Park outside Home Depot or Barnes & Noble this weekend and
you're likely to find yourself sandwiched between red and white
Alberta license plates.
Ditto at the Holiday Village Mall.
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At the O'Haire Motor Inn
downtown, General Manager Sandra Johnson-Thares booked 100 Canadian
reservations in one day last week, extending through the holidays.
"We started seeing it really strong about three weeks ago," she
said. "... It's families coming down. It's girls doing an outing for
the weekend. It's moms and daughters. It's fun to see them. They're
super nice people and they're just excited to be coming down again."
A high-flying Canadian loonie — 93 cents Canadian bought $1 U.S.
on Friday — is driving a southern migration of Canadian shoppers to
Great Falls and communities across the Hi-Line.
Crossings into Montana at the Port of Sweet Grass north of Shelby
were up 62 percent over 2006 during last month's Canadian
Thanksgiving weekend, according to statistics provided by the
Department of Homeland Security. Overall, crossings from Canada into
the United States at Sweet Grassare up almost 9 percent
year-to-date over 2006, driven largely by Canadian traffic. Traffic
last month was up 17 percent from a year ago .
Merchants expected another blockbuster weekend as Canadians are
in the middle of celebrating the three-day Remembrance Day holiday
weekend, the equivalent of Memorial Day in the United States.
The shoppers are buying everything from iPods to tractors, as
merchants scramble to capitalize on the trend.
"I have Canadians in here every single day," said Alison Fried,
owner of the Dragonfly Dry Goods store on Central Avenue.
In the past week, five hotels have called Fried about package
deals for Canadian shoppers. Organizers of Canadian shopping bus
tours also are calling to put together coupon booklets for their
travelers.
Fried teamed up with Diamonds by Design and the O'Haire Motor Inn
to buy three billboards targeting Canadians headed south on
Interstate 15 — one in Shelby, one near Conrad and one just north of
Great Falls.
"One of our first customers Monday morning said, 'We're staying
at the O'Haire and here we are. We saw your billboard,'" she said.
Price disparity sweetens deal
There are no definitive numbers tracking sales to Canadians.
Anecdotally, some of the biggest upticks are with auto dealers,
implement dealers and others selling big-ticket items, where
substantial savings make the trip south worthwhile.
"The amount of phone calls that we're getting (from Canada) has
doubled or tripled in the past few months," said Ron Harmon, owner
of the Big Equipment Company in Havre. "Those don't all translate
into sales, but just the fact that they're shopping at that level
says something."
Harmon plans to increase his inventory to meet the demand.
The market is for used equipment because many manufacturers
prohibit sales to Canada to protect their Canadian dealers.
Harmon and other business owners say that while Canadians
gradually began returning about two years ago as their dollar gained
steam, the biggest increase has been over the past two to four
months.
In September, the Canadian dollar — dubbed the loonie for the
bird that appears on the coin — reached parity with the U.S. dollar
for the first time in over 30 years. It continued to soar to record
highs this month.
The loonie's meteoric rise has outpaced the ability of many
Canadian merchants to lower their prices accordingly.
Ron Bain, owner of the Runner's Soul shoe store in Lethbridge, a
three-hour drive from Great Falls, is now receiving merchandise that
he ordered and paid for six months ago, when the Canadian dollar was
worth significantly less.
"We're locked into a price that we get from our Canadian
distributors," he said.
The price disparity makes shopping in the United State even more
attractive for Canadians.
Bain figures he'll see an impact — some folks will pick up
athletic shoes on trips south — but he's confident he'll weather the
trend.
"Most of what we sell is lower prices compared to, say
electronics or RV toys," he said.
Last week, a number of Canadian chain and big box stores,
including Sears Canada, Wal-Mart Canada and Indigo Books &
Music, lowered prices to stem the cross-border bleeding, earning
praise from Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty.
Trend to continue
Some experts speculate the exchange rate could rise as far as
$1.20 American per $1 Canadian, according to Larry Swanson, director
of the O'Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West, a Missoula-based
research and public education institute.
"How long this currency situation will last is anybody's guess,
but I think the factors leading to it in the U.S. will keep this
with us for several more years and perhaps longer," Swanson said in
e-mailed comments.
Some American products, including fabric, books and greeting
cards, are traditionally priced lower in the U.S. than in Canada,
sometimes by as much as half, merchants said.
At the Quilting Hen shop near Carter, co-owner Diane Arganbright
saw a strong surge in Canadian business begin this summer.
"What they can buy here for $9 a yard is $22 a yard (in Canada),"
she said. "They tell me these prices and I think they're joking."
At Holiday Village Mall on Tuesday afternoon, Nellie Davidson, of
Raymond, Alberta, which is east of Lethbridge, returned to her car
after a successful shopping trip at Ross Dress for Less.
She was buying mainly for her three grandchildren whom she is
helping raise.
"When I can pick up a pair of pajamas for $10, it's a good deal,
especially with the dollar now," Davidson said. "I picked up kids'
jeans for $10 and I was like 'Oh my God.'"
As daylight faded, Davidson and her husband, Floyd, were eager to
try the Golden Corral for dinner.
Across the parking lot, retirees John and Michelle Dorman stopped
outside Scheels after driving four hours, with a stop in Shelby,
from Medicine Hat, Alberta.
Although the strong Canadian dollar sweetens the deal, the
Dormans have shopped in Great Falls for more than a decade.
"It's a nice change. We enjoy the people down here," John Dorman
said. "Even before the difference in exchange there was value down
here and selection in products."
Michelle Dorman said she finds a better selection of petite
clothing here for her mother-in-law.
"You've always got sales and you've got different things here
than you get in Canada," she said.
Canadian citizens can take home up to $400 in purchases duty-free
if they return across the border in 48 hours or less and up to $750
duty-free if they're gone for seven days or more.
Gerry and Sherry Jensen of Lethbridge also have shopped and
played in Great Falls for years, even when the economic scales
weren't tipped in their favor.
Favorite stops include Big Sky Harley Davidson,Old Navy
and Scheels. The couple sometimes golfs in Great Falls and they've
even taken the plunge at the Electric City Water Park.
"It's easier to get around and the people are so friendly and
it's so fun," Gerry Jensen said.
His favorite stop is Taco Treat.
"That's my favorite place to eat in the world," said Jensen, who
takes home Taco Treat sauce and cheese.
Although he's a longtime Great Falls shopper, Jensen said there's
no doubt the strong dollar is driving traffic.
As president and CEO of 1st Choice Savings Credit Union in
Lethbridge, he has a front-seat view of the trend.
In the past few months, 1st Choice customers have opened more
than 100 checking and saving accounts in U.S. currency, he said.
Jensen said he usually sees 100 or fewer U.S. dollar accounts opened
in a year.
"We've had a tremendous rash on that," Jensen said. "I'm going,
'what the heck's going on here?'"
Jensen said most customers are using the accounts to shop.
Swanson, with the Center for the Rocky Mountain West, said
Montana businesses are rebuilding relationships with Canadian
customers, which faded when the loonie dropped in the late '90s.
So if you're out and about this weekend and you see those red and
white license plates, give 'em a nod, eh.
greatfallstribune.com
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