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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2007-11-14, Page 8Page 8 The Huron Expositor • November 14, 2007 • News Area businesses keep close eye on Canadian dollar ,• x= uuL+'� ,yid,,,= infer.` From Page 1 ones who were struggling before are still struggling and the ones who weren't struggling have adapted," he says, noting that the latter group may have taken advantage of oppor- tunities that come with the stronger currency, or have seen it coming and accounted for it in their business model. Taking the manufacturing sector as an example, he says thjit with the dollar at and above par, now is a good time to invest in equipment, upgrades and technology, which wasn't easy to do in the past with a weaker dollar. "Now is an optimal time to invest in that technology, to import that equipment and bring our manufac- turing plants and our production capabilities up to a much higher standard and close that productivity gap," he says, referring to the fact that the United Hugon TOMETRIC CENTRES 68 West Street 90 Albert. Street GODERICH CLINTON 519-524-7251 519-482-3671 www.huronoc.ca Drs. Dean Nisbett, Paul Padfield and David Weaver are pleased to announce that Dr. Simon Taylor has joined Huron Optometric Centres on a full time basis. Dr. Taylor joined our practice on a part-time basis in 2001. With the recent move of the Clinton office to the new, larger location on Albert Street, Dr. Taylor is now available for appointments in either location five days a week. Call to arrange an appointment today. New patients welcome! f SOURCE PROTECTIO STEWARDSHIP ACT FOR CLEAN WATER Plan to attend a Public Open House on Wed. Nov. 21 Information on the new Source Protection Stewardship program available including: • how landowners and business owners can help protect municipal sources of drinking water ■ funding that is available to undertake these actions. This program focuses on properties located within a 100 metre radius of a municipal wellhead and those within a 200 metre radius of a municipal surface water intake. Call 519 335- 3557 to check if you' are in these areas. Location: Royal Canadian Legion, Clinton Date: Wednesday, November 21 Time: Stop by any time between 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. Contact: Dallas Campbell or Chris Van Esbroeck at 519 335-3557 or maitland@mvca.on.ca or visit www.sourceprotectionstewardship.on.ca The Source Protection Program (Stewardship) is a voluntary, early actions companion project of the Source Protection Planning initiative under the Clean Water Ad, 2006. States has typi- cally had higher rates of produc- tivity than Canada. He says retailers are caught between a rock and a hard place. "They've pur- chased inventory when the Canadian dollar was lower," he said, explaining that it's difficult for them to compete on price with U.S.-based retailers with- out cutting their prices, which would cut their profit margins because they paid for the inventory at a higher price. "Probably the best thing to do if price is your only weapon, and in most cases it isn't," he says, "is drop the price, accept lower margins so you can clear out the higher priced inventory you've got and bring in inventory that you can get better margins on." He says with the dollar as it is, retailers that import products from the U.S. will be able to do that at a better rate than they normally would. "There are opportunities there, but sometimes we can't see them because the immediate concern is, 'I've got all this high-priced invento- ry, how do I move it?' Well, you might have to take it on the chin on that one for a short time." INSTANT REBATE* OF( Fibre Glass insulation Save Up to 30% on your energy bill Expires Nov. 24'0? This coupon is valid at Watsons IIBC, NHy 87, Gorrie, On Receive a $5.00 instant rebate off each bag of OFI Fibre Glass Insulation purchased on or before 24-11-2007 'Cannot be combined with any other third party coupon glen. Limit one coupon per product purchase. Compote may be used in one transaction to purchase up to 20 bags of 0F1 Fibre Glop laudation. Offer applicable to Ontario residents Oil): Off Our Regular Retail Only. Watson's.,+'Home Hardware Building Cent 44195 IIARRICTON Rt .. GOKRII 519-335.3551 X Teatero Motor Products of Seaforth is an example of a business that's benefitting from the strong currency, though owner Leonard Teatero says that's a short-term thing. "All my vehicles here, or a majori- ty of them, are from the U.S.," he says. "We've been buying them down there for three years." He says their sales have gone up by about 50 per cent after the dol- lar's upswing. "That's because we're able to mar- ket '06-'07 trucks at huge discounts compared to people who have bought them in Ontario," he says, noting that comes out to $10,000 cheaper in some cases. "Sales have been phenomenal right now. We're getting people com- ing from all over Ontario," he says. Many of their customers right now are from northern Ontario, from places like Sudbury, Thunder Bay and Sault Ste Marie. "They're far enough away from the U.S. that they can't drive down there themselves and go through the process to buy a truck in the U.S.," he says, noting that he treats them like an Ontario customer, whereas if they were to buy a vehi- cle in Michigan, they'll be treated like a Michigan customer. "That means they'd have no recourse if they bought a bad vehi- cle," he says, explaining that being Canadian citizens, they wouldn't fall under the consumer protection laws of the U.S. However, since they would have purchased their vehicle south of the border, they wouldn't be covered by Canadian consumer protection laws either. But since TMP is buying the vehicles and sell- ing them in Ontario, they take on the responsibility of them being quality vehicles. SAVZYIG S 3 DAYS ONLY - STOREWIDE Wed,, Nov. 14t•9a.m. • 5:30 p.m Thurs., Nov, 15th & Fri,, Nov. 16th • 9 a.m. , 7 p.m. 15% OFF (Excluding jewelry Si' denim) Gift Registry & Gift Wrapping Available maatzy's75 Ontario lia, J While it's helping his busi- ness now, Teatero is worried that it's going to have a negative impact on the Canadian econo- my long-term. "I think it's gone up too much, too fast," he says. "I'd rather have it at 90 cents on the dollar. I'd rather have our dollar undervalued. We're making more money than anticipated, but it's fleeting. It's not going to be there forever."