It's a FUN (and frosty) Friday
And is Costco a help or hindrance to our city? Weigh in
Happy Friday! Today I’m clearing out a few fun things I’ve had sitting in my bookmarks but haven’t had a chance to put in this newsletter, so get ready for a FUN FRIDAY. I would also like you to leave a comment telling me what fun things you are up to, if you’re so inclined.
Yesterday was the first good frost of the year. I failed to take any pictures but fortunately I was the only person in the entire city not to, so we still get to look at how pretty this is:
While we’re settling in for a long winter’s nap this is also a good time to tell you that A Great North Christmas, the made-in-PG Hallmark-style film that maker Norm Coyne described as a love letter to the city, is available to stream for free on Tubi. You can read my recap of it from last year, here. Also, look how young this newsletter was a year ago! So cute.
It’s also a good time to remind you that if you see a tiny white ferret running around it’s probably not a lost pet but a wild ermine, though you should still consider yourself lucky, they are very cute:
This has also been sitting in my bookmarks for a couple days. It’s a nice overhead shot:
And here’s an archive photo I like:
Speaking of old things, here’s a couple of things that popped up on my phone reminding me of when Twitter was chaotic and weird in a fun way:
Boom! There, my tabs are cleared out, except for one more thing….
Costo: Friend or foe?
In February 1993, Prince George city council approved the construction of a 4.8 hectare Costco along Highway 16. One member of the public turned up to the meeting, a member of the Peden Hill Community Association, which offered its support to the project. A representative from Costco predicted the store would attract customers from as far away as Prince Rupert and the B.C.-Alberta border.
30 years later, Costco is a major attractor of out-of-town visitors. Locals will go out of their way to buy gas and bulk goods there. Along with the university and regional hospital, the existence of a Costco here is probably the biggest claim Prince George has to being a true northern capital. As Northern Development Initiatie Trust CEO Joel McKay wrote in this newsletter at the beginning of the year, “we have a Costco not because Prince George’s 75,000 people can support it, but because Northern B.C.’s 332,000 can.”
So I read with interest this comment from Reddit user chronocapybara who tried to argue that Costco is one of the most overrated parts of the city:
Costco. Hear me out. God forbid you ever say anything bad about the Almighty Costco in this town! But let's be real, can a city where the residents do little more than work, sleep, and shop at Costco ever really thrive? It doesn't support any local businesses, and all our money just flows out of the city. Plus it's basic as hell, and god have mercy on all the kids every year that just get Costco products for Christmas lol. This town has to get over its crazy obsession with Costco, it's never going to be vibrant, fun, or an interesting place to be otherwise.
Perhaps proving their own point, the comment has been downvoted by multiple people, making it difficult to find. Here are some of the more interesting comments, for and against the point.
Fey_Lion:
Speaking for the citizens of surrounding cities who come in to PG specifically to shop at the only Costco anywhere in the north, it draws us in for necessities, and then we have to stop for a meal, and maybe some other shopping, or perhaps some entertainment... and voila, you've got tourists!
To which the original poster replies:
True, but if you come to PG and spend 90% of your money at Costco, that money just leaves the city. If Costco wasn't here and you spent the money locally instead, the local economy would benefit. And if Costco wasn't here, but all the amenities were spread out, you would still come to PG to buy these products and amenities you couldn't get in your own town.
One day PG people need to realize that Costco is really a big black hole in our economy that money just pours into and never comes back from.
Which, I’m actually not sure is true tbh. People really like going to Costco. To that point, KACL780AM writes:
Nah fam that’s everywhere. Lived in Los Angeles and people were no less Costco obsessed. Same in Hokkaido where the Costco in Kitahiroshima would take about an hour just to get into the parking lot on a weekend and where people would drive across the island just to go there.
People like Costco because it represents a rare value proposition in today’s economy: a place that doesn’t advertise broadly, that unquestionably stands behind their product, that generally sells a higher quality product at a lower price than anywhere else, that makes a bit more of an effort to source responsibly than its competitors (nowhere near perfect, this is still capitalism), and that pays employees fairly. There is no better place to buy essentials like toilet paper, gasoline, or prescription drugs among many other things and people get tired of being burned elsewhere.
There’s also an inverse to this: While we can debate whether Costco is taking money away from local stores or not, at least at the end of the day at least some of that money is going to people who live and work in Prince George. That is not the case for the communities surrounding who have people leave their community to shop at the Prince George Costco. In fact, one such community — 100 Mile House — even commissioned a report looking into the economics of locals going to the Costco in Kamloops, 200 km away.
Consider a shopping trip to Costco in Kamloops for a planned purchase of $500. This dollar value should be approximately 20% less than purchasing the same products in 100 Mile House, reflecting a savings of $100. Assuming the trip is made in a small, fuel-efficient vehicle ($52 fuel), a fast-food lunch for 2 people is purchased ($24), and an additional 10% is incidentally purchased ($50), the cost of the shopping trip could be $126. Even with these modest expenditures, it could cost $26 (or 25%) more to shop in Kamloops than it would to pay the higher prices and shop in town.
That, of couse, is bad for 100 Mile House’s economy but good for Kamloops, to a degree. And we’re the Kamloops in this situation for the Vanderhoofs, Terraces and Quesnels that have people making the long-haul trips to Prince George for a Costco run. But: What is Costco didn’t exist here? Would we have more thriving smaller businesses not being undercut by the bulk discount prices offered by the Costco model? Or would we just have more people going to the Wal-Mart?
Quick news:
Some residential drinking wells outside of town are running dry.
Early morning shooting on Johnson Street sends two to hospital.
Near sellout crowd expected for Saturday’s Prince George Cougars Teddy Bear Toss game.
Renovations in the works to turn hotel into supportive housing.
Tourism PG’s last day at its current Visitor Information Centre on 1st Avenue will be December 22nd.
PG Hospice hosting a Celebration of Life ceremony for those grieving during the holiday.
Prince George Native Friendship Centre unveils first Indigenous Christmas Tree.
Today’s song:
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I think the argument for supporting local could've been made before the cost of living exploded to support "Canadian" chains but now many families locally are just trying to get by. Though Costco is getting expensive (a queso dip for $12? Get bent!), but it's still the best game in town. You can't blame folks who are struggling when they use the most cost effective option.
The "small towners driving to the next town over to shop" has always happened, and will always happen. I grew up in Hazelton, and we still went to Smithers every weekend to grab groceries, though Hazelton had two perfectly serviceable grocery stores. Even if the economics for just grocery shopping don't work out on their face, you can usually justify the trip by other means by saying there's better selection, boutique items you can only get in larger centres, or family and friends to visit (the list goes on).
Another note is that there aren't many truly independent grocers in town. I can only think of the Marquee off hand?(which is well supported locally). Grocery is the just the latest sector to become an oligopoly (see: telecom, banking, rail). Even if you shop at SaveOn or Superstore, you'd be lining the pocket of a tax-evading big wig who doesn't care about little Prince George anyhow. The only difference is that the Costco bigwigs live in Seattle. No ethical consumption under capitalism, as they say.
I definitely have felt the impact when Costco brings in a product my shop carries, and people ask me "why can't I offer the same price" -- Dude, Costco plays an entirely different game than small local shops. I can't buy it at that price direct from wholesaler. It definitely skews peoples sense of what products are worth and the costs of business operations.