Canadian Retail Thread

[miketoronto]

I am glad VIRGIN is gone.

Who needs another mega chain that is found in every city.

I will shop local at SAM SAM THE RECORD MAN, which has one of the best selections anywhere.

The weird thing I find is visiting other cities that have no local mega music stores anymore, like SAM SAM THE RECORD MAN.

I remember being in Chicago(which I love), and the only mega music store was VIRGIN.

LOCAL, LOCAL.

The only time I shop HMV is if SAM does not have the CD I want.

[SSLL]

Sam the Record Man was once a national chain. I know there were several locations in the Ottawa and Montréal areas, and there was a flagship on Ste-Catherine O. too!

[SSLL]

I wonder if they (Virgin) decided to exit Canada after losing the Metropolis site to Canadian Music Hall of Fame. It was after all, the only site they had for expansion in Canada. Or maybe it took too long to build. Or did CMHF take the site after Virgin decided it was going to leave.
____________________
Virgin's withdrawal music to HMV's ears

By MARINA STRAUSS
Wednesday, June 29, 2005 Updated at 12:56 AM EDT
From Wednesday's Globe and Mail

While a flashy music retailing icon is pulling out of Canada, the country's dominant merchant in the sector is mapping out expansion plans — even as the industry is being hit by competition from discounters and on-line music downloaders.

HMV Canada Inc., with 102 stores here, is eyeing another 50 over the next several years. At the same time, it is snapping up the Vancouver mega-outlet soon to be abandoned by Richard Branson's Virgin Entertainment Group Inc. “While there are, of course, challenges in the market today, as there are in many industries, we are of the opinion that there are also opportunities, and we are actively pursuing those,” Humphrey Kadaner, president of HMV Canada, said in an e-mail interview.

HMV was helped by its decision about two years ago to bolster the number of DVDs it carries.

Meanwhile, British parent HMV Group PLC closed the last of its money-losing U.S. stores late last year — having abandoned that market just before Virgin decided to exit Canada.

It's an example of how global retailers must sometimes turn up the volume in countries where they can dominate, and switch off in markets where they can't be a leader, said David Gray, a retailing consultant at Sixth Line Solutions in Vancouver.

He said Virgin has made a conscious decision to focus on its U.S. superstores, while HMV is doing what it can to boost the business in Canada.

In an industry as tough as music retailing, something had to give, he said. “It's just been a bad stretch for music,” Mr. Gray said. “The guys that really get squeezed are the retailers.”

It was almost nine years ago that the flamboyant Mr. Branson rappelled down the side of the five-storey building, spraying champagne onto the crowd during a celebrity-studded event to mark Virgin music stores entry into Canada.

But it was risky from the start. After all, Vancouver has been one of the most competitive music markets, with perpetual price wars that have led to some of the lowest prices in the world, according to a number of observers.

“I don't see anything on the horizon that suggests a real turnaround in the fundamentals of the industry,” Mr. Gray said.

Despite the challenges, HMV Canada has seen improvements.

Its parent reported Tuesday that the Canadian division's annual sales of about $370-million rose, on a same-store basis, by 13.5 per cent in the year ended April 30. For the seven weeks ended June 18, same-store sales jumped 12.3 per cent. Same-store sales are those at outlets open a year or more, and are considered a key barometer in retailing.

More than 40 per cent of HMV Canada's sales now comprise DVDs, and that business is growing, Mr. Kadaner said.

He is also closely following the parent company's move into the digital world. In late 2004, HMV Group teamed with Microsoft Corp. to develop software for the retailer's new digital downloading service for Britain. It is to be rolled out in September.

Music retailers have been forced to find new areas of growth — especially in DVDs — over the past few years to deal with the challenges in their core field.

The pressure was evident in early 2005 when the venerable A&B Sound Ltd. of Vancouver filed for bankruptcy protection. It was another victim of Wal-Mart Canada Corp., Best Buy Canada and others, all selling music at deep discounts.

Meanwhile, everybody has had to deal with competition from free on-line music downloads.

Virgin said Tuesday that it will close its sole mega-store in Canada, never having gone ahead with a planned expansion. It had slated Toronto as its next destination for another huge outlet.

“It is not feasible to continue to run a single store in Canada any longer,” Virgin's North American entertainment division said in a statement.

The move means that Virgin will no longer make plans for stores in Canada, a spokeswoman confirmed.

It will allow Virgin to focus on investing in its U.S. business.

[SSLL]

Haven't bought anything from Le Château in a looong time, but this could be a big company someday, Canada's H&M with stores internationally (like La Senza).
__________________________________________
Clothier Le Chateau wants to expand outside Canada, says president
ALLAN SWIFTWed Jun 29, 4:44 PM ET
MONTREAL (CP) - Clothing retailer Le Chateau Inc. has ambitious plans to expand its store space, put more emphasis on shoes and men's clothing and even open stores offshore, the company's annual meeting was told Wednesday.

President Emilia Di Raddo told the meeting Le Chateau intends to spend $23 million this year to open 12 to 15 new stores and renovate 20 to 25.

The company currently has 174 stores in Canada and four in the New York City area.

Di Raddo said store sizes are also increasing, as Le Chateau expands its product line to cater to older women than it used to, reflecting the aging population.

On the basis of floor space, Le Chateau expects to have 760,000 square feet in Canada by the end of 2005 and within four years, primarily through enlarging existing stores, one million square feet.

Di Raddo said Le Chateau is also going after more menswear sales, which currently account for only 18 per cent of its sales to adults. The president wants to drive that up to 37 per cent, by standalone stores and with more space inside women's stores.

These measures should compensate for a plunge in sales aimed at girls eight to 14, as industry sales declined and Le Chateau lost market share to big department stores like Wal-Mart.

Herschel Segal, founder, chairman and chief executive, said the company is negotiating with a major retailer to try three Le Chateau stores in another country, on a franchise basis.

A fifth store will be opened this fall in the United States, in New Jersey, even though its other four U.S. stores are not doing well.

"I think this (new store) will tell us what we can do and how far we can go in the States," Segal said.

"There's a lot more to do in Canada, but we're looking globally."

Shares in Le Chateau (TSX:CTU.SV.A) advanced $3.39 on Wednesday to $41.39, a gain of nine per cent.

Although there are no more restrictions on clothing imports from Asia as of Jan. 1, Le Chateau still makes half of its clothing in its own sewing plants in Montreal.

Di Raddo said this is a competitive advantage because domestic manufacturing provides a shorter delay in getting new clothes into stores from the factory. The company can also test the market with small batches, reducing the risk that goes with buying a large order from overseas that doesn't sell.

A cycle from design to store delivery typically takes four weeks in Canada, compared with four months for clothing sourced in China. De Raddo is working on achieving a turnaround time of only two weeks in Canada.

In its first quarter reported two weeks ago, Le Chateau earned $4.6 million, double the previous year, as sales increased 20 per cent to $60.6 million for the three months ended last April 30.

[SSLL]

Not that many Canadian success stories in US retail. I can only think of Aldo and Roots as pretty big successes.
________
Saturday » July 2 » 2005

Chateau sharpens designs on expanding abroad
Talks under way with French licensor. Fashion retail icon reports record sales here, embarks on new effort to make mark in U.S.

LYNN MOORE
The Gazette

Thursday, June 30, 2005

Flush with record sales in Canada and new ambition for lacklustre U.S. operations, fashion retail icon Le Chateau Inc. is preparing for "risk-free" exposure to international markets.

Founder and company CEO Herschel Segal told yesterday's annual meeting in Montreal that negotiations are under way with an experienced French licensor.

The initial testing of three Chateau stores in undisclosed locales could be announced within months, Segal told reporters.

"The arrangement always is that you provide the know-how and they take the complete risk because they take your merchandise and adjust it to their needs," said Segal, who described Chateau's suitor as an entity now operating a stable of 600 stores that include well-known fashion brands.

Company president Emilia Di Raddo hastened to add that Canada remains the Montreal-based firm's primary focus. Emphasis will be put on expanding into secondary markets and aggressively pursuing men's clothing as well as footwear and accessory sales.

Sales for the year ended Jan. 29, 2005, increased 6.3 per cent to a record $241.1 million. Net earnings increased 49 per cent to $15.9 million, or $2.96 per basic share, from $10.6 million, or $2.07 per basic share, in 2003.

For the first quarter of 2005, ended April 30, sales increased 19.6 per cent to $60.6 million. Net earnings increased by 112 per cent to $4.6 million, or 79 cents per basic share, from $2.2 million, or 42 cents per basic share, last year.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA, increased 70 per cent over a two-year period, from $20 million to $34 million.

A key reason for the 46-year-old Chateau's success is its vertical integration. About 50 per cent of its notably trendy clothing comes out of Montreal production facilities, in particular the "more fashion risk items."

It currently takes about four weeks for an idea to become a garment on a store rack, according to Chateau executives, so risky items can be quickly tested and altered or eliminated.

"We believe fashion is no longer about seasons, but rather a constant stream of new and exciting styles that hit our stores daily," Di Raddo said. Chateau's design vision now includes the mature woman and sizes that range from 0/0 to 15/16.

Current objectives include shortening the domestic design-to-production cycle to two weeks, incorporating Montreal operations under one roof and opening a U.S. "pilot" store in New Jersey.

There are now 174 Chateau stores with a total 687,000 square feet in Canada. Within four years, Chateau wants one million square feet of retail space.

Chateau's four U.S. stores - two in pricey Manhattan - have proved to be disappointments.

U.S. operations reported a net loss of $101,000 Canadian in the first quarter, compared with a net loss of $93,000 for the year-earlier period.

Chateau will be opening a fifth U.S. store in "an indicator mall," a venture that should foretell the company's success in the U.S. market, Segal said.

"If we are to have growth in the U.S., it will be mall-based," Di Raddo said.

Unlike the other U.S. stores, the new one will reflect "the Canadian success model," she said.

[MTL-514]

Saturday » July 2 » 2005

Chateau sharpens designs on expanding abroad
Talks under way with French licensor. Fashion retail icon reports record sales here, embarks on new effort to make mark in U.S.

LYNN MOORE
The Gazette

Thursday, June 30, 2005

...

Current objectives include shortening the domestic design-to-production cycle to two weeks, incorporating Montreal operations under one roof and opening a U.S. "pilot" store in New Jersey.

...


hmmm... maybe Le Chateau will build itself a nice little head office somewhere downtown... could be interesting

on a related note, there's a new Le Chateau store opening up in the Place Ville-Marie mall soon - I think this will be their first time ever opening a location in this complex

[SSLL]

Walking along Ste-Catherine Street, it's amazing how many multiple locations of stores there are. Like the four Gaps, multiple Jacob, etc. alone Ste-Catherine St. (I found it strange there's only ONE Club Monaco in all of Québec!). I think the case is different from Toronto because it's shopping is more split up between Eaton Centre, Bloor-Yorkville, and Queen Street West, which are more split up.

[MTL-514]

actually much of montreal's shopping is spread out on other downtown and central-area streets and avenues like Saint-Denis Street, Sherbrooke Street, Saint-Laurent Blvd, Park Avenue, Saint-Hubert Street, Mont-Royal Avenue, as well as a number of neighbourhood shopping thoroughfares like Greene Avenue and Sherbrooke Street in Westmount, Monkland Avenue, Bernard Avenue, Cote Des Neiges Road, Ontario Street, Queen Mary Road, Van Horne Avenue and Jean Talon Street. and then there's Saint Paul Street West in Old Montreal which is more specialized in both touristy as well as high end gift stores, art galleries and avant-garde furniture boutiques, and the concentration of high end furniture stores on President Kennedy Avenue downtown, as well as the blocks of antique stores on Notre Dame Street just southwest of downtown.

that's just within a radius which is mostly within a 10 minute drive from Sainte Catherine Sreet's concentration of stores and boutiques and malls. I'm probably forgetting a few too (especially in neighbourhoods just east of the centre). other shopping areas exist, of course, in the outlying neighbourhoods and suburbs.

but I think I see what you're getting at - it's that in the central area, what really distinguishes the shopping on Sainte Catherine Street (and adjacent malls) is that it is mostly chain stores, as opposed to the bulk of the other urban shopping streets in central montreal.

[MTL-514]

also, you're so right about the repetitiveness of the chain stores on sainte-catherine street west.

it's even worse when you cnsider all the repeats in the 6 or so malls that front the sainte catherine street shopping district.

[SSLL]

At least it's in the downtown, and not in suburban mall!

[SSLL]

There are some reports about Sears Canada buying Hudson's Bay Company! If they merged the Bay and Sears, and sold Zellers (probably to Target), and maybe Home Outfitters (to Bed Bath & Beyond), and the one Designer Depot (to Winners?), there'd be one department store company left! What would happen if they made all the Bay stores to Sears, or the other way around? Would a US department store come in to buy a slew of them? Would it be sellable? Or anticompetitive? I doubt it'll happen though.
___________________________________
From today's Chicago Tribune:

Sears Canada linked to Hudson's Bay
Bloomberg News
Published July 7, 2005

Sears Canada Inc., the country's third-largest department-store chain, may merge with Hudson's Bay Co., Canada's biggest department-store owner, by the end of next year or early 2007, according to a Desjardins Securities analyst.

Hoffman Estates-based Sears Holdings Corp., which holds 54 percent of Toronto-based Sears Canada, "will orchestrate a second major step" for Sears Canada after the sale of its credit card operations, Keith Howlett said in a note to clients Tuesday.

A merger with Toronto-based Hudson's Bay would be led by Sears Holdings Chairman Ed Lampert, who isn't likely to sell the company's retail division unless he exhausts all other ways to boost the company's value, Howlett said.

Sears Canada said June 13 that it's exploring the sale of its credit-card unit, which analysts said may fetch more than $2 billion.

