London Inc. Winter 2023 - 28

COVE R
Jordanna Szalkai and Erika Oakes
" Something I love about owning a business is the
customer interaction and getting to see my customers
enjoy the product, " Oakes says. " And I feel like that is
something you're always able to see when you have a
retail store. You can get great feedback, and it gives you
a bit of purpose when you have your business.
" I had some small goals in my head - that if I was
able to make it work we would keep it going and if not
we would go back to online, " she continues. " For me, it
was just about making the online experience happen
indoors. We have that local vibe, that attachment to
that community. I try, when I can, to carry local brands
in addition to our items - to kind of bring that online
experience back into the store. "
Now, nearly four years and one global pandemic later,
Os and Oakes - a team of " six people, and growing " -
is on the move again, into a retail unit in the former
Porsche dealership near Oxford and Wonderland roads.
" This move is almost a lateral move, it's not an
expansion, " Oakes says. For one thing, there's no
massive increase in square footage - it's actually a bit
smaller, although it allows them to consolidate their
28 | londonincmagazine.ca | WINTER 2023
" FOR ME, IT WAS JUST
ABOUT MAKING THE
ONLINE EXPERIENCE
HAPPEN INDOORS. WE
HAVE THAT LOCAL VIBE,
THAT ATTACHMENT TO
THAT COMMUNITY "
-Erika Oakes
inventory into one location, where previously they
needed a second warehouse space to do so.
It also meets their customers closer to where they are:
a high-traffic shopping area geared to young families.
" This new opportunity on Oxford Street is in the
middle of everything, " Oakes says. " We want the
opportunity to be near families and our customers, and
that's where they are. "
With a new location comes something of a blank
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London Inc. Winter 2023

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