We've been enjoying the prices and quality at Steve and Barry's shops for a while. Kids like hoodies. Campy t-shirts with old style Marvel characters and cereal logos. And it's good to buy clothes that say "made in..." those countries from which you always wonder why we can't source stuff. But my drop into the nearest location was a bit of a shock yesterday - reminded me what recession looks like, something I really haven't seen since university years in the Maritimes. See, the chain is retracting, shutting down a whack of shops to face the new reality^(tm), excess stuff from those that are closed being pushed through the remaining one. But the incessantly blaring TV screens were shut off. And the staff was at least halved. And there were no customers - it was usually mobbed. Sure it was Tuesday at suppertime but the mall had people.

I was half the distance to the back kid's section thinking the store had somehow gotten bigger. Low cost good quality goods going unsold. Will it move north?