Hillary Stauth, a spokeswoman for Hudson's Bay, and Sears Canada spokesman Vincent Power declined to comment.
_______________________________
From yesterday's Chicago Sun-Times

Sears Canada merger seen

An analyst speculated Tuesday that Sears Canada could merge with Hudson's Bay, Canada's oldest department store, in a move to cut costs. Hudson's Bay could sell off its credit-card business, Zellers store leases and other divisions to boost revenue, said Keith Howlett, securities analyst for Desjardins Securities.

[MTL-514]

At least it's in the downtown, and not in suburban mall!

oh ya - agree with you totally

[MTL-514]

Canadian shopping centres ponder 'lifestyle' format

BILL GRAVELAND
CP

Wednesday, July 13, 2005

The harsh Canadian winter that has most consumers scurrying indoors shouldn't be a deterrent to outdoor "lifestyle" shopping centres that are growing in popularity in the United States, a retail expert says.

There are now over 100 such centres in the U.S., which involve traditional big-box malls adding outdoor plazas, fountains and cafes to attract customers.

The open-air centres feature clusters of 20 to 30 upscale stores, each with an entrance along a "main street" with sidewalks and angle parking.

"You try to make a more livable place while you're there - you have food and coffee mixed in with retail uses, where there would be fountains and outside seating," said Bob Knight, who runs the retail division for Oxford Properties Group in Calgary, with shopping centres in B.C., Saskatchewan and Alberta.

Whether the lifestyle centre format is workable in Canada was the hot topic at the International Council of Shopping Centers' annual conference in Calgary this week.

"I'm probably about a 75 per cent believer in the concept and it would work in certain places," Knight said. "I would worry about doing it in Saskatchewan because it can get pretty cold," he said.

The first lifestyle centre in Canada opened last fall in affluent West Vancouver. The Village at Park Royal included a new-concept Home Depot store spread over two storeys with a heavy emphasis on decor.

Deerfoot Meadows in Calgary is considered the second such centre in Canada, with IKEA as the major tenant, but at this point is only about half completed, Knight said.

© The Gazette (Montreal) 2005

[malek]

^^ hmm doesn't Centropolis in Laval has the same concept??

[harls]

"I'm probably about a 75 per cent believer in the concept and it would work in certain places," Knight said. "I would worry about doing it in Saskatchewan because it can get pretty cold," he said.

Gets pretty cold everywhere in Canada. Why's he picking on Saskatchewan? Probably a disgruntled ex-pat.

[SSLL]

^^No Centropolis is just a Power Centre that's all in one. Lifestyle centres are shopping neighbourhoods that try to recreate a streetscape, and have a common theme, and often separate buildings for stores.

[MTL-514]

yup centropolis is separated by vast parking lots like any run of the mill power centre, although its buildings are built a bit more stylish than other power centres like the Marché Central or any of the ones found along suburban expressways...

it has no pedestrian-friendly streetscape, which I believe is what distinguishes these newfangled lifestyle centres.

they're supposedly studying the idea of demolishing part or all of the west end Cavendish Mall in Montreal and building some upscale variation of a lifestyle centre centred around one or more pedestrian streets with cafes and a cultural centre or theater or something. so far only sketchy details have been publicized. they're apparently looking to make it a more modest version of some really shmancy lifestyle centre in Boca Raton Fla.

[hackunion]

I remember being in a Warsaw shopping centre with a La Senza, I know there are a few in that city. It reminded me of home :)

[SSLL]

They're lifestyle centering the Don Mills Centre mall too, creating a retail and residential streetscape. One of the problems I've read about having lifestyle centres is the harsh Canadian weather. In BC, it might be alright, but in Ottawa or Winnipeg, people don't want to be walking the "streets" of a lifestyle centre outside.

In London, there's plenty of La Senza's and Aldo's too.

[MTL-514]

One of the problems I've read about having lifestyle centres is the harsh Canadian weather. In BC, it might be alright, but in Ottawa or Winnipeg, people don't want to be walking the "streets" of a lifestyle centre outside.

I'm not sure that would necessarily apply here in MTL - people here like their street shopping all year round, except maybe on the coldest harshest of days (ok and during heavy downpours too, I guess). if one of these new "lifestyle" centres was actually done right, with a mix of smaller (maybe even independent) stores among the bigger chain stores, and some restaurants and cafes with a real urban feel (as opposed to a fake disneyworld mainstreet USA look) I think it could catch on...?

[someone123]

They're building a "lifestyle centre" here too. Sounds like crap.

I don't think the climate in most of Canada is that bad relative to the US when it comes to outdoor shopping. Would you want to walk around outside in August in the Sunbelt?

[malek]

^^No Centropolis is just a Power Centre that's all in one. Lifestyle centres are shopping neighbourhoods that try to recreate a streetscape, and have a common theme, and often separate buildings for stores.

not really, it has small "streets" with cafes, restaurants and patios... trees planted along the "streets"... but i think the concept isn't as developped as these "lifestyle centers"

[MTL-514]

not really, it has small "streets" with cafes, restaurants and patios... trees planted along the "streets"...

yes but aren't those small "streets" surrounded by large parking lots and large sterile walls? as opposed to pedestrian-friendy sidewalks with storefronts right along the streets

stuff like this:
http://www.vmzinc-us.com/images/Portfolio/Centropolis/Laval1-1.jpg

http://www.vmzinc-us.com/images/Portfolio/Centropolis/Laval1-4.jpg

http://www.lacordee.com/images/gen/photo004.jpg

http://img.trillion.ca/pics/centropolis_f1.jpg

[MTL-514]

cool film clip of the centropolis...
http://www.sceno-plus.com/files/ivanhoe.mpg

[MTL-514]

Metro Inc. buying A&P Canada chain

Canadian Press
July 19, 2005

MONTREAL -- Reaching boldly into the Ontario market to face Loblaw and Sobeys, Metro Inc. of Montreal is paying $1.7 billion for the A&P Canada supermarket chain.

The Metro grocery chain (TSX: MRU.SV.A) said Tuesday it has struck a deal with The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. and its subsidiary, A&P Luxembourg, to pay $1.2 billion in cash and $500 million worth of Metro class-A shares.

Metro shares soared more than 13 per cent Tuesday morning, gaining as much as $4.75 to $32.25 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

''It's a great day for Metro,'' CEO Pierre Lessard said in a morning conference call with analysts. ''A day, as a matter of fact, we've been waiting for the last seven years.''

A&P Canada, which had been seeking a buyer in recent months, operates 236 food stores in Ontario under the A&P, Dominion, Food Basics, The Barn and Ultra Food & Drug banners, with annual sales of $4.4 billion and more than 32,000 employees.

The deal will give Metro a network of 579 food stores - 283 in Ontario - with annual sales of nearly $11 billion, pitting it against major rivals Loblaw (TSX:L) and Sobeys (TSX:SBY).

With its Metro, Metro Plus, Super C, Loeb and Brunet banners, Metro has annual sales of $6.1 billion and more than 33,000 employees.

Metro, the second-biggest grocer in Quebec and eastern Ontario, said in January it could easily finance a billion-dollar acquisition, with only $10.6 million in long-term debt and total assets of $1.65 billion.

Acquiring the No. 2 food retailer in Ontario with a number of stores in the high-growth Toronto area, A&P Canada would enhance Metro's position in Canada's two largest markets, Lessard said Tuesday.

The acquisition will make Metro a ''much larger player'' with a 16 per cent chunk of the Canadian grocery market, he added. Integration of the two companies will be ''straightforward,'' with Metro keeping the A&P head office in Toronto.

Lessard also expects to see ''cost synergies'' of about $60 million resulting from the deal.

''The price may seem high, but we look at it as a very valuable asset,'' he said.

''We are delighted to enter into this historic agreement with Metro and to participate in its future growth and success with a significant investment position,'' Christian Haub, chairman and CEO of A&P's parent company, said in a release.

Metro will issue about 18.1 million shares to the U.S.-based parent firm, based on a price per share of $27.66, giving it about 15.8 per cent of Metro and 14.1 per cent of the total voting rights.

The deal also gives provides A&P the right to designate two representatives to the board of directors at Metro.

Metro said it has secured necessary financing from a syndicate of banks.

The transaction, scheduled to close in August, is expected to add to Metro's earnings per share in 2006 and is subject to customary conditions, including approval by the Toronto Stock Exchange.

© Canadian Press 2005

http://a123.g.akamai.net/f/123/12465/1d/media.canada.com/canwest/90/anp.jpg

[habsfan]

I know that there are some "lifestyle centers" in Greater Montreal.

There's one in Boucherville, right off the 20, next to the IKEA, and they will start with a second lifestyle center on the South SHore in Brossard, where Highways 10 and 30 cross.

[MTL-514]

^ lifestyle centres or just regular power centres?

[habsfan]

tHERE AREN'T ANY POWER CENTER TYPE STORES. No Réno Dépôt, No Rona, No Canadian Tire, No Wal Mart, no Home Depot.(sorry about the Caps!)

In Boucherville, you'll find the IKEA, As well as ALDO, MEXX, AMERICA, Tommy Hilfiger etc.etc.etc. as well as a brulerie St-Denis and some other stores.

As for the one popping up soon in Brossard, there will be a cineplex odeon theater, a well as other stores. No hardware stoeres will be built there!

You could almost say there's a third lifestyle center on the south shore...right next to Les Promenades St-Bruno...there are many restaurants, clothing stores, a Golf town and many others!

[MTL-514]

I don't know for sure, but I thought a "lifestyle" centre referred more to the layout of the centre than to the type of stores.

I understood that a "lifestyle" centre differed from a "power" centre in that stores were centred not around a massive parking lot (or series of parking lots separated by little grass medians) but around an urban-like pedestrian-friendly street or set of streets...?

if we're simply talking about a power centre with clothing stores and restaurants, then the Marché Central and the Blue Bonnets power centre count too, as well as the many other centres peppered around the city's suburbs (incl. the megacentre on Sources Blvd in DDO and the on alongside Hwy 13 in Laval, and the Plateau megacentre in Hull for that matter).

I think "lifestyle" centre refers to something new that we don't yet have in montreal.

[MTL-514]

^
yup - here's what they define as being a "lifestyle" centre... from an article I posted a week or two ago, we don't yet have one in the montreal area:

Canadian shopping centres ponder 'lifestyle' format

BILL GRAVELAND
CP

Wednesday, July 13, 2005

The harsh Canadian winter that has most consumers scurrying indoors shouldn't be a deterrent to outdoor "lifestyle" shopping centres that are growing in popularity in the United States, a retail expert says.

There are now over 100 such centres in the U.S., which involve traditional big-box malls adding outdoor plazas, fountains and cafes to attract customers.

The open-air centres feature clusters of 20 to 30 upscale stores, each with an entrance along a "main street" with sidewalks and angle parking.

"You try to make a more livable place while you're there - you have food and coffee mixed in with retail uses, where there would be fountains and outside seating," said Bob Knight, who runs the retail division for Oxford Properties Group in Calgary, with shopping centres in B.C., Saskatchewan and Alberta.

Whether the lifestyle centre format is workable in Canada was the hot topic at the International Council of Shopping Centers' annual conference in Calgary this week.

"I'm probably about a 75 per cent believer in the concept and it would work in certain places," Knight said. "I would worry about doing it in Saskatchewan because it can get pretty cold," he said.

The first lifestyle centre in Canada opened last fall in affluent West Vancouver. The Village at Park Royal included a new-concept Home Depot store spread over two storeys with a heavy emphasis on decor.

Deerfoot Meadows in Calgary is considered the second such centre in Canada, with IKEA as the major tenant, but at this point is only about half completed, Knight said.

© The Gazette (Montreal) 2005

[habsfan]

You may have a point there. One thing I know for sure is that the one beign built at the intersection of the 10 and the 30 is gonna a lifestyle center, as there's a huge sign saying so!

[harls]

why the hell do they call it a "lifestyle" format is beyond me.. some lifestyle.. same stores, different set-up.

I guess that's what the "lifestyle" is today, though. hop in your SUV, try for 30 mins to find a parking spot, scream profanities, trek across acres of asphalt to make your purchase in an frigid air conditioned warehouse.

hey, that air conditioning part actually sounds like a good idea..

[malek]

by that definition i still believe centropolis is one, I'll shoot some pics too show you the packed terasses and restaurant next to sidewalks with trees ....

Lifestyle center?? just another marketing gimmick imo.

[MTL-514]

You may have a point there. One thing I know for sure is that the one beign built at the intersection of the 10 and the 30 is gonna a lifestyle center, as there's a huge sign saying so!

that's good to hear - I'm curious to see how it turns out... i.e. will it really be more "urban" and pedestrian-friendly? or same old sterile crap with a few more trees and a bit more landscaping...

I haven't really been down that way for a while - is construction of that whole new development area really taking off?

[habsfan]

only the housing developments has started. The commercial aspect of the area hasn't started yet!

[SSLL]

07 / 21 / 2005 - Vol. 1, No. 14 - Ontario Edition
Mall giant to unveil better 'mousetraps'
Ontario foothold sells U.S. firm on Canadian sites
By Laura Severs - For Business Edge
Published: 07/07/2005 - Vol. 5, No. 26


It's a mall world, after all.

Following a 14-year drought when no regional shopping centres - enclosed malls generally anchored by one or two department stores of at least 100,000 sq. ft. - were built in Canada, The Mills Corp. of Arlington, Va., is about to expand its concept of market-dominant retail and entertainment destinations in Canada after gaining a foothold in Ontario last November.

Partnering with Montreal-based Ivanhoe Cambridge, the principal real estate subsidiary of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, the two companies are ready to go out on a build-it-and-they-will-come shopping spree.

