At 300 square feet, Celebration Season, a boutique clothing store in Brampton carrying Indian and Pakistani-inspired designs, was bursting at the seams. “We knew that space was not sufficient for our store and the kind of collection we have,” says Gurprit Anand, owner of the shop.

The shop’s draw has always been in its revolving line-up of unique, ready-to-wear clothing – made for both every day and special occasions – that blends traditional motifs with more modernized styles. However, most of that clothing has been stashed in boxes out of view and display space has always been eaten by storage. “Just getting a wheelchair or pram for a small child to come into my store was very difficult,” says Anand.

Photo by: David Simon, Sandbox Photovideo (Gurprit Anand and Anmol Anand)

But that changed when Celebration Season got an opportunity to redesign its store with help from a $10,000 non-repayable contribution from My Main Street. The program aims to revitalize business communities through hands-on support and is funded with a $23.25-million Government of Canada investment through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) and delivered by the Economic Developers Council of Ontario (EDCO). Celebration Season applied for and received the funding.

Anand took a large portion of the $10,000 to recreate the space, raising storage to free up wall space for an additional 300 hangers, widening the aisles to make them more accessible and investing in an upgraded change room. “We wouldn’t have been able to do it without the funding,” says Anand. “Top priority for a business is going to be pay wages and see that rent money is there – there are just so many things.”

Anand says it’s amazing how much reconfiguring storage has improved the space. “The appearance of the store is much more professional.”

Photo by: David Simon, Sandbox Photovideo (Gurprit Anand)

In addition to improving the space, Celebration Season has also developed a new strategy for increasing foot traffic. Alongside the My Main Street funding, the business also received in-depth market research on the demographics, interests and social media use in their area. It proved invaluable says, Anmol Anand who helps out with her dad’s business predominantly on the marketing side. “A lot of that research is going to be used for our advertising,” she says, pointing out that business really picks up around Indian festivals like Diwali, which usually happens in October or November. Key learnings included the power of flyers for the business’ target audience and a heightened interest in coupons in the area.

“We also identified that women were our highest segment that was spending the most, so we have our largest collection in women’s wear right now,” adds Anmol. The report also pointed out that people in the area like doing things together with their families. “That is why we have the mother-daughter matching sets and the father-son matching sets that further enforce people coming together to do things as a family.”

Photo by: David Simon, Sandbox Photovideo (Gurprit Anand)

The market research showed the store’s target customers are inclined to use phone navigation apps to find store information. Celebration Season has been exploring in-app ads with Waze, a community-driven navigation app. By Anand’s logic, everyone is advertising on Google Ads, but Waze still feels like untapped territory that could be beneficial, especially given that it’s becoming the app of choice for navigation in vehicles.

“We wouldn’t have spent (money) doing this if the funding wasn’t coming,” he says. “When we saw the last four months, they’re showing that there are 50,000 plus views of Celebration Season through Waze.”

That’s Anand’s plan going forward, to keep experimenting with new ways to bring traffic through the door. And thanks to the redesign, they have room for it.

Photo by: David Simon, Sandbox Photovideo (Gurprit Anand and Anmol Anand)

About My Main Street

My Main Street is a $23.25-million Government of Canada investment through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) to support the recovery and revitalization of main streets and local businesses in southern Ontario. The Canadian Urban Institute and the Economic Developers Council of Ontario have partnered to deliver My Main Street through two program streams. Learn more at www.mymainstreet.ca.

About FedDev Ontario

For 13 years, the Government of Canada, through FedDev Ontario, has worked to advance and diversify the southern Ontario economy through funding opportunities and business services that support innovation, growth and job creation in Canada’s most populous region. The Agency has delivered impressive results, which can be seen in southern Ontario businesses that are creating innovative technologies, improving productivity, growing revenues, creating jobs, and in the economic advancement of communities across the region. Learn more about the impacts the Agency is having in southern Ontario by exploring our pivotal projects, our Southern Ontario Spotlight, and FedDev Ontario’s Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.