Canadian Retail Thread

[habfanman]

Shopping just goes above otherstuff while traveling.



Really? That's the most disturbing thing I've read in a long time!

[habfanman]

TR, R&R at a Vegas outlet mall

Ok, I see where you're coming from now. I take it those initials stand for some sort of brands that you feel obligated to buy in order to look the same as all the other people in your condo/subdivision?

[SpikePhanta]

True Religion and Rock&Republic,|look the same as all the other people", no I chose those two to differentiate from others...
Also I no longer live in a condo and I don't live in a subdivison, Vancouver(proper) is very much the exception in NA in regards to subdivisions and suburbia.

Also it seems like you misunderstood my traveling statement, What I said is that I agree with you that traveling to other parts of NA just for shopping isn't great, what I mean is that I would only shop as a last choice on things "to do"...

Edit, I my sarcasm detector is broken for your first post of the two above.
But habfanman I think you should just take a chill pill in regards to other's opinions, you'd be surprised at how easy everything gets when you "ignore" others with different views, and not go out of your way to attack that viewpoint.

[SpongeG]

my friend saw a Ralph Lauren RSL jacket at Macys for $199 he saw the same one at Harry Rosen for $425!

[MolsonExport]

quit being such an ass, habsfanman

[miketoronto]

I more and more am trying to seek out unique clothing and items that are not usually mass produced and sold everywhere in the world.

For example, the Design Exchange in downtown Toronto has some amazing made in Canada ties with unique patterns. Yes they are more expensive, but they are also handmade in Canada.

[freeweed]

freeweed, are you female? If so, I've dropped girls like you because they got all "shopping crazy".

Lay off the sexism, buddy. People talk about having you banned from here a lot, and the mods are generally tolerant of your ridiculous antics, but if you want to start getting hostile towards women I think I could make a case to shut you up permanently.

If you honestly cannot have a discussion without insulting 50% of the planet's population, you have some serious issues my friend.

[CondoKing]

You are joking right? Macy's and The Bay are basically identical when it comes to Men's clothing. Exact same lines.

Not because I am a Bay supporter above all else. But The Bay has done an amazing job at bringing in some great new men's clothing lines, etc. In fact the downtown Toronto store is looking amazing. My only pet peeve is some of the lines they have brought in are a tad on the high end side. Great stuff, but a little expensive when not on sale.

The Targets I have been in are basically a carbon copy of Zellers. They all are just isles of stuff with no character to them.

I have to agree with miketoronto, I live in Calgary and the normal Bay at Market Mall and Chinook are starting to carry some great lines. Armani, some True Religion shoes, Diesel, and the higher end brands you wouldn't have expected. There even starting to carry men's Coach accessories at the South Centre Bay. It is pricey but sign up for those e-mail and they send some good deals time to time. I'm not marketing for The Bay, but it's better then dealing with snooty associates at Harry Rosen.

[SpikePhanta]

Yeah the Bay Downtown here in Vancouver is pretty good, but the other stores are half half, IMO.

The Sales associates at the Bay are really nice, and as Bonnie Brooks from the commercial says, their renovations will bring some other good brands into the store.

[SpongeG]

should be good to see what they do - not too much room to play with in the vancouver mens store unless they move some of it to another floor

[freeweed]

The Sales associates at the Bay are really nice

Next you'll be telling me you've seen an actual Air Canada employee smile.

Come on, pull the other one!

[Travis007]

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/dailybrew/macy-department-store-seeks-miracle-north-49th-parallel-150012662.html

Macy’s department store seeks new miracle north of the 49th parallel

By Marc Weisblott | Daily Brew – Fri, 3 Jun, 2011


Macy's announced last week it will offer shipping to Canada through third-party management service FiftyOne, although its online catalogue has been configured to fluctuate with the exchange rate. For now, that could result in cheaper items than usual.

The delivery costs, however, reportedly offset any particular bargain. A comment left at the shopping site Smart Canucks noted a $35 dress came with delivery charges of $42 along with $12 duty.

The discovery was met with particular frustration because other U.S. retailers like L.L. Bean have courted the Canadian market without a shipping charge.

Regardless, the tactic seems a relatively low-cost way for the companies to establish a connection to the country before rolling the dice on opening retail locations.

Target's purchase of the leases for 220 Zellers stores made it the most prominent of a wave that has also included the recent or imminent arrivals of Dollar Tree, Express, J. Crew, Marshalls and Victoria's Secret.

Kohl's, an American department store with more than 1,000 locations, has admitted to scouting out Canada, but rival JCPenney won't say either way.

Meanwhile, a reporter from The Wall Street Journal placed a call to Macy's, whose spokesman said last week international stores are in the long-term interest of the company, yet there were no current plans to open new ones.

Those plans might have already changed. Globe and Mail business reporter Steve Ladurantaye tweeted that law firm WeirFoulds confirmed Macy's was looking for Canadian spaces.

Some could even come from the Zellers locations that Target decides not to keep for itself.

[SpongeG]

if you can get shipping deals from US retailers they can be good - otherwise its not worth it - the charges are ridiculous

i ordered something from the UK once and the postman wouldn't take a cheque for the duty - and he wouldn't give me the package until the duty was paid with cash and i had none on me at the time - so that was the end of ordering from overseas

[manny_santos]

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o218/mlaroch/target.png

[davidivivid]

La Maison Simons from Quebec City looking to open a store in Winnipeg.

Quebec retailers keen on city

A Quebec City-based retailer that had its sights set on anchoring an ill-fated redevelopment project at the Canad Inns Stadium site could still be on the leading edge of a potential invasion of new stores from Quebec.

The head of La Maison Simons chain of fashion mega-stores said the family-owned firm is keen on opening an 80,000-to-100,000-square-foot store in Winnipeg, even though it wasn’t able to strike a deal to become an anchor tenant in The Elms upscale retail development that had been planned for the stadium site at Polo Park.

[...]


http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/Quebec-retailers-keen-on-city-123455794.html?device=mobile

[SpikePhanta]

They are also looking at Vancouver.

[SpongeG]

Lowe’s to open in south Edmonton Monday

Fourth location in Alberta for U.S.-based hardware retailer

By Bill Mah, edmontonjournal.com June 8, 2011


EDMONTON - Lowe’s Home Improvement Warehouse is opening its first Edmonton store Monday.

And the world’s second-largest hardware retailer isn’t stopping at one store in the region.

“I can tell you that we’ve got several sites under consideration,” said Lowe’s Companies Canada president Alan Huggins Wednesday at the company’s latest store at the southern edge of South Edmonton Common.