New Mills malls are on the drawing board for Calgary, Vancouver and Montreal, and retail analysts expect these to be very similar to the Vaughan Mills entry, a 1.2-million-sq.-ft. enclosed mall with 16 anchor tenants and more than 200 stores, restaurants and entertainment venues. The mall is situated about 30 kilometres north of Toronto.

"Ivanhoe Cambridge and The Mills Corp. have an exclusive arrangement to develop four Mills centres across Canada in the provinces of Ontario, B.C., Alberta and Quebec. Based on the success of Vaughan Mills, we are evaluating sites in Calgary, Quebec and elsewhere," says Rebecca Sullivan, director of public/government relations for The Mills Corp.

The Mills concept includes traditional retailers, off-price stores such as Winners and outlet shops, along with a strong entertainment component.

Vaughan Mills introduced Canadians to the NASCAR SpeedPark theme park, which features a state-of-the-art indoor-outdoor go-cart track, and Lucky Strike Lanes, a bowling mecca. On the retail side, offerings include Canada's first Burlington Coat Factory, the world's largest Tommy Hilfiger Outlet and a series of other firsts: The country's first Tommy Bahama outlet, the first Town Shoes outlet in Canada and the first Benetton outlet on this side of the border.

To lure the men in, Canada got its first Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World, described as an outdoorsman's paradise complete with a live trout pond, natural waterfall and in-store fishing demonstrations.

Toronto-based retail analyst Ed Strapagiel, executive vice-president of Kubas Consultants, calls the Mills mall "the new version of West Edmonton Mall. It's simply the latest better mousetrap, the latest big invention. Basically, it's the next big thing."

Strapagiel says he's not surprised new malls are being built despite the fact so-called power centres - groupings of big-box category stores such as Wal-Mart or Best Buy - have been responsible for increasing the retail presence in most cities and towns.

"Yes, there is room for them (the Mills malls) in retail," Strapagiel says. "Like many other industries, somebody who comes along and builds a better mousetrap will win the day. It's not so much a question of room in the market. The market will create the room and pull back from a less desirable alternative."

He doesn't describe the Mills operation as a typical mall - one with department store anchors at each end. "The Mills approach is lots of big stores with big footprints, with separate exterior entrances. It's not quite the same thing," he says.

Plans are to move ahead with the Calgary entry first, retail analysts say, pointing to land Ivanhoe Cambridge already has on hand.

Project officials concur but would not comment on where this Mills mall would be constructed. "Plans are most advanced in Calgary, where we hope to open in 2007," a company representative said.

Retail specialists Alistair Corbett and Chris Thompson, both with CB Richard Ellis in Calgary, suggest a chunk of land located at Deerfoot Trail and Country Hills Boulevard is the likely choice.

"They've (Ivanhoe Cambridge) had it for a long time. We're assuming that's the site they're talking about. It makes the most sense," they told Business Edge.

Corbett and Thompson say they are not surprised by Mills' interest in Calgary, noting the city is high on the Canadian retail radar screen.

"Calgary is very much the flavour of the month for retailers looking at coming in. Our retail vacancy rate is at 3.9 per cent and that's a bit of a high," they said, pointing to space being vacated because retailers are looking at relocating to Calgary's new power centre, Deerfoot Meadows, only 15 minutes down the road from the potential Mills location. Both would be adjacent to different sections of Deerfoot Trail, the road that links Highway 2 between Calgary and Edmonton.

"Anytime that (vacancy) rate gets below six per cent, we're in a demand hole and we can't get it up fast enough," Corbett and Thompson add.

Vancouver-based retail analyst Blake Hudema, president of Hudema Consulting Group Limited, says he's not surprised that Calgary could get a Mills mall before Vancouver.

"One of the big issues in Vancouver is finding a large site," says Hudema. "Calgary has an undeveloped site that has zoning to permit an enclosed shopping centre approaching one million square feet."

He also predicts Montreal will likely be Mills and Ivanhoe Cambridge's next target after Calgary, citing an abundance of land just outside Greater Montreal.

"Their preferred location would be off a major arterial freeway, or ideally at intersection of two major highways," says Hudema, asked where the Vancouver version would likely be built.

"They probably want to be on the Trans-Canada Highway, they probably want to be central to the populations of Surrey and Langley. That's probably where they want to go, but that's from the ideal perspective.

"There's a very limited supply of development land. We have a comprehensive land-use plan for the region. Any land available for a 50- to 70-acre site is probably going to be $1 million- plus per acre."

Hudema says he doesn't expect the Mills concept to hit Vancouver until somewhere between 2010 and 2015, depending on how long it takes to find a suitable piece of land.

He expects the project to open in the Montreal region by 2010 and calls a 2007 opening for a Calgary Mills about "as aggressive as you can get."

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J.C. Penney seeks to net Canadians
By MARINA STRAUSS
Monday, July 25, 2005 Updated at 3:54 AM EDT
From Monday's Globe and Mail

U.S. department store giant J.C. Penney Co. is stepping up efforts to bolster its on-line presence in Canada, cashing in on the favourable rate of the dollar against U.S. currency.

The retailer this month launched an advertising campaign in Canadian newspapers across the country, offering 25-per-cent savings on a special link at jcpenney.com/canada.

If successful, Plano, Tex.-based J. C. Penney will intensify its marketing efforts, eager to grab even more business here, said Kevin Gebhardt, a vice-president of the chain's catalogue and Internet division.

"Customers are rapidly adopting this type of shopping," he said in an interview. "We're excited about the potential," he added

For years, U.S. department stores, including J.C. Penney, have scouted the Canadian market for possible expansion, but backed away because of the challenges involved.

Now, a growing number -- J. C. Penney being one of the bigger ones -- are being lured to e-commerce in Canada, partly because of the strong Canadian dollar as well as consumers' growing acceptance of on-line shopping.

"I've had quite a bit of work helping bring some U.S. retailers to Canada via their e-commerce channel," said Jim Okamura, a senior partner at retailing consultancy J.C. Williams Group in Chicago.

He said merchants ranging from home furnishing specialist Crate and Barrel -- a U.S. company now controlled by Germany's Otto Versand Gmbh --to clothier L.L. Bean Inc. of Freeport, Me., and lingerie chain Victoria's Secret, a unit of Columbus, Ohio-based Limited Brands Inc., have enjoyed a lift in their on-line business in Canada in the past year or more.

Canada Post has also played its part in enticing U.S. e-tailers, said Paulina Sazon, marketing manager at Canada Post's Borderfree division. It works with U.S. retailers, trying to help them ease their way into what can be a complex Canadian market, she said. It walks them through the duty and tax laws, shipping practices and marketplace idiosyncrasies.

Canada Post's research has found that there could be room for $15-billion worth of Internet and catalogue business for U.S. retailers in Canada, she said.

Mr. Okamura said a number of U.S. retailers have used e-commerce as a testing ground for rolling out bricks-and-mortar stores in Canada. He cited cosmetics giant Sephora -- the popular cosmetics chain owned by France's luxury powerhouse LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton -- which now operates in Canada, and Crate and Barrel, which wants to open stores here. J.C. Penney has done a good job of improving its core U.S. business over the past few years, emerging as one of the few winners in the troubled department-store sector, he added.

It has focused on a mid-market, mid-income customer, emphasizing strong private labels and boosting its home décor offerings.

But J.C. Penney and other foreign e-tailers still have a challenge in doing business in Canada because of the delivery and duty hassles, he said.

Mr. Gebhardt acknowledged that the extra charges can add as much as 20 per cent to the price of J.C. Penney's on-line purchases.

But he argued that the retailer offers great value and does the calculation for the customer, tallying up the order total, including taxes, duties and shipping costs. It delivers within seven to 10 days.

He said Canadian customers have generally bought the same types of goods as their U.S. counterparts. But the company will closely follow the shopping patterns to see whether there are any ways it can tailor its offerings to Canucks.

"The Internet has the ability to reach out to customers wherever they are. We have an established business in Canada that we see growing on the Internet site . . ."

J.C. Penney spokesman Quinton Crenshaw said the retailer has no plans to enter Canada with conventional stores. Rather, the chain has been concentrating on its core U.S. department-store business, and selling off non-core assets such as Eckerd's drug stores.

In Canada, department store retailers Hudson's Bay Co. and Sears Canada Inc. both run e-commerce sites. Sears recently partnered with Seattle-based Amazon.com Inc. and last week started to broadcast infomercials on its site in a bid to strengthen the business.

HBC and Sears, both based in Toronto, have struggled to make overall financial gains, and analysts say they could be takeover targets.

[204]

July 25, 2005

Why Wal-Mart is good

We've heard all the horror stories about the retail giant. They're just not true.

STEVE MAICH

There's a place on the western edge of Cleveland that encapsulates the story of the city -- its proud industrial past, its slow depressing decline, its hopes for a brighter future. But the battle now being waged over that patch of land tells an even bigger tale.

It's called the steelyard flats, a 130-acre plot of barren wasteland at the intersection of Interstates 90 and 71, in what was once the heart of Cleveland's thriving steel industry. The site has sat idle since 2000, when LTV Steel went bankrupt. The finishing mill was torn down, and the shells of a few remaining buildings have been crumbling here ever since. The place is now littered with discarded scrap metal, concrete and junk: a dozen old tires here, a shattered TV there.

Soon, however, this site will also be a symbol of renewal. In May, work began on what will be the first big-box shopping centre in this city of 500,000 people. It's called Steelyard Commons, and will include a Target store, a Home Depot, a Staples, plus restaurants and smaller businesses. It's expected to bring close to 2,000 jobs to the city identified as the most impoverished urban area in the U.S. in the 2004 census. Unemployment here runs at 11 per cent -- roughly double the national average.

But there's a problem. Wal-Mart Stores, the world's biggest retailer, will be the anchor tenant of Steelyard Commons, and that has transformed this place into another front in North America's most bitter retail cold war. Wal-Mart's critics say the company destroys local economies, putting small competitors out of business; that it abuses workers with low wages and paltry benefits; and that it drives urban sprawl and all the environmental damage that goes with it. And so, a coalition of labour leaders, activists and city councillors have banded together, vowing to keep Wal-Mart out even if it means killing the whole project.

It's a divisive political standoff that's been mirrored in communities throughout North America over the past few years. To the project's advocates in City Hall, this is just the kind of development Cleveland so desperately needs. Aside from precious jobs, the mall will spin off US$3 million in property taxes annually, US$1.8 million of which will go to the city's struggling school system, plus US$700,000 in local payroll tax. It will also give city residents a place to shop near home, rather than travelling to the suburbs. Officials estimate local residents spend US$4 billion a year in retail shops, a third of which currently goes outside the city. If ever there was a Wal-Mart that deserves support, they say, this is it.

But that's just the point: Wal-Mart isn't engaged in a series of messy local zoning disputes. It's at war with a well-financed, well-organized opposition, determined to fight it on every front. From Los Angeles to the Saguenay, from Hartford, Conn., to Vancouver, a broad array of activist groups and unions have launched protests, lawsuits and ad campaigns, all aimed at discrediting Wal-Mart, halting its growth, and unionizing its workforce.

Like most wars, it's about money and power, and the first casualty is truth. Because even after all the scrutiny and analysis of the Wal-Mart phenomenon, most of what we've been told -- about worker abuse, destroyed small-town economies, crushed suppliers and greedy management -- is wrong.

Read the whole article at Macleans.ca (http://www.macleans.ca/topstories/business/article.jsp?content=20050725_109503_109503)

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What will this mean for Les Ailes de la Mode? Would it expand outside Québec or become a Winners knockoff?
___________________________
Friday » July 29 » 2005
Ailing Les Ailes on point of sale
'Cheap chic' retailer to buy high-end fashion chain

Hollie Shaw
Financial Post

Friday, July 29, 2005

The owner of fashion chains Fairweather and International Clothiers is in advanced talks to acquire high-end Quebec department store chain Groupe Les Ailes de la Mode Inc., the Financial Post has learned.

"It's basically a done deal," said a source close to the negotiations. "They are at the stage of landlord approvals."

News that Isaac Benitah, a godfather of 'cheap chic' fashion in Canada, is about to buy the troubled luxury retailer has sent shock waves through Montreal's fashion circles, given the once lofty aspirations of Les Ailes.

"[Mr. Benitah] is the personification of a great mass merchant," said Anthony Stokan, partner at retailing consultancy Anthony Russell and Associates.

"He is to fashion what a fast-food outlet is to food: He takes the hottest look of the moment, knocks it off, and sells it at the cheapest price. And Les Ailes is the antithesis of that."

Mr. Benitah could not be reached yesterday. A Les Ailes spokesman had no comment.

The news all but closes the door on a retail concept described by apparel market consultant David Howell as "a great idea at the wrong time."

Les Ailes was the dream project of Paul Delage Roberge, the jewel in the crown of his 200-store retailing empire Les Boutiques San Francisco Inc., which operated nine chains including Bikini Village, Frisco, West Coast, Victoire Delage and San Francisco.

It was conceived as Canada's answer to the U.S. retailer Nordstrom, an old-fashioned department store with luxurious wares, high-end service and a grand piano. The first three Quebec outlets were a success, averaging more than $450 in sales per square foot, and Mr. Roberge wanted to expand the concept across Canada.

But a venture in Ottawa failed in 2003 after two disappointing years, and an ambitious 225,000-square foot flagship store in downtown Montreal touched off a financial crisis within the Boucherville, Que.-based company. The retailer began to close stores and sell off its banners in 2003, and Mr. Roberge stepped down as chief executive while staying on as chairman.

After losing $60.2-million in the year ended Jan. 31, 2004, it was renamed and reorganized as Groupe Les Ailes de la Mode Inc. and emerged from seven months of creditor protection last year after 30 investors injected $19.2-million in new financing.

