A Kelowna CEO and founder seeks more support from Orchard Park Mall while trying to cope with the challenges posed by the ongoing pandemic.
In September, Julie Michaud of Kelowna Women in Business received the BDC Woman of the Year Award for her work helping other like-minded brand owners get their products to store shelves and thrive in the world of health and beauty.
Through her skin care and makeup retailer Portia-Ella, Michaud has set up a “Business Incubator” program that provides management, mentoring and shelf space for other women who focus on clean, low-waste beauty to get started the industry can find.
While Michaud has a proven record of helping others, she believes Orchard Park Mall did not return the favor as their business at the mall faces the challenges of the pandemic.
On the morning of October 25, an employee at Portia Ella Michaud called 10 minutes before the store’s normal opening time at 10 a.m. and said she had a panic attack. With no other staff available to open the store, Michaud had to gather her three young children, including a newborn, to take them to work and care for their co-worker. However, she didn’t arrive at the mall until around noon. Despite the circumstances, Portia Ella was fined for not opening on time.
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According to Michaud, Orchard Park Mall recently increased the fine from $ 50 to $ 150 for not opening on time, despite new challenges appearing every day, such as: B. Staff and illness that would make it difficult for businesses to work at the agreed times.
“For me it’s not about the amount, it’s about the fact that they tripled (the fine),” said Michaud.
“As a small company, it is already so difficult to keep our customers happy. Not being able to open in time hurts us and we are also fined. I just feel like it’s coming from all sides. The mall is in a position where they can help and be a little more flexible and actually work with us. I worked with a two month year old who wrapped me around and the mall told me personally that I have to, like if I just had one baby it wasn’t their problem. “
When the mall reopened after the initial outbreak, many of its retailers operated differently. Some remained closed, while others were opened for a shorter period due to staff shortages and lack of pedestrian traffic. But when the number of cases fell and customers returned to the mall, policies returned and stores had to stay open again for the mall’s opening hours.
“For example, if someone in a store has a fever, the whole team is done,” said Michaud. “With such constraints, it is extremely difficult for small businesses to perform our contract that says we must be open when the mall is open. These are unforeseen circumstances. “
According to Donna Markin, General Manager of Orchard Park Mall, the landlord will not penalize a company in an emergency, stating that they will support their businesses during these unprecedented times. “Customers expect stores to be open when they visit the mall. It’s a modest expectation, but we take it seriously, ”said Markin.
“While the landlord manages the entire mall, the stores are responsible for managing their businesses. If a business has an emergency, for example an employee calls in sick and makes it impossible to open the business, we are warned by the tenant that they have to close, ”she said.
“There are no consequences for this action. Part of keeping the community safe is making sure employees don’t come to work sick – this is the public health policy and we encourage our companies to take it seriously. “
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However, Michaud claimed she was not given an opportunity to declare that she had a sick employee before the business was fined.
Markin replied that she was unable to comment on matters that individual retailers at the mall were involved in, adding that she was doing her best to support their stores during the pandemic.
“Like any business, we’re new to managing a pandemic environment,” said Markin.
Michaud believes the mall and other rental tenants will need to work closely together to overcome the pandemic.
“It is extremely difficult to find employees and it is not that there are massive queues in retail stores right now as it can be dangerous.
“We currently have three vacancies. It is very difficult to find the right people who are comfortable in the moment to work in public spaces. There must be something. Small business support is more important than ever and we need community support, including other leasing tenants in the mall. “
Daniel Taylor
Reporter, Kelowna Capital News
City of Kelowna
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