Businesses in Yellowknife's downtown appear to have mixed reactions on how busy it was during the holiday season. 

At the Yk Centre, Cassandra Bernardo, a salesperson with For MenSA国际影视传媒檚 Only, the citySA国际影视传媒檚 main menSA国际影视传媒檚 clothing store, said there were about three days when it was noticeably busy for the holiday season.  

SA国际影视传媒淯sually November is when it starts to get a little bit busy but we noticed that from Dec. 19 to the 21 - those were probably the busiest days,SA国际影视传媒� she said. 

Typically the peak periods for the store come during the late spring and early summer when people are preparing for wedding season or graduation, she noted. But Christmas is usually quite active as people seek to get Christmas gifts or prepare for New YearSA国际影视传媒檚. 

At nearby Thanh Dat Clothing and Gifts, a woman who answered the phone but didnSA国际影视传媒檛 provide her name said she didnSA国际影视传媒檛 feel business was all that great. 

SA国际影视传媒淲as too slow. Very very slow year,SA国际影视传媒� she said, noting that she has been at the location for 14 years. SA国际影视传媒淏efore Dec. 23 was okay, but after Christmas, it has been really slow.SA国际影视传媒�

On nearby 49 Street, Emilie DSA国际影视传媒橝igle, a full-time clerk at Miniso Yellowknife Store, which opened May 4, said she has been pretty pleased with the traffic. 

SA国际影视传媒�It slowed down significantly today (Dec. 27) but it was pretty busy the last Saturday before Christmas Eve and on Christmas Eve,SA国际影视传媒� DSA国际影视传媒橝igle said. "Those were probably our two busiest days, but we had a pretty good flow going for the past few weeks.SA国际影视传媒�

DSA国际影视传媒橝igle said the storeSA国际影视传媒檚 first Christmas shopping season was "a big improvement" over other weeks this year. It opened May 4.

The location makes a big difference given that it is SA国际影视传媒渁 high trafficSA国际影视传媒� area with Shoppers Drug Mart and Black Knight Pub nearby. The big window on the street makes a big difference, she added. 

SA国际影视传媒�A lot of people will walk by and will do a 180 and come back in,SA国际影视传媒� she said. 

She noted that kid-friendly plushies continued to be popular, as are technology products like headphones. 

The store isnSA国际影视传媒檛 necessarily dependent on Christmas, but it is an important time of year, and a bad time of year for an important shipment of products to arrive weeks late. 

SA国际影视传媒淲e didnSA国际影视传媒檛 get it until about mid-November or maybe late November," D'Aigle said. "By the time we finished unpacking everything, it was getting pretty close to Christmas. Now we have an overstock of Christmas stuff.SA国际影视传媒�

Across Franklin Avenue, longtime Centre Square Mall tenant Arctic Jeweller owner Hau Huynh was also quite content with the Christmas season despite some of the conditions in the mall. He said the last few years have been good. The store opened in 1999. 

SA国际影视传媒�So far so good and I think it was better than last year. Just a little,SA国际影视传媒� Huynh said cheerfully on Friday.  SA国际影视传媒淚 donSA国际影视传媒檛 know the reason why. Christmas and people were willing to spend the money. 

SA国际影视传媒�ISA国际影视传媒檇 say it slowed down around 2011 but right after 2017 it got better and 2018 it got better.  

Hopefully next year it will get better and better.SA国际影视传媒�

Huynh said there have been challenges along the way as he feels his separation in 2014 may have led some to believe his store was no longer open for a few years, leading to a decline in sales. He added that the increased traffic of street people in the mall has been an ongoing obstacle.

SA国际影视传媒淵ears ago, you didnSA国际影视传媒檛 used to see it, but now there are a lot of street people SA国际影视传媒� fighting and swearing and spitting on the floor,SA国际影视传媒� he said. SA国际影视传媒淚t scares the customers."