Winnipeg Retail

[Shinook]

Originally Posted by CoryB

Extra Foods on Main St. reported to close according to staff.

More info in the Free Press Link

Not sure which media outlet reported it but the store is not going dark but rather converting to a different brand in the same company, No Frills. There will likely be a dark period while the conversion is done.

Also with three Extra Foods closing here recently (Notre Dame and Steinbach are the other two) perhaps the whole Extra Foods brand is being phased out.

There is definitely a lot more to this story than is widely being reported.

Supposedly this has to do with trying to oust the union from that store.

[cheswick]

Originally Posted by CoryB

Extra Foods on Main St. reported to close according to staff.

More info in the Free Press Link

Not sure which media outlet reported it but the store is not going dark but rather converting to a different brand in the same company, No Frills. There will likely be a dark period while the conversion is done.

Also with three Extra Foods closing here recently (Notre Dame and Steinbach are the other two) perhaps the whole Extra Foods brand is being phased out.

There is definitely a lot more to this story than is widely being reported.

This story mentions the possibiklity of a No Frills: http://www.globalwinnipeg.com/north+...784/story.html

In a lot of the stories people are saying now we can't walk to the grocery store anymore. Like isn't the Safeway literally right beside it?

One person in a story said they now have to take a cab to go to superstore instead. Find it hard to believe Safeway costs so much more that taking a cab to superstore to do your groceries would be more economical.

[CoryB]

I have heard stories that meat is a high-risk target for theft in grocery stores, with the problem being worse in economically disadvantaged neighbourhoods. It is interesting to note that apparently some No Frills stores do not feature meat sections. I can't help but wonder if that may be at play in this case...

[steveosnyder]

Originally Posted by CoryB

I have heard stories that meat is a high-risk target for theft in grocery stores, with the problem being worse in economically disadvantaged neighbourhoods. It is interesting to note that apparently some No Frills stores do not feature meat sections. I can't help but wonder if that may be at play in this case...

From first hand experience there are 3 things that people try to steal from grocery stores: meat, baby products and razor blades. If you could remove those 3 products from a store you can eliminate 80% of your shrink due to theft.

[CoryB]

Originally Posted by steveosnyder

From first hand experience there are 3 things that people try to steal from grocery stores: meat, baby products and razor blades. If you could remove those 3 products from a store you can eliminate 80% of your shrink due to theft.

I have first hand reports that cheese is another extremely popular item targetted in grocery store thefts, especially larger blocks. I think any large, solid and accessible protetin is a theft target.

[cheswick]

Originally Posted by CoryB

I have first hand reports that cheese is another extremely popular item targetted in grocery store thefts, especially larger blocks. I think any large, solid and accessible protetin is a theft target.

Sounds about right. I worked at the Maples IGA a few years ago. The two things they would put those magnetic strips onto to activate the door alarm was the meats and blocks of cheese.

[CoryB]

According the the Free Press WestPort Festival will begin construction this spring with most of the work starting in the fall with a planned opening in Spring 2014.

Also, the Regent Future Shop closed effective end of business yesterday as part of the Canada wide store closures by parent company Best Buy. It is the only Manitoba store affected so far.

[Riverman]

Originally Posted by CoryB

Also, the Regent Future Shop closed effective end of business yesterday as part of the Canada wide store closures by parent company Best Buy. It is the only Manitoba store affected so far.

I was in both Future Shop and Best Buy recently on Regent and neither has (had) a car audio department any more. That sent me to the Future Shop on St. James where I waited 45 minutes for a salesperson. They would rather socialize with each other than help a customer.

[vid]

When I worked at a Safeway as a teenager, someone stole a bunch of meat, and one of my coworkers (a middle aged Italian woman) chased him down the street with a knife.

[Halverso_99]

Originally Posted by Riverman

I was in both Future Shop and Best Buy recently on Regent and neither has (had) a car audio department any more. That sent me to the Future Shop on St. James where I waited 45 minutes for a salesperson. They would rather socialize with each other than help a customer.

