Page 21 - May-June 2021 REPORTER

exceeding all expectations with a 50% increase over the
same period of the previous year.
As with many hardware and building supply retail
stores that are owned and managed by a husband-
and-wife team, Sarah and Patrick have endeavored to
leave the business at the business when they go home.
They have worked out a formula of who is responsible
for each area of the business and they try to keep store
issues at the store. Not an easy thing to do but at these
early stages of running this hardware store they are on
the right track. Also, they have a lot of support from
Sarah’s dad Lynn, who not only mentors them towards
managing the business but also steps in, along with
Patrick’s parents Don and Cathy, as a babysitter for young
Liam. With the influence from both Liam’s parents and
grandparents, I am sure he will be a natural to work in the
business as he gets older.
Much of the increase in sales has been driven by
the COVID lockdown which has given many consumers
the time (and in some cases the money) to initiate
many home improvement projects. Recognizing that
eventually consumers will focus their resources on other
activities such as travel and dining out, Sarah and Patrick
are looking ahead with the intention of expanding their
product offering to include kitchen and bath design, as
well as other categories to attract customers. I expect
a display of Alexandria mouldings in the plans as well!
Thoughts about expansion into building supplies also
creep into their thought processes.
When asked about the stresses of doing business
during the pandemic, they expressed their sincere
appreciation of their staff. It has been a very difficult
period and, as with most of our members, sales are

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