Fabricland is not giving up its quest to find a building to re-open the fabric store in Red Deer.
Its downtown store, located north of Superstore, closed last June when the store’s lease came to an end and there were concerns about crime and drug use in the neighbourhood.
“We still plan to open. That’s been made very, very clear by the owner of the company. We want to be back there. We’re not giving up,” said Paivi Kanary, Fabricland general manager for Western Canada.
“I’m just going to be patient and keep looking. We know the parameters we need.”
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Fabricland was located in a 13,000 sq. ft. space and is looking for another location that is at least 12,000. There are plenty of smaller spaces available in the city, but bigger sites are rare, not just in Red Deer, but other cities as well, she said.
“We’re finding anything larger scale is very hard to find. We’ve been told that a lot of people are purchasing large spaces for warehouses for their online business, so it gets very difficult.”
Just a few weeks ago, Kanary was alerted to a local space, but it was only 8,000 sq. ft. Mall spaces have also been too small, and the company prefers to stay out of malls because its special sales don’t line up with mall hours. There have been a couple large spaces available in the downtown, but safety concerns remain.
Real estate sites are checked regularly, Kanary said.
“We’ve had offers outside Red Deer, but that’s not quite where we want to be. We’d like to be in the city of Red Deer.”
The location also needs to have sufficient parking, easy access for shoppers, and within Fabricland’s budget, she added.
She said the company doesn’t want to rush into anything because leasing will be a minimum commitment of five years.
“We want it to be right.
“We’re still looking. Sooner or later we will be there. Trust me. We want to be back so badly.”
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In the meantime, Fabricland’s online shop is finally up and running. It’s not in-person shopping but it’s an option while the hunt for a building in Red Deer continues, Kanary said.
“I know it’s not quite the same thing. But we are finally there. We’ve never been online before.”
szielinski@reddeeradvocate.com
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