Local businesses face tough competition ahead of Black Friday

Black Friday returns for another one-day frenzy, with people hitting malls and big-box stores for the best deals, but what does it mean for small independent businesses?

Some businesses will be having sales, however some independent businesses say they aren’t going to have any major sales, because they can’t compete with the big-box stores.

“We don’t have the margins,” said Courtney Maren, the owner of Simply Gifted in Burlington. “We don’t order in such large quantities as these corporations do, where we have that flexibility to play with numbers that much.”

Maren owns Simply Gifted on Brant Street in Burlington.

She says this year there will be no Black Friday sales at her store.

She points to the already large cost of running a small business, saying “it doesn’t leave us a lot of room to start offering massive discounts.”

She says small businesses all over Ontario and the country are struggling in this economy, but she’s proud to sell local products.

“It’s an honour to represent Canadians who are doing their very best — there’s so much talent in the area, there is so much talent across Canada,” said Maren.

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However, there are some independent businesses that are offering up sales.

“We’ve reached out to our vendors and we’ve got a lot of sales going on,” said Cat McCrimmon, the owner of Rustic Daisy’s in Waterdown. “I think 15 of our vendors have put their items on sale. It’s definitely one of the busiest days of the holiday season: people are excited, people are coming out, trying to get those deals.”

The Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses (CFIB) says whether a small business is offering sales or not, shoppers will be getting one thing for certain.

“Good quality products with customer service,” said Andreea Bourgeois, the director of economics at the CFIB. “We have seen all through the year increases in locally made goods, backed up by local service, and if not, Canadian-made goods.”

Traditionally, the bulk of people’s Black Friday shopping happens at malls and big box stores, and many people were seen getting to it days ahead of it.

The main message from small businesses this holiday season is to consider buying local.

It might be a little more expensive, but the support is needed right now.

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