North Bay business falls on desperate times

Tough times for North Bay business A toy and educational store in North Bay is facing some tough times in the wake of the pandemic and staff layoffs have become necessary.

Creative Learning, a toy and educational store in North Bay, is facing tough times bringing in business.

The store has been around for more than 30 years, but new owner Shawn Splint said the last three have been tough.

“This Christmas season was our worst season in over 15 years, and it’s been downhill since then,” Splint said.

“We’re here, we’re still around, support local.”

Splint reached out to the community via a Facebook post recently, sharing that sales have plummeted and that he’s had to let go of all of his staff.

“Next time if you’re thinking of add to cart on Amazon or any of those big box stores, just take a quick second to see if any local business in town has this exact same item and support them,” he said.

“A big box storm can weather the storm, absolutely no problem, but your local business may not survive and may not be around to weather that storm.”

And it it’s not just Splint’s store that’s struggling loss.

“Small businesses are definitely struggling,” said Ester Gerassime of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce

“Yes, the pandemic is sort of in the rear view mirror but very much the effects of it are still with our small business community. Only 14 per cent of small businesses say they are confident in Ontario’s economic outlook.”

Splint said in the last few days, the community has made it downtown and has supported his store. Now he’s hoping business stays steady.

“The support has been overwhelming, it’s been great to see,” he said.

“It’s been fantastic, and hopefully it continues.”