“We’ve got good plans for Edmonton, but I can’t disclose how many sites we’re going to have but we’ll be in the general vicinities where you would expect us to be.”

Although dignitaries sawed a ceremonial board to celebrate the launch Wednesday, the store won’t open to customers until Monday.

It’s the fourth Lowe’s in Alberta; three are in Calgary. Other stores will open in Regina and New Westminster, B.C., for a total of six in Western Canada.

There are now 25 Lowe’s in Canada after entering the market from its U.S. base about four years ago.

Lowe’s is the latest entry into a local market already thronged with big-box rivals such as The Home Depot and Rona. In fact, both competitors have stores within a few minutes’ drive of Lowe’s South Edmonton Common site.

“We think it’s a great market. There’s a lot of stores here, but what we found is every time we go into a market, the customer decides where they want to shop and we’ve been pretty well received.

He said Lowe’s differentiates itself with brighter, wider aisles and larger breadth of assortment in “fashion-forward categories” such as lighting and bathroom accessories while keeping price parity.

...

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/Lowe+...dmontonjournal

[mintzilla]

more good retail news for the Edmonton region

Edmonton proves to be a retailers’ gold mine

EDMONTON - If anyone should know why so many retailers and restaurants choose Edmonton to break into a new market, it’s David Ghermezian.

He’s an executive with Triple Five Group of Companies and a member of the family who runs the largest shopping and entertainment centres in North America — West Edmonton Mall, Mall of America — and is rescuing the even-bigger, but unfinished American Dreams Meadowlands in New Jersey.

West Edmonton Mall is where iconic U.S. retailers Apple Store and Victoria’s Secret opened their first Alberta locations in recent years.

But the mall is also luring other big-name retailers to Edmonton, Ghermezian says.

They include: J. Crew, Steve Madden, Simons and True Religion. Apple, meanwhile, is also expected to double its West Edmonton Mall store, which was already its largest Canadian outlet when it opened in 2008.

Edmonton is a magnet for expansion-minded U.S. and Canadian retailers.

...

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/business/economic-outlook/Edmonton+proves+retailers+gold+mine/4938584/story.html

[miketoronto]

Massive expansion of Simons is going to be the death of the quality that the store offers.

Right now you get very personal service and the family is able to keep a tight eye on the stores, as they only have a couple.

If this turns into a major national or international chain, there is no doubt the store will lose the quality and good style that it has.

I know they are opening in Edmonton. But if they are smart, I would stick with what they got and stop. If they open too many stores they will just become another chain and have no major draw like they do now.

[SpikePhanta]

I have to agree with that, Simmons is quite fun during a trip back east for me, People here(VAN) always asks about my Simmons stuff :P, it would suck if it lost that special feeling along with much poorer service.

[SpongeG]

i heard simons already sucks - they said quality started going down a couple years ago

its added too many labels and departed from its quality house labels

[miketoronto]

i heard simons already sucks - they said quality started going down a couple years ago

its added too many labels and departed from its quality house labels

There house labels are amazing and unique. People always ask about my clothing from Simons and where they can get it. :)

[kwoldtimer]

I hadn't heard that about Simons. I haven't been in for a few years, but when I used to go I was always struck by the unique blend of very nice men's wear mixed with over the top Euro-twink styles that must meet a need in its home market, but would be a tough sell elsewhere in Canada. I wish they would expand to Ottawa, at least.

[Acajack]

I hadn't heard that about Simons. I haven't been in for a few years, but when I used to go I was always struck by the unique blend of very nice men's wear mixed with over the top Euro-twink styles that must meet a need in its home market, but would be a tough sell elsewhere in Canada. I wish they would expand to Ottawa, at least.

Or even Gatineau? :shrug:

I must admit I am a bit perplexed at why they are going out on a limb like this(heeding the song of the sirens), although I realize all of the major Western Canadian cities are very attractive markets.

It's just odd that they are taking that type of risk when their established market isn't even maxed out, with quite a bit of room to grow in Montreal, Gatineau (Ottawa) and a few other medium-sized cities in Quebec.

[SpongeG]

younger family generations want growth

[Acajack]

younger family generations want growth

I guess. But it seems to me there is a lot of low-hanging fruit around before they have to start climbing to the top of the tree...

[SpongeG]

go big or go home

[SpongeG]

Canadian malls growing in only one direction

FRANCES BULA - The Globe and Mail

When American and European retailers come to Canadian malls these days, they look around at the bustling crowds and see one thing: giant profits.

Our malls are hugely successful by international standards, with average sales of $680 a square foot per year. Some hot spots, such as the Yorkdale Mall in north Toronto, pull in more than $1,200 a square foot. The American average was $420 a square foot, according to 2009 figures. Only one mall beats Yorkdale: the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, with $1,400 a square foot, while others in Honolulu, New Jersey and Scottsdale range from $618 to $1,110.

Canadians have 39 per cent less mall space per capita than Americans, though those scarcer but more heavily used malls sell 45 per cent more product per square foot, according to participants at a recent Vancouver real-estate forum. This is not because of our climate, which is no more inhospitable than the northern states. Instead, Canadian cities have allowed fewer large regional shopping centres to be built since the mall heydays of the 1960s and 70s.

“Our malls are very strong. They enjoy so much retail sales because they are safeguarded against a lot of competition,” said Dianne Lemm, the principal broker for mall services with Northwest Atlantic Canada in Toronto.

That is why offshore retailers are pushing to come to Canada. Since the recession hit, that eagerness has only increased, as retailers noticed that Canadian consumers (and their banks) are in better financial shape than many others around the world.

The Minneapolis-based Target chain has found a way into Canadian malls by taking over Zellers sites. Accompanying Target in the push to get into Canada are two American companies that specialize in premium outlet malls. They’ve paired up with Canadian partners that are competing to build new malls across the country.

New Jersey-based Simon Property Group has formed a joint venture with developer Calloway REIT, and North Carolina-based Tanger has partnered with RioCan REIT. Both have announced they want to build in Halton Hills, a town 15 minutes west of Toronto with a large swath of rural land around it.

But any development is not going to happen as easily as it would in the United States, experts say. Due to the shortage of available land, the restrictions that many Canadian cities put on commercial space, and even the stringent demands of provincial highways ministries, mall developers are going to have to be creative and persistent.

“It will be difficult for them to get in. Especially in Vancouver; we haven’t built a mall in a long, long time,” said Scott Lee, a principal with Northwest Atlantic in Vancouver, where the last regional malls were built in 1979. “We’ve got much more stringent zoning.”

