The impacts felt from the COVID-19 pandemic continue to be felt in the business community even as most restrictions have been lifted.
The North Burnaby Sleep Country store on Hastings Street at Beta Avenue has been closed permanently. This leaves Sleep Country Canada stores on Kingsway in Metrotown and on Lougheed Highway in the Brentwood area.
This follows a wave of business closures in Burnaby during the past two years of the pandemic.
Some of the major businesses that have closed down stores in Burnaby include Microsoft, Disney, Frank & Oak and Davids Tea, as well as smaller local businesses, especially restaurants, such as Zeus, Chez Meme and Cozmos.
More recently, Hop On Farms in South Burnaby closed down after 50 years. Hop On Farms was a seasonal produce store on Marine Drive.
Statistics Canada said recently that retail sales fell 5.7 per cent to $54.8 billion, the largest decline since April 2020 during the pandemic's first wave. Sales at clothing and clothing accessories stores plunged 28.6 per cent, while general merchandise stores dropped 8.1 per cent.
The agency also said its preliminary estimate suggested an additional drop of 3.2 per cent in the spring, but cautioned the figure would be revised.
TD Bank economist Ksenia Bushmeneva said wave-related restrictions on non-essential and in-person shopping held back retail sales in April as expected.
"In addition to restrictions, auto dealers were also impacted by the shortage of microchips, limiting their inventory and weighing on sales that month," Bushmeneva wrote in a report.
"While the microchip shortage may persist for some time, other headwinds will ease. With the vaccination campaign gathering speed and most provinces gradually lifting restrictions in June, consumer spending is on track to rebound strongly in the second half of the year."
- With files from the Canadian Press
