It's a tale of two Vancouver businesses – one a day spa specializing in aromatherapy, the other a flooring company open for nearly 50 years.
Both companies went into "survival" mode last fall, cutting back staff and slashing expenditures. Both held on for nearly a year, seeing tantalizing glimmers of recovery without any improvement in sales or their bottom line.
Last week, both businesses decided to close their doors.
In any other economy, there would be little in common between Elements Day Spa and Studer's Floor Covering, Inc. Today, they are united as the latest victims of one of the deepest and prolonged recessions since 1945.
"We hung on as long as we could, but nine months of losses is not sustainable for any business," said Georgia Bestgen, owner of Elements Day Spa and Salon on S.E. 15th Street.
Employing as many as 21 people before the recession, Elements gradually reduced its workforce to 12. Last Thursday, the nine-year-old business closed its doors for good, with their remaining employees – including Bestgen – hunting for other work.
Elements' downfall came courtesy of a dramatic drop in consumer spending on so-called discretionary items and services. "If it's a choice between food on the table or a facial, well then obviously our customers have made the right decision," Bestgen said.
In a testament to the breadth of this recession, Studer's also experienced months of losses from a diversified retail and commercial business that had survived numerous boom-and-bust cycles of years past.
Until now. "It got us through the ‘80s and every other downturn, but this time it has hit us on all three fronts," said owner Scott Studer, referring to his commercial construction, new-home construction and walk-in retail business – all experiencing steep declines in this recession.
The family-run business on N.E. Andresen Road will liquidate its assets and close its doors by Dec. 31, resulting in the loss of 13 "inside people" and 20 installers, Studer said.
Like Elements, this recession turned out to be too deep, too broad and too long for Studer's to survive. "If you can hang in there, the business will come back," Studer said, sounding wistful.
