As predictably as its cold, dark days, January delivers business closures. This month is no exception, and they are among my least favorite interviews. But the conversations are important. So when I heard Tami Lien was closing Stride Rite after 35 years in Sioux Falls, I knew she deserved to be recognized and that we as a business community needed to know what made her close the doors. “It’s just everything,” she told me in an emotional, candid conversation. “I can’t keep burying myself in debt because I love what I do and can’t walk away.” By “everything,” she really does mean everything. It, of course, was the pandemic, which essentially cut off business overnight. Then, it was the supply chain disruption, forcing her to wait more than 10 months for shoes to arrive. Naturally, she faces the same staffing challenges and overhead increases as anyone. But she also increasingly can’t compete with lower cost e-commerce options and customers who browse her store only to buy online. “Honestly, this is no joke,” she said. “They use us … and take myself or my staff’s time trying all kinds of shoes on, and they’ll come and say they just bought […]
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