“The biggest issue we have in Canada is that if land is zoned for industrial or office, cities are adamant about preserving it,” says John Crombie, the national retail director at real estate brokers Cushman & Wakefield, who helped put together the Simon/Calloway partnership for Halton Hills.

Only two enclosed malls have been built in Canada since 1989 – Vaughan Mills in Toronto and CrossIron Mills in Calgary – because of that. Even places that have been mall-friendly in the past, such as Vancouver’s suburb to the east, Burnaby, no longer have room for them.

“The opportunities for development of new regional malls have substantially changed as urban communities have continued to grow and develop,” said Burnaby’s deputy planning director, Lou Pelletier. “Established communities like Burnaby have been increasingly focused on developing more urban, mixed-use town centres to support improved transit services, higher amenity urban living and more walkable, complete and compact communities.”

So how is expansion of retail space likely to happen?

First, many of the country’s 300 existing malls will expand upward on the land they already own to accommodate the horde of American and European chains wanting in, including Nordstrom, Macy’s, Juicy Couture, J. Crew, Vero Moda, Jack & Jones and more.

“We will see the expansion of regional shopping centres everywhere,” said Rick Amantea, vice-president of the Park Royal Shopping Centre in West Vancouver. The list of malls that have recently undergone expansions, have expansions under way or are planning them is long – from Yorkdale, under construction, to Park Royal and Oakridge in Vancouver, planning expansions, to the Chinook Centre in Calgary, which just completed its expansion.

Some new Mills-type malls – they combine standard mall shops with outlet stores, big-box stores and entertainment – will open on the edge of a few cities, says Ms. Lemm, including Tsawwassen Mills, which is being planned for First Nations land near Vancouver.

Premium outlet malls, featuring Ralph Lauren, Coach, The Gap, Crate & Barrel and more, will fight for prime spots in smaller communities close to big population markets.

Those malls will get a warm welcome. Mayor Rick Bonnette of Halton Hills, where both Simon/Calloway and Tanger/RioCan are looking to build their first premium outlet centres, is unreservedly enthusiastic. “To get an outlet mall like this is very prestigious,” Mr. Bonnette said. “It could create 500 jobs.”

In Abbotsford and Chilliwack, B.C., planners and politicians say they’re not averse to the idea of a destination outlet mall. And developers will undoubtedly be scouting towns around Edmonton, says Darren Snider, a principal at Avison Young there.

...

http://www.ctv.ca/generic/generated/static/business/article2068044.html

[SpongeG]

more stores coming

U.S. RETAILERS AND DEVELOPERS SEEK EXPANSION OPPORTUNITIES IN GREAT WHITE NORTH

Although U.S. retailers and developers have targeted Canada for years, the race to expand up North has accelerated in recent months with a growing number of firms forming joint ventures, completing targeted acquisitions and exploring other avenues in attempts to quickly build footholds.

Discounter Big Lots became the latest firm to announce a push into Canada in late May, when the chain agreed to acquire Canadian retailer Liquidation World and its 92 stores. Big Lots joins Target, Marshalls, The Limited and J.Crew on the list of chains who’ve recently announced a commitment to Canada. A number of other well-known U.S. brands—from Kohl’s to Nordstrom to J.C. Penney to Dick’s Sporting Goods—have been scouring potential sites and might soon follow suit, according to local brokers.

“We are taking a look at opportunities to open stores in Canada,” says Colin Johnson, a spokesman for Nordstrom. “We realize it’s a very different market from the U.S., but we are also exploring what might be feasible. I don’t know if or when [anything is going to happen with that]. We are going to look for the best available opportunities—it remains to be seen what those are.”

In addition, U.S. retail developers Simon Property Group and Tanger Factory Outlet Centers have each formed joint ventures with partners in Canada with a goal of building multiple outlet centers there, attracted by the country’s retail sales numbers and strong demand for retail space. ICSC estimates that Canada, a country of 34 million people, has only 14.6 feet of shopping center space per person, compared to 23.8 square feet in the United States. Meanwhile, Kimco Realty Corp., which has been acquiring assets in the country for years, remains extremely satisfied with the 62 Canadian assets in which it owns a stake and boast a 97 percent occupancy rate.

What’s drawing the interest is Canada’s solid fundamentals.

Canada’s banking system did not experience the same convulsions that rippled through Wall Street in 2008 and 2009. Its unemployment rate—at 7.4 percent at the end of May—is lower than America’s, which stands at 9.1 percent. It is expanding more quickly, with GDP growing at an annualized rate of 3.9 percent in the first quarter, compared with a 1.8 percent rate in the U.S. While the U.S. housing market may be entering a double-dip, Canada’s remains healthy. The Canadian dollar also remains strong relative to the U.S. dollar. All of this means that Canadian per capita retail spending is projected to surpass the U.S. figure for the first time in 2011.

Where to go
What makes Canada particularly appealing is that it’s a very urban country, says Drew Keddy, vice president for the Canada region with Colliers International. Approximately one-third of the population lives in the nation’s four largest cities: Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary. Public transportation systems also create easy access for suburban consumers to shop in the metro centers.
Most American retailers prefer to open their first stores in Toronto because of the market’s size (it boasts approximately 5.6 million residents), its proximity to the U.S. border and the lack of a language barrier, according to John Crombie, senior managing director and national retail director for Canada with brokerage firm Cushman & Wakefield. For example, Apple, Victoria’s Secret and Crate & Barrel all opened their first Canadian stores at Toronto’s Yorkdale mall and have had tremendous success there, with sales reaching thousands of dollars per square foot, he notes. (All have since opened additional Canadian locations.)

American chains also feel comfortable with Montreal and Vancouver, but it’s a mistake to underestimate some of Canada’s smaller cities, according to Solomon and Jeff Robson, retail team leader with Barclay Street Real Estate, a commercial real estate firm based in Western Canada.

Barriers to entry
U.S. firms looking to cross over might be surprised, however, by just how tough it is to establish a sizable presence in Canada, says Crombie. Many U.S. retailers who come in with plans to open 40 or 50 stores find that they are lucky if they can sign 10 deals, he says. The reason is the high price of real estate. Because Canada never experienced the same wave of bankruptcies as the U.S. did during the recession and because it was under-retailed to begin with, vacancy rates in the country are a fraction of what they are stateside.

