When the first coronavirus case was confirmed in Jasper in March, VideoStop owner Kevin Lazzari wasn’t taking any chances.
As soon as he heard the news, Lazzari dead bolted the door to his Patricia Street business.
“Those first few days and weeks were crazy,” he recalled. “No one knew how risky things were.”
When the national park closed its services and Jasper effectively shut down for two months, Lazzari’s DVD rental, electronics and skateboard shop followed suit. But to adapt his business model to the pandemic-affected retail landscape when health measures eventually relaxed, he started looking for guidance. Lazzari’s first call was to Jasper’s Colleen Chalifoux, whose flower shop, Elysium Florals, was going through a similar reckoning.
“Colleen was doing deliveries pretty much right out of the gate,” Lazzari said. “I messaged her and asked her ‘how does this work?’”
Soon, Lazzari, too, was going mobile. He drove all over town to deliver an internet cable here, a pair of earbuds there. He was surprised to discover a new part of the business he really enjoyed.
“It became my favourite time of the day,” he said.
As the pandemic wore on, the writing seemed to be on the wall for his Patricia Street location. In just two months, he saw shopping habits had changed. In-store traffic was lagging. His numbers were way down. If there was going to be a second wave of coronavirus, he didn’t think he’d be able to weather the storm.
“I realized we’d created new buyer habits,” he said. “Every business in Jasper had been closed for two months and we were telling everyone to go online.”
That’s where he decided he needed to be, too. Fortunately, he wasn’t stuck in a long term lease, and, as luck would have it, a warehouse space had just become available. Soon, Lazzari and his son were relocating his huge inventory into a second floor space in the Stan Wright Industrial Park. By August, he’d moved in. But while the rent was affordable, without a downtown retail location, Lazzari had no way of letting people know what he had in stock.
He had to get his inventory online, and quickly.
“I was basically starting a new business,” he said.
Eventually, he found a website platform that suited his needs and he started the huge job of uploading his inventory. Next came learning the social media tools to market his products to his customers.
“I’d never even used Instagram,” he laughed.
He learned. And he’s still learning. Because long before social media, long before he bought the Video Stop business from Sam Koebel, and even before he was sweeping up popcorn at the Chaba Theatre while still in high school, Lazzari discovered he had a soft spot for the movies.
“I love this business,” he said. “I want to keep it going.”
Locals can help him do just that by checking out his new website, videostopjasper.com
