[St. John's] Retail Thread

[Engibeer]

Originally Posted by J_Murphy

I was down to Tweed last night on Water Street. Options were limited, but seemed there was still good supply of what they had left. Store is very nice inside. They had 5 cash registers I think. Line ups of 10 or so in each line and they moved pretty quick. Only took me 10 minutes or so from when I walked in to when I walked out. There was no line up to get in the store when I arrived, but when I left there was a line of 15-20 to get in. Obviously they are controlling the number of people in the store with someone standing at the entrance.

Overall, a great experience.

It's great to hear that they have put together a quality outlet. I may venture to the Blackmarsh Dominion later as I am quite curious about the Loblaws setup...

I find it rather interesting that, being the only distributor in NL, Canopy can essentially hold out the smaller/non-associated shops by directing the majority of stock at Tweed (and other preferential) retail locations. With that said, I suppose that is a perfectly acceptable business decision considering they are the NL government's single supplier...

[rthomasd]

Blackmarsh Dominion have it in their little 'smoke' shop at the entrance.

They were handing it out hand over fist a few minutes ago, so they have stock.

[Sox]

So the new building that is being Constructed at GALWAY , other than Costco.... is going to be a Home Sense, Marshall's and Pet Smart.

I say Whoopie Damn Do to all three ! Who gives a damn, nothing new here !

So basically Galway is just going to turn into Stavanger West ? All the same damn stores, over and over again.

[statbass]

Originally Posted by Sox

So the new building that is being Constructed at GALWAY , other than Costco.... is going to be a Home Sense, Marshall's and Pet Smart.

I say Whoopie Damn Do to all three ! Who gives a damn, nothing new here !

So basically Galway is just going to turn into Stavanger West ? All the same damn stores, over and over again.

I say let's give it some time. There'll be more stores coming on board, there's bound to be some existing ones but hopefully we will see some new ones pop up too. You may very well be right .. but I hope you're wrong. 😊

[goodgrowth]

New logo for the Avalon Mall:

[NewfBC]

Originally Posted by goodgrowth

New logo for the Avalon Mall:

The term 'Mall' is kind of dated and makes people think of failing Shopping Malls in the US. They should have renamed it Avalon Centre.

Ron.

[Arrakis]

Originally Posted by NewfBC

The term 'Mall' is kind of dated and makes people think of failing Shopping Malls in the US. They should have renamed it Avalon Centre.

Ron.

Sorry, but Avalon Centre just sounds ridiculous. It been known as ‘the mall’ for 50 years, pointless to change it now.

[Larla77]

Cbc reporting all RONA stores in the province are closing in January. Employees were told this evening in a meeting.

[goodgrowth]

Originally Posted by Larla77

Cbc reporting all RONA stores in the province are closing in January. Employees were told this evening in a meeting.

Seen a comment on twitter about there being a rumour of a Lowe's going in Galway.

I guess it's easier than converting all the existing Rona's...especially considering the Topsail Rd and O'Leary Ave stores are pretty old and dated...though am a bit surprised they wouldn't keep and convert the one on White Rose Drive considering it is a newer store...

[Larla77]

Originally Posted by goodgrowth

Seen a comment on twitter about there being a rumour of a Lowe's going in Galway.

I guess it's easier than converting all the existing Rona's...especially considering the Topsail Rd and O'Leary Ave stores are pretty old and dated...though am a bit surprised they wouldn't keep and convert the one on White Rose Drive considering it is a newer store...

It wouldn't surprise me. Rumors of lowes in galway have been going around for awhile. Someone else commented that rona employees were unionized and maybe they wanted to get rid of that before converting? Time will tell. End of an era really with the end of what was Chester dawe. And the big regatta day sale in paradise.

[J_Murphy]

Don't like to see people lose their jobs, but RONA is the worst home improvement store around in my opinion. I've done extensive home improvements over the past 5 years and probably never spent more than $100 at RONA.

It looks as though it's not only NL, Lowe's is closing multiple stores across the country. https://toronto.citynews.ca/2018/11/...stores-canada/

[statbass]

Originally Posted by J_Murphy

Don't like to see people lose their jobs, but RONA is the worst home improvement store around in my opinion. I've done extensive home improvements over the past 5 years and probably never spent more than $100 at RONA.

It looks as though it's not only NL, Lowe's is closing multiple stores across the country. https://toronto.citynews.ca/2018/11/...stores-canada/

The biggest impact seems to be this province. Six stores here (the only in spot in Atlantic Canada) compared to 9 in both Ontario and Quebec. There have been rumors for a while about Lowes setting up in Galway. Maybe they are consolidating rather than having a bunch of small locations around the region. From the news release though I can't help but wonder if they will build here after all.

[Larla77]

Originally Posted by statbass

The biggest impact seems to be this province. Six stores here (the only in spot in Atlantic Canada) compared to 9 in both Ontario and Quebec. There have been rumors for a while about Lowes setting up in Galway. Maybe they are consolidating rather than having a bunch of small locations around the region. From the news release though I can't help but wonder if they will build here after all.

My thoughts exactly on Lowes and Galway. If the RONA stores were all underperforming (which they obviously were) then why would they spend the money on building a Lowes here.

[statbass]

Originally Posted by Larla77

My thoughts exactly on Lowes and Galway. If the RONA stores were all underperforming (which they obviously were) then why would they spend the money on building a Lowes here.