Canadia’s regional malls boast a vacancy rate of approximately 3.5 percent and the rate at power centers is just 3.0 percent, according to Cushman & Wakefield. At the best centers in the country—like Yorkdale—if a tenant leaves, the landlord typically has a waiting list of retailers ready to step in, says Bob Vrenjack, who’s based in the Toronto office of real estate services firm Jones Lang LaSalle. (Jones Lang LaSalle brought Vrenjack on board as part of its corporate retail solutions team last year specifically to handle retailers’ expansion plans into Canada.)

Target, Dollar Tree and Big Lots have all gotten around that dilemma by acquiring existing Canadian chains, giving them instant access to multiple locations. Target, for example, bought 220 leases from Canadian discounter Zellers earlier this year. Dollar Tree did something similar when it acquired Dollar Giant and its 85 stores in 2010. But those kinds of opportunities are limited and other U.S. retailers might find themselves struggling to secure appropriate sites, says Crombie.

http://retailtrafficmag.com/development/newdevelopment/retailers_developers_expand_canada_06142011/

[miketoronto]

Canada better get a handle on these US companies and developers, before they ruin our downtowns and malls.

They just said we do better because we have not overbuilt our malls like in the USA. And now the US developers want in to build more malls, which will just eat away a business at existing malls.

They seem to understand that more malls does not mean more money. It just means you are taking your customers from one mall and sending them to another.

[MolsonExport]

Yesterday, for the first time in a year, I went to a Loblaw's. I was shocked at how high the prices were. The place was eerily empty, even though it was 545pm.

$9.89 for 500grams of Cracker Barrel? You gotta be kidding me.


It will be years until I return.

By contrast, Superstore (the same goddamn company) competes well with Walfart on prices.

Metro....has the best weekly deals, but otherwise, their prices are quite high (though not nearly in the stratosphere with Loblaw's).

Which begs the question: unless it is a matter of distance/availability, who the fuck would want to shop at Loblaws? Maybe Galen Weston.

[LeftCoaster]

Don't know where Frances got her numbers but the figure on average Canadian sales/sf is not $680, its closer to $550. It was $539 in 2009, down from $545 in 2008, and while it has rebounded slightly, it is now near $550, not $680.

And I dont think you guys need to worry about a flood of new malls, much of the lack of malls has to do with land use planning and political approvals, not over agressive developers. There are plenty of players in the Canadian retail game and things will not change drastically because of a few new JV agreements with american firms. US firms have been invoved in canadian retail for years and will continue to do so for the forseeable future.

[SpongeG]

the article seemed to read to me that unlike the states we will not be buildinng new malls but rather expanding the ones we have

[manny_santos]

Metro....has the best weekly deals, but otherwise, their prices are quite high (though not nearly in the stratosphere with Loblaw's).

Which begs the question: unless it is a matter of distance/availability, who the fuck would want to shop at Loblaws? Maybe Galen Weston.

I usually shop at No Frills these days. Same products as Loblaws, lower prices. Only thing I don't like buying at No Frills is fresh produce, but I do out of convenience.

I've heard that since the newest No Frills opened on Southdale Road West, the Metro in Byron has had a big drop in traffic. I find Metro generally more expensive, in fact they sometimes charge more for their store brand cola than Coca-Cola or Pepsi.

[MolsonExport]

Went to Costco last night. Bought stuff. The cracker barrel was $8.97 for 907 grams. Compare that to $9.89 at Loblaws for 500 grams. I mean, I know it is Costco and all that but wtf???

Sorry Galen Weston. No business from me. I don't care if you are Canadian. Take your 60% markup and shove it where the sun don't shine. Don't worry, you are still a douchebag.

[manny_santos]

Went to Costco last night. Bought stuff. The cracker barrel was $8.97 for 907 grams. Compare that to $9.89 at Loblaws for 500 grams. I mean, I know it is Costco and all that but wtf???

Sorry Galen Weston. No business from me. I don't care if you are Canadian. Take your 60% markup and shove it where the sun don't shine. Don't worry, you are still a douchebag.

Yeah...I shop where I can get the best price. I'm thinking of going to Michigan to do some shopping this summer, where prices are more reasonable for clothing than in Southern Ontario. Last summer I went and, among other things, bought a nice pair of running shoes for $45. Same shoes in London, three times the price. Even at the price of gas on the American side, there are still massive savings.

[caltrane74]

I was at Yorkdale this weekend, and all the doors and exits were blocked off, this expansion plan is even more massive than i thought:

http://www.yorkdale.com/expansion/renderings/

http://www.yorkdale.com/ecms.ashx/expansion/renderings/FoodCourtRendering_5.jpg


http://www.yorkdale.com/ecms.ashx/expansion/renderings/InteriorPerspectivelookingwestpdf.jpg

http://www.yorkdale.com/ecms.ashx/expansion/renderings/SK-1890_SWExpansion_PerspectiveView-WestFacade.jpg

More renderings at the Yorkdale Website


Nexer/Lifepulse Blog - January 26th, 2011


http://lifepulse.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/yorkdale.jpg?w=462&h=500

Yorkdale seems to be forever expanding and has announced that a further expansion is on the way to the tune of $220 million! It turns out retail is so good in Canada that RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust’s new partnership with Tanger Factory Outlet, a deal worth $1 billion will be bringing in several American discount malls to Canada. Looks like our stable economy is attracting the sharks from all the other struggling economies in the West.


http://lifepulseblog.com/2011/01/26/yorkdale-is-expanding-again/

[caltrane74]

Wall Street Journal Online

J. Crew To Open First Canadian Store In August


Dow Jones Newswire - June 24th, 2011

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20110624-704957.html




J Crew is coming to Yorkdale in August. This is the American Chains first store in Canada


______________________________________________


Holt Renfrew ups the ante with the announcement of an (almost) new Yorkdale location

BY BRIANNE HOGAN - June 3, 2011

http://www.postcity.com/Eat-Shop-Do/Shop/June-2011/Holt-Renfrew-ups-the-ante-with-the-announcement-of-an-almost-new-Yorkdale-location/index.php

Holt Renfrew is building an expansion in the new Yorkdale wing, increasing its floor space by 40%, check out the article above.

[caltrane74]

Awesome Story regarding Canadian Malls:

You guys have to read this

Canadian malls growing in only one direction

http://www.ctv.ca/generic/generated/static/business/article2068044.html


Malls will be building towards the sky, because of zoning and limited land concerns...

[MolsonExport]

^Err, that was already posted.

Canadian malls growing in only one direction

FRANCES BULA - The Globe and Mail

When American and European retailers come to Canadian malls these days, they look around at the bustling crowds and see one thing: giant profits.

