august 2014 BCBusiness 45
a KinD
"The challenge of the retail business is the human
condition," Starbucks founder Howard Schultz once
said. "We're only as good as the moment, that fragile
moment when we please or hopefully don't disappoint
the customer." For the following four singular stores—
niche retailers in an age of generalists—aiming
to please has been the key to success
by JESSICA WERB photography by BRIAN HOWELL
We live in an age of convenience, where one-stop shopping
reigns supreme, from big-box department stores to Internet retail giants. And
yet, stroll around Vancouver and you'll come across a handful of businesses
that seem like relics from the past: small specialty shops that remain staunchly
independent and singularly focused. Think Gastown's Button Button, the only
all-button store in the country; North Vancouver's Tea Time, which sells loose
teas and nothing but—not even a hot cup of Earl Grey; the Vancouver Pen Shop
downtown, a fi xture for pen lovers for 28 years; and Main Street's All-Vacuum
Store, still sucking up business after four decades.
