Two local made-in-Canada retailers are seeing increased sales after Canada Day, citing success from the ongoing “buy Canadian” trend.
Sab Ventola, president of Made In Canada Gifts, first became aware of the rising interest in Canadian-made products when he got an email from Google Search Console, telling him his website was trending.
“They gave us a heads-up that our website click rate had surged by as much as 992 per cent versus the daily average … People would literally be searching for ‘made in Canada gifts.’ That was our first heads-up that something big was going on,” Ventola told OBJ on Friday.
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The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Ottawa includes a 150-room hotel, expanded gaming facilities, restaurants and performance spaces. The transformation of the Rideau Carleton Casino into the Hard Rock Hotel
The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Ottawa includes a 150-room hotel, expanded gaming facilities, restaurants and performance spaces. The transformation of the Rideau Carleton Casino into the Hard Rock Hotel
He said the surge in web traffic translated into more online sales and more foot traffic at his stores at the Rideau Centre and Bayshore Shopping Centre.
As the initial uptick cools, Ventola said he is still seeing a year-over-year increase of about 20 per cent in July.
While Canada Day has been a big driver of sales since Made In Canada Gifts opened in 2010, Ventola said this year was particularly busy.
“Our Canada Day sales were very strong. The interesting thing is that Canada Day celebrations have been moved to LeBreton Flats … but even since it’s moved, we still see a lot of foot traffic,” he said, adding that sales favour patriotic apparel on Canada Day.
With the store’s items ranging from $6 Canada-themed keychains to $3,000 works of art by Indigenous artists, Ventola said it’s his unique products that keep customers coming back, especially as he competes with big online retailers like Amazon.
Ventola said the pandemic took a huge toll on his in-store sales as the tourist population dwindled, meaning he relied on online sales to keep him afloat. While local tourism levels haven’t quite returned to where they were in 2019, he said he’s seen unprecedented support for Made In Canada gifts online – especially from our southern neighbours.
“We’ve received emails from our U.S. customers apologizing for the whole ‘51st state’ thing and wanting to support us. We ship worldwide to anybody who has an affinity with Canada and an interest in Canadian artisanal products,” he said, adding the surge in Canadian pride might offer him opportunities for growth.
Ventola said recent success may help him expand Made In Canada Gifts outside of Ottawa and explore new opportunities to grow the online store.
“Long before President Trump was elected, this has always been our thing. This is not a response to anything going on with the U.S. We’re certainly not anti-American. We’re just pro-Canada and this is an opportunity to leverage our brand,” Ventola said.
When OBJ spoke with Maker House owner Gareth Davies in May, he said his business had seen a 50 per cent increase in sales year-over-year, which he attributes to the growing desire to support Canadian businesses amid a bubbling trade war with the United States.
Davies told OBJ on Friday that growing support for his business continued in the lead-up to Canada Day.
“We did see an extra bump leading into Canada Day and the days after. Compared to this week last year, this week has been almost double what we saw last year, which could be a reflection of folks looking for shops that carry Canadian items, like Maker House does,” Davies said.
He added that the recent increase in sales began with the Indigenous market that Maker House hosted on June 29.
“That’s our fourth annual outdoor market, featuring exclusively Indigenous artists from First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities. It draws a lot of traffic because there’s a growing appetite to support Indigenous artists,” he said.
With summer being the prime time to host corporate events in Ottawa, Davies said Maker House has seen an uptick in corporate customers looking for all-Canadian gifts to give out at summits and conferences.
“Big banks, financial institutions and law firms are finding Maker House as a place where they can reliably find Canadian-made gifts, and we’re well-oiled. We’ve been doing this for years, starting with some great orders from our federal government for foreign delegations … It’s really nice to see more big companies who have offices in Canada getting gifts from local businesses like us,” he told OBJ.
Davies said it isn’t just locals looking to support Maker House. Tourists have been buying Canadian in greater numbers, which Davies said he’s prepared for.
“We’ve got some items that are specifically designed for them to carry on an airplane, like a maple syrup bottle that’s 100 millilitres or great postcards,” he said, adding that Maker House continues to advertise in local hotels to attract tourists.
Davies said that despite the current tension between Canada and the U.S., he is still seeing some American tourists drop in, many of them from northern states.
All in all, Davies said his business’s success this year is a testament to the hard work by his team as well as Ottawa-based partners Shopify, which hosts his website and manages inventory, and Trexity, which handles all local last-mile delivery.
“It’s always like a warm hug when we meet new customers. It’s the payoff for all the work that our team does throughout the year … It’s really all powered by Canadians,” he said.