Four of the original eight Les Ailes stores remain open, and the Montreal outlet has been cut to a third of its former size. The investors recently supplied another $3.2-million.

One industry source said Mr. Benitah, who runs more than 200 stores across Canada under the banners Fairweather, International Clothiers and Randy River, is interested in relaunching the Les Ailes chain as an off-price retailer in the vein of Winners. Another source said Mr. Benitah would continue to operate the current Les Ailes format in order to access $50-million in tax losses that are an integral part of the deal and to comply with lease restrictions at some higher end locations, including the old Eaton centre property in downtown Montreal. Bikini Village is not part of the negotiations, sources said.

Industry players believe that in order for the remaining Les Ailes stores to survive, they will have to appeal to customers who are more interested in low prices than in high fashion.

"Small department stores are probably the most complicated retail category in Canada right now," Mr. Stokan said. "That customer has really gone to big-box stores and players like Winners, who are now going into the downtowns of Canada."

Groupe Les Ailes is now under the stewardship of David Margolis, founder of the Winners chain, who himself seemed to concede this point at the retailer's sparsely attended annual meeting last week.

Les Ailes is starting to see improvements from a recent move into "value-priced" fashions for middle to high-end consumers, he noted, adding Canadians are more selective in their purchases than they used to be due to squeezed disposable incomes.

The retailer is still struggling. Its stock trades at less than a tenth of its value five years ago, and it reported a loss from continuing operations of $2.8-million, or 17 cents a share, for the first quarter ended April 30. Sales dropped almost 15% to $22.8-million from $26.8-million in 2004. Sales at the 59-store Bikini Village chain fell 5.5% and the Les Ailes stores posted a 20.5% drop. Mr. Margolis said both Les Ailes and Bikini Village should be profitable in the third or fourth quarters of this year.

[MTL-514]

yipes

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Wednesday » August 10 » 2005
Les Ailes stores get new owner
Fairweather Group pays $6.2 million. Sale does not include swimwear division; Margolis resigns as president and CEO

SHEILA MCGOVERN
The Gazette

Wednesday, August 10, 2005

The struggling Les Ailes de la Mode stores have been sold to the Fairweather Group in Toronto for $6.2 million, and retail analysts said it might be for the best.

The sale was not a surprise. Les Ailes de la Mode Inc. acknowledged more than a week ago that it was negotiating with the Toronto group, headed by Isaac Benitah.

The four stores - based in Montreal, Laval, Brossard and Ste. Foy - were to have been the pride of a retailing empire built by Paul Roberge in a rebirth of the luxurious department store. But they never took flight, and they dragged down the rest of his empire. In December 2003, the company had to seek protection from its creditors and sell a few of its banners, including the San Francisco chain on which it had been founded.

It emerged from bankruptcy protection with only Les Ailes and its swimwear division, which includes 50 Bikini Village and Ocean Bikini stores. At its annual meeting on July 21, the company said it still wasn't making money.

In announcing the sale, which does not involve the swimwear division, Les Ailes president David Margolis said that "on its own, the Les Ailes department stores would have required significant capital investments to remain viable in the long term."

By selling the stores to Fairweather, they "will benefit from the scale, purchasing power and relationships as well as the synergies that a large retailer can bring," he said. "Les Ailes' concept will continue under new leadership while recognizing its important impact on the Quebec retail market."

Benitah said he was excited about the purchase and that "with over $75 million in revenues and 630 employees, Les Ailes has a solid foundation from which we can build."

Fairweather will "continue to use the existing vendor base as well as adding new suppliers, which will broaden the appeal to customers and provide an enhanced platform for future success and growth," he said.

Benitah has been dubbed the "godfather of cheap chic," and there was speculation he would relaunch the chain as an off-price retailer like Winners.

However, three retail analysts contacted by The Gazette doubt that will happen.

"He absolutely should not do that," said Richard Talbot of Talbot Consultants International. Then he'd be competing with himself. A retailer can own a variety of stores "and maybe inside every low-end retailer there is also a high-end retailer."

Even though his stores would not carry the same merchandise, they would all benefit from combined supply, distribution, marketing and computer services, Talbot said.

And Quebec is the ideal market for a concept like Les Ailes, Talbot added. Though small department store chains are rare in the rest of Canada, Ste. Catherine St. has three - Les Ailes, Simons and Ogilvy - and the population remains fashion-conscious, he said.

David Howell of Associate Marketing International said low-end retailers are doing well, as are high-end retailers like Holt Renfrew and Harry Rosen. But the middle ground is not well served, he said, and Benitah has the expertise to capture that ground in Quebec and expand. "He understands the rest of Canada - Paul (Roberge) did not."

Ed Strapagiel of Kubas Consultants said many Canadian shoppers still want quality, and there probably is a stake to be claimed somewhere between The Bay and Holt Renfrew.

Benitah's empire has the reputation of being a tight operation, while Roberge "was probably not watching the nickels and dimes," Strapagiel said, and it also goes in for heavy marketing and promotion. "They are merchants who go out and hustle."

Roberge ran into trouble trying to expand too quickly, planning three stores in about a year, Strapagiel said. The Pointe Claire store never opened, the Ottawa stored closed, and the downtown Montreal store had to be chopped to a third of its size. When people run into financial difficulty, they cut back on advertising expenses, but you just can't do that in fashion. he said.

All agreed the tough nut to crack will be reviving the downtown Montreal store buried in the back of the old Eaton building. It has been a confusing store and tough to find, and it was the major contributor to Roberge's financial woes.

The Eaton building is owned by the Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec, the province's giant pension find manager. A spokesperson said yesterday the store was doing "business as usual" despite the sale.

Margolis, who founded the Winners chain, said he feels a sense of accomplishment at having stabilized Les Ailes, and is resigning as CEO and president. Leslie Glazerman, who has been Les Ailes' interim chief financial officer, will assume the title of interim chief executive officer.

The companies said the $6.2-million price tag is subject to certain adjustments, and $4.2 million was paid at the close yesterday, with the remaining $2 million to be paid in instalments in October, December and February.

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Rona eyeing expansion into the U.S.
Hardware firm posts record profit, sales
By ALLAN ROBINSON
Thursday, August 11, 2005 Page B5
With files from Bloomberg News

Rona Inc., the largest Canadian distributor of hardware, home renovation and gardening products, is not ruling out the possibility of expansion into the United States if the right opportunity comes along.

"Our eyes are open and our ears too," Robert Dutton, Rona's president and chief executive officer, said in a conference call yesterday in which the company reported record sales and profit in the second quarter of 2005.

Rona is already battling Atlanta-based Home Depot Inc. for market share on its home turf and in early June Lowe's Cos. Inc. of North Carolina said it was coming north of the border to open its marquee home improvement outlets.

"There's more than enough room for Home Depot and Rona, and probably a third major competitor," said Gavin Graham, a director of investments at Guardian Group of Funds Ltd. "With the extremely hot housing market, it's getting growth and there will be more purchases of smaller chains."

Rona's profit for the 13 weeks ended June 26 rose 31 per cent to $70.4-million or 61 cents a diluted share from $53.7-million or 46 cents a year earlier. Its sales were $1.2-billion, up from $1.1-billion.

About half of the 12.4-per-cent increase in sales from a year ago was the result of the $100-million acquisition of Alberta-based Totem Building Supplies Inc., which was consolidated beginning April 14.

The profit for the first half of fiscal 2005 increased 30 per cent to $84.6-million or 73 cents a share on revenue of $1.9-billion.

Shares of Rona rose $1.20 or 5 per cent to close at $23.97 yesterday on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Rona has generated much of its growth through acquisitions and by adding new corporate and franchise outlets. The threat of competition is likely to accelerate consolidation of the home improvement industry in Canada by motivating independents and large existing chains to sell out to Rona or join its dealer network, George Hartman, an analyst at Dundee Securities Corp., said in a report in June.

The home renovation business remained strong in the second quarter, although construction material prices, which were boiling a year ago, weakened, said Claude Guévin, executive vice-president and chief financial officer.

Lumber prices were down l3 per cent from a year ago, while veneers and plywood prices declined 22.7 per cent.

"The improvement in [profit] margins always results from many small actions," Mr. Guévin said.

Profit continued to improve more rapidly than sales, reflecting improved operating efficiencies, the company said.

Rona operates 566 franchise, affiliate and corporate stores.

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Loblaws: officially selling everything
_________________________________
Milk, eggs . . . cellphones
Loblaw launches PC mobile service
By CATHERINE MCLEAN
Wednesday, August 17, 2005 Updated at 3:50 AM EDT
From Wednesday's Globe and Mail

First it had grocery stores, then it added a bank, now it also has a wireless service.

Loblaw Cos. Ltd. has become the latest retailer in Canada to launch its own branded cellphone service in an effort to tap a fast-growing market. Industry observers expect more chains will follow, a trend they say could lead to lower wireless rates over time as competition heightens.

"It enables them to lever the fact that they've got a huge percentage of Canadians that visit one of their stores during the course of a year," said retail consultant Len Kubas of Kubas Consultants.

"The idea of having a phone that you can use and buy from a supermarket that you visit every week makes a lot of sense," he added.

With the new service, Loblaw is expanding its popular President's Choice private label line. Customers can currently buy food products like PC Memories of Tuscany Balsamic Vinegar & Fig Sauce, open a PC Financial bank account, and now sign up for PC mobile service at its supermarkets, and the company has said there is more PC merchandise to come.

The first stop for PC mobile was Alberta. British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec are expected to follow in coming weeks. Loblaw officials were not available to comment.

While many retail outlets have sold major wireless carriers' phones and prepaid offers for years, they are only starting to branch out now with their own branded cellphone services. Sears Canada Inc., for example, offers wireless service through SearsConnect. 7-Eleven Inc. last year introduced its Speak Out Wireless service in the United States, which could be expanded to Canada this fall. And in Britain, supermarket chains Tesco PLC and J. Sainsbury PLC 's sell their own branded cellphone services.

Loblaw "has strong ties to the U.K. supermarket industry," Mr. Kubas said. "Once they saw the success of store branded mobile phones, they thought why not?"

Shoppers Drug Mart Corp. and Canadian Tire Corp. Ltd. are among the next likely candidates to launch branded wireless services as many Canadians shop at their stores, according to Mr. Kubas. Both firms were not immediately available for comment.

Retailers are hoping to attract consumers who have so far resisted signing up for cellphone service. In North America, a smaller percentage of the population subscribes to wireless services than in Western Europe and Asia.

The retail chains are entering the cellphone market through deals that let them use the networks of the top wireless carriers. PC mobile is using Bell Mobility Inc.'s network, according to its website.

Resellers including PC mobile will likely target the discount market, said telecom consultant Ian Angus of Angus TeleManagement Group.

Loblaw is marketing its prepaid cellphone service as an "affordable" alternative to existing offers. PC mobile charges 20 cents a minute for local calls, according to the website. In comparison, Bell Mobility charges 30 cents a minute for the first two minutes and then 5 cents a minute for the rest of the call. And Rogers Wireless Inc. charges 26 cents to 33 cents a minute with its Anytime Plan, while Telus Mobility's rates go from 25 cents a minute up to 40 cents.

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Empire Theatres Limited announces the acquisition of 27 theatres in Ontario and Western Canada

STELLARTON, NS, Aug. 22 /CNW/ - Empire Theatres Limited ("Empire
Theatres") announced today that it has agreed to purchase 27 theatres with 202
screens located in Ontario and Western Canada from Cineplex Galaxy LP
("Cineplex"). The transaction is valued at approximately $83 million and is
expected to close September 30, 2005, subject to customary closing conditions.
Stuart Fraser, President and CEO, Empire Theatres Ltd said "we are
pleased with this acquisition as it enables us to further expand our presence
across Canada beyond our core group of theatres located in Atlantic Canada. We
look forward to operating these theatres and introducing the Empire Theatres
brand to Ontario and Western Canada." Empire Theatres will offer existing
staff continued employment in these theatres.
Empire Theatres currently operates 28 theatres representing 177 screens
in Atlantic Canada including one IMAX theatre in Halifax, NS along with 4
theatres representing 24 screens via a joint venture in Western Canada. As a
result of this acquisition, including the joint venture, Empire Theatres will
operate 59 theatres representing 403 screens across Canada.
Cineplex entered into a consent agreement with Canada's Commissioner of
Competition in connection with the Famous Players acquisition requiring the
sale of 34 theatres with a total of 282 screens located in the regions of
Ontario, Western Canada and Quebec. The purchase by Empire Theatres represents
27 of these 34 theatres.
A complete listing of the theatres being purchased has been attached to
this press release.

About Empire Theatres Limited:
Empire Theatres is a 100% owned subsidiary of Empire Company Limited with
its corporate headquarters in Stellarton, NS. Empire Theatres is committed to
offering a terrific cinema experience to its customers by offering modern
complexes and amenities along with branded food choices. More information can
be found at www.empiretheatres.com.
Empire Company Limited is a public company traded on the Toronto Stock
Exchange (symbol EMP.NV.A). Empire's key businesses include food distribution,
real estate and corporate investment activities, including theatres. More
information can be found at www.empireco.ca.

About Cineplex Galaxy LP:
Cineplex, headquartered in Toronto, ON operates or has an interest in 132
theatres with 1,278 screens (after giving effect to the 34 theatres and 282
screens to be divested pursuant to a consent agreement with the Canadian
Commissioner of Competition) and is the largest motion picture exhibitor in
Canada. Cineplex is a public company traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange
under Cineplex Galaxy Income Fund (symbol CGX.UN). More information can be
found at www.cineplexgalaxy.com or at www.famousplayers.ca.


