Unknown Speaker 0:06 This is the urbanites daily dive podcast. And I'm your host Weigel. And today, we explore the emergence of specialized retailers in Toronto post COVID. We've started this episode with a look at Candy crazed, Toronto's destination for all things candy. Unknown Speaker 0:29 Just before the pandemic hit, we started in a small way online, doing just kind of like trays and stuff like that. And then we started bringing in all the packaged stuff, and we were working out of my house actually just start. And then I said, we have to get involved and open a brick and mortar. So we did that in 2021. At the end of 2021, we opened our first spot Unknown Speaker 0:52 can decrease to serve Toronto, all different kinds of candies for a few years now, from Rare important kickass to the latest in candy where Steven Davidson has made sure that the trip out to his store is worthwhile. I was in my family business for 20 years from when I graduated university was the fruit and veggie wholesale business. So I love candy. Right. I was kind of retired at the time, and I'm far too young to retire. So kind of like deciding what to do. And a friend of mine said, What do you love? I said, Well, I love candy. And then she said okay, let's go for it. That friend is also my business partner. Unknown Speaker 1:30 So that and toys like what's not to love about candy toys, right? It's fun. It family it's a spot to come, you know and just kind of chill and enjoy yourself right when we're this the world is the way it is. You need somewhere to escape every now and because I felt this city needed it. I growing up there was a place I used to go to what's called the Whiz then, like in my teens to like young adult. There was sugar mountain, right? And they all they all disappeared, right? So I said why not try and see how it works and you know Touchwood here we are, and it's been working out great. Unknown Speaker 2:11 Davidson's experience with specialized retail from his childhood clearly influenced him to pursue a store of his own in his career. For Jacob how a customer of specialty retailer bean wise, which sells hard to find coffee beans and tea leaves. Had his experience with specialized retail begin as a child too. I am a dancer. And growing up. I've been shopping at dance specific shops. And of course you can you can go shop say dance shoes or pants in other shops like Nike or Lululemon. But it's not the same. And there are specific things you can only get them in a dance shop. His experience with dance stores from a child is similar to his experience with buying coffee beans today. So in those big chain stores, they pretty much got those things too, Unknown Speaker 3:06 to just get you drunk on coughing. But here you've had, you have so much more options. And me I like to try new things and I'm planning to try different things I saw that you have today I got coffee aroma. And I saw you have French roast and you have Unknown Speaker 3:25 so many different options. I'm planning to try them, all of them if I can. Unknown Speaker 3:35 The grocery stores don't have the time or the effort, nor do they care enough to get involved in Unknown Speaker 3:42 procuring all the different candies we have in here because I get them from like seven eight different people. And I don't think the markup would be enough for them to make it worth it for them. Our listener Meijer market is anybody from baby up to adult right like cuddling is a big thing too. So everybody area that comes in loves in and now people are starting to come from further spots in Toronto, which is good. Chrissy Turnbull is the CO partner of Canada market research. She has studied retail markets for years now. And says that the difference between big box stores and specialized ones is driving the resurgence of the ladder. Unknown Speaker 4:22 I've been in the consulting business for a good 25 years now. Unknown Speaker 4:29 Before COVID We have started to see you know the disappearance of the individual in retailing, the mom and pop were disappearing, right where you'd get a Costco or Walmart and all of the the businesses that had been in neighborhoods that were private banner businesses started to disappear. Millennials are a whole different ballgame. Unknown Speaker 4:54 And Millennials Unknown Speaker 4:57 are not interested in change. Unknown Speaker 5:00 means not really interested in these big brands, they'd like the smaller Unknown Speaker 5:07 retailer that has a story that, you know, they can get some history on where the products are coming from that they're consuming or buying. They can, you know, it matters to them the origin story. Unknown Speaker 5:24 And they're the big juicy spot right now in the economy of who's spending money. Unknown Speaker 5:30 And so this is also playing a part in and what we see now in retail. Unknown Speaker 5:39 Get more like hands on attention, right? Because I'm the owner, I'm here and the other owners here a lot of the time. It to me that's huge. over anything else, like you know, nowadays, even when I was younger was a little better now. Like, I go into a store like Home Depot or Best Buy that I don't know anything about the product, I need help. And there's nobody ever around to help you here. There's always someone here. And Unknown Speaker 6:03 a big thing I find too, is that a lot of the people working in these stores are not educated on the product that they're selling. Here. Here we are. I see it can be huge. That's that's what my intention is to do, at least with this company. Unknown Speaker 6:18 Everybody needs happiness. Unknown Speaker 6:22 There's something here for every age group. There's something here for every generation, there's something here that people come in and they remodel reminds them of growing up retro, happy, happy feelings, right. Unknown Speaker 6:32 And on top of that, I tried to bring something for reevoo gluten free, whether you're kosher, whether you're peanut free, whether you know you're you're a vegan, there's something in here for everybody to choose. So I like I think there's a lot of potential in in this business. Transcribed by https://otter.ai