Bolton merchants unite to promote the area

Just some of the many merchant and service providers of the newly formed Bolton Merchants Association. At the next meeting, they will be electing the executive, so if you are interested in joining and getting involved, please contact them.

The merchants of Bolton are uniting to improve shopping traffic to the main strip of Bolton.

The Town of Caledon for years has been providing tax dollars to the Hills of Headwaters Tourism Association for promoting Caledon as a tourist destination. The problem is the Headwaters' gateway is not through the eastern part of Caledon, which includes Bolton, Palgrave and Caledon East. Perhaps more importantly, Bolton is not a tourist destination!

Bolton councillors Garry Moore and Annette Groves have been trying to find ways to help Bolton merchants find necessary funding for co-operative initiatives that would assist in getting their simple cry out to the people - "shop Bolton!"

"Our local merchants have always been dedicated to our community. It isn't easy to be a merchant in a commuter community and they realize this. Their plan to join together to form a consolidated voice to the community is an excellent initiative," said Moore.

Twenty small Bolton-based businesses met at Chef Talk Bistro for the first meeting of The Bolton Merchants Association, to formulate a plan to market Bolton as "Caledon's shopping destination" through co-operative efforts and initiatives.

The biggest challenge that faces the small merchant in Bolton is not necessarily the onslaught of "big box" competition, but the bedroom community mentality of the town. A huge percentage of residents travel outside of Bolton for their shopping needs, in part because many don't even realize what they have on their own doorstep. The BMA's first goal is to communicate to local residents that they need not head straight for Woodbridge or Brampton when they think about going shopping. Secondly, a strategic campaign will be put in place to draw in shoppers from surrounding towns.

"The aim is to have merchants join together to brand and promote the town as a shopping destination using co-operative marketing dollars. There is strength in numbers, and working together can create more impact and awareness than working solo," said Simon Burn, owner of local branding and design company SDB Creative Group, who, with 20 years of destination marketing experience, is heading up the BMA marketing and advertising activities. The BMA has a good pool of talented resources to call on, including Lisa Scale of Bella Photography, a local a w a r d - w i n n i n g photographer and current Central Ontario Portrait Photographer of the Year. Lisa shoots emotive images that will be an important part of the image marketing.

"The merchants have to thank Donna Kamiel-Forster of Forster's Book Garden for starting this group," continued Moore. "She has been to each and every meeting the Town had called over the past year or so, and after each and every meeting wasn't satisfied with what she was hearing. Her passion for doing something has led to this core collection of merchants, and Bolton will no doubt be a better market place because of this group."

Every small retail business and service provider is invited to participate. Chef Fabrizio and Roberta Natale will kindly open their doors at Chef Talk Bistro as the meeting place for this group. There is no membership fee for joining the association at this time, just participation costs in the various promotional pieces and ads being developed. Details of the campaign, along with cooperative costs, will be made available shortly.

To learn more about the Bolton Merchant Association, please contact Fabrizio/Roberta Natale at

9 0 5 - 8 5 7 - 6 5 7 8 (cheftalkbistro@rogers.com) , or Lisa Scale at 905-857-

1967 or (info@bellaphotography.ca).