Ontario Region

Cineplex Odeon Showcase Cinemas Famous Players Jackson Square Cinemas
3325 Harvester Rd. 2 King St. W.
Burlington, ON Hamilton, ON

Cineplex Odeon Orleans Town Centre SilverCity Kitchener
250 Centrum Blvd. 135 Gateway Park Dr.
Orleans, ON Kitchener, ON

Cineplex Odeon Exchange Centre Famous Players Kings College Cinemas
111 Albert St., 3rd Floor 262 King St. W.
Ottawa, ON Kitchener, ON

Cineplex Odeon Elgin Mills Famous Players 8 Wellington
10909 Yonge St. 983 Wellington Rd. S.
Richmond Hill, ON London, ON

Cineplex Odeon Square One SilverCity St. Catharines
100 City Centre Dr. Pen Centre Shopping Mall
Mississauga, ON 221 Glendale Ave.
St. Catharines, ON

Famous Players Capitol Theatre Famous Players Rideau Centre Cinemas
223 Princess St. 50 Rideau St.
Kingston, ON Ottawa, ON

SilverCity North York
5095 Yonge St.
North York, ON


Western Region

Famous Players Capitol 6 Cineplex Odeon Granville Cinemas
805 Yates St. 855 Granville St.
Victoria, BC Vancouver, BC

Cineplex Odeon Oakridge Famous Players Esplanade
601 - 650 West 41st Ave. 200 W. Esplanade
Vancouver, BC N. Vancouver, BC

SilverCity Guildford Coliseum Calgary
15051 - 101st Ave. 100 - 16061 Macleod Trail S.E.
Surrey, BC Calgary, AB

SilverCity Country Hills Famous Players Gateway 8
388 Country Hills Blvd. N.E. 2950 Calgary Trail S.
Calgary, AB Edmonton, AB

Cineplex Odeon Clareview Town Cineplex Odeon
Centre Edmonton City Centre Cinemas
4211 - 139th Ave. 10002 - 102nd Avenue
Edmonton, AB Edmonton, AB

Paramount Theatre Lethbridge Famous Players Westmount Centre
4th Ave. and 8th St. S. Cinemas
P.O. Box 520 2003 Westmount Shopping Centre
Lethbridge, AB 111 Ave. and Groat Rd.
Edmonton, AB

Famous Players Capitol 4 Cinemas Cineplex Odeon Grant Park
216 1st Ave. S. 1120 Grant Park Ave., Unit 127
Saskatoon, SK Winnipeg, MB

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Indigo Books & Music in 'growth mode' to open new stores: CEO Reisman
RITA TRICHUR1 hour, 45 minutes ago
TORONTO (CP) - After finally closing the book on its three-year restructuring, Indigo Books & Music Inc. is fired up for growth and is set to open a slate of new stores over the coming year, CEO Heather Reisman said Wednesday.

"We're in growth mode," Reisman told shareholders during an address at the company's annual meeting in Toronto.

"(There's) lots in the pipeline in the growth side of the business."

Canada's largest bookstore operator will add three new Indigo superstores in Ottawa, Windsor and Montreal to its portfolio, along with new smaller-format Coles boutiques in Toronto and Uxbridge, Ont., and Whitehorse.

The new store openings will mark the first chapter of expansion for Indigo since its mega-merger with rival Chapters in 2001. At that time, the company was required to divest certain holdings in order to win regulatory approval from the federal Competition Bureau.

Subsequently, the book store chain has re-engineered its supply system while expanding sales of gifts and lifestyle products with the aim of transforming its shops into "cultural department stores."

"Last year market a major transition for Indigo," said chief financial officer Jim McGill. "The good news is the platform is stablized."

Late last month, Indigo said it turned the page with a solid jump in sales and improved efficiency which helped trim its losses by 26 per cent in the first-quarter of fiscal 2006.

Its net loss for the period ended July 2 totalled $8.1 million or 34 cents a share compared with a loss of just under $11 million or 46 cents a share for the same period last year.

Quarterly sales rose to $164.2 million from $155.9 million, a gain of 5.3 per cent. Those results did not include sales of the sixth instalment of J.K. Rowling's wildly popular Harry Potter franchise, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, executives said. Following its summer release, the company booked sales of 250,000 units per day.

Looking forward, Reisman said executives are thumbing through a catalogue of growth initiatives for both its store-based and online segments. Among them is an expansion of its "bibliotherapy" book line which includes doctor-recommended picks on a wide array of health issues.

"Bibliotherapy has become a very hot topic in the medical world," Reisman said. "We see this as an area for great growth."

She conceded, however, the industry remains in transition with traditional book retailers forced to contend with the impact of digitization, the Internet and new entertainment technology. For its part, Indigo has introduced a small range of digital products, including the faddy iPod MP3 player by Apple.

"We have to be aware of what opportunities are created by that," Reisman said, but declined to elaborate when pressed. "We're in a highly competitive industry."

The Toronto-based company controlled by Toronto power couple Reisman and her husband Gerry Schwartz, chairman of Onex Corp., operates bookstores in all provinces under the names Indigo Books Music & more, Chapters, The World's Biggest Bookstore and Coles.

The company, which had 6,300 employees at the end of its 2004 fiscal year, also operates Chapters.indigo.ca, an online retailer of books, gifts, music, videos, and DVDs.

Its shares (TSX:IDG - news) fell 20 cents to $8.05 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

[someone123]

Empire is basically Sobeys plus some other things like the movie theatres. As far as I know they have a total monopoly on the movie theatre business in Atlantic Canada. The last locations owned by other chains here were bought out a couple of years ago.

[SSLL]

^don't they own the chain of Irving gas stations in the East too?

[MTL-514]

^ that's not the K.C. Irving family?

[someone123]

No, Irving is separate. The Irving "empire" consists of the gas stations, petrochemical plants, shipyards, forestry operations, and other things.

[MTL-514]

^ still owned by the Irving family?

[someone123]

Yes.

[SSLL]

Speaking of Nova Scotia, are you guys the only province not to have Sunday shopping still? What's up with that? Do most people want it now, or not care?

[someone123]

There is still no Sunday shopping at any point in the year, although it excludes many businesses (generally speaking, anything deemed "essential" and anything that's "entertainment".. it also goes by square footage and there are many strange exceptions probably built in because somebody knew someone with that kind of business). It's kind of a big issue but many people simply don't care, which is why the majority vote against it when it comes to plebiscites.

Eventually some business owners will have to take the province to court. I believe that's what ended the Sunday shopping ban in most of the other provinces.

[SSLL]

ETHNIC SUPERMARKETS TAKE OFF IN MULTICULTURAL CANADA

By Susan Thorne

Step into a T&T Supermarkets store, and it becomes immediately apparent that Canada, like the U.S., is a country of immigrants.

Emigration surges from Hong Kong and mainland China have made Asians the largest visible minority group entering Canada in the past 20 years.

Certainly, Canada’s Asian market is sizable and growing. Statistics Canada, the government census agency, predicts that by 2017, South Asian and Chinese immigrants together will number about 3.6 million, constituting more than 10 percent of the total Canadian population of 34.6 million. That will be up from 6.5 percent in 2001, the latest census.

Yet, aside from a few Chinese-owned malls in the Greater Toronto and Vancouver, British Columbia, areas showcasing mainly Chinese merchants, Canadian shopping centers have not targeted the Asian customer. Now, however, Richmond, British Columbia-based T&T Supermarkets is providing a link to this growing market segment.

T&T has re-created the Asian grocery business, which has traditionally been housed in smaller shops in Canada’s urban and suburban Chinatowns, with a modern supermarket format. Its stores, which measure between 21,000 and 65,000 square feet, sell about 20,000 different food items, including unusual and exotic fruits, jasmine rice and live Australian king crab. Founded in 1993 in Richmond, T&T has stores in Canada’s two largest shopping centers — West Edmonton Mall and Metropolis Centre, Burnaby, British Columbia — and in 10 other locations from Vancouver to Toronto, of which seven are shopping centers. The company says it plans to expand further in the country.

“The grocery business is a highly competitive, mature sector,” said company CFO Kam Choi. “The key to our success is differentiation —being able to meet the needs of the Asian customer.” T&T maintains a lower price point than other grocers through volume purchases of Asian specialties and by operating with a tighter profit margin, he says. Chainwide sales per square foot exceed C$500 ($414). That is about 20 percent higher than similar-size competitors in the Toronto area achieve, according to GRS, a Calgary-based retail real estate management consulting firm.

To be sure, the company needs a broad selection to serve its core customers, who, besides ethnic Chinese, include Filipinos, Japanese, Koreans, Thais and other Asian nationalities. “They all want to find their favorites, like in their home countries,” Choi said. T&T stores respond to this demand, and how. There are specialties not found in mainstream grocery stores, such as live fish and shrimp, red-bean ice-cream bars and freshly prepared foods from the in-house delis, bakeries and sushi bars. Take-out counters offer hot dishes such as rice congee (a breakfast rice “soup”), prepared dumplings, steamed buns and stir-fries. All of these can be taken home or eaten on the premises.

It is unusual for an ethnic specialty concept to achieve secondary anchor status at malls, but landlords say T&T enhances the merchandise mix and adds a new shopper demographic. “They help us reach an ethnic market that we might otherwise have lost out on, or would not have penetrated deeply enough,” said Brian Castle, senior vice president of the Western region for Ivanhoe Cambridge. Castle has had direct experience with T&T at Metropolis Centre, where he says the supermarket’s sales performance is strong, and at Coquitlam Centre, in Vancouver. He also observed the way two struggling neighborhood centers — Impact Plaza, in Surrey, British Columbia, and Pacific Place, in Calgary, Alberta — were revitalized when T&T became a tenant in 1998 and 1999, respectively. “These cases are a credit to them [T&T] in terms of the success and traffic they bring,” he said.

At West Edmonton Mall, the T&T supermarket is part of the Chinatown-themed attraction area that was added to the center in 2002. The store has sparked significant cross-shopping on the part of Asian customers, particularly those under 50, says center manager Gary Hanson. “I see a lot more of that younger generation going to stores like Club Monaco here, so our retail tenants are benefiting,” Hanson said. T&T’s presence boosts business at the nearby casino and the mall, because Asians shop for food more frequently than other customer groups, perhaps as often as five times per week, Hanson says.

Asian customers predominate, but non-Asians, drawn to the exotic merchandise, can make up as much as 30 percent of T&T’s customers at some stores. “They’ve got tanks of fish in there, ducks hanging up — that’s retail entertainment,” said Hanson.

The T&T at Promenade Center, in Toronto’s Thornhill district, has Jewish, Italian and Russian communities all around. The store, which opened in 2002, is performing well, says Choi. Nonetheless, future T&T units will follow concentrations of Asian population in Canada’s larger cities, with the Toronto area being a main focus (Choi envisions eight or more stores there), followed by Ottawa and possibly Montréal. Next year the company will open its eighth Vancouver store plus one store each in Calgary and Toronto.

Tom Leung, president of GRS, a Calgary-based retail management consulting firm, considers T&T a well-managed company with a strong retail concept for the Asian niche market. “Those consumers generally prefer recognized North American brands, but traditional tastes prevail in food shopping,” he said. Value is even more important than selection for these grocery shoppers, he says, and T&T is well positioned for this mind-set, with prices from 5 to 10 percent below those of the competition. He suggests that T&T will realize higher returns by owning its store sites, as national supermarket companies are increasingly doing (the store at Yaohan Centre, in Richmond, is company-owned), and reaching out to more mainstream customers. But expert personnel with Asian background will be needed to serve the core customer base, so the company’s ability to recruit such help may determine how fast and how much it can expand, Leung says.

Supermarket competitors may be targeting a larger share of the Asian shopping basket. Ivanhoe Cambridge’s Castle says some mainstream supermarkets in British Columbia are becoming more oriented to the ethnic Asian niche market with tanks of live fish and the like. And Leung estimates that Loblaw’s Real Canadian Superstores now allot as much as 5,000 square feet of their 100,000 square feet of floor space per store to Asian foods.

[MTL-514]

^ very interesting

[SSLL]

Sobeys talks tough on Ontario
Thursday, September 8, 2005 Page B9
Canadian Press

STELLARTON, N.S. -- Sobeys Inc., Canada's second-largest supermarket chain, says it's ready to take a bite out of the competition -- particularly in the cutthroat Ontario market -- with an aggressive merchandising plan that helped it ring up a higher first-quarter profit.

CEO Bill McEwan, addressing shareholders at the company's annual meeting yesterday, said he's "bullish" about the future in that key market despite sharpened competition -- a veiled reference to rival Metro Inc.'s recent acquisition of 236 A&P Canada stores.

"Irrespective of the recent changes in the competitive landscape," Mr. McEwan said, "we remain committed to executing our food-focused strategy while continuing to invest aggressively in the growth of our business in Ontario."

Industry observers say Sobeys lost out in bidding for A&P Canada as Metro shelled out $1.7-billion and solidified its standing as the country's No. 3 player.

But Toronto retailing analyst John Winter said it could take Metro years to fully absorb its acquisition, giving Sobeys and Loblaw Cos. time to improve efficiencies.

In the meantime, he said, Sobeys and Loblaw will likely look to expand their respective holdings in key markets with small tuck-in acquisitions. Prospective targets include Highland Farms and Safeway.

Earlier yesterday, Sobeys reported its profit rose to $48.2-million or 74 cents a share from $46.6-million or 71 cents a share during the year-ago quarter. Sales jumped nearly 10 per cent to $3.3-billion from $3.01-billion on company-wide merchandising efforts. Three new stores were opened and three expanded.

[Kilgore Trout]

T&T is the best supermarket chain in canada. not only does it have all the best asian products -- including a lot of japanese stuff that is actually cheaper than you'd find in asia (excluding japan, of course) -- it is an overall bargain. their produce is top-notch and bakery fantastic.

i really hope they seriously consider opening a store in montreal. we have the third-largest asian population in canada. that should count for something!

what's the source for the T&T article, by the way? it reads like it was written for a foreign audience. large, clean and well-stocked ethnic supermarkets are not news to anyone who lives in canada's biggest cities.

