For Peninsula Runners owner Philip Ellis, it’s about being part of the community and personalized service that keeps his customers from running away to shop in the United States.
“I think the key is to be part of the community and do things for the community so people see the value in what you do and will support us,” said Ellis, who owns the Walnut Grove store, but works also at the White Rock and Abbotsford Peninsula Runners locations.
Peninsula Runners organizes the annual and upcoming Golden Ears half marathon across the bridge, with funds raised going to school lunch programs. They also run Sun Run clinics and other programs.
“We aren’t a faceless corporation, we are Kathy (the manager) and Phil, who know our customers by name. We are your neighbours,” he said. “I think it comes down to people realizing that when they choose to buy local they are choosing to support Canada and Canadian jobs. It all comes full circle.”
He said his biggest competition in the United States is online shopping.
“We’ve been asked if we would go online, but we can’t fit you properly into your shoes over the Internet,” he said laughing.
Business has been good for the popular running store and they believe it’s because they have “stayed true to who they are.”
The prices for shoes are coming more in line too, which helps, he said.
But what can’t be helped is the 18 per cent tax Canadians pay on shoes, one that Americans don’t pay.
“Prime Minister Harper was in Langley last week (on Feb. 8) for an economic discussion. If the government lowered that tax, it could really help,” he said.
In the meantime, Peninsula Runners has cornered a market in running shoes not found online or in the U.S.
They can be found in Europe but otherwise they are only found in Canada.
“About 30 per cent of our shoes you can’t find in the U.S.”
That being said, Ellis truly believes that it’s the responsibility of all Canadians to support Canadian jobs and the economy, by choosing to stay and pay in this country.
Another Langley business that competes directly with U.S. stores is Otter Co-op.
Competing with the United States has been more of a challenge in the past year and a half than it has in the past, said general manager Jack Nicholson.
“At our 248 Street gas bar, our litres are down this year, but they are up at our other gas bars,” said Nicholson. “Our groceries are down too. We hear from our competitors, also near the border, that their groceries are down as well. Our suppliers are saying they have seen a significant reductions of sales near the border this year.”
But buying local, especially at a one-stop shop like Otter Co-op, where customers are rewarded financially each year through paid-out cash dividends, has its financial rewards.
“We support the community, we are part of the community, but to do that we need our customers to support us,” he said.
Otter Co-op, which has been around for 90 years at its 248 Street location, does enjoy a loyal customer base. They also sell items you can’t get anywhere else. They sell hard-to-find name brand clothing, farm equipment, animal feed, petroleum and have a cafe that sees regulars enjoy a meal and catch up on what’s going on around town.
The co-op has been putting up posters offering “Top 10 reasons to shop locally” as well.
Nicholson said they continually price compare groceries in the United States, and have often found that people aren’t saving money going across the border.
People will save on milk, butter, cheese and poultry products, the Canadian prices of which are affected by marketing boards. Most other grocery items are the same price, or even more in the United States, he said.
Marketing boards were created in the 1960s and 1970s so farmers could sell their dairy and poultry at set prices, in order to ensure their livelihood. In the open market, prices constantly fluctuate. The United States doesn’t have marketing boards and competition drives the prices for those items down. Farmers in the United States do receive other subsidies though.
In September, Otter Co-op sent out 10,000 surveys about cross-border shopping to residents within a five kilometre radius of the 248 Street store.
They received 1,000 surveys back.
“Out of 1,000 surveyed, 52 per cent had gone to the U.S. in the past three months. Thirty-five per cent had bought food and 33 per cent bought gas,” Nicholson said.
Gas sales have been a big part of Otter Co-op’s business, and sales are doing well at the four other gas bars, particularly in Abbotsford, where gas prices are lower due to the lack of TransLink taxes.
