Though Ten Thousand Villages Canada will have permanently ceased its operations by summertime, support for the Steinbach franchise remains as strong as ever.

News that the Canadian half of the corporation would be completely closing their operations by the end of June was first announced on Tuesday. The decision was symbolic of a general dive in revenue. Despite that fact, Steinbach Ten Thousand Village's Manager Laurie Koop says her store remains unscathed.

Read more: Steinbach's Ten Thousand Villages Survives Closures

Where most of the 25 stores across the country have noticed drops in annual sales, Koop says Steinbach’s profits for 2019 were up by 11 percent.

“We are, by far, the smallest entity in Canada and we are doing very very well. To have an increase in any kind of retail store in this day and age is a miracle.”

Koop says her store will soldier on through the upcoming challenges.In the past few months, Koop says she has received dozens of emails and phone calls from sister franchises wondering about the secret to her success. She notes the increasingly generous and diverse community is largely to blame for this unprecedented prosperity… that, and a keen sense of what people want.

She says the demographic that Steinbach’s Ten Thousand Villages serves is among the most diverse in Canada. Customers include a wide range of 5 year-olds shopping for birthday presents, millennials obsessed with coffee, middle-aged fashionistas, and elderly patrons loyal to the store’s vision.

Koop notes the ability to order choice goods tailored to her community comes from being a board store rather than a corporate store. As she explains, her franchise is independently owned by the Steinbach MCC Board which, she stresses, is a valuable connection. It is this unique ownership that has enabled them to keep moving forward throughout the larger corporate shut-down.

Koop says separating Steinbach from its dying parent will be nothing easy.

“For us, the next six months are going to be very interesting. With the official closure of Ten Thousand Villages Canada, we will have to create a new website for the store and a new Facebook page; we will have to change our POS system and every code on over 3,000 products.”

As challenging as this ordeal is for Steinbach management, Koop’s heart goes out to the craftsmen and women across the globe whose hurt will go far deeper.

“Ten Thousand villages Canada has been supporting 26 developing countries and 20,000 artisans,” she states. “They have just been notified and this will be devastating for them as it will affect their livelihood.”

When Ten Thousand Villages Canada disbands, they can, of course, no longer be Steinbach’s primary wholesaler. With that in mind, Koop says she has already begun making the necessary connections that her store can continue stocking beloved products like “Level Ground” coffee and “Divine” dark chocolate after the corporation goes dark.

She admits there will be no shortage of obstacles in the coming months, but is convinced it will all be worth it if it means Steinbach can continue supporting fair trade and artisans across the world.