A new clothing store has made a timely opening in Huntsville.

Stitches, one of several clothing chain stores owned by Toronto-based YM Inc., opened on Nov. 30 in Huntsville Place Mall to serve Christmas shoppers looking for moderately-priced casual clothes, sportswear and accessories.

Manager Sandy Hurst, who has worked in retail clothing store management for ten years, said she is thrilled with the public response to the store and has had high traffic from the first day. Even computer glitches that shut down all but one cash register over the opening weekend didn’t discourage customers. Newly arrived in Huntsville herself, Hurst was impressed with shoppers’ patience and wanted to thank everyone for their for their positive comments about the appearance of the shop as well as about the merchandise.

“We are getting a lot of people coming in and saying, ‘Wow, this is one of the most beautiful stores in town,’” said Hurst who was manager of an Urban Planet store in Oshawa, Ontario, before moving recently to Muskoka to open and organize the Huntsville store. “The Stitches stores have been redesigned, and we are one of the first stores built in the new design. The store is big and bright with floor-to-ceiling windows across the front, wood trim accents and a new paint colour on the walls. All new Stitches stores will look like this, and eventually all the older stores will be redone in this style.”

YM Inc., which also owns clothing chains Urban Planet, Siblings, Sirens, Bluenotes and Suzy Shier, chose Huntsville as a store location after research showed Muskoka residents travelled to Stitches locations in Barrie,  Orillia and North Bay. The mall location was chosen as being a “good fit” for the town according to Hurst, despite a southern Ontario trend to building stand-alone Stitches stores. “The company wasn’t sure initially how the store would work best, but when the sport at the mall opened up, they decided to take advantage of it,” she explained. “It has been fantastic so far.”

Though the store’s target market is young – children from age 11 to college students – much of Stitches’ casual clothing, footwear, jewellery and outdoor wear can also be worn by those in the post-20s demographic.

“A lot of older clientele have been coming in since we opened, but they assume our clothing is just for young kids,” said Hurst. “The thing that I love most about Stitches is that it’s not just for younger people. We carry many items that can easily be worn by older customers. I really want people in town to know that we are here for everybody. For instance, this week we had men’s plain, long-sleeved shirts on sale for $5 each. Any man could wear them, and most men need them. Our prices are very reasonable and that’s perfect for this area.”

Stitches also offers customers a store discount card that gives a 20 per cent discount on their first purchase, and then a 10 percent discount for the rest of the year. The card cost is $20.

If you think you will be shopping at the store often, you will save a lot of money with this card,” said Hurst of the two-year-old in-store program.

When she’s not at the store, which doesn’t happen often right now, Hurst drives around Huntsville, getting to know the town she now calls home.

“My staff make fun of me on a daily basis because I come in completely bundled up,” she smiles, noting the difference between northern and southern Ontario snow levels.

“But one thing I have noticed about the people here is they are happy, friendly and helpful. I feel very welcome.”