A shadow of doubt has been cast over my mind. However, it still may be feasible for Lowe's to set up here. Collectively, all of the Rona locations may have been under-performing. But opening a large supercentre could end up performing very well. That's why you see companies such as Home Depot, Lowes, Walmart, etc. operate supercentres as opposed to a bunch of smaller locations. It's cheaper on the company - one location for shipping, receiving, logistics, management, etc. I would imagine that operating one (newer) building would be cost saving compared to 6-7 smaller locations - which many are old and needing renovations. Supercentres are typically fully stocked and items usually don't run out as quickly and have to be ordered in. I feel this hurt many of the smaller Rona locations. Location itself is also important for performance. The Topsail Rd location was horrible and had basically no parking, I avoided it like the plague. Having a spot next to Costco and other big retailers would definitely create uptick in customers.

I know you'll get many responses that'll relate this to our economic downturn. But I don't really buy that... there's still a lot of development in the region. Residential may be lagging but commercial development seems to be doing well. There's lots of construction going on that need building supplies. I don't work in the sector so I could be off base here. Anecdotally, it seems reasonable to assume such.

Maybe it was just the wording in the news release or the fact that more stores are closing nationwide that kind of planted that seed of doubt.

[Larla77]

Originally Posted by statbass

A shadow of doubt has been cast over my mind. However, it still may be feasible for Lowe's to set up here. Collectively, all of the Rona locations may have been under-performing. But opening a large supercentre could end up performing very well. That's why you see companies such as Home Depot, Lowes, Walmart, etc. operate supercentres as opposed to a bunch of smaller locations. It's cheaper on the company - one location for shipping, receiving, logistics, management, etc. I would imagine that operating one (newer) building would be cost saving compared to 6-7 smaller locations - which many are old and needing renovations. Supercentres are typically fully stocked and items usually don't run out as quickly and have to be ordered in. I feel this hurt many of the smaller Rona locations. Location itself is also important for performance. The Topsail Rd location was horrible and had basically no parking, I avoided it like the plague. Having a spot next to Costco and other big retailers would definitely create uptick in customers.

I know you'll get many responses that'll relate this to our economic downturn. But I don't really buy that... there's still a lot of development in the region. Residential may be lagging but commercial development seems to be doing well. There's lots of construction going on that need building supplies. I don't work in the sector so I could be off base here. Anecdotally, it seems reasonable to assume such.

Maybe it was just the wording in the news release or the fact that more stores are closing nationwide that kind of planted that seed of doubt.

I live near the east end RONA which is still a pretty new store esp compared to the other ones. Its usually pretty empty although I have heard they still did well with contractors. I have the same shadow of a doubt that you do about the Lowes idea and Galway.

[Horsell]

Twenty years ago Chester Dawe was my go to place for lumber, they usually had the best price and there was never an issue getting it delivered. With the arrival of Kent and Home Depot it became easier to get the few things I needed just by picking it off the shelf or from the yard. What I have noticed about the retail side of Rona is that their prices are 20% to 30% more than Kent or HD and their selection was more limited due to the smaller stores.
I agree with previous posters that there is a possibility that the future may result in one large Lowes store ( I vote for Galway) to replace the multiple smaller outlets. I would certainly like to see that in order to keep Kent and HD honest.

[Larla77]

Leila Beaudoin is reporting on twitter that Bombay and Bowrings are liquidating and closing their Stavanger stores. Man they're dropping like flies. Its my local shopping area and makes me so sad.

Editted to add that I think this is the entire chain but I'm not sure. Saw it referenced on wikipedia but haven't found a news source. The chain has been in major trouble in recent years.

[Engibeer]

Originally Posted by Larla77

Leila Beaudoin is reporting on twitter that Bombay and Bowrings are liquidating and closing their Stavanger stores. Man they're dropping like flies. Its my local shopping area and makes me so sad.

I don't even understand how those stores existed for this long...

I suppose they are right smack dab in the middle of their target demographic

[J_Murphy]

Originally Posted by Horsell

Twenty years ago Chester Dawe was my go to place for lumber, they usually had the best price and there was never an issue getting it delivered. With the arrival of Kent and Home Depot it became easier to get the few things I needed just by picking it off the shelf or from the yard. What I have noticed about the retail side of Rona is that their prices are 20% to 30% more than Kent or HD and their selection was more limited due to the smaller stores.
I agree with previous posters that there is a possibility that the future may result in one large Lowes store ( I vote for Galway) to replace the multiple smaller outlets. I would certainly like to see that in order to keep Kent and HD honest.

Buying lumber at RONA now is a pain compared to Kent (drive-thru) or Home Depot, where you can go in the store, take it off a shelf and pay at the cash.

Also, it's only recently that NL stores existed on Rona's website. You couldn't go online and check local prices and stock, like you can with their competitors.

[Larla77]

Originally Posted by Engibeer

I don't even understand how those stores existed for this long...

I suppose they are right smack dab in the middle of their target demographic

They never seemed very busy but yeah no surprise really. That's several big losses for the Stavanger area. Costco (although there was a post here about that building being taken over by UHaul), Target (most of that building is still empty), Wicker Emporium (chain going out of business), RONA (its a pretty new building so hopefully someone will take it over), and now Bowrings/Bombay which is 2/3rd of that strip.