with a downtown storefront. Her business is called Perfect Diversity Clay Art Studio and it offers clay art with pottery lessons and a café. People became interested in what she does at the Farmers Market. The Market is an opportuni- ty for new entrepreneurs and smaller businesses to spread their wings in a low risk environment. It also exposes them to a fairly large marketplace on a regular basis. People have traditionally and strictly associated New Glasgow with industry, haven’t they? I suggest this says Pictou County. FM: Yes, typically Pictou County has been known as an industrial centre with Northern Pulp, coal, steel mills, and Michelin, to give a few examples, and they certainly are the types of industries that Pictou County was built on. Industry has put a lot of clothes on people’s backs in this county over the generations. Diversifying is critical in today’s economy and the diversification has been taking place in Pictou County for quite some time. Sobeys has been an anchor of the economy for more than a 100 years here. The Ivany Report, the Now or Never Report, here in Nova Scotia, outlined how small business was destined to be the new driver of the new economy and this is a reality we recognize and embrace here in New Glasgow – wholeheartedly. We support local and small businesses every step of the way.
Sobeys-anchored strip malls throughout the province such as the Highland Square Mall andAberdeen Business Centre in New Glasgow and they’re a major employer in the region in addition to Sobeys Inc. and Empire, the parent company. They are a great community-minded company as well and provide hundreds of good jobs in diverse areas of exper- tise. ND: Yes, they’re extremely valuable to the community and region. Stellarton, Pictou County is known internationally as the home of Sobeys and they are very loyal to their roots and generous to our community, province, and country. FM: Absolutely, Crombie REIT played a key role when the Web.com Customer Service Centre came here to New Glasgow. NSBI were instrumental in bringing this huge company to Pictou County and Crombie REIT were a critical piece to the recruitment. ND: That’s a perfect example of groups working together to enrich the community. The Town of New Glasgow itself also played an important role in acquiring Web.com. We did this in partnership with NS Business Inc. who were leading the recruitment along with the Chamber of Commerce, Career Connections, and Crombie REIT. FM: The more people that are on board with an idea makes it that much more likely that it’s going to happen and it’s our job to get those ideas out there. Web.com is one of those
Crombie REIT, located in New Glasgow, is the real estate investment arm of Empire. They own a bulk of the
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DECEMBER 2017 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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