Vancouver is graced with many unique retail stores that help give a neighbourhood — be it Grandview-Woodlands, Main Street, or Point Grey — a distinctive flavour. But they are facing threat, and an alarming number have closed down in recent years.
One of the latest casualties is the Natural Gardener at 4376 West 10th. Run by Bob Tuckey, the Natural Gardener operated for 12 years from 2003 to last month. Prior to opening the store, Bob had been involved in the hospitality industry. He was making good money but reached a point where it was no longer fulfilling. He had always been passionate about plants and had taken a management course at BCIT, so he plunged ahead and opened the business.
The first couple of years were tougher than expected, but soon he had a loyal client base, many of whom subscribed to his e-newsletter filled with helpful gardening tips. By the end, he was on a first-name basis with hundreds of people.
Early on, he got a lot of publicity in garden-related publications, and this was supplemented by word-of-mouth. His shop developed a reputation for service, and his native, rare and unusual plants. Sometimes people would stop in because the store was such an oasis of calm, with its greenery, water wall, and soothing colours.
While the recession years of 2008-2009 were his best years, they had a delayed effect as people became more cautious with their spending. Baby boomers, often avid gardeners, were having hip replacements, and could no longer do the work. They were also downsizing, in some cases to help their children get into the housing market.
Loyal clients were moving away. Moreover, the same enthusiasm for gardening had not caught on with the younger generation. Eventually, he found himself operating at a loss.
While the garden sector has not been hit as much by the shift to social media, and the online buying and rental trend — which Tuckey sees as an economic “seismic shift” — there are other factors threatening its survival. Many of the wholesale growers are retiring. The value of commercial space has gone up dramatically since he first started his business, and that translates into escalating property taxes which are passed on to tenants by landlords. The cost of his space went from $27per square foot when he started to $41, and his landlord told him he probably got out at a good time because the lease rates was about to jump 25 per cent.
Other impediments to ongoing viability? Despite its commitment to becoming the “greenest city” by 2020, city hall has not been connecting the dots. The city forced Tuckey to sacrifice valuable greenhouse space to provide extra parking spaces. In addition, he had to get a special permit to display plants on the sidewalk in front of his store.
Moreover, he suspects the escalating business licence fees are being used as a revenue stream for the city. With all these challenges it is becoming more and more difficult for small retail businesses to hold their own, and it doesn’t seem that the city — in contrast with some other jurisdictions — really cares.
Most of the investment in retail these days is coming from offshore, as Tuckey notes. Investors are not interested in businesses requiring a lot of expertise. They want simple formula businesses, such as coffee shops and nail salons, which are minimal risk. When informed of the store’s imminent closure, some of Bob’s customers were in tears.
The loss of the Natural Gardener is a loss for Vancouver, and is one more example of a decline in character retail that is affecting the face of our urban landscape.
The author is indebted to Christine K. who first came up with the idea for this article.
Don Alexander is a university-college professor in and chair of the Geography Department at Vancouver Island University, while living part-time in Vancouver. He has a special interest in retail issues.
