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'There was life': WIN City creators leaving downtown Windsor for mall location

BB Branded co-owner Ayad Saddy says that the closure of the company's downtown Windsor 347 Ouellette Avenue location isn't a sign that the company can't do business in the city.

Instead, Saddy explained that Windsor simply isn't big enough to justify two separate retail locations — especially when one of those locations is in Devonshire Mall.

"The convenience of Devonshire Mall was just something that all our clients and all our customers gravitated to over the past five years," he said.

Saddy originally launched BB Branded under a different name as a jewelry store with his brother Imad in 2003.

Katerina Georgieva/CBC
Katerina Georgieva/CBC

The jewelry business later evolved into a hip-hop apparel merchant, selling products from brands like Nike, Adidas, Phat Farm and Ecko.

The brothers opened BB Branded's Devonshire Mall location in 2013. The year also marked the launch of the company's Rep Ur City line of clothing, which capitalized on phrases like "WIN CIty" and served as a local streetwear brand in the Rose City.

For Saddy, however, the launch of the Devonshire Mall branch likely contributed to the June 24, 2019 Facebook post announcing the closure of the company's downtown Windsor location.

"Downtown, that's just been something that hasn't been there for a while," Saddy said.

Saddy believes that negative publicity aimed at Windsor's downtown also contributed to a lack of foot traffic to the Ouellette Avenue BB Branded store.

"Something happens all the way at Ouellette and Tecumseh, and it's still called downtown," said Saddy. "And when people think downtown, they think the core … and that's unfortunate."

'There was traffic, there was life'

Saddy says that when he and his brother first launched their business in the early 2000s, Windsor's downtown core was vibrant and full of customers looking to support retailers.

"There was traffic, there was life downtown, and a lot of people enjoyed coming down," he said.

Since that time, Saddy has seen retailers go out of business, as well as construction that has deterred potential shoppers from engaging with downtown businesses.

According to Saddy, a combination of factors led to the dearth of retail support in the city's downtown, including local politics, business improvement areas, as well as the aforementioned safety concerns voiced by Windsorites.

Katerina Georgieva/CBC
Katerina Georgieva/CBC

Still, Saddy acknowledges that he's willing to remain optimistic about Windsor's downtown.

"I've always been positive about downtown and saying it could change, and I believe it still can," he said.

However, he added that he sees supporting Windsor's downtown similarly to raising a child.

"We're kind of neglecting it and not taking care of it."

Downtowns need 'Meds and Eds'

Despite Saddy's observations about the city's downtown, not all Windsor residents agree with his assessment about the need for more retail support.

Rhys Trenhaile is a real estate broker with Manor Windsor Realty. He believes that the key to improving downtown Windsor is a combination of "Meds and Eds."

"I think if people focus on the retail side of things like Starbucks and BB Branded, they're missing the point of a healthy downtown core," said Trenhaile.

Meds and Eds refers to a combination of medical and educational service delivery.

Katerina Georgieva/CBC
Katerina Georgieva/CBC

Trenhaile explained that medical and educational services combined with improved residential density allow retailers to populate downtown cores in cities around the world.

"If you focus on retail and you try to worry about that leaving, you're missing the point," he said. "It'll always stay and always build if you follow those other things."

Trenhaile said that steps are being taken to improve downtown Windsor's residential core. He also added that the introduction of University of Windsor and St. Clair College "campuses to the core" are positive contributions.

However, he was less enthusiastic about medical services, stating that the city is "looking at possibly hollowing that out."

BB Branded
BB Branded

"Overall, we're moving in the right direction," said Trenhaile. "Losing the retail sucks, to put it professionally, but it's not a death knell and it's not a sign of a death knell."

As for Saddy and BB Branded, the company plans on focusing on its Devonshire Mall store, as well as expanding its online sales efforts.

"We've already started … the website itself has been revamped and it's also now representing us all over Canada," said Saddy.

"We're expanding on especially our web presence and hopefully we can represent our city that way."

Saddy added that if there was support for support for a single BB Branded store situated in Windsor's downtown, "we would do it."