Gurdeep Nagra now has a lot more space to display all of her pretty things.
The owner of Saheli Boutique in Parksville, Nagra has seen enough success to be able to move her store to the former IGS building, across from the Coastal Community Credit Union building in the downtown core. Formerly located on Harrison Street, the women’s fashion boutique is now in a location that has the potential to see more traffic.
“It was the next step,” Nagra said of the move.
The decision to do so started when she and her husband Dale — who owns the Parksville Bodyworks gyms — began talking about it last December.
“We saw that the building was vacant,” Gurdeep continued, and we talked about moving into it.”
Since opening the boutique in May of 2011, Nagra said she has received a lot of positive feedback — as well as actual business success.
“We’ve been well-received,” she said, when asked what has set them apart, especially with news of recent business closures in the city.
“Our business, mainly, has been through word-of-mouth and people just seem to like the style. It’s like walking into a garden, one customer said. It’s girly, it’s pretty and there’s something for everyone.”
The key, she said, is customer service that keeps people talking about Saheli.
“We love dressing people up. It’s a party.”
Saheli is a collection of wildly-coloured fashion and home accessories and the new space in the store sets that off quite well. The owners have knocked out walls, repainted and added new flooring to create a brighter atmosphere inside.
Outside, the Saheli Boutique signs are going up this week, in advance of the Monday, Feb. 27 ‘soft opening’, as Nagra calls it. A more formal event — possibly a girls night out — will take place in a couple of weeks to mark the re-opening.
Saheli Boutique will be open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays.