Opus Olympic Update - Vancouver 2010

At Opus, we want to make sure that your shopping experience is the best that it can be.

With the approach of the 2010 Olympic games in Vancouver we would like to take this opportunity to inform you about some of the changes that we anticipate putting in place during the Olympic month of February 2010, as it relates to our Granville Island store specifically.

As with many other local businesses, we are not entirely sure what to expect during this event. We are well aware that most visitors to the games are not coming with the intent to shop at an art supply store. We anticipate that most of our regular customers will not be shopping with us as frequently, and that we will not see the same number of art students because many schools will be closed. Many of our staff have also requested time off, likely for similar reasons to our customers.

With that in mind, we recognize that we will need to reduce our staffing levels. We hope to continue to provide adequate services however, and to encourage you to consider alternate shopping methods with us.

The following information is to inform you about what options are available to you.

What is happening on Granville Island during the Olympics

We know that our main store on Granville Island will experience transit and parking changes during the Olympics. This is because Granville Island will be the Place de la Francophonie, featuring a host of francophone artists and events.

At this time, our understanding is that there will be parking limitations and vehicle restrictions in place on Granville Island at certain times of the day during the Olympics. This is what we have been told:

• between 8am and 10am you will still be able to park on the West end of Granville Island for free, and stop temporarily outside our store for pick-up or delivery
• from 10am onward there will be no drive-by access to the store, however you can still park on the West end of the island (there will be parking fees in place at this time)

As a result, while our Granville Island store will remain open for our customers throughout the Olympics, we are planning to introduce reduced hours during the games. The store will be open from 8am to 4:30pm only during the Olympics, Feb. 12th to Feb. 28th, 2010.

Save on your purchase when shopping at Granville Island:

During the month of February at our Granville Island store, we will provide a $5 reimbursement on any purchase over $50 (prior to taxes). Our goal is to reimburse our customers for their parking as we recognize that there is going to be a temporary parking fee in effect during the Olympics.

Give us a call in advance:

Our Granville Island store staff will be happy to answer your questions over the telephone, including checking stock availability before you make the trip to see us, or arranging to place items on hold. Please give us a reasonable amount of time to help with your request, as in some cases it might take a bit of double-checking to ensure we can best assist you.

Alternative shopping methods at Opus during the Olympics

We invite you to visit our other locations in the Lower Mainland. This includes our stores in downtown Vancouver, North Vancouver and Langley as well as our mail order department.

Please check our website for a complete list of our locations and their addresses, including their hours and what type of services they have available.

Take advantage of ‘pre-paid pick-ups’ or ‘delivery’ from our warehouse:

Our main warehouse is located near Grandview Highway and Boundary Road (other businesses in the area include Walmart, Canadian Tire and PriceSmart Foods). This location houses our Mail Order Department (available by telephone or online for delivery locally and across Canada). Some things to know about this location:

• this department can accommodate pre-paid pick-up orders, please just give us sufficent time to pull your order as in some cases our staffing may be limited
• walk-in service is available however please note that we are not set-up for customers to browse the warehouse for products, so it‚Äôs best if you know what you are after when shopping here
• this location also offers our custom DIY framing service, including access to a sample wall of mouldings (approx. 3-5 days turn-around time required to cut and assemble orders)
• shipping services are available for local deliveries and across Canada. Please visit our shipping information page for full details on this service

Take advantage of ‘Free Shipping’ on mail orders over $100:

During the games, we will introduce a free shipping promotion for any online or mail orders over $100 (before taxes), starting February 1st. If you have not purchased this way before, there are some things you should know:

• free shipping is available for regular ground-freight service only (non-Rush orders)
• turn-around time will vary depending on where you live and the size of order, however generally it takes approx. 3-5 days for delivery within the Metro Vancouver area*
• some restrictions will apply on items which are oversize, overweight or contain glass
• free shipping does not apply to Account (A/R) orders, please contact us at 1-800-663-6953 for assistance

*Please note: this is assuming no unforeseen complications due to Olympics closures

Thank you for shopping at Opus.