'Perfect storm' ahead for some independent stores, but niche retailers will shine, analysts say
CTV
Turmoil could lay ahead for some Canadian retailers in the new year, with independent businesses in particular facing possible bankruptcy should the busy holiday shopping season prove to be a bust.
Retailers will be taking stock of how they did during the most important sales period of the year to gauge their chances of survival amid supply chain woes that are unlikely to resolve anytime soon, analysts say. But whether 2022 will be better or worse than 2021 may be up for debate.
“Our view is, a perfect second storm is coming post-holiday...we will see a number of bankruptcies in the new year, disproportionately independents,” said David Ian Gray, retail strategist and founder of retail consultancy firm, DIG360.
The year 2020 was ugly for Canadian retail, as a relentless string of bankruptcies and closures -- accelerated by the pandemic -- marked the demise of dozens of chains. Traditional fashion and apparel businesses such as Le Chateau, Ann Taylor, Thyme Maternity, and Addition Elle, were especially decimated.
“What the pandemic did was it revealed all the problems all at once,” Gray said in a phone interview with CTVNews.ca. Band-Aid solutions no longer worked.