Our malls are hugely successful by international standards, with average sales of $680 a square foot per year. Some hot spots, such as the Yorkdale Mall in north Toronto, pull in more than $1,200 a square foot. The American average was $420 a square foot, according to 2009 figures. Only one mall beats Yorkdale: the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, with $1,400 a square foot, while others in Honolulu, New Jersey and Scottsdale range from $618 to $1,110.

...

http://www.ctv.ca/generic/generated/static/business/article2068044.html

[caltrane74]

Oops, gotta into a mall posting frenzy there for a second!

lol!

[freeweed]

Yeah...I shop where I can get the best price. I'm thinking of going to Michigan to do some shopping this summer, where prices are more reasonable for clothing than in Southern Ontario. Last summer I went and, among other things, bought a nice pair of running shoes for $45. Same shoes in London, three times the price. Even at the price of gas on the American side, there are still massive savings.

I'm with you on almost every single consumer product.. except groceries. Grocery shopping to me is all about service (well, the lack of long lines and at least semi-friendly staff), cleanliness, and quality. I can't even set foot in a Stupidstore. I don't care if it was 50% cheaper, I just can't do it.

But for everything else - yeah. The US rocks.

[miketoronto]

I have mixed feelings about the Yorkdale expansion.
Yorkdale is starting to get new stores to the region, when before that would only have happened downtown.
This is now putting downtown Toronto at a loss, as Yorkdale snags the new regional stores, and people just go to Yorkdale instead of coming into the city.
The expansion of the Holt Renfrew is also concerning for this same reason.
If Yorkdale keeps expanding like this and the stores inside them start approaching the size of the downtown stores, than it really is going to make lots of people stop going into the city.
The Holt Renfrew downtown will still be double the size of the new store at Yorkdale.
But still, is this a signal of a shift where downtown is losing it's edge? Why have these new stores not located downtown first, instead of Yorkdale?

Yorkdale is really giving the Eaton Centre a run for it's money now, which is concerning.

[caltrane74]

I have mixed feelings about the Yorkdale expansion.
Yorkdale is starting to get new stores to the region, when before that would only have happened downtown.
This is now putting downtown Toronto at a loss, as Yorkdale snags the new regional stores, and people just go to Yorkdale instead of coming into the city.
The expansion of the Holt Renfrew is also concerning for this same reason.
If Yorkdale keeps expanding like this and the stores inside them start approaching the size of the downtown stores, than it really is going to make lots of people stop going into the city.
The Holt Renfrew downtown will still be double the size of the new store at Yorkdale.
But still, is this a signal of a shift where downtown is losing it's edge? Why have these new stores not located downtown first, instead of Yorkdale?

Yorkdale is really giving the Eaton Centre a run for it's money now, which is concerning.


Tell that to all the people that you've got to bodycheck to cross the street at Yonge and Dundas or Bloor and Yonge.


EDIT: mike, Yorkdale passed Eaton Centre as the top mall in Toronto like 10 or 15 years ago.

[yaletown_fella]

I usually shop at No Frills these days. Same products as Loblaws, lower prices. Only thing I don't like buying at No Frills is fresh produce, but I do out of convenience.

I've heard that since the newest No Frills opened on Southdale Road West, the Metro in Byron has had a big drop in traffic. I find Metro generally more expensive, in fact they sometimes charge more for their store brand cola than Coca-Cola or Pepsi.

Metro is rediculously overpriced. I'm proud to use my pass to take the subway from Spadina to Dufferin and walk to the No Frills to save 50 cents on bananas :cheers:

[yaletown_fella]

I have mixed feelings about the Yorkdale expansion.
Yorkdale is starting to get new stores to the region, when before that would only have happened downtown.
This is now putting downtown Toronto at a loss, as Yorkdale snags the new regional stores, and people just go to Yorkdale instead of coming into the city.
The expansion of the Holt Renfrew is also concerning for this same reason.
If Yorkdale keeps expanding like this and the stores inside them start approaching the size of the downtown stores, than it really is going to make lots of people stop going into the city.
The Holt Renfrew downtown will still be double the size of the new store at Yorkdale.
But still, is this a signal of a shift where downtown is losing it's edge? Why have these new stores not located downtown first, instead of Yorkdale?

Yorkdale is really giving the Eaton Centre a run for it's money now, which is concerning.
I think the expansion should have been 5x the size. I'd like to see Yorkdale surpass Metrotown. I also hope the flooring in the expansion matches the rest of the mall.
Btw word on the street is Yorkdale has agreed to fund the restoration of the 1960's rainbow colored lights installation in Yorkdale subway station.

[mersar]

Spotted a story tonight that Walmart is going to try a new urban format store in Canada, first in the Toronto area but going to be expanded across Canada including many of the 39 stores they've agreed to buy the leases for from Target. These new 'Urban 90' stores will be about 1/2 the size of the current stores according to the article (http://www.thestar.com/business/companies/walmart/article/1014669--wal-mart-to-open-urban-store-buys-zellers-sites) in the Toronto Star.

[Rusty van Reddick]

That pic of the "yorkdale expansion" from the lifepulse blog (1) isn't at the Yorkdale site and (2) is clearly an early rendering of The Core glass roof in Calgary. Which is gorgeous beyond description, incidentally.

[caltrane74]

That is NOT The Core in Calgary.

That IS YORKDALE. I was just by the TOUS store when I was in Yorkdale last week, does that look like the TOUS Store in Calgary?

[SpongeG]

Walmart Canada signs deal with Target Canada for 39 Zellers locations

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. - Walmart has signed a deal with Target Canada to take over leases at up to 39 stores currently operated by Zellers Inc., the discount retailer Target is acquiring in in its expansion into Canada.

Terms of the transaction, announced Friday, were not disclosed.

Target signed a deal earlier this year to take over up to 220 Zellers locations from Hudson's Bay Co. for more than $1.8 billion.

Target announced the first 105 Zellers locations that it plans to convert to Target stores last month in conjunction with an initial payment.

The U.S.-based retailer is expected to continue to select additional locations before it makes a second payment in the fall.

Zellers locations that Target acquires, but does not convert to its banner, are expected to be leased back to Zellers or potentially other retailers.

For Walmart, Friday's deal could lead to a major expansion of the company in Canada, where it is already the biggest retailer in revenues and this country's third-largest employer, with 85,000 workers.

The Canadian division of Arkansas-based Walmart Stores (NYSE:WMT), the world's biggest retailer, operates 325 stores and has more than one million customers each day.

