Downtown businesses thrive through the ages.

While North Bay's proposed waterfront development is expected to help revitalize the downtown core, two business families with nearly a century of downtown involvement have already unlocked their own secrets to long-term success.

Small independent businesses need to make use of their advantages over big box and chain stores, Bob Alger, owner of Alger's Furniture and Appliances, says.

He would know. In 1912, his grandfather established Alger's Electric Supply Company downtown, where it ran through 1986, when Alger established his own business. He now works alongside his two sons, ensuring the family legacy lives on.

Without having the constraints of having to cater to a larger corporate master, smaller stores have more flexibility to offer unique products or individual items which can be specially brought in for specific local tastes, Alger says.

As another businessman with downtown business connections dating back nearly a century, Gerry Lefebvre of Lefebvre's Source for Adventure agrees.

"We have to give people a reason to shop with us, and one such reason is to sell unique, better quality goods," Lefebvre says.

"You have to give them something that's different, be it the latest in sandals or tents or what-have-you. It can be more expensive, but sometimes that's what you have to do to make sure you're selling something good."

This isn't to say missteps can't be made, or that recovery from difficult times is impossible. With Maytag having spread their product beyond independent stores such as his and into large retail chains, Alger decided to get out of the furniture business to focus on appliances for nearly two years. The effects were disastrous, leading him to lose $80,000 in that time and forcing him to restructure his efforts.

Since reinstating furniture sales and leveraging his strengths, business has grown such that he's been able to scale back on advertising.

As one step on the path to success, Alger points to the power of networking, which he says is often overlooked by smaller companies.

"For the longest time, I thought 'Who needs the old boys' club?' But I came to realize that it's important to be involved with other people in the community, and we've definitely become more visible through the Downtown Improvement Association. It's made a big difference."

Lefebvre also believes in the advantages of branching out. In the interests of keeping competitive with the bigname chains, he sought out partnerships with like-minded businesses through the Source for Adventure group. This 168-store buying group allows Lefebvre to purchase stock at lower rates, and its buying committees help to guide him on what's up and coming in the industry.

However, he's not above doing his own legwork, and does his fair share of research through trade shows and industry magazines to try keep ahead of the market curve.

"Sixty to seventy per cent of the time, we're right, which leaves a fairly big margin of error. Still, we have a loyal customer base, and people know and trust the family business."

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This dedication to taking a chance and being willing to adapt is another key to ongoing success, Lefebvre says, and as an example, he points to the progression his own business has seen throughout the years.

First known as Lefebvre's Sports and Tobacco--"a pretty unthinkable combination these days," Lefebvre says with a chuckle--the business got its start in 1913, selling guns and fishing rods alongside pipes and tobacco. As time went on and Gerry's father, Frank, took over from his own father following World War II, the store became a "sports and hobby shop," replacing tobacco with toy trains. Gerry took the reins of the family business 29 years ago, converting it to an outdoor sports-focused outlet in the last two decades.

"If you're not changing your business, you're out of business," Lefebvre says. "You have to be a like a chameleon, always changing your spots."

However, this approach doesn't work for everyone. Alger says the reverse is true for him, and that adherence to tradition and consistency helps to keep customers aware of how he operates.

"Half the reason I'm still here is that I'm not quick to change," he says.

By NICK STEWART

Northern Ontario Business