Anthony Farachi (The Bannock Factory), fashion designer Lennard Taylor, Daniel Marabotto (Delicious Kicks), Nick Danzinger (DigiPlus), Chloe Chafe and Andrew Eastman (Synonym Art Consultation) and Jason Abbott (OI Furniture) in front of Launch It! at Portage Place Shopping Centre on Tuesday, April 15, 2014. (TED GRANT / CHRISD.CA)
Jason Syvixay, Brigitte Burgoyne and Steven Paulus with the Downtown Winnipeg BIZ next to a 2 Architecture Inc. proposal of flexible floor space for multiple vendors. (TED GRANT / CHRISD.CA)
A pilot project for seven small businesses to test the waters of a retail storefront has wrapped up.
Launch It! was an initiative of the Downtown Winnipeg BIZ and Portage Place Shopping Centre to give young entrepreneurs the opportunity to see how their businesses would do over a three-week period in the mall.
Participating businesses operated out of the front of a 4,000-square-foot space on the mall’s second floor. The rear of the store was used as office space for the entrepreneurs to conduct business while not interacting with customers.
The businesses included OI Furniture, The Bannock Factory, Synonym Art Consultation, EPH Apparel, Lennard Taylor, Delicious Kicks and DigiPlus.
The BIZ says it will evaluate the project and see if permanent mini-shops can be sustained in the future.
