‘Pretty hard decision’: Dartmouth sneaker store owner says rising costs forced closure

East Coast Kicks will be closing its doors in Bedford, N.S.

The owner of East Coast Kicks, a Dartmouth-based luxury sneaker shop, says his store will be closing its doors for good by the end of the year.

“It was a pretty hard decision… I’ve been contemplating it for a while now,” says owner John Connors. “Having this store and having the atmosphere of when you walk in… has been a huge part of what we’ve been and what we started out to do.”

Between a global pandemic, U.S. tariffs, and postal strikes, his business has weathered many storms. Even overcoming the damages from a real storm in 2023, that left his Bedford location flooded for weeks.

In April 2024, Connors moved his store to Dartmouth but says the current cost of living has made it hard for his customers to splurge on his products.

“People are not picking that and picking other things to spend their money on and I respect that. I know how everyone’s feeling, and I understand it very well,” says Connors.

Connors says it’s not just the cost of living that has forced his business to move online-only, but the cost of operations, too.

“I used to be able to ship to Vancouver for 15 bucks. Now it’s 35, 40 bucks with the fuel surcharges and this charge and that charge,” he says.

It’s those factors that have forced him to make the tough decision, many storefronts are facing nationwide.

“Half of business owners are more pessimistic compared to those that are optimistic. So that gives you a general sense that, with an economy that’s slowed down, consumers that are being careful. (And) it has impacts on small and medium sized businesses, from one end of the country to the other,” said Louis- Phillipe Gauthier, the Atlantic vice-president with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

Though Gauthier says many businesses are doing what they can to cut costs, without affecting consumers.

“Whether it be on insurance, on electricity, on the products that they have to bring in. They’re trying to minimize the impact on consumers,” says Gauthier.

Connors hopes closing his physical store will do just that.

“We’ve been able to evolve and put a lot of money back into the community, and we’re going to continue doing that online as well,” he says.

“We’ll still be out in the communities, popping up and bringing our shoes and bringing everything with us. And I’m sure people will still come and see me at those type of events and we’ll keep the same vibe going, until maybe someday I open another one.”

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