Spatial Sense
Burlington Health Foods’ transition into a smaller space narrows its focus onto what its customers really need.
By Kavita Sabharwal / Photography by Robin Russell
Marnie Gall opened Burlington Health Foods in 1970 as a way to provide better natural health options that were unavailable at traditional grocery stores at the time. Her son, William (Bill) Gall, purchased the store from her in 1988 after spending years working there while cultivating a passion for the natural health industry.
Gall’s business training and acumen led him to move the store into a new location just down the street from its old one in order to accommodate a new business model. This new space, however, reduced the size of the retail floor from 1,900 to 1,179 square feet.
“It is definitely a change. It’s amazing what you can do with a smaller space when you start from scratch and lay it out exactly the way you want it, rather than dealing with something that’s been preexisting for decades,” says Michael Stetson, assistant manager of the store. “Even though it’s smaller, we’ve designed it in such a way that it’s adaptable, especially in the retail portion of the business.”
A changing model
Moving to the new space involved removing most of the bulk food, including dried fruits, nuts and seeds, which accounted for about 30 per cent of the floor space at the old location. This allows the company to focus on functional foods, which represent approximately five to 10 per cent of the store’s merchandise, reinvest in supplements, which account for 30 to 40 per cent of the store, and bring in new lines and new products.
Vitamin and mineral products are also represented, accounting for 30 to 40 per cent of the store, while personal care items round off the stock with about 10 per cent of the store’s merchandise.
Gall manages 11 employees at his store and worked with them to ensure they would stick around through the move. “We didn’t want to lose anybody because we have a really talented and knowledgeable staff. To be able to keep our staff and that expertise with us, that was a big bonus,” says Stetson.
Adding to the merits of the staff is Stetson’s own training as a registered holistic nutritionist. After gaining an interest in natural health through athletics, which he was very involved in, Stetson started out at the store in 2001 at the age of 18. He worked there while attending school, and receiveSpatial sensed his certification from the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition in 2005.
The demographics of the store have been shifting slightly, according to Stetson. “We’ve noticed that a large portion of our customers are now within the baby boomer generation, and previously the vast majority of our customers were in the senior citizen range. Our main customer base is getting younger,” he says. “People who are new to the city who are starting families or young professionals. We’re finding a lot of people in their 30’s and 40’s, as well.”
Among the other shared qualities of many of the store’s customers is a high education level. “I would say Burlington has a very affluent and educated citizenship,” says Stetson. “Most people are university or college graduates and nowadays, there are a lot more people with master’s degrees.”
While Stetson believes his store’s clients are well informed about the importance of taking care of their bodies, preventative health care and nutrition, he stresses that the Burlington Health Foods team is always available to provide assistance or answer questions.
“That’s something we really enjoy. We love to educate and share our knowledge. That’s always been the foundation of what we do here, for services,” Stetson says. “When we’re able to pass that along to someone and help them make better decisions for themselves and for their families, it makes you feel good because you know that you’re actually helping and making a difference.”
A community institution
Burlington has remained the store’s home because the company had a great desire to keep its roots planted within the community.
“We’ve been here for so long and we were opened with the concept of servicing this area, the residents here and the people that the original owners knew,” says Stetson. “To move would change that and it would separate us from the original goal to support the residents of Burlington as much as possible.”
The store’s new location has other positive effects for the company. It is next door to a Running Room location, and the two stores have developed a customer referral relationship. It is also within one kilometer of two gyms and is surrounded by small, independently run businesses that give the surroundings a sense of community.
Meanwhile, the business creates its own sense of community by getting involved with charitable events including participating in book drives and taking donations for the local humane society and Salvation Army.
Although Burlington Health Foods has been well established for the past 44 years as Burlington’s first health food store, Stetson believes that due to increasing competition with mass-market grocery chains and new small-format competitors, the company has been looking for ways to re-establish itself as a market leader.
“It’s a growing community with easy access to the QEW and Toronto which is why I feel there is a lot of growth of competition in the neighbourhood. A lot of stores see it as a viable market even though it seems like there’s a health food store on every corner,” he says.
Since the business is still settling in to its new location, Gall has no current plans to expand into a multi-store model. “I think that’s an option that has been considered and may eventually happen. Right now we’re trying to perfect this new location and this new business model that we’ve taken on before we make any solid decisions,” says Stetson.
A wealth of resources
While the store participates in social media and sends out e-newsletters, Stetson says there are currently no plans to start an e-commerce site. “We’re not selling directly online at this point but it’s an option we’ve explored and we’re open to further exploration down the road,” says Stetson.