[SSLL]

The source is ICSC (International Council of Shopping Centers). It's a US-based trade publication. I went to my parents' nearby T&T and was blown away by how clean, organized and big it was! I would argue that all three (large, clean and well-stocked) are not always in ethnic supermarkets, maybe one of the above, or two of the above, but not all three... T&T had their own food court and an Assamiea (formerly TenRen) bubble tea café. I thought Calgary had the third-largest Asian population in Canada (or is that Chinatown)? They only recently made the foray into Ontario, I guess they're trying to open a few more stores in Greater Toronto and Ottawa, before going further east.

[Kilgore Trout]

I would argue that all three (large, clean and well-stocked) are not always in ethnic supermarkets, maybe one of the above, or two of the above, but not all three...

you're absolutely right -- many ethnic supermarkets have great selection and great prices, but are cramped and dingy. most cities have had some hallmark ones that are T&T-like for awhile, though. of course, what distinguishes T&T is that it's a chain and it's so consistently nice.

montreal has the third-largest asian population in raw numbers, but calgary's is almost as large. since it's a much smaller city, though, the asian population's proportion is much higher. i also believe the chinese community in calgary is a lot wealthier than the one in montreal, so that is probably a factor to consider.

[SSLL]

Sep. 14, 2005. 01:00 AM
Retailers may create a Calgary stampede
DANA FLAVELLE
BUSINESS REPORTER

Watch out Toronto. Some U.S. retailers looking to open stores in Canada are seriously considering making Calgary their first stop.
Call it oil-patch economics. The Alberta city draws on a population of 1 million people who enjoy the lowest unemployment rate, highest household income and top retail sales per person in the country.
"We're talking to a lot of U.S. retailers ... who are looking at making Calgary their first stop," said David Pidgeon, asset manager for Deerfoot Meadows, a sprawling mall, whose construction is scheduled to begin next year in Calgary.
It's not as if new retailers are flocking en masse to western Canada. Coincidentally, Swedish cheap chic fashion retailer H&M, which chose Toronto as its first stop last year, announced yesterday it's continuing to invest in the city, opening three more stores in Greater Toronto Area malls this fall.
In fact, most major international retail chains that have come to Canada in the last few years have started out in Toronto. Think Zara, the Spanish fashion retailer, Best Buy, the leading U.S. consumer electronics chain, or Sephora, the European cosmetics company.
The opening of U.S.-based companies' stores in Calgary "is not going to be a tidal wave," said John Torella, a senior consultant with Toronto-based J.C. Williams Group. "I think there are going to be some because the market is so buoyant and Deerfoot is offering some pretty attractive (leasing) deals.
"But Toronto has so many other benefits," said Torella. "Just the sheer size of the market, the diversity of the market, the vibrancy of the market. That's all pretty attractive,"
Still, Calgary is undeniably attractive and there are signs the market is shifting.
"The city is really hot right now," Pidgeon said during the International Council of Shopping Centres conference in Toronto yesterday.
"We've got three or four international tenants who are looking at this and saying, `Wow,'" added John Marino, a leasing consultant for Deerfoot.
The Calgary project is the size of four Yorkdale shopping centres and will be one of Canada's first "lifestyle destination centres," the next generation of shopping mall development, Marino explained.
This new style of mall combines big-box stores with a stylish boardwalk featuring mid- to high-fashion outlets and better restaurants, and some condo or hotel development. They're aimed at affluent, older adults, who have time to stroll and shop and are willing to pay for more ambience, Marino said. About 70 such malls have been built in the U.S.
And now, one's coming to Calgary, the heart of a province with $100 billion in new investment committed over the next decade to develop the oil sands.
Toronto, and more broadly, Ontario, meanwhile is lagging the national average in retail sales growth and shopping mall performance, the conference heard. Retail sales in Alberta rose 11.4 per cent in the first half of the year, while Ontario lagged the national average with 5.4 per cent growth, Statistics Canada has said.
Among malls, fashion-forward Montreal enjoyed the strongest growth, up 5.9 per cent, followed by Calgary, at 5.4 per cent, and then Toronto, at 1.6 per cent, according to mall industry data.
For the country as a whole, economic conditions remain favourable with retail sales running ahead of last year's pace, up 6.8 per cent, said the mall group.
_________________________
Outside retailers flocking to Canada, ICSC meeting told

U.S. and European retailers are entering the Canadian market drawn by the strength of its economy, forcing local retailers to become more competitive, panelists at the 2005 Canadian Convention in Toronto said today.
“The margins of Canadian retailers are being squeezed by competition from big discounters like Wal-Mart,” said Ed Sonshine, president and CEO of Toronto-based RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust. “For a long time, the Canadian market seemed very protected. But it's good for us as landlords, because we have more choices for tenants.”

The arrival of new international retailers is “one of the most exciting” developments in the Canadian retailing scene, said René Tremblay, president and CEO of Toronto-based developer Ivanhoe Cambridge. “They are bringing a lot of great concepts.”

Observers say about 50 U.S. retailers have entered Canada in the past five years. The influx signifies that the Canadian economy is in good health, most panelists agreed. So far the economy has shrugged off high oil prices, Sonshine said, and Tremblay predicts retail sales growth of 3 percent to 4 percent in coming years.

To take advantage of this economic vigor, some Canadian developers are considering formats more common in the U.S., such as lifestyle centers. But lifestyle centers are likely to have only a “limited market,” in Canada, said L. Peter Sharpe, president and CEO of the Toronto-based Cadillac Fairview Corp. Only a few areas in Canada have the household income to support the high retail price points that such centers demand, he said.

Developers looking to build in Canada would do well to consider the province of Alberta, said Doug Porter, deputy chief economist and managing director of BMO Nesbitt Burns, a Toronto-based bank. Alberta's retail sales make the province look like “an area on steroids,” he said. The province's booming economy is also drawing immigrants from other parts of Canada, with about 13,000 arriving last year.

But there may be economic storm clouds ahead, others said. Rising energy prices will “be the biggest risk for Canadian consumers,” said Porter. “Growth will remain solid, but it is slowing.”

Developers agreed that there are challenges on the way. A rise in inflation could cause “a downturn, and then we will see a massive correction,” said K. Sahi, chairman and CEO of Morguard Corp., a Toronto-based real estate and financial services firm. The current economic expansion “will run out of steam,” said Sharpe, which will hurt “the electronics and home improvement industries that have been the mainstay of our sales.”

[MTL-514]

^ I could be totally wrong on this , but I thought Zara's first Canadian store was originally in Montreal

[someone123]

Toronto's going to be the obvious choice for a long time because it is large and easy to get to from the US.

Either way it doesn't matter a whole lot because most of the new stores are not that impressive.

[Coldrsx]

west edmonton mall is getting its fair share of 1st entrants into canada and western canada:

hollister
abercrombie and fitch

[ibz]

/\ yeah WEM has been doing quite well in this regard, French Connection, Forever 21, Urban Outfitters, just a couple more that set up in Edm before anywhere else in the west.

[CMD UW]

I also believe that American Apparel set up its first western Canada store in Edmonton on Whyte. I recall the sales lady saying that back when it first opened.

[SSLL]

American Apparel - what a ripoff! It's just sweats and T-shirts!

I do believe Zara opened their first on Bloor St. before Montreal's. Was the first one on Ste-Catharine?

WEM still has the only Forever 21 in Canada. The Hollister will open at the same time ast the two Toronto stores, and A&F is due to open, but it's not been stated when yet.

[MTL-514]

yup the Zara opened in Place Montreal Trust (with a streetfront entrance at the corner of Ste-Catherine Street and Mansfield)

they took over the old Marks & Spencer store that closed shop when that chain pulled out of Canada.

Montreal also used to have an Abercrombie & Fitch in that same downtown mall, when it was first built at the end of the 1980s/early 90's.

[srperrycgy]

I also believe that American Apparel set up its first western Canada store in Edmonton on Whyte. I recall the sales lady saying that back when it first opened.

They've also opened a store at 17th Ave. & 14th Street SW (former Mother's Music) in Calgary.

[ibz]

A+F will be opening in Edmonton in November. WEM also used to have one back when Woodwards operated the brand in Canada.

Id bet donuts to dollars that the mall will get Western Canada's first H&M as well (not that this would be a big coup or anything though...)

[MikeTTG]

A&F was in the Exchange Tower in Toronto in the late '80s/early '90s, back when A&F was the land of the $400 croquet set. They had two floors, where the Starbucks and the food court is now.

[Plus15]

Some recent Calgary info -

-Chinook Centre's Williams-Sonoma store opening was the 2nd biggest opening, sales-wise, in the company's history - the only store that did better was Manhattan's 30,000 sq.ft. flagship store. Western Canada only location

-Fourth Banana Republic location recently opened at Market Mall

-Pottery Barn is almost complete with its 15,500 sq.ft. Chinook location. The store has a huge exterior storefront facing Macleod Trail

-Urban Oufitters has signed a deal to build a 12,000 square foot store at Deerfoot Meadows

-Sunridge Mall opened its new foodcourt last month as part of ongoing $50 million redevelopment

[Coldrsx]

"Id bet donuts to dollars that the mall will get Western Canada's first H&M as well "

ive emailed them to open on jasper....

[SSLL]

MTL-514: Is that Zara reopened now?

Plus15: Isn't it strange that they built the only Williams-Sonoma in Chinook, but the first Pottery Barn in Vancouver (yet no Williams-Sonoma to speak of)? In Toronto, all four are paired up in the same mall, with two of the pairs having a Pottery Barn Kids too.

[MTL-514]

^ yes. the Zara was undergoing some major renovations/expansions for a few months. I think it's now fully open again. it's a 20 second walk from my office building. I should probably know for sure, but I guess I haven't been getting out of the office onto Ste-Catherine Street very much this summer...

[Plus15]

Yes, SSLL, I find that sort of odd. Vancouver was the obvious choice for the first Williams-Sonoma. I guess the right location hasn't come along, or they are unsure about whether to go with a streetside or mall location.

On a side note, shopping at US based stores in Canada is really becoming a ripp-off! For example, the markup at Williams-Sonoma & Pottery Barn ranges between 45-50% on all items in the Canadian stores - and with an $.85 dollar - we are getting soaked!

[CMD UW]

I also believe that American Apparel set up its first western Canada store in Edmonton on Whyte. I recall the sales lady saying that back when it first opened.

They've also opened a store at 17th Ave. & 14th Street SW (former Mother's Music) in Calgary.
This was back in March. There are AA's in Vancouver and Calgary now.

[ewh12]

"Id bet donuts to dollars that the mall will get Western Canada's first H&M as well "

ive emailed them to open on jasper....

Hops Building would be Perfect

[SSLL]

Yes, SSLL, I find that sort of odd. Vancouver was the obvious choice for the first Williams-Sonoma. I guess the right location hasn't come along, or they are unsure about whether to go with a streetside or mall location.

On a side note, shopping at US based stores in Canada is really becoming a ripp-off! For example, the markup at Williams-Sonoma & Pottery Barn ranges between 45-50% on all items in the Canadian stores - and with an $.85 dollar - we are getting soaked!

Try living in the UK! I refuse to buy anything I can buy in Toronto, here. It's almost the same price as the US prices, but in £! Like a 100% markup!!!

["actionhero"]

A mountain equipment co-op is opening downtown in Victoria early 06.

And the Virgin megastore in Vancouver is an HMV now with shitty selection. What's up with that?!

[Hootch]

I was just at WEM today. They really need to fix that place up!

I did buy a cell phone finally, it cost me $550 with the security deposit and $200 that I'll get back in the first bill, but man, I didn't realize how expensive it was to get a cell! :hell:

[Kilgore Trout]

And the Virgin megastore in Vancouver is an HMV now with shitty selection. What's up with that?!

virgin pulled out of canada and is going to focus on expansion in the united states instead; hmv is going to boost its presence in canada.

[SSLL]

It shouldn't cost that much to buy a cellphone. A lot of times, you can get a free phone with certain contracts.

[Hootch]

It's a 3-year contract. I had to pay a $300 security deposit which I'll get back in 6 months if I pay every monthly bill on time. I also get $200 credit on my first bill. So if I do everything right then the price was $60.

That was my initial reaction "It shouldn't cost me $560 for a cell!!". Did I get screwed?

[ibz]

I guess it depends on what cell phone you bought - but having worked in the business before - you probably got a decent deal. ALthough depending where you bought the phone you more then likely could have got the $200 taken off the phone in store as opposed to bill credit.

The best time to buy a cell phone btw is December/Christmas. Not only will you get an outstanding plan not availible the rest of the year, you get the standard free phone/heavy discount for signing a contract plus some great free shit (for example $100 Gift Cards at Best Buy/Fshop)

[SSLL]

Well, it might be a really nice phone...Something like a Razr would cost a lot, I'd imagine.

