Business woes could be nail in coffin for 97-year-old Winnipeg hardware store

A 97-year old Winnipeg institution may be shutting down for good before it has a chance to celebrate 100 years in business, citing the impact of retail giants as one of several reasons to close.

Pollock's Hardware on Main Street has been open since 1922. The board of the co-op says the business is no longer economically viable and is asking members to convene for a special meeting next week to vote to shut down.

"Despite everyone's best efforts, the co-op has been struggling to pay its bills for a number of years. Anyone who attended a recent AGM and has seen the financial statements should not be surprised at this news," the board of directors wrote in a letter to members on Wednesday. 

"Although it is tempting to want to fight on, to struggle to the last dollar, we must realize that our decisions have consequences. Our staff need to be paid, the government requires source deductions, and we have suppliers who have provided product or services in good faith."

The suggestion comes about one year after the Pollock's Hardware location in South Osborne closed.

It isn't the first time the Main Street location has been on the brink of closing. It was saved by the community 11 years ago and converted into a co-op.

Co-op an 'act of resistance'

The board notes the co-op has lasted twice as long as most small businesses do in today's market. Amazon and other retail giants eating into the hardware market have changed the game, the board said.

"The last decade of Pollock's Hardware has been an act of resistance — resistance to a globalized and automated economy that doesn't value local neighbourhoods or the social capital they contain," the letter reads.

Mike Wolchock, who served as general manager of the co-op until last year, is against closing.

"I'm totally opposed to this. I think it's pretty hasty decision," said Wolchock.

"I think that there's other options that could happen for the co-op, and there's quite a few people that are actually interested in stepping up and doing something about it."

The board said Pollock's has made a positive mark in Winnipeg since reforming as a co-op. It paid its taxes, supported local enterprise, and put $1.5 million into the local economy through wages for staff and nearly as much invested in local niche product suppliers, the board said.

But the store has also posted significant annual losses for six straight years totalling $220,366 — losing anywhere between $22,888 in 2018 to $76,199 in 2016, according to the board. Sales at the Main Street location were down 24 per cent last year and 12 per cent in 2017.

Closing would hurt community: former manager

Wolchock said losing the store would be devastating to the community and he thinks it can be saved again.

"A lot of them [people who live nearby] don't have cars and a lot of them don't have tons of money," said Wolchock. "[Pollock's is] the place that they go to when something happens with their plumbing or whatever at home and they're going to lose that resource."

The board said finding enough money to pay staff has been a challenge, and board members contributed $4,500 of personal funds in the past year to ensure staff were paid.

One means of saving the business, said Wolchock, is to enlist volunteers to help keep the business afloat. He said too much of what Pollock's brings in right now is going toward paying staff.

Co-op members are expected to meet Feb. 16 to consider the board-recommended closure. If members vote against closing, they will be tasked with appointing a new board of directors.