Aside from the store’s monthly flyer that reaches 13,000 residents through the Burlington Post newspaper and is posted digitally on its website and social media pages, it has shifted away from traditional print media due to social networking’s reach and capabilities.
“Rather than just promote products and mention sales, we’re trying to get discussions moving and that way we get better interest and retention,” says Stetson.
That retention lasts even during the fluctuation of the Canadian dollar. Stetson notes that during the recent recession, the store experienced an upswing in sales.
“I think that’s because a lot of people recognized the importance of preventative healthcare and it has been studied that if a person is taking proactive steps toward their health, the financial and stressful impact of the recession can actually be lessened,” he says. “We took that message to heart and started to promote that. So even though the economy began to shift, we stayed fairly stable.”
Stetson notes that summer is the store’s slowest period of the year, much like it is for several other businesses, due to the fact that there are fewer illnesses circulating, so they become backburner concerns for most people. He notes that fall, winter and spring are all equally good periods for the business.
“With fall, everyone is getting back into their normal routines that they hold throughout the rest of the year. That carries over to the winter, especially when you see the spikes in seasonal illnesses like cold and flu. In the spring, it’s more about getting back into shape and getting out of that hibernation mode a lot of people go into during wintertime,” he says.
Stetson and the management team, William and the General Manager, Debra White, all take part in analysis, planning and forecasting for the store. “Though we all have our separate roles to play, we all work together towards planning upcoming purchasing of sales initiatives and also checking back to see what the major trends have been and try to better determine where we’re going,” he says.
As a store in the natural category, it must contend with the Natural Health Product Directorate, although Stetson notes that regulations are more impactful on the manufacturer’s side.
“With us, we like to carry products that are diverse and can better help our customers, though we have a policy that we generally don’t carry any products that don’t have an NPN number and don’t have bilingual labeling as well,” says Stetson. “We like to make sure that no matter what, we’re conforming to the regulations that are required while at the same time providing the best possible products that we can to our customers.”
The manufacturers also handle employee product training, and have done so for several years. “We value staff knowledge and education as much as possible because that allows us to educate our clientele more efficiently,” says Stetson. “We hold regular staff trainings including tele-training and webinars that a lot of manufacturers put out nowadays. We still have reps and various product knowledge experts coming in from different manufacturers and suppliers to educate our staff.“
The store’s in-house hiring process, which runs for a total of three months, requires another skill: passion for the industry. “We hire passionate people who love helping others and who are dedicated to a healthy lifestyle. After that, skills can be taught and education can be gained, but we feel passionate people are our best resource,” says Stetson.
Stetson believes the store sets itself apart from its competition by its staff and the level of expertise they have on the questions and concerns the customers have, as well as the new business model it has adopted with the move. The new location is a former chiropractic clinic and allows the retailer the space to offer the services of a naturopath, nutritionist and iridologist and in the future, an osteopath. Private consultations will also be offered.
“Moving into this change in business model where we’ll be able to offer full natural health clinic services in addition to the retail services, I think that makes us unique in terms of other businesses in the city,” says Stetson. “You have a dispensary model mixed with natural health services right on site so we’re able to offer much more to our consumers than we ever have.”
The store recently celebrated its 40th anniversary, a fact that Stetson is extremely proud of. “It’s a huge milestone for any business to be around for that long, especially in this industry. It was something that we’re particularly proud of because it just shows the community support and the great relationships that we’ve been able to build with a lot of our customers and clients over the years,” he says.
Burlington Health Foods continues to build relationships with its customers as it holds court as the city’s first health food store.
AT A GLANCE:
Name: Burlington Health Foods
Owner: William Gall
Location: 3300 Fairview Street, Burlington, ON, L7N-3N7
Website: www.burlingtonhealthfoods.com
Store Size: 1,179 sq. ft.
Staff: 12
TOP SELLING PRODUCTS:
Food: Vega Dark Chocolate Mixed Nuts & Sea Salt Snack Bar, Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar 1L, Now Whole Chia Seeds 500g
Vitamins: Health First Vitamin D3 1000 IU 500 caps, Progressive Women’s 50+ Multi-Vitamin 120 caps, Health First Berry-C Supreme 180 caps
Supplements: Boiron Single Homeopathic remedies (assorted), Renew Life Ultimate Flora Critical Care – 50 Billion 60 caps, NutraCleanse Powder 1kg
Personal Care: OnYa Natural Products Shea Butter 4oz., MediStik Dual Hot + Cold Roll-On, Heather’s Natural Soaps Bar 14g
Miscellaneous: SierraSil Joint Formula 14
