Six months later: Lockdown in Saskatchewan

For some, it almost seems like a dream when Saskatchewan was turned upside down six months ago.

On March 18, the provincial government issued orders to lock down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Stores closed, restaurants emptied their kitchens and hairdressers hung up their shears.

Most of those businesses and services have reopened, even if they’re working in a different way. Some unfortunate ones couldn’t weather the storm and have closed permanently.

Whatever the situation, it hasn’t been an easy ride and the future isn’t a sure thing.

Michelle Strawford said the lockdown was a shock. She owns Bella Chic, a women’s clothing store with locations in Emerald Park and Moose Jaw.

“I can say without a doubt I’ve never experienced anything like it (and) hope I never experience anything like it again,” said Strawford.

She had to shut her doors and lay off all her staff. She also runs the What Women Want trade show in Regina and had to shut that down too.

“I was left trying to figure out how to keep things going on my own,” said Strawford.

Like many other retailers, Strawford decided to go online. Bella Chic has had an online store for a while but it but it wasn’t busy and she was unsure about how well it would go.

“I felt like, ‘Nobody’s going to buy. I’m not an essential service. Am I going to lose my business?’ It was very, very scary,” she said.

About a week after shutdown, Strawford tried something new: Live videos on Facebook run by her and friends, showcasing and trying on pieces from the store. It’s something that she’s still doing with the store open and now with more people.

“It has grown our online (business), to a place where we used to be maybe 15 per cent of sales to now, I’d say it’s closer to half,” said Strawford.

She said it’s the silver lining after what happened. In fact, thanks to the online sales, her store is having a better year this year than last.

Strawford said she knows that puts her in the minority and she’s beyond grateful to her customers.

“I don’t want to say I ever took customers for granted, but I so appreciate beyond measure people that choose to support local,” she said.

Her stores opened in May when the lockdown started to be lifted and operations have certainly changed. Strawford said there’s extra cleaning and sanitizing and clothes are quarantined. Curbside pickup is still being offered and a tally is kept of how many shoppers are in the store.

Strawford said she’s now facing some new challenges.

“Our fall stock is slow in arriving because the companies who create those clothes were, of course, also closed and very cautious with creating more than the demand might be,” explained Strawford.

Even though the stores are doing well, Strawford said she’s still a bit scared, a bit nervous and she’s lost her confidence.

“You own a store and you have control over your store. Who would have thought that somebody would have said, ‘You have to shut it down,’ or when you run a business that someone’s going to tell you you can’t sell anymore?” she said.

Strawford said she’s scared of the virus making a resurgence, forcing her to lock the doors again. What makes her nervous is hearing about that happening from peers elsewhere in the world.

“Am I confident that things are just going to keep going as good as they are? No, and I wish I could be but I am very nervous,” she said. “But I’m also a positive human being so I think that we’re going to be fine.”