The Toronto-area company did not identify the Zellers stores it is acquiring from Target but noted that "specific locations will be identified later this fall."

It also did not say whether it plans to convert all 39 stores to Walmart outlets. If it does, such a move would expand the discount chain's Canadian network to 364 stores.

...

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/walmart-canada-signs-deal-target-canada-39-zellers-192858861.html

[SpongeG]

Spotted a story tonight that Walmart is going to try a new urban format store in Canada, first in the Toronto area but going to be expanded across Canada including many of the 39 stores they've agreed to buy the leases for from Target. These new 'Urban 90' stores will be about 1/2 the size of the current stores according to the article (http://www.thestar.com/business/companies/walmart/article/1014669--wal-mart-to-open-urban-store-buys-zellers-sites) in the Toronto Star.

we have an urban format walmart in vancouver the only store in the city of vancouver - city wouldn't let em open for years they took over an old costco space and made it a walmart to get past city hall - its not too small but a little smaller than a typical RCSS or even some of the new Canadian Tires but the small format has evferything you need from full groceries to clothes etc. no inside mcdonalds or automative dept.

[whiteford]

sure looks like the core in Calgary to me. what are they going to make an exact copy of the core or what? i sure look like an early core render' as was stated.

[caltrane74]

One of you Calgary boys post a side by side picture of the The Core next to the picture above of YORKDALE.

Btw guys that is not a rendering, that is an actual photo.

[MolsonExport]

I heard that Walmart is going to convert all the non-target Zellers into Woolco's and Miracle Mart.

[artvandelay]

That pic of the "yorkdale expansion" from the lifepulse blog (1) isn't at the Yorkdale site and (2) is clearly an early rendering of The Core glass roof in Calgary. Which is gorgeous beyond description, incidentally.

Did you even look at the picture? There's no Home Outfitters or Old Navy at the Core. The design of the skylight at the Core is based off of Yorkdale so that's why it looks similar.

[Rusty van Reddick]

Okay, whatever, not The Core. Sure looks like it is all. And when they did early renders they weren't sure what stores would be in there.

[Wooster]

I believe it was the architect that did the recent Yorkdale expansion that brought the same skylight design to the Core in Calgary. Calgary's is roughly twice the width and about 3 times the length as Yorkdale's section though.

[MolsonExport]

Canadian, eh? Always?

Tim Hortons’ extra-large trouble trouble

Mclean's

On a recent Thursday morning, as thousands of Canadian coffee lovers waited in line for their daily fix of Tim Hortons, the company’s head office unveiled its latest quarterly earnings report. The figures confirmed—yet again—that when your brand is the closest thing to a national religion, filling the collection plate is never a problem.

Total revenue: $639.9 million. Total profit: $94.1 million.

That same morning, Aug. 12, Hortons executives made another lucrative announcement: the company had just sold its 50 per cent stake in Maidstone, the Brantford, Ont., bakery that mass-produces donuts and muffins for every “Tim’s” in the country. Originally launched as a joint venture in 2001, Maidstone now belongs to the Swiss food giant Aryzta AG, which paid a whopping $475 million for Hortons’ half of the operation (and has agreed to continue supplying the chain with fritters and biscuits until at least 2016).

For Tim’s shareholders, the deal is sweeter than a honey dip, as the company promised to pour every penny back into their pockets. For the rest of Hortons’ “shareholders”—those countless loyal customers whose ownership is strictly sentimental—the bottom line is this: your chocolate Timbit, a scrumptious ball of Canadiana, is now produced by a company from Switzerland. And it is still “Always Fresh” (i.e., frozen and reheated).

Tim’s regulars may have a hard time swallowing the news that their maple dip is no longer produced under the Maple Leaf. As national symbols go, a Hortons donut is second only to a Hortons coffee. But Timmy’s selling baked goods from a freezer? That’s standard operating procedure, and has been for quite some time.

Yes, it was certainly a scandal back in 2003, when Hortons co-founder Ron Joyce confirmed the truth: that the company he built (and had recently left) replaced its in-store deep fryers with frozen globs of dough trucked in from a factory. “This is not a philosophy that I would have embraced if I still owned the company,” he famously boasted. One Hortons spokeswoman, convinced that she could stop the unflattering headlines, famously told a reporter that “until I confirm or deny anything, it simply doesn’t exist.”

It did exist, of course. And the backlash was swift. (Joyce’s words were especially damaging. “I’ve tried them,” he said of the new donuts. “And they’re certainly not the same.”) In time, though, most people eventually forgot—or simply stopped caring—where their honey crullers came from. Truth be told, many customers still have no idea that the donuts on display have to be defrosted.

...
read more here: http://www2.macleans.ca/2010/09/07/extra-large-trouble-trouble/


Man, I surely miss the old Tim Horton's with the lunchcounter and the matronly ladies, and the napkin dispensers on each table, and an actual variety of fresh-baked donuts (as opposed to 6 or 7 +whatever is "new" gimmick).

[SpongeG]

haven't enjoyed a tim's donuts in decades - if i am forced to go there i get a boston cream and a diet coke, the rest of the food/beverages are awful

[Coldrsx]

^concur in full. The only thing with taste is a multi-grain with buddah.

[SpongeG]

Walmart has most to fear from Target entry, survey finds

BY SHARON SINGLETON, QMI AGENCY

Walmart, the world’s biggest retailer, may have more to fear from rival Target’s arrival into Canada than some of the country’s homegrown chains, according to a new study.

Most retailers are likely to lose some customers from the arrival of the U.S. giant, which is set to open its stores here next year, the study by Satov Consultants found. But Walmart shoppers showed the least loyalty, with 57% indicating they will shop there less frequently in favour of Target.

Forty-one percent of Sears customers said they were likely to visit Target more, compared with just 37% of those at The Bay, the survey found.

Canadian Tire, Shopper’s Drug Mart and Costco have the most loyal customers amongst mass retailers, with only 19% of current Canadian Tire and Shopper’s customers and 16% of Costco customers planning to become less frequent shoppers because of Target.

Canada’s retail landscape is undergoing major changes, with an invasion of foreign stores planning to open here. The strong economy and relatively underserved market have already attracted Victoria’s Secret and Marshalls, with Nordstrom, Kohl’s and the U.K.’s Topshop among other names due to arrive.

Target, which in January this year bought 220 Zellers locations from HBC for $1.82 billion, is seen as one of the biggest threats to local operators with its cheap, chic product offering.

“Target’s biggest challenge in entering the Canadian market will be to differentiate itself from Walmart by demonstrating its unique value proposition, which values shopping experience and quality over rock-bottom pricing,” says Mark Satov, president and founder of Satov Consultants.

