- Story by Tess van Straaten Photography by Don Denton
Story courtesy of , a Black Press Media publication
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Not many people can say they乌鸦传媒檙e the big cheese. But Nanaimo乌鸦传媒檚 Eric McLean sure can and he has the T-shirt to prove it.
乌鸦传媒淧eople get a good chuckle out of it and it helps me stand out,乌鸦传媒� laughs Eric, who started McLean乌鸦传媒檚 Specialty Foods 27 years ago.
The Glasgow native was even inducted into the Guilde des Fromagers, or 乌鸦传媒渃heese hall of fame,乌鸦传媒� five years ago. And his passion for good food is contagious.
乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 like one of my customers said the other day 乌鸦传媒� life乌鸦传媒檚 too short to eat bad cheese,乌鸦传媒� Eric says.
The idea for the specialty foods store, located in Nanaimo乌鸦传媒檚 Old City Quarter, was actually the result of Eric and his wife, Sandy, being unable to find ingredients like extra virgin olive oil, prosciutto and good cheese when they moved to the Harbour City almost three decades ago.
乌鸦传媒淲hen we moved here from Vancouver 28 years ago there was nothing,乌鸦传媒� explains Eric. 乌鸦传媒淲e just realized there was a big hole in the market. It乌鸦传媒檚 hard to believe, but before I opened the store in 1992 you couldn乌鸦传媒檛 even buy balsamic vinegar and nobody knew what San Pellegrino was.乌鸦传媒�
For Eric, who乌鸦传媒檇 worked in the food industry since immigrating to Canada in 1980, opening the store 乌鸦传媒渉ad to be done乌鸦传媒� and he says many of his first customers had also recently moved to Nanaimo from larger cities like Vancouver and Toronto.
乌鸦传媒淟ike us, they乌鸦传媒檇 moved here and couldn乌鸦传媒檛 find what they were used to buying,乌鸦传媒� he says. 乌鸦传媒淚 promoted the store at first as a place to get hard-to-find ingredients.乌鸦传媒�
With around 150 different kinds of cheese 乌鸦传媒� one of the largest selections on Vancouver Island 乌鸦传媒� as well as gourmet oils, vinegars, truffles, p芒t茅s, a delicatessen and wide assortment of Danish, British, European and South African specialty items, McLean乌鸦传媒檚 has attracted a loyal following over the years and a surprising number of new customers.
乌鸦传媒淓very single day for the past 20-plus years, we乌鸦传媒檝e had at least one person, and usually several, say: 乌鸦传媒極h this is great, we乌鸦传媒檝e never been here before乌鸦传媒� or 乌鸦传媒楩riends told us about this place, we just moved here,乌鸦传媒櫸谘淮綕 Eric says. 乌鸦传媒淓very single day, without a lie, so can you imagine what that does for our confidence. We乌鸦传媒檙e doing something right and the positive reinforcement has been phenomenal.乌鸦传媒�
But running a small business isn乌鸦传媒檛 easy. In the beginning, sourcing the products was the biggest challenge. However, now the challenge is competing with grocery and big box stores that have big buying power and are now carrying more specialty items.
乌鸦传媒淚n the last three-to-five years, supermarkets have suddenly discovered things like balsamic vinegar and prosciutto,乌鸦传媒� explains Eric. 乌鸦传媒淭he biggest challenge is supermarkets have realized specialty foods are part of a growing market. But their main motivation is price and they can乌鸦传媒檛 tell you what to do with the product.乌鸦传媒�
While Eric says he usually can乌鸦传媒檛 compete on price, he can offer something chain stores can乌鸦传媒檛 乌鸦传媒� specialized service and extensive product knowledge.
乌鸦传媒淲e can spend time with the customer and tell them what to do with the product, share recipes and share our experiences using it. And that has given us the edge,乌鸦传媒� Eric says. 乌鸦传媒淚 teach my staff to get to know our customers and to treat them like they乌鸦传媒檙e important, because they are. I may sign their paycheque but I don乌鸦传媒檛 pay them. I tell staff to always remember the customer pays them.乌鸦传媒�
Eric says the most important lesson he乌鸦传媒檚 learned in running the business has been to trust his instincts. But the best advice came decades ago, when he was still in Scotland and training in sales, from a man who would become his mentor.
乌鸦传媒淗is name was George Burrows and he told me never, ever bullshit the customer because it will come back to haunt you,乌鸦传媒� Eric says. 乌鸦传媒淲e were in a shop one time calling on a good customer he乌鸦传媒檇 had for a good number of years, and the owner was going to order this and that [from us] and George told him not to order it because it wasn乌鸦传媒檛 a good fit for the store. I asked George what the heck he was doing because I thought we needed every sale we could get, and he told me that if he goes back next month and it乌鸦传媒檚 still sitting there on the shelf, the customer isn乌鸦传媒檛 going to be happy. 乌鸦传媒楬e乌鸦传媒檚 going to be really pissed off if I sold him something for the sake of selling something.乌鸦传媒櫸谘淮綕
The conversation has definitely stuck with Eric, whose other passion is music. He乌鸦传媒檚 been playing guitar since he was 13 years old, including a stint professionally, and is one of the co-founders of the Nanaimo Blues Festival. His other claim to fame is launching Mott乌鸦传媒檚 Clamato on Vancouver Island when he worked for Cadbury-Schweppes years ago.
乌鸦传媒淚 learned an awful lot about product margins, how to merchandise product and how you can increase sales by moving product and repositioning it 乌鸦传媒� because the location of the product is really key,乌鸦传媒� he says. 乌鸦传媒淚 like to get a product that looks nice because basically it乌鸦传媒檚 fighting for its life to get someone to pick it up. So the better or more interesting it looks, the better chance it has of finding a home.乌鸦传媒�
After almost three decades in business, it乌鸦传媒檚 clear Eric has found his home. But the grandfather of three isn乌鸦传媒檛 planning to retire anytime soon.
乌鸦传媒淧eople ask me if I have an exit strategy and I say, 乌鸦传媒榟ow do you spell that? We乌鸦传媒檙e going to keep on doing what we乌鸦传媒檙e doing and trying to stay ahead of the curve.乌鸦传媒櫸谘淮綕
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