Skip to content

'We could go bankrupt in a couple of months,' says frustrated business owner

'I am bleeding money so fast right now with the malls being empty,' says Bradford woman who owns shop in Georgian Mall
A9582599-AB79-4E46-8AC5-CE2C3776D95E
Kimberly Harvey Chase inside her store 'My Lil Gem' at Georgian Mall

It was fall 2020 when Bradford business owner Kimberly Harvey Chase opened her first jewelry retail business, My Lil Gem, in Upper Canada Mall. 

Before the start of the pandemic, Chase's business was seasonal, working as a vendor throughout the warmer months at various festivals and craft fairs. 

When events were shuttered at the onslaught of the pandemic, she pivoted her business model to open a retail store inside the Newmarket mall, hiring staff members and even expanding to add a second location at Georgian Mall in Barrie. 

Throughout the pandemic she has received $20,000 in government supports, but she says it's simply not enough. 

"I tried several times to apply for the rent and payroll subsidy but I don't qualify," she said, noting because she pivoted her business during the pandemic from seasonal to year-round, she doesn't match the criteria for the federal supports. 

On Jan. 7, 2022, the Ontario government introduced a $10,000 grant for small businesses that were subject to closure. Since Chase's stores are still open, she does not qualify for the grant. 

Chase says she has about $65K in debt that she has accumulated throughout the pandemic, trying to keep afloat, but is at the end of the rope when it comes to receiving any more loans. 

"I don't have a lot more borrowing power to go longer," she explained.  

Chase was planning on adding another store location in Bradford this spring, but now she says she won't be able to. 

"I am bleeding money so fast right now with the malls being empty," she said. 

Currently, malls and shopping centres are allowed to be open at 50 per cent capacity, but even so, she says not many shoppers are coming to the mall, citing apprehension surrounding the contagious omicron variant. 

She is frustrated because a lot of the provincial supports introduced earlier this month are for businesses completely closed. Although she is able to stay open she says there is a decrease in customers and sales but she still must pay for rent, utilities, products/inventory. 

For her, she says it would have been better to have retail businesses shut down than to keep them open and receive government support.  

"We're open but bleeding money at a rate we could go bankrupt in only a couple of months," she said.

Chase has an online store which is currently being updated but notes she hasn't had much traffic on it. To entice buyers, she even offered Canada-wide free shipping, but that didn't help much, noting many will often turn to Amazon instead. 

"People choose the easiest route instead of searching a local business," she lamented. 

The provincial government has offered support for business owners throughout the pandemic to help with building websites and online sales platforms.

In order to be profitable Chase says she needs to be making $15,000 in sales per month, per store. But now, instead of selling the $400-600 per day she needs to be, she is selling less than $100 per day. 

She said even if she were to sell $11,000 a month, she said the debt could be manageable, but at this rate, it is unsustainable and worries about the future of her business. 

"We would still run a negative but at least those bills were paid and can focus on payroll," she said. 

With schools being closed, Chase must stay home with her two children instead of being at the store, another expense to have an employee working in her place. 

She has four staff in Newmarket, three in Barrie, and one floater that travels in between. She has no overlaps scheduled, with only one person in the store at any given time.

"Their hours are 30-40 per cent less than what they were before," she said. 

Yesterday, the Feds announced they would be extending the loan forgiveness deadline for small businesses to December 2023. The Canada Emergency Business Account offered interest-free loans of up to $60,000 to small businesses and not-for-profits. 

For now, Chase is hoping to be able to hang on until her current leases are up later this year, and keep her eight employees on the payroll. She also hopes to see more people choosing to shop local, and support small businesses to help them get through the current COVID wave.


Reader Feedback

Natasha Philpott

About the Author: Natasha Philpott

Natasha is the Editor for BradfordToday and InnisfilToday. She graduated from the Media Studies program at The University of Guelph-Humber. She lives in Bradford with her husband, two boys and two cats.
Read more