CGTA RE TAILER OF THE YEAR
AWARD WINNERS
laugh-out-loud book section with comfortable chairs, a bilingual greeting card
space and, naturally, a pet area where all
the products are tested by Mortimer himself. The distinctive products make terrific gifts and the store prides itself on
providing complimentary gift wrapping,
using carefully chosen quality paper.
Examples of Mortimer Snodgrass customer favourites include baby items from
3 Sprouts, Fred’s Cool Shooters shot glass
moulds, Built NY’s lunch bags, planting
kits from Seracon Products and baby wrappers from Pisces Innovation. The up-to-the-minute “sizzling” trend? Bacon-scented,
flavoured and/or adorned band-aids, air
fresheners, soap, toothpaste and floss.
Despite being in an area that attracts lots
of tourists, as well as locals, they’re careful
to stay away from standard souvenir items,
preferring to offer unique products from
local companies like Montrealité t-shirts and
handmade bicycle bells from DringDring.
SUCCESS S TORIES
The story of Mortimer Snodgrass is a tale
of tenacity. Just after opening in the
expanded location, a nearby building
collapsed, closing the street to car traffic
for months. Virginia harnessed her considerable public relations skills to reach out
to the media and put pressure on city hall
to address the issue so businesses could
return to normal. The experience also
opened their eyes to how effective social
media like Twitter could be in keeping customers fully informed during a difficult
time. In mid-2012, they went on to endure
a story of survival on a much more personal level. Jay, who lives with cystic fibrosis, underwent a double-lung transplant.
In keeping with the special relationship
that Mortimer Snodgrass enjoys with its
loyal customers, their annual Midnight
Madness event included a party where Jay
thanked both clients and staff for their
support, and donated a portion of the day’s
sales to cystic fibrosis research. Despite
such daunting challenges, Mortimer
Snodgrass reports that sales are at an all-time high.
Drawing on their complementary strengths,
Jay is the main buyer and Virginia is the cre-
ative force. Jay is a “master trend predictor,”
says Virginia. He consumes design blogs and
cultivates relationships with budding sup-
pliers from around the world. “He has the
personality for it. People remember him, so
when they’re ready, they think of us.”
The store and its product have evolved,
but their buying philosophy hasn’t changed,
says Virginia. “If we wouldn’t buy it for
ourselves or give it as a gift, it doesn’t come
into the store, no matter who says it is the
next big thing.”
As the creative force, Virginia is respon-
sible for store layout and creating unique
window displays. Her communication back-
ground has also helped her establish solid
relationships with stylists and journalists to
ensure steady exposure in many levels of bi-
lingual media. A public relations firm handles
both traditional media and blogger outreach,
where they’re well represented, particularly
with mom, travel and techno blogs. With
general public relations taken care of, this
leaves Virginia time to oversee their own
social media. On top of being the daily task-
master, manager Danielle Axelrad is the
brains behind the blog and comes up with
clever banter on a daily basis for their
Facebook and Twitter accounts. They have
even invented their own Snod vocabulary,
like ‘snodtastic’ and ‘snodilicious’. (The store
itself is the ‘Snod’). Virginia’s car, branded
with the store’s logo, is the ‘Snod-mobile’.
