How This Halifax Airport Liquor Store Pivoted When Airline Customers Dried Up
HALIFAX – It’s no secret that most people have not been flying since the Covid-19 pandemic struck last March. This has had a huge economic impact in the Halifax region, with the Halifax Stanfield International Airport reporting a 90 per cent drop in passengers.
With foot traffic down by 90 per cent, the various businesses within the Halifax airport have also been suffering. During the pandemic, some of the stores – like Tim Hortons, Subway, A&W, and Hudson – have stayed open the whole time. More places have gradually opened again, but six months after the pandemic hit, 70 per cent of these businesses remain closed.
Liquid Assets, which sells wine, spirits, beer, and other alcohol products from 65 Nova Scotian producers, is one of the few stores that is still open. The shop, a division of Ironworks Distillery, opened at the HIA in 2016, and is one of the reasons Nova Scotian alcohol products are known far and wide.
“If it’s produced in Nova Scotia, chances are we sell it,” said Liquid Assets general manager Lisa Olie.
The shop was gearing up for the busy March break season when the pandemic brought a sudden and dramatic drop in revenues.
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Just like the decline in people flying, Liquid Assets’ sales dropped by 90 per cent overnight. Rather than fret, however, the business came up with a new idea, and started making deliveries during the pandemic.
“We turned around immediately and started doing deliveries to East Hants and Halifax, so we were able to salvage the bulk of our business,” said Olie. “Even people who didn’t know we were in the airport found us.”
Through the new delivery service, Liquid Assets was able to reach a break-even point, although they are operating without their full staff to cut down on expenses.
And with the holiday season approaching Olie is looking at more creative ways to keep sales going. Liquid Assets will be offering a corporate gift idea, where select products are artfully boxed and can be delivered to the gift recipient. There’s also an option to get a corporate logo attached to the bottle.
Olie hopes people will remember to buy local this holiday season.
“Local businesses are really hurting; the Amazons of the world will always do well,” she said. ”So supporting a local business and a small business is always a good option.”
Despite all the setbacks, Olie remains an optimist. She noticed that a new 8 pm flight route from Halifax to St John’s was added recently, bringing in a few more potential customers. It’s these small improvements that Olie stays focused on.
“It’s been very discouraging for sure…but on a week-to-week basis we’re seeing businesses starting to reopen and passengers travelling again.”