[ibz]

Razrs are niiiiice (as I look at my beautiful black razr :) )

[SSLL]

Sep. 25, 2005. 08:51 AM
STUART NIMMO/TORONTO STAR
BUSINESS REPORTER

The laces between the Brownsteins and some Italian shoemakers have been intertwined for almost half a century. Families such as the Ferragamos have supplied the Brownsteins' Montreal-based shoe retail chain with upscale, fashionable footwear for generations.
A few months ago, Michael Brownstein proudly presented his son, David — the fourth generation to join his family's Browns Shoe Shops — to one of the company's long-time Italian suppliers. The man seemed downright distraught, prompting Michael to ask why.
"Your father I worked with, and he was nice. You were a lot tougher," the supplier explained. "I don't want to meet your son."
Of course, suppliers know the Brownsteins may be tough, but they're true.
Browns Shoe Shops was started by Michael's grandfather, Benjamin Brownstein, in 1940. Morton Brownstein, Michael's father, took over the business, and in 1959 became (as far as the company knows) the first Canadian retailer to import shoes from Italy and carry designer labels such as Salvatore Ferragamo and Bruno Magli.
Parallel generations in Italy and Canada — from Morton's to Michael's to David's — have worked together since, even as Browns grew from a single store in Montreal to more than 40 locations across the country.
"We'll never let them down and they know that, because of our relationship," Michael explains, noting he buys from those suppliers every year, even if a season's line is weaker than usual. "Even if you're buying less than you bought (in previous years), you have to buy something because they're counting on us. ... We've been in business with them for so many years."
That kind of familial give and take is one of the things that made Browns a shoe-in for the Micam award, a prestigious industry accolade that had never before been given to a retailer outside Italy.
"The whole ambiance, the atmosphere of our company is very family-oriented," Michael explains. "Our staff is very important to us and are very close and we treat them like family."
If a relative of a staff member has health problems, for example, the Brownsteins, who are involved with Montreal hospitals, may help them get appointments with doctors, he says.
The focus on relationships spills over into the family's interaction with customers.
"Even our buyers and our executives try to spend as much time in the stores as they can, meeting customers and meeting our staff," Michael explains.
In fact, David's job right now is spending some time at each of the stores in Toronto, where the company now does the bulk of its business, and getting to know the staff and customers.
"Each of our stores has different merchandise, different customers that we're targeting," explains David, 25, who joined the company in recent months. For example, the downtown stores are faster-paced than the more service-oriented Yorkville flagship, he says.
The stores that David is getting to know in intimate detail are a big step up from the single family shoe store started by his great-grandfather, Benjamin, 65 years ago.
"In those days," Michael explained, "shoe stores were boxes on the floor and a few chairs."
After the original store burned down in 1954, Morton had a grander vision for the next version, so he hired a store interior designer. The designer asked what kind of store he was designing, and Morton's decision took Browns upscale, catering to customers most conscious of the latest fashions. With a vision to give those clients something special, he began importing Italian shoes in 1959.
"He figured that the latest fashion was coming from Europe and so he went to Europe to bring the fashion to North America," said Michael. It's been a family tradition ever since.
"We go to Europe six times a year."
Almost right off the bat, Morton, who still chairs the company at age 77, began persuading big names to design exclusive lines for his company.
Morton soon realized that expanding Browns would strengthen relationships with suppliers. As shopping centres sprouted all over Montreal and Toronto in the 1960s and 1970s, Browns followed.
"Every time a major centre would open, we'd open a store there," explains Michael, 56, who joined the company full-time in 1973 and is now its president. His sister, Janet, also works for the family business, handling public relations.
In the next few decades, both the Bay and Holt Renfrew approached Browns and invited them to open boutiques within their department stores. Browns took that as an opportunity to branch out into new cities such as Vancouver.
The company's expansion has served it well in its negotiations with suppliers for exclusive lines, including many from designer brands such as Giancarlo Paoli and Manolo Blahnik.
"Don't forget — we have 40 stores," Michael points out. "We have a lot of power in Canada."
Many of the company's suppliers manufacture shoes exclusively for Browns's six private labels, which develop many of their own products.
In the 1990s, Michael realized that some of those shoes would benefit from a wider audience. "We had this product that was very young, very cool," he explained. "In order to attract a younger customer, we needed a younger atmosphere also."
And so Browns opened its first B2 store on a hip strip of Queen St., to better showcase trendy sneakers, backpacks and other street fashion. There are now five stores under the B2 banner, including one in the Eaton Centre whose coloured glass and curved metal décor contrasts sharply with the hardwood and brick of the flagship Browns store in Yorkville. Despite their cosmetic differences, both Browns and B2 stores share a similar philosophy.
"Our buyers are always on the lookout for whatever's new and whatever's hot," says Michael. The buyers include his 23-year-old daughter, Julia, who has just joined the company as an assistant buyer after graduating from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York.
Actually, the entire family is involved in the business now — Michael's wife, Thérèse, accompanies him on his trips to Europe and also acts as his consultant, particularly when it comes to women's fashions.
Stylishly dressed in autumn orange on a warm, late summer day, she's always looking to the next season. In Europe, she pays keen attention to what there is for sale in the stores, what fashion-conscious women are wearing and what kind of shoes would go well.
"Even on vacation, I was in Italy and I (saw) all these jeans, jeans, jeans," she says, her excitement and passion for fashion bubbling through her French-accented voice. "I said, `Michael, cowboy boots (are) just going to be right on.' "
And so, this season, the Yorkville Browns store has an extensive lineup of cowboy boots on display atop its curved glass shelves.
A collective family effort keeps Browns on the leading edge of fashion, and keeping that edge is crucial to their success, Thérèse explains.
"We go in trendy places," she says. "We don't go to four-star restaurants where the (average) age is 75. We go where everything's happening. That's the way it has to be."

[SSLL]

Wednesday » October 5 » 2005
Costco leaves no stone unturned
Kristin Goff
The Ottawa Citizen
Wednesday, October 05, 2005

'We know we are going to grow in Canada,' says Costco Canada country manager Louise Wendling. The shopping-club giant, which once figured 20 warehouse-style stores would cover the Canadian market, now believes Canada 'could easily support 100 stores,' she says.
When Costco Wholesale began doing business in Canada nearly 20 years ago, officials figured it could succeed only in markets with a half million people or more.

But as Costco Canada prepares to open its third Ottawa store in Kanata in mid-November, its 66th in Canada, it has much more ambitious plans for the retail strategy it once thought was limited to 20 warehouse-style stores in the country.

"I think Canada could easily support 100 stores," says Canada country manager Louise Wendling.

That could mean opening 10 to 15 more stores, including some in much smaller markets, over the next few years, she says.

The company, headquartered in Ottawa, also plans to move its Gatineau store to a larger location next spring.

"We're very aggressive in our approach," says Ms. Wendling. "We know we are going to grow in Canada."

Part of that optimism is based on the company's strategy of selling more to each of its 6.4 million shopping-club customers, who pay annual fees of $45 to $100 for regular or premium types of business or individual memberships as a requirement to shop there.

Even in this day of "everything under one roof" retailing, where you can buy ice cream at department stores and bank at the grocer, Costco Canada seems to be pushing things to the limit.

The club-shopping store sells bulk household and business staples in its warehouse-style stores, but also name-brand clothes, big screen televisions, computers, some appliances and a growing number of services, such as emergency roadside assistance and preferred rates for small-business payroll processing.

Its online store, which started this year, has added violins and trumpets, backup solar-power kits and expensive jewelry to its product mix. The most expensive diamond rings on its costco.ca website this week top $10,000 -- chump change compared with ian exquisite diamond ring that sold for $249,999 this year, its most expensive item by far.

That amazing wide range of products and services could seem like a wildly unfocused strategy. But it isn't, says Maureen Atkinson, a partner with retailing consultant J.C. Williams Group in Toronto.

"They know who their customers are and who they are not, and they are really sharply focused that way," she says.

"For that customer, they are going to do everything."

Because it charges membership fees, Costco shoppers are largely small-business owners and above-average income suburban families, and Costco is working to leverage that relationship in a big way.

It is a strategy that Wal-Mart uses in its Sam's Club stores, which have only started making inroads in Canada with a half-dozen stores in southern Ontario but are widely expected to roll out across the country.

Wal-Mart won't talk about its expansion plans in Canada. So far it doesn't have an online store in Canada, but its U.S. website also carries a wide range of products, from diamond rings to business supplies.

The two membership warehouse titans have battled for years in the United States, where Costco has fewer stores but has managed to achieve higher per-store sales by leveraging more sales per customer.

"We feel we can compete very well against them in Canada, as we did in the U.S.," says Ms. Wendling. Part of its strategy is to find "high quality" goods that the company believes will sell quickly and appeal to its higher income customers.

Despite its discount prices (Ms. Wendling says Costco's maximum markup is only 14 per cent), Costco pays employees $47,000 annually when they reach the top scale, usually after four or five years, she says.

Costco plans to hold a job fair from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Oct. 14 at the Bell Sensplex to help fill the 200 new jobs the Kanata store will generate.

Employees at its new Kanata store, near Silver Seven Road, will start at $9.50 an hour, but pay progresses quickly based on cumulative hours worked, company officials said.

Costco, headquartered in Issaquah, Washington, doesn't separately report its Canadian financial results.

But officials confirm its sales top $8 billion a year, making it the fourth-largest retailer in Canada.

Costco clearly has one eye on the prospect of growing competition in Canada from Sam's Club. But its latest push into offering more and more services is aimed at more than simply building loyalty among its shoppers in response to Sam's Clubs, says Ms. Atkinson.

Offering services is a way for stores to ramp up sales, without having to physically expand their floor space. In the United States, the trend has taken off. Grocery stores, for example, are offering medical services, where nurse practitioners treat colds and common ailments, Ms. Atkinson said.

Loblaws' Presidents Choice Financial, which offers banking services along with groceries, is one example of the trend she expects to see sweep through the Canadian retail landscape soon.

"This trend will only be limited by the customer," says Ms. Atkinson. "At what point does the customer say, 'I'm not going to buy that in a grocery store?' "

Costco Canada might well be at the forefront of testing that proposition, following the lead of its U.S. parent.

Costco regular or "executive" members (who pay a higher membership fee) can already sign up for such things as emergency roadside service, telephone and Internet plans, and real estate services, which are offered through partnerships it negotiates for its members.

Car and home insurance are coming soon, officials say.

And by next summer, the retailer plans to offer "high quality" travel services and upscale packages -- such as cooking classes in Tuscany --at Costco prices.

Its business members can access payroll, credit card and debit processing financial services, among others.

"We like to have 10 or 12 services offered at any time where the price is great, and it really gives value to our membership," says Ms. Wendling.

[SSLL]

Does anyone remember the Hear Music branded in-store shops at Chapters? I know they had one at 110 Bloor in Toronto, and I believe there was one in Festival Hall or Midtown Toronto as well, at least. I really like the music, and think it'd be pretty cool...Hope it gets approved.
_________________________________
Ottawa reviewing Starbucks music bid
By DEAN BEEBY
Sunday, October 2, 2005 Posted at 1:57 PM EDT
Canadian Press

The federal government is reviewing a proposal by coffee titan Starbucks Corp. to establish a retail music business in Toronto to make sure it's a net benefit to the country.

The Department of Canadian Heritage wants to know whether the new enterprise will offer acceptable levels of Canadian content and employ enough Canadian workers.

The federal cabinet ordered the secretive review under the Investment Canada Act on Sept. 12 to determine the impact on Canadian culture.

Starbucks is proposing an investment under its Hear Music brand, which it acquired in 1999 as two existing music stores in California.

The upscale java firm has been aggressively expanding its Hear Music operations in the United States. Starbucks has a Hear Music coffee house in Santa Monica, Calif., where patrons can mix and match songs to create customized burned CDs.

Two more such outlets are planned for Miami and San Antonio by the end of the year.

Starbucks also runs so-called virtual record stores in Seattle and Austin, Tex., where customers can download entire albums for a fee. The company also sells a small selection of CDs at its regular coffee outlets in Canada and the United States.

A spokeswoman at the Seattle-based firm's headquarters would not provide information about the proposed Toronto business, except to say it's not a Hear Music coffee house.

“We're committed to working with the government officials,” Sanya Gould said of the application to Canadian Heritage.

“And we have filed a response to the government inquiry as required by law. Currently, the response is being reviewed and we expect further discussions to follow the review.

“This is all we have to say on this topic.”

Starbucks was caught in a controversy in June when it struck a deal with Alanis Morissette to exclusively stock an acoustic re-issue of her 1995 hit Jagged Little Pill for six weeks.

In protest, rival retailer HMV pulled all Morissette stock from its Canadian shelves “consistent with the views of the majority of our customers,” president Humphrey Kadaner said at the time.

Canadian Heritage's review of the Starbucks proposal will include assessing whether it will nurture new Canadian talent, and whether there will be a commitment to “the creation, production, distribution, marketing and preservation of Canadian cultural products in Canada, through traditional and new media,” according to a departmental policy document.

The employment of Canadian workers is also a factor in the decision. The policy applies only to cultural investments that are foreign-controlled.

“When we are dealing with a company involved in the sale of audio recordings, one of the things we do look at is the extent to which they will provide Canadian content,” said department spokeswoman Carla Curran.

“We want to ensure that Canadians can have access to music that's produced by Canadians, that's performed by Canadians, or that's written by Canadians...That's a fairly important factor for us, quite a significant factor.”

Ms. Curran declined to comment on the Starbucks proposal because of commercial confidentiality. The review process is expected to take at least 45 days.

Currently, domestic music stores in Canada are free of any regulatory requirement to stock or promote home-grown music.

A spokesman for the Canadian Recording Industry Association said his group could not comment on the Starbucks investment without seeing more details.

But president Graham Henderson said the association supports new approaches to retailing music, including the mix-and-match approach being used at Starbucks' Santa Monica outlet.

“The more digital channels we can open to the consumer, the better,” he said from Toronto.

