RETALES: Weaker retail outlets in Halifax aren’t surviving COVID-19 closures
Before the onset of COVID-19, mass mall retail was already in trouble. However, with the temporary shutdowns coming to an end, it became more obvious in the last couple weeks.
Since things started opening, we have begun to see the liquidation and forthcoming closures of the Reitman’s-owned Addition-Elle and Thyme Maternity brands. Nygard International has begun the closure of all its stores. It operates 13 in Nova Scotia under the Alia & Tan Jay, Jay Set and Nygard banners.
Kitchen retailer Stokes has said it will be closing 40 of its 147 stores, though locations have not been announced. Pier 1 had already started the closure of stores but is not returning to finish liquidation, while Newfoundland Chocolate has shut its three Halifax-area locations.
While some stores have simply not reopened yet, signs on the La Senza in Mic Mac Mall indicate it won’t be returning. In Sunnyside Mall, People’s Jewellers closed at the beginning of the month.
It’s not all doom and gloom, though. Mic Mac Mall in Dartmouth saw the recent opening of a new Winner’s location, while sister brand HomeSense spun off into a separate store in Dartmouth Crossing. Work has begun on international sports retailer Decathlon, which is also coming to Mic Mac.
Here are some more recent retail happenings:
Million Pound Pawn broker Dan Hatfield: The Sheffield lad who became a TV star
Get the latest Sheffield news and updates delivered straight to your inbox - sign up for free email updates Invalid Email Something went wrong, please try again later. Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice
It is a line of business often associated with the desperate and financially-needy, being taken advantage of by bartering pawn brokers with an eye for a bargain.
But now, professional Sheffield pawnbroker Dan Hatfield is changing that perception one high-value sale at a time - and it’s all being aired on television.
Dan, 38, and his business London Road Jewellers, are fast becoming household names thanks to starring in hit ITV show Million Pound Pawn.
Viewers have been enthralled by the show, watching as Dan changes peoples lives forever by buying their valuables for high sums of money.
Most notably, single mum-of-two Fran Sawyer, who was running out of time to save her disabled son, who desperately needs to see a nerve specialist to save his life.
Dan offered her £85,000 for a watch and further £75,000 for earrings. With the money in hand, Fran will be able to seek the best treatment her sick son requires.
Dan, a third-generational pawnbroker who has been in the industry for 15 years, told Yorkshire Live while there is a lot of misinformation on pawnbrokers on the internet and the “stigma does exist”, he loves working for his customers and seeing them smiling after completing a deal.
He said: “Wherever people are earning money, there will always be issues concerning trust.
“What I would say is that pawnbrokers are governed by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), so basically we are governed by the same people as the banks.
“There is a stigma, yes. The problem when we worked with Fran on ‘Million Pound Pawns’, we did a deal for £85,000. Then everybody suddenly became an expert. Everybody said we were ripping her off.
“A lot of people posted pictures on Twitter about watches that look like Fran’s. But these people are unfortunately watch dealers and not experts.
“It does not take a genius to look at the watch that Fran had and those who were offered online – there were massive differences in the design and outlay.
“Fran’s watch is worth £90,000, which was verified by the country’s top experts. It is not in my interest in ripping someone off because at the end of the day, if I treat someone well, then they are going to tell people about me.
(Image: ITV)
“That is going to win me business. I would rather make a little profit on a lot of people than a lot of profit on a few people.”
Dan said he knows what he is doing. He grew up in a pawnbroker family, and he has been in and around the industry since his grandfather owned the business.
However, it was not inevitable that he ends up being a pawnbroker himself - and his life could have been very different.
He had an offer from a firm in Australia to work for their marketing department and he was dead-set on going.
Then, his mother asked him to look after the family business for “only” two weeks as the manager had just left the company. Dan never left the industry again.
He said: “In the end, I literally ripped up my visa because you know, I didn’t choose pawnbroking; pawnbroking chose me. It was always in my blood. I never regretted my decision, ever.
“My job is very hands-on. In the morning I can be dealing with someone who is selling a gold ring which is worth up to £20, but in the afternoon, I can be approached by someone selling a Rolls- Royce.”
He said he has been offered jobs concerning some of the most luxurious assets, such as yachts.
And just recently, yet another massive, royal deal found him.
He said: “You often think how does a local lad from Sheffield gets the chance to buy and sell a Rolls-Royce once owned by the King of Saudi Arabia.
“It is mind-blowing.”
When it comes to ‘Million Pound Pawn’, Dan said the show was initially meant to focus on how people are struggling during the coronavirus crisis and what they would do after losing their jobs due to the situation.
However, the alure of buying and selling valuable possessions and the impact that can have on lives made for gripping viewing.
Dan said: “When coronavirus happened last March, I began talking to a TV producer who thought it would perhaps be a good idea to highlight how the economic downturn was having an effect on the nation and how pawnbrokers were dealing with it.
