Kuujjuaq store grows huge by providing “what people crave”

Kuujjuaq businessman Eric Pearson is the sole owner of Newviq’vi and part owner of its sister business Tullik. Both operate under the same roof. (PHOTO BY JANE GEORGE)

One of Newviq’vi’s 48 staffers busy at work. (PHOTO BY JANE GEORGE)

In the midst of economic slowdown, Kuujjuaq is a great place to do business, says Eric Pearson, owner of the community’s largest store, which just invested $1 million in a new addition.

Newviq’vi, an anglicized version of the Inuttitut word “niuviqvik,” which means “place to trade” or “store,” started out as a modest corner store 20 years ago.

Since then, Newviq’vi has only made gains, Pearson said — because Kuujjuaq’s unemployment is low and people have lots of money to spend.

“We’ve been lucky,” Pearson said. “There’s a lot of money in this town and we’ve had a lot of support.”

The business has come along way from its original 1,500 square feet to 25,000 square feet today, in a part of town known to Kuujjuamiut as “across the creek.”

Newviq’vi, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in November, recently opened its store addition. That nearly doubled Newviq’vi’s floor space, which the grocery store shares with its sister department store, Tullik.

When the store first opened, Pearson decided he wanted to better cater to customers’ schedules.

Back then the local Northern and co-op stores both closed on the weekend and on weekday evenings, so he decided Newviq’vi would be open during those off-hours.

The strategy worked. Now the store stays open until 8 p.m. weekdays with shorter hours over the weekend.

“Obviously the local population has influenced [the store’s] growth and everything else that’s happened,” Pearson said. “We’ve [also] been affected by the influx of southern workers.”

When they’re well-stocked, the shelves in this Kuujjuaq grocery store offer up an impressive taste of the world, including Quebec cheeses, horned fruits from Asia and deli meats.

The store’s selection of Japanese sticky rice and nori may well have launched the local sushi-making craze.

Pearson just says Newviq’vi thrives on selling “what people crave.”

Sister store Tullik, co-owned and operated by local business partner Colin Aitchison, offers items like clothing, outerwear as well as hardware and a full lumber yard.

Today, Newviq’vi employs 48 mostly Inuit staff. More than a dozen of them are full-timers — some still around from the store’s inception.

Opening the store on time every morning hasn’t proven a challenge, Pearson said, because he’s there bright and early to make sure it does.

A native of England, Pearson first arrived in Kuujjuaq in 1969 when he worked for the Hudson’s Bay Co.

Pearson and his three brothers-in-law decided to invest money from their James Bay agreement compensation in 1988. The group put up about $80,000 to open the depanneur-style store the following year.

“I guess it was a long-term plan,” Pearson said. “I had worked for the HBC… I knew where the weaknesses were. There were a lot of openings in the retail market and we thought we’d go after the corner store [model].”

Pearson can’t say what’s next for this growing business, only that he hopes the store continues to prosper.

“We’re both 60 years old now, it’s getting a little more difficult,” he said. “We’re not young punks anymore. We’ve got… our health to look after.”