[SSLL]

Neat. I know in the UK and US, it's provided by T-Mobile.
____________________________________________________________________
Oct. 7, 2005. 01:00 AM
Starbucks, Bell Canada to offer Wi-Fi at coffee shops

Starbucks and Bell Canada plan to roll out wireless Internet service at the coffee retailer's shops across Canada, U.S.-based Starbucks said yesterday.
The wireless fidelity service will allow customers to access email or the Internet from Starbucks outlets, the company said.
"Our customers will find that Wi-Fi service at Starbucks comes with great extras, like the ability to listen to free music clips from CDs featured in our stores," Colin Moore, president of Starbucks Coffee Canada, said in a statement.
The service provided by Bell Canada will offer high-speed connectivity, a uniform log-in process and the ability to bill usage to regular monthly carrier statements or a credit card.
The first wireless hotspots will open at 140 Starbucks stores in Ontario. The service will expand to more than 400 shops in B.C., Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan over the next year.
Seattle-based Starbucks announced this week its same-store sales around the world rose 10 per cent for the five weeks ended Oct. 2 compared with a year earlier, boosted by its espresso drinks. It said it expects October same-store sales growth to be in the range of 3 to 7 per cent.
Starbucks opened 1,672 new stores in fiscal 2005, which ended on Monday, ahead of its global store opening target of 1,500 stores.

[SSLL]

I can't believe there are 11 in Greater Toronto, but none outside it yet...
_________________________________
H&M Continues Expansion in Toronto
Three new stores to open in Toronto this fall.

Swedish-based clothing retailer H&M will open three new stores this fall at Scarborough Town Centre, Square One and Erin Mills Town Centre, adding to the eight existing stores in Toronto.

Scarborough Town Centre, opening September 15th, will occupy over 13,000 square feet and will feature H&M lines for women and children.

Square One, opening October 13th, will occupy over 16,000 square feet and will feature lines for women, teens and children.

Erin Mills Town Centre, opening October 27th, will occupy over 17,000 square feet and will feature lines for women (including lingerie), men and children.

Additionally, H&M will re-open its Oakville Place location on September 29th, to include a children’s section.

“Enthusiasm for the H&M brand continues to build in Toronto and it’s exciting for us to open in all of these new areas to better service our customers, says Lucy van der Wal, country manager, H&M Canada.

“Clearly there continues to be a need for stylish, quality clothing at affordable prices. And with fall finally here, the timing is perfect.”

H&M currently has eight other store locations in Toronto. They include: Fairview Mall, The Promenade, Markville Shopping Centre, Toronto Eaton Centre, Vaughan Mills Shopping Centre, Bloor Street (a new Trend Concept Store, the first of its kind in North America), Oakville Place and Yorkdale Shopping Centre.

[SSLL]

M&M Meats to open as many as 225 more stores countrywide within 6 years
ALLAN SWIFTSun Oct 16,12:39 PM ET
MONTREAL (CP) - M&M Meat Shops, one of the country's most successful franchise operators, is making a big push in Quebec as the Kitchener, Ont.-based company celebrates its 25th anniversary.

Mac Voisin, chairman and co-founder, said M&M has plans to open 40 to 50 outlets in Quebec during the next five to six years, to add to the 59 already established.

"Quebec is probably the biggest area of growth in the next number of years," Voisin said in an interview in Montreal.

After opening its 400th meat shop last month in Pickering, Ont., Voisin said the company shows no sign of slowing down, despite a saturation in some of its Ontario suburban markets, where 209 of the stores are located.

"We expect in the next five or six years there will be 600 to 625 outlets across the country," Voisin predicted.

M&Ms are spread from Victoria to Whitehorse to St. John's, Nfld., employing about 2,200 people. All are franchise operations with the exception of three company-owned training stores.

Voisin projects sales this year to reach $423 million. A private company, M&M does not reveal profits or losses.

M&M stores are typically found in city suburbs, where its frozen-meat and ready-to-serve dishes cater to two-salary, two-car families in a hurry.

But Voisin said that while there is still room for growth in those markets, M&M is developing a new concept of a smaller store aimed at regions and downtown cores.

"We want to go more into smaller rural markets where we can't go in with a fullsize store because it wouldn't make economic sense, and also into downtown cores where people live and work." Compared with the current store sizes of 1,200 to 1,500 square feet, the new model will have 800 or 900 square feet.

The first small-scale store to test the market will be opened next month in Mount Forest, Ont. about an hour north of Waterloo.

Voisin said M&M is also open to growing through acquisitions of other food retailers, and eventually taking its concept to the United States.

Last year his company lost a bid to take over the Laura Secord chocolate store chain.

M&M stores carry some 350 products, including cakes, prepared dishes and hors d'oeuvres along with its staple of "flash-frozen" meat cuts.

The company is also in the middle of a six-year program to redesign all the stores, at a cost to the franchisee of $25,000 to $50,000 per store.

The company buys its meat from national brand suppliers like J. M. Schneider Inc., McCain Foods Ltd. and Maple Leaf Foods Inc., selling it under its own label in a plain white box, contrary to the brightly coloured boxes sold by its supermarket competitors.

The company has also opened counters at 12 Mac's Milk convenience stores in Ontario, that belong to Quebec-based Couche-Tard Inc.

Voisin said the Mac's Milk outlets "are working reasonably well, and we'll open more of them, although that's not going to be a primary focus of expansion."

John Winter, independent retail analyst in Toronto, said M&M has been successful by having loyal customers, a good image, and keeping to its core product which is good quality meat.

"It sticks to its knitting and presumably because it's so large it can get good prices on its purchases," Winter said, adding that M&M stores generally have good locations.

Winter said the company has probably benefited from the decline of mainstreet butcher shops.

Voisin, the second of nine children, and his associate Mark Nowak opened the first M&M Meat Shop in 1980 aimed at barbecue fans. Voisin relinquished the title of president of Gary Decatur last June.

[eventhrzn]

I'm glad to hear that M&M is looking at putting stores in the downtown cores. It's not just the families that are looking for good, quick meals! :D I know in Calgary, it's a bit of a drive to get to one from downtown (Bankview is the closest that I know of). I think they'll do decent downtown -- perhaps something other than a coffee shop to go into the retail bays in the west end!

[SSLL]

I used to live off that stuff. For a uni student, it's a godsend...

[canucklehead2]

Did anyone hear that an offer has been made for "HBC/Zellers" from an American investor, and it will most likely be sold. Now thats a sad day for Canada in my opinion.

[floralieca]

Remember, we spoke about that more then a year ago. Here's what I found in French about the offer. I think Zucker is the owner of Target Stores.

What a sad story.


La Baie fait l'objet d'une offre d'achat

Richard Dufour
28 octobre 2005 - 09h54
L'homme d'affaires américain Jerry Zucker fait une offre de 14,75$ par action, en argent, aux actionnaires de la Compagnie de La Baie d'Hudson (HBC).

Texte: Envoyer Imprimer © Reproduire


L'action de La Baie, la plus vieille entreprise du Canada, a clôturé à $12.63 jeudi à la Bourse de Toronto.

La fortune de Jerry Zucker, 55 ans, est évaluée à un milliard de dollars américains par le magazine Forbes.

L'offre d'achat déposée par le financier de la Caroline du Sud équivaut à environ un milliard de dollars. La transaction se ferait par l'entremise de la société de placements de M. Zucker, Maple Leaf Heritage.

Depuis deux ans, Jerry Zucker a accumulé des actions de La Baie, la compagnie mère des magasins La Baie et Zellers. Plus tôt ce mois-ci, M. Zucker avait acquis 1,5 million d'actions de La Baie.

En juillet, le titre de La Baie a touché un sommet de 15,75 $ en Bourse.

Plus de détails à venir

[canucklehead2]

I hope it doesn't go through but I am sure it will. It didn't mention his investment in Target this morning but yeah, this was probably an eventuality. Now there will be even fewer Canadian owned chains around! Boo!

[SSLL]

No, Zucker does not own Target store. It is a publicly traded company, (but he does not own a large part of it). However, there is rampant spec that he will sell Zellers off pretty quickly. Soon it will be one big retail company called StoreCo, and it will own all the stores, but under different brands. But seriously, if this guy succeeds, you can say hello to Target (buying Zellers), and I would think the Bay would probably end up as a lot of Sears. And Home Outfitters sold between Linens 'N Things and Bed Bath and Beyond should they decide to enter Canada (like they had in the late '90s with the advent of Vaughan Mills, but when the project was stalled and resurrected, Home Outfitters and LNT had built store networks already, so they decided not to).
__________________________________
Takeover a new adventure for HBC
Gary Norris
Canadian Press
Friday, October 28, 2005

TORONTO -- Centuries before there was a country called Canada, there was the Hudson's Bay Co.

Incorporated in May 1670 as The Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading into Hudson's Bay, it concentrated on the fur trade during its first 200 years of existence.

"In order for us to understand the development of the Prairies, to understand relations between natives and non-natives, the Hudson's Bay Co. played such a tremendous role that we have to acknowledge it," York University history professor Marcel Martel commented Friday after the company received a $1-billion takeover bid by U.S. businessman Jerry Zucker.

"They were there because they wanted to take advantage of a lucrative business, the fur trade, and of course they relied heavily on natives, on voyageurs, French-Canadians."

The company's history is an epic tale of a private-sector exploration and exploitation of a large part of the continent -- and then an ongoing failure to fully profit from its assets, said Joe Martin, director of Canadian business history at the University of Toronto.

"There's this romanticism around the company, but the more you look at it, it's a story of lost opportunities."

In 1869, its vast chartered territory -- the region of northwestern Quebec, northern Ontario and western and arctic territories whose rivers drain into Hudson Bay -- was transferred to the two-year-old government of Canada.

In return, the company received 300,000 pounds in cash and about five per cent of the arable land in what now is Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta.

"It's the biggest real-estate transaction in the history of the world, and nobody's heard of it," commented Martin.

After spending the 1880s selling Prairie farmland to settlers, the company turned to retail trade, building a chain of western Canadian department stores and later -- belatedly, in the 1960s -- entering the eastern retail market.

"There's a lack of reality around this" which has continued to the present day, said Martin.

"There are these cultures within organizations that last for an extraordinarily long time, and if the management doesn't take very real stock of it, they'll be captive to the culture."

Other ventures over the years included running oil and gas companies, engaging in property development and dabbling in businesses ranging from liquor distilling to travel agencies, credit bureaus and auction houses.

Meanwhile, the company continued to expand its retail operations organically and through acquisitions.

The most notable of those were the 1960 purchase of Morgan's department stores, the 1978 takeover of the Zellers discount chain, the 1979 purchase of the Simpsons stores, the 1990 acquisition of the Towers group, the 1993 takeover of the Woodward's department stores in B.C. and Alberta, and the 1998 purchase of Kmart Canada.

In 1979, the family of the late newspaper magnate Roy Thomson took over Hudson's Bay Co., beating out a proposal by George Weston Ltd.

The economic downturn of the early 1980s prompted HBC to shed non-core holdings and concentrate on its stores.

The Thomson family sold the last of its shares in 1997, and Hudson's Bay Co. returned to its historical status as a joint stock corporation with no controlling owner.

While it may be a grand old company, with almost 70,000 employees at more than 500 stores, Hudson's Bay hasn't been a notably grand investment in recent years.

In 1994, it reported net profit of $184.3 million on revenue of $5.8 billion.

Its 2004 profit was $60 million on revenue of $7.1 billion.

Its shares (TSX:HBC), worth $25 each a decade ago, topped out at $38 in September 1997, then fell to the $6 level three years ago.

They were around $9 when Zucker began accumulating a holding in mid-2003, and at $10.65 just before he disclosed his interest in December 2003.

On Thursday, the day before Zucker's $14.75-per-share offer, the stock was at $12.63.

The company's three-century trove of meticulous record-keeping has become a major store of information for historians, York's Martel observed, describing Hudson's Bay as one of the few companies that have shaped Canadian history.

"Not that I'm very nostalgic," he added. "Of course it's a business, but it's a business that has shaped and has influenced the lives of so many Canadians."

[SSLL]

Another takeover, but not quite as exciting...So now I believe Benix owns Bowring, Benix & Co., Barnes & Castle, Basil & Cooke, and (I believe) Stokes too. Why would Circuit City/InterTan want to buy more of the sites anyway?
___________________________________________
Oct. 28, 2005. 01:00 AM
Benix gets okay to take over most stores from ailing Bowring
DANA FLAVELLE
BUSINESS REPORTER

Toronto-based kitchen goods retailer Benix & Co. has won court approval to buy the assets and assume the leases of financially troubled giftware and furniture chain Bowring.
Benix has offered to take over all but eight of Bowring's 64 stores, including both its traditional mall-based gift outlets and its larger suburban power-centre home-furnishing stores.
The deal is subject to the approval of Bowring's landlords by Nov. 8, according to documents filed in court by insolvency experts RSM Richter Inc., which acted as monitor and receiver in this case
Calls to Benix were not returned yesterday.
Bowring filed for bankruptcy court protection on Aug. 16 owing $20.6 million to creditors. Its parent company, Tereve Holdings Inc., blamed increased competition from big-box retailers and changing mall demographics.
Tereve's chairman and chief executive officer Sarah Everett said in an affidavit its core customers, women between 35 and 54 years of age, were no longer shopping in malls as malls became more youth-oriented. Instead, older women were now shopping at power centres.
Bowring planned to close most of its mall-based stores and sell the leaseholds to InterTAN Canada Ltd., a subsidiary of consumer electronics company Circuit City Inc.
But Bowring's landlords nixed the deal. So, the leases went back on the market. At the same time, Bowring was looking for a buyer for its off-mall stores. Benix ended up making offers for both.
Benix's plans for the Bowring stores were unclear yesterday. Benix is a privately held business run by Fred Benitah, whose brother Isaac has interests in Fairweather, International Clothiers and Montreal-based Les Ailes de la Mode.

[canucklehead2]

I hope that your scenario doesn't come to pass. It would be a truly sad day for this nation if that happens. North Americas oldest company and the basis for much of Canada sold off to some investor from South Carolina and then broken apart to other American chains. If that happens I will boycott as many of these companies as possible, and its not just for nationalistic purposes. Its bad enough Canada is rapidly become a complete branch plant economy, but I am certainly not going to aid in that any time soon.