“We started having the conversation and I think it started off with the producers thinking everybody was selling their items because everybody was losing so much money.
Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will auto-play soon 8 Cancel Play now
But actually, what we were finding was that it was bringing out the best of the British people.
“People were losing their jobs, and they wanted to sell their items to set up their own businesses. We found that in tons of adversity the best of British has shone through.”
While pawnbroking may seem to be an easy and well-paying job, Dan said it requires a lot of hard work, patience and sacrifice.
For those thinking about entering into the industry, he has a message.
He said: “You have to have a good eye. You have to detect some things that are fake and some things that are a fortune.
(Image: ITV)
“It comes from experience. To be a good pawnbroker takes a lot of experience, you cannot succeed overnight.
“It takes a lot of years and practice. More importantly, you need integrity and honesty because if you offer bad service people will tell ten people.
“You have to be honest and emphatic as well because sometimes people sell things for sad reasons.
“It is a great job, but it is not easy at all. Be prepared.”
Three protest rallies planned for HRM on Saturday
Activism is alive and well and living in Halifax.
The city will be the site of three protests and rallies Saturday, beginning with the Broken Trust protest at noon on the Bedford Highway.
That protest is for patients, families and supporters of alleged victims of Bedford-based dentist Errol Gaum.
Gaum’s licence was suspended earlier this week by the provincial dental board after an emergency meeting was called Wednesday night to discuss numerous complaints against Gaum.
Some of those complaints were voiced on the Victims of Errol Gaum Facebook group.
“I’m very happy that the dental board is actually listening to us and suspending his licence even though it should have been suspended long ago,” Ryan Binder told the Cape Breton Post.
Broken Trust protest
Binder, who believes Gaum hurt his six-year-old daughter, said the suspension is only the start and the group won’t stop until the dentist’s licence is revoked and his actions are criminally investigated.
A Halifax Regional Police spokesman confirmed that they are investigating “numerous reports that a man who was working as a dentist assaulted patients at numerous locations over a period of time from the 1970s to this year.”
Binder, a Cape Breton resident, filed his complaint with the dental board last week after his daughter’s appointment with Gaum on Nov. 10. Binder’s mother took the girl to the appointment and told her son and police she could hear her granddaughter screaming from the waiting room. After the appointment, the girl was extremely upset and told her grandmother Gaum had held her down forcefully, put his hand over her mouth and nose and yelled at her to shut up.
“I’m a small voice but with everyone else’s voice we become a large voice and a voice that can’t be stopped,” Binder said.
As many voices as possible, muted only by facemasks, are urged to gather for the Broken Trust protest taking place at 1083 Bedford Hwy.
Africville reparation protest
At 1 p.m., former residents, descendants and allies of Africville will rally at the Grand Parade in front of Halifax City Hall to demand reparations for the deliberate destruction of their harbour-side community.
The rally, featuring speakers and performers, will highlight that the city’s 2010 apology and settlement with the Africville Genealogy Society did not include any reparations, as was suggested by the United Nations.
Instead, the settlement merely provided $3 million to rebuild a small replica of the Africville church and two acres of land without ownership because it was designated as a (dog) park. Now, former residents and descendants have filed for a class action lawsuit that seeks compensation. They are demanding that the city settle with them rather than fight them in a costly legal battle.
Organizers remind all attendees to take COVID precautions, including wearing masks and keeping physical distance.
Anti-war rally
At 3 p.m., an anti-war rally will be held by those who characterize the 12th annual Halifax International Security Forum running online from Friday to Sunday as a war conference.
The rally will be held at Halifax Peace and Freedom Park at the corner of Hollis and South streets, across from the Westin Nova Scotian hotel, the site of the security forum in non-COVID times.
The security forum represents narrow private interests that are linked to U.S. wars and striving for world domination through its association with partners, sponsors and media thought leaders, which Canada brought together in Halifax once a year since 2009, the anti-war group said in a release.
The group says the security forum is a “100 per cent U.S. operation, lock, stock and barrel,” with offices located in Washington, D.C.
“Yet the security forum is paid for by millions of our tax dollars handed over by the Canadian government to the U.S. organizers,” the group fronted by Allan Bezanson said.
The first forum in 2009 was dedicated to popularizing NATO’s then new security doctrine and ensuing forums have provided a stage to justify NATO’s ‘humanitarian intervention’ in Libya and Africa, Syria and Iran, the group said in its release.
Canadians should demand that the security forum be banned, along with demanding that Canada get out of NATO and NORAD and that they be dismantled, the group says.
“It is unacceptable that Halifax or any Canadian city, be used as a venue to plan further crimes against the peace and the peoples of the world.”
Protesters are encouraged to bring banners, music, statements and friends who oppose the “war conference.”