“Target can’t win a pricing war against Walmart.”

...

http://www.torontosun.com/2011/07/08/walmart-has-most-to-fear-from-target-entry-survey-finds

[SpongeG]

A changing of the guard at Canadian retailers

MARINA STRAUSS

Canadian retailers are playing a game of musical chairs in their executive ranks as they prepare for a flood of foreign retailers coming to Canada, including the savvy U.S. discounter Target Corp.

On Thursday, Sears Canada Inc. (SCC-T16.93-0.08-0.47%), which has struggled with weak results, appointed a former Loblaw executive to replace Dene Rogers as chief executive officer. Loblaw Cos. Ltd. (L-T38.70-0.05-0.13%), which will get a new president this summer, quickly replaced Calvin McDonald, now the new Sears CEO, with Mark Butler, a veteran of the grocer.

Shoppers Drug Mart Corp. and Tim Hortons Inc. are among other retailers now searching for a new CEO.

“The competitive challenges of the international invasion of Canada ... are creating new retail challenges that are way beyond the traditional scope,” said John Torella, a senior partner in retail consulting firm J.C. Williams Group. “Boards have no patience; they want change and they want it fast. It’s not status quo. It’s a sea change.”

The stakes are high for Canadian incumbents, which in many cases face foreign retailers such as Target that are much bigger than they are, with more resources. They feel the pressure to snap up the best executives before a rival comes in and takes them.

As well, some of the retailers hunting for new executives have been stretched recently in their financial results, including Sears and Shoppers. They’re feeling the pinch of tightening consumer spending as Canadians focus on paying down debt. And the companies are feeling the effects of changes in their segments and rising competition, feeding the sense of urgency to bolster their business before the landscape gets even tougher.

Target is to open its first stores in Canada by 2013, with plans to convert 100 to 150 of them to its own banner within the next two to three years and more than 200 eventually. In January, it sealed a $1.8-million deal with Zellers Inc. to buy up to 220 of its store leases.

Other foreign retailers moving into Canada including lingerie specialist Victoria’s Secret and home improvement chain Lowe’s Cos., while discounter Kohl’s, high-end department store retailer Nordstrom and J. C. Penney are among other chains looking for space here.

“Target is one impressive organization,” said Rick Chad, president of executive recruiter Chad Management, who is helping the U.S. company find personnel. “They’re focused and they have a plan and they’re coming in a big way. It will have an effect on a lot of the players.”

Sears is considered to be one of the retailers that could be hurt most by Target’s entry. “Sears is a train wreck and it’s only going to get worse for them,” said Jeff Doucette, a principal in Calgary-based consulting firm Sales Is Not Simple. “It’s an interesting challenge.”

...

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/a-changing-of-the-guard-at-canadian-retailers/article2072155/

[manny_santos]

I'm with you on almost every single consumer product.. except groceries. Grocery shopping to me is all about service (well, the lack of long lines and at least semi-friendly staff), cleanliness, and quality. I can't even set foot in a Stupidstore. I don't care if it was 50% cheaper, I just can't do it.

But for everything else - yeah. The US rocks.

For me it depends on the products I'm buying. For dry goods and canned goods, and even meat, I prefer No Frills. I also shop at a specialty store to get products I can't get at any supermarket.

[WhipperSnapper]

I have mixed feelings about the Yorkdale expansion.
Yorkdale is starting to get new stores to the region, when before that would only have happened downtown.
This is now putting downtown Toronto at a loss, as Yorkdale snags the new regional stores, and people just go to Yorkdale instead of coming into the city.
The expansion of the Holt Renfrew is also concerning for this same reason.
If Yorkdale keeps expanding like this and the stores inside them start approaching the size of the downtown stores, than it really is going to make lots of people stop going into the city.
The Holt Renfrew downtown will still be double the size of the new store at Yorkdale.
But still, is this a signal of a shift where downtown is losing it's edge? Why have these new stores not located downtown first, instead of Yorkdale?

Yorkdale is really giving the Eaton Centre a run for it's money now, which is concerning.

You're such an alarmist. Downtown is hardly losing its edge. Yorkdale gets their stores first over downtown because it's more difficult to add new stores downtown in the destination areas.

[WhipperSnapper]

sure looks like the core in Calgary to me. what are they going to make an exact copy of the core or what? i sure look like an early core render' as was stated.

The glass roof expansion in Yorkdale was completed in 2005. I'm sure it was a reference for The Core expansion in Calgary which is a possible reason The Core looks like a exact copy to you.

[SpongeG]

I read in an article about J Crew opening in toronto - its going to be 48,000 sq feet? is that a typo? like 48,000? thats like double the size of most H&M stores! and the J Crew is only carrying womens clothes i could see it being 4000 sq ft - most of the US stores are small, like smaller than the gap

U.S. fashion retailer J. Crew announced Friday that it will open its first Canadian store in Toronto in August.

The opening of the more than 48,000-square-foot store in the Yorkdale Shopping Centre will mark the arrival of just the latest in a number of high-profile U.S. retailers either operating in Canada or planning to do so, including the anticipated entry into the Canadian market of discount retailer Target in 2013.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2011/06/24/j-crew-toronto.html

[caltrane74]

There will be enough chicks in Yorkville, but I mean hit chicks, not big ones.

J Crew will be an awesome chick magnet in Yorkville.

[SpongeG]

if you like preppy girls than yes, its a preppy heaven

[Policy Wonk]

Who doesn't like preppy girls?

[Xelebes]

Who doesn't like preppy girls?

Wait, how are we defining preppy here? Are we talking something that is defined by the byproducts of prep-schools or are we talking about something else?

[SpongeG]

in the high school sense

http://www.enjoy-your-style.com/images/heathers.jpg
enjoy-your-style.com

current j crew...
http://g-cdn.apartmenttherapy.com/655682/Jcrew1_rect540.jpg
apartmenttherapy.com

[MolsonExport]

Heathers...great film.

