Belleville’s Quinte Mall. (Photo: Sean McIntosh/Quinte News)
The Christmas and Boxing Day season has officially wrapped up at the Quinte Mall and store owners have mixed results.
Some individuals thought the season was incredibly successful, including Charm Diamond Centres manager Cathy Powers, who called the Christmas season the busiest she has ever experienced.
“I’ve had never seen anything like it and I’ve been here 30 years,” she said.
Melanie Stratton, manager at Northern Reflections, a clothing store in the mall, said they had a successful season as well. Stratton said sales are up five per cent from last Christmas. There’s relief now that the rush is over, she added.
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Over at electronics retailer The Source, manager Brandon Adams said they were far busier during Boxing Week this year compared to last. He said about 4,000 people had been through the store during the week.
Not every store was as successful this year, however.
Clayton White, the manager of the Ultimate Fan, a seasonal sports memorabilia store, said sales this year were very down. Online stores taking sales and the location of the store in the Mall were the biggest factors in the disappointing season, he said.
The season at women’s clothing store Suzy Shier was not overly busy, according to manager Heather Hayes. She said the weather played a factor, saying that people didn’t even realize it was Christmas until it was too late.
Spencer Destun owns Sam the Record Man, a music and movie store. He disagreed with Hayes’ comments, saying weather was not a factor. Sam’s sales were about even compared to last year’s, said Destun. Product popularity had changed, with vinyl sales rising and movie sales falling, he added.
