After more than four decades in the same location, Villages Calgary, a fair-trade non-profit retail store, is preparing for a move as city infrastructure plans progress.
Alex Ferguson, Chair of the Board at Villages Calgary, said the relocation has been under discussion for several years due to the City of Calgary’s proposed expansion of the nearby Crowchild Trail.
“We’ve been talking about a move for quite a while—even before my time,” said Ferguson, who has served as board chair for just over a year. “They’re talking about expanding what I call the ‘super highway’ right at our doorstep.”
Villages Calgary has operated from the same building—an old house on the edge of Kensington—for 41 years. Originally, the upstairs served as an apartment for the store manager while the ground floor was used for retail. The building was purchased by the non-profit society years ago, a move Ferguson described as “smart,” as it enabled them to benefit from property tax breaks as a registered non-profit.
Though no specific timeline has been given for the city’s plans, Ferguson said the organization is actively searching for a new home. The store’s leadership team, along with commercial realtors, is currently exploring new locations, including one in Inglewood.
“We’ll find something,” said Ferguson. “It’s not a huge rush. The city has been really good to deal with.”
According to Ferguson, a customer survey conducted in 2019-2020 identified traffic access as a significant challenge. “Getting on and off that highway is always a bit of a challenge. If you’re heading south on Crowchild, you can’t turn left—you have to go all the way around,” he said. “Our kind of store needs foot traffic.”
Founded as a fair-trade certified retail outlet, Villages Calgary offers products from countries including Rwanda and Vietnam. Ferguson said roughly 80 per cent of the store’s inventory is certified fair trade.
“These are products that are certified to be providing benefits to local artisans and communities in some of these countries that don’t have another market for their products,” he said.
Originally independent, Villages Calgary later operated under the umbrella of the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), which provided administrative support including HR policies and payroll. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the MCC shuttered all of its own brick-and-mortar stores, allowing society-owned outlets like Villages Calgary to decide whether to continue independently.
“I think most of the independent ones stayed viable,” said Ferguson. “We’ve survived the last five to seven years probably more by collaborating with our sister stores.”
Store managers across the country hold monthly calls to share insights and support, a network Ferguson credits with helping them remain sustainable.
“The whole imperative is to maintain a market for products that come in from countries where we’re supporting local artisans and communities,” he said. “It’s probably a labour of love more than anything else.”
Despite the looming relocation, Ferguson said the organization is focused on ensuring the new space reflects the store’s identity and mission.
“There were a few mall locations identified, but the culture of our store is not really a mall-type situation,” he said. “We’ll do a lot of good work to make sure we’re in a good location.”
CDNGLOBAL has the property listed for sale. More information here.
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