[Travis007]

http://www.blogto.com/fashion_style/2011/07/this_week_in_fashion_joe_fresh_store_openings_urban_contemporary_africana_caitlin_power_comes_to_toronto_hot_dogs_and_heels_at_chasse_gardee/

This Week in Fashion: Joe Fresh store openings, Urban Contemporary Africana, Caitlin Power comes to Toronto, hot dogs and heels at Chasse Gardee


Posted by Paul Aguirre / JULY 13, 2011

Joe Fresh announces more store openings with first one next week

Build it, and they will come. I'm guessing that's the motto employed by Joe Fresh mastermind Joe Mimran and his team. The (almost) H&M-killing clothing line, once known as "oh yeah, that Loblaws brand" is taking a giant leap forward with the announcement of three new store openings in the GTA throughout the rest of 2011. There's already an outpost in Vancouver (pictured) and another one set to open in Quebec in September, not to mention the much-hyped plans for a store on New York City's Fifth Avenue. The first ribbon cutting goes down next week at the 9,500-square-foot Golden Mile (1880 Eglinton Avenue East). A smaller store is slated to open this fall at Carlton & Church in The Gardens and another big one at Queen W. & Portland, both, I assume, within earshot of new Loblaws locations. As a bonus, each new store will also offer a 20 per cent off all purchases on opening day.

[caltrane74]

June 18
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2552/5851544035_1efe7cb13a_b.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5264/5851557581_ffb42acb7c_b.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5199/5851558705_5918d849b0_b.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5307/5851562009_0cf94bb4ba_b.jpg


Yorkdale Mall Expansion - from drum118 at UT

Construction pictures from last month.
http://urbantoronto.ca/forum/showthread.php/13738-Yorkdale-Mall-expansion-(MMC-Architecture-2s)/page10

[manny_santos]

From Little Current, Ont.:

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o218/mlaroch/MickyTs.png
Google Streetview

Wonder if they serve a sandwich called Filet of Fish.

[SteelTown]

Two new Apple Stores coming to Ontario....

Conestoga
Waterloo, Ontario

Mapleview Centre
Burlington, Ontario

[SpongeG]

J. Crew hopes updated classics fill a niche in Canadian market

Dana Flavelle
Business Reporter

American clothing retailer J. Crew Group, Inc. says it’s banking on its unique assortment of updated classics to overcome the current economic turmoil as it opens its first Canadian store in Toronto’s Yorkdale shopping mall.

“We’re obviously nervous like everyone should be today. So we’re being conservative,” Mickey Drexler, chairman and chief executive officer of the New York-based retailer, said Thursday.

The 5,000 square foot store, which will carry only women’s clothing and accessories, is slated to Aug. 18, the first of as many as 20 Canadian stores, including another five “in the next few years,” he said.

‘We know it’s going to be a reasonably promotional back to school period and holiday season. As always our mission is to offer unique products at fair value,” Drexler said in a telephone interview with the Toronto Star.

“We can’t control the macro-environment,” Drexler added, referring to a week that saw stock markets roil amid concerns high U.S. and European government debt loads could trigger another recession.

“We just have to play it best,” Drexler said, noting J. Crew’s fall lineup will play to its strengths, including bold colours, quirky mixes and matches, woven shirts, perfect and vintage tees, and expanded line of handbags and shoes.

Whether it’s the popular café Capri cropped pant, in wool for fall, for $118, or the classic Italian leather Mona pump, for $198, or the fully lined wool Schoolboy blazer (for women), at $188, Drexler describes J. Crew as catering to customers who want designer quality at less than designer prices. (All figures are in U.S. dollars. Canadian pricing has not been disclosed.)

The Yorkdale store is expected to do well, retail industry experts said. The iconic label, a favourite of U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama, is already well known to Canadians who shop its catalogue, website and U.S. border stores.

‘They should do well at least initially, as the women’s wear market welcomes new stores with open arms if that new retailer comes with a reputation: Michelle Obama – need I say more?” said Ed Strapagiel, executive vice-president at market research firm KubasPrimedia in Toronto.

“Yorkdale mall, however, might present some challenges once they complete their expansion next year. We just don’t know what retailers are going in there,” Strapagiel cautioned.

Indeed, J. Crew is just one of a slew of American and European retailers set to converge on the Canadian market, making it their first stop on the road to international expansion as growth slows at home.

Drexler acknowledged that in the current climate the game will be about winning market share from competitors.

“Whatever we do we take away from someone else. There’s isn’t a lot of growth yet,” he said, noting that’s how Apple Inc. has flourished. The 66-year-old seasoned retailer sits on Apple’s board.

In Canada, J. Crew’s are expected to take a bite out of broad range of competitors, from the Bay to Banana Republic, said Maureen Atkinson, a principal in the retail consulting firm J. C. William Group Inc., of Toronto.

“They’re a bit like Ralph Lauren in that updated classics are really the style. Price point-wise they’d compete with Banana Republic but Banana Republic is a little more trendy in style,” Atkinson said.

A huge J. Crew fan herself, Atkinson said the retailer is almost in a category of its own, particularly in the Canadian market, where most clothing is either so trendy it goes out of style fast or is well made but “dowdy.”

Drexler, who joined J. Crew in 2003 after 18 years with the Gap, where he grew the business from $400 million to $14 billion U.S. a year, has brought some much needed flair to the brand, Atkinson said.

J. Crew plans to open as many as 20 stores across Canada, including five in the next few years, Drexler said. Future locations could include Toronto’s Eaton Centre and Vancouver’s Robson St., he said, though no leases have been signed.

...

http://www.thestar.com/business/companies/article/1038230--j-crew-hopes-updated-classics-fill-a-niche-in-canadian-market

[SpongeG]

7 For All Mankind opens its first retail store in the Greater Toronto Area

MONTREAL, Aug. 11, 2011 /CNW Telbec/ - 7 For All Mankind, the Los Angeles-based premium denim-lifestyle brand, continues its aggressive retail expansion in Canada with the opening of its first store in the Toronto area at Yorkdale Shopping Centre. This is the second 7 For All Mankind retail store in Canada, following the March 2011 opening of its Chinook Centre store in Calgary. The brand, which currently operates over 150 stores worldwide, will also open a store in Edmonton's West Edmonton Mall in August 2011.

7 For All Mankind already maintains a faithful following in Canada and has been sold through high-end stores such as Holt Renfrew, Harry Rosen and Simons since 2003. Development plans in Canada include opening 10 to 15 stores over the next four years.

In addition to 7 For All Mankind's renowned denim collection, the store will offer the brand's sportswear collection, accessories and children's collection launching this Fall 2011. The children's collection, available in sizes 0 to 14 for girls and 0 to 16 for boys, features the same fits, finishes and fabrications as the men's and women's collections.

...

http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/August2011/11/c3053.html

[SpongeG]

Ogilvy's store changes hands again

Selfridges group steps in; New owner says management to stay, plan for a second store to go ahead

By PAUL DELEAN, The Gazette

http://www.montrealgazