Shut out of the lucrative holiday market in Whistler after the resort's council unanimously rejected its application to build there, London Drugs is now looking at the possibility of establishing a big-box store in Squamish.
Wynne Powell, the president of the B.C.-based company, said they were considering establishing their 67th store in Squamish following a collapse of a two-and-a-half-year bid to build a 17,000-sq.-ft. store in the Village Centre in Whistler.
"We've been receiving letters and phone calls from folks in Whistler and Squamish asking us to come here," he said. "I'm not saying that we are doing this for certain, but we are looking at the proposal very actively. Given its pending growth, Squamish is definitely attractive as a long-term prospect."
And if London Drugs does come to town, Powell said the support of local residents will have been a deciding factor in the move.
"I'd like to thank the people in Squamish and Whistler who have been writing and calling. It has made a significant impact on us. Instead of being president of London Drugs I often feel like a trustee of a much loved institution, and that's appreciated," he added.
Powell added that they were currently negotiating with "more than one group" to explore the options of moving to the Sea to Sky region.
"At the moment it is a case of whether we can put together the right deal. We don't have one yet," he said. "We're highly sought after and we are getting various offers."At the time of Whistler council's rejection of the plan in February of this year, Powell had remained hopeful of eventual success, saying he would continue to look for other spaces in the resort.
But this has failed for the short term, at the very least.
However, Powell said he could see stores in both Squamish and Whistler in the future.
"We don't believe they're exclusive," he said. "I don't think Whistler is a no go. If we opened a store in Squamish we would not give up on the idea."
Whistler counsellors voted in favour of quashing London Drug's rezoning application because of fears that one big-box store would open the floodgates to other such companies and harm the character of the village.
Powell believes they will decide one way or the other about a Squamish move before the end of 2008.
"We can't forecast exactly when, but we would like to move forward with a year. We're putting a royal push on the idea right now."