Visions is the best place IMO for car audio. Always go there for all my car audio. Went to advance on portage once and they weren't too bad although some of their prices were pretty steep.

[cheswick]

Laura/ Laura Petites has closed in Portage Place (Just noticed now, not sure how long its been closed). Coupled with the Atheles World pending closing the second level is getting pretty sparse.

On a postive note the former Carlton Cards site looks to be undergoing some constuction. Maybe another office conversion?

[CoryB]

Going past Portage Place today I noticed the Holt Renfrew marque sign next to the Service Canada sign. Pretty much sums up the life of Portage Place right there in a single visual.

[JamieDavid Exchange]

...

[1ajs]

theres 600 units of housing behind portage place...

[CoryB]

Originally Posted by JamieDavid Exchange

It would be if the two graham lots and the one MPI lot further west constructed 900+ residential units. That's the equivalent to three 55 Nassau high rise buildings. (38 floors a piece)

Nicely missing the main point of my original post in your reply which you moved to a different forum.

1. There is no public confirmation of any new tenant for the site being discussed.

2. Grocery stores typically have a proper loading dock for delivery vehicles to use and the Portage Ave site does not.

3. Based on the layout of the site there does not appear to be a possible for a proper loading dock unless delivery vehicles are allowed to block the entire lane while unloading.

4. Access to the lane is fairly tight meaning deliveries would most likely be restricted to smaller cube vans which could increase the overall delivery cost.

5. A new build, such as the main floor space of the Glass Lofts could address most of these issues as part of their initial design phase.

6. The Glass Loft site would also be a similar distance from the Exchange and new housing on Graham and at the MPI plus it would have all the residential being built above.

7. The Portage Ave site will likely attract other interest as it has significantly highly visibility that either the Glass Lofts on Ellice, the MPI lots of the speculated development on Graham Ave.

8. The location of a grocery store on Portage also does not prevent a competitor which operational cost advantages from opening in of the other planned/proposed developments from opening. This would likely lead to the one best able to cut costs winning.

In summary, it is not the idea of a downtown grocery store that I think is a poor choice but that putting a grocery store with a large frontage on Portage Ave, and specifically that location, that is disappointing.

[JamieDavid Exchange]

...

[CoryB]

Originally Posted by JamieDavid Exchange

Yeah, I moved the discussion to this forum since we're talking retail. Since you were the first to bring light to there being some action going on at that building and how there was a rumor of a grocery store taking over the entire main floor, I thought it would be fun to discuss this further.

There is definitely something happening at the site on the south side of Portage between Fort and Garry. Sometime over the weekend the windows of the former Juss Jazz and Gabernicks we covered over in paper. Perhaps someone more in the know can clue us into what is happening there.

If that does end up being a grocery store it will be interesting to see if it is a branded outlet or "independent" backed by one of the big three distribution channels.

[esquire]

As much as I like the idea in theory, I would say that the Dreman Building (the one which housed Gabernik's and Juss Jazz) would be one of the worst locations for a grocery store in downtown Winnipeg that I could think of. Just far enough from the P&M cluster and the skywalk to make quick dashes out by office workers inconvenient, yet still in an area where free parking is next to nonexistent.

And whether you love parking or hate it, it matters in an area where there aren't all that many residents nearby - I doubt that the Lindsay and Avenue Buildings and handful of SRO hotels nearby could sustain a grocery store on their own.

I hate to throw cold water on the idea but I just cannot see a grocery store going there. A Movenpick-type restaurant where you can buy a limited selection of foods-to-go, perhaps, but not a grocery store.

[JamieDavid Exchange]

...

[flatlander]

Originally Posted by JamieDavid Exchange

Like Cory stated, I also believe the best location would be at the Centre Point Glasshouse/Parkade main level. Close to the Exchange. Close to Central Park. Close to the soon proposed mix developments on Graham. Not to mention the condo tower above it. It would be central to basically most downtown dwellers. Maybe that's why they named the block Centre Point!

I think the former mcnallys space at portage place would make a great grocery store. Good parking and loading. Good skywalk connections. Best location out there, so far.