, as well as local deliveries.
“We’re certainly hoping it’s only going to be a two-week thing,” O’Grady said. “But obviously, you always prepare for down the road. We’re bringing in spring product as it becomes available, just because eventually, we’re going to come out of it. We want to be set up and be in the right position at the right time.”
Andrew Robinson is a business reporter in St. John's.
