From toy shops to vinyl stores, these small businesses are at a crossroads

Turnover in Ottawa's retail scene is nothing new.

But several family-owned businesses have come to a crossroads, all roughly at the same time, and will soon be closing up shop.

It's not just one factor that's causing them to throw in the towel, but a complex series of events and circumstances.

Compact Music at 206 Bank St.

"We're not closing because we're failing. We're closing because we're aging," said Ian Boyd, 62, citing a 15 per cent increase in sales.

"Yeah man, vinyl is out of control. I mean it's really floating the boat these days."

Boyd and his brother James first started started selling records outside Ottawa's Saucy Noodle restaurant in 1978, when he was 19 and his sibling was 17.

"After 42 years of that, I think it's time to go to half days," said James Boyd, now 60.

The brothers will continue to operate their remaining Compact Music location at 785 Bank St. in the Glebe, with Ian handling the morning shift and James the afternoon.

They're not worried about spending too much time together.

"There were times when we had some pretty [big] arguments, after 42 years, you can imagine, in a family business. But now we're a little more chill," said Ian.

Their last day for their Centretown location is May 5. Their landlord has already leased the space to a pot shop, that's expanding from its new location, next door.

Mrs. Tiggy Winkle's

The last two Mrs. Tiggy Winkle's toy shops will soon be closing: the Westboro location at 315 Richmond Rd. and the flagship store at 809 Bank St., a beacon to kids since 1977.

At one point, there were five locations, including stores in the Rideau Centre, Bayshore Shopping Centre and Place d'Orléans.

The store posted a statement on Facebook which reads, "After much consideration and heavy hearts, Mrs. Tiggy Winkle's will be closing all our stores including our last remaining location in The Glebe next month."

General manager Eira MacDonell, who's been with the store for 34 years, didn't want to talk about why the stores were closing when she was approached for this story.

According to Andrew Peck of the Glebe BIA, Ottawa's retail sector is "extremely fragile."

"It's at a crucial breaking point. So many [businesses] are right on the edge," said Beck.

While he didn't comment specifically on Mrs. Tiggy Winkle's impending closure, Beck did call the decision to run an independent businss "a penny counting exercise."

Lacroix Sports Ottawa at 2450 Lancaster Rd.

For Tracey and Sean Moore, competition from online retailers and pressure from big box stores are two of the reasons they've decided to close.

Both left good jobs nine years ago to launch Lacroix Sports Ottawa, which specializes in hockey, baseball and lacrosse equipment.

"E-commerce is a giant. It's a beast," said Tracey.

Bricks-and-mortar chain stores have national buying power, she added, and can negotiate better deals for bigger profit margins.

"There have been a lot of tears," said the mother of two girls.

"It's a very, very hard decision. We've put a lot of time and effort into the business and it's sad to see it go," said Sean Moore.

The 2018 minimum wage hike to $14 for their part-time employees was hard for the couple to absorb, they said.

They were also finding that big suppliers like CCM and Bauer would set what's known as the "manufacturer-recommended sale price," and customers would go shop online if they couldn't match it.

"We certainly do find that there has been a decrease in loyalty and a decrease in appreciation for expert knowledge," said Tracey.

"You're not going to get a [team] sponsorship from Amazon, or your skates sharpened by an online store," said Sean.

The couple's work-life balance was also "becoming nil," he added, with the store open seven days a week.

"We were pouring everything we had into the business, and it wasn't financially viable in the end," he said.

The store at 2450 Lancaster Rd. is expected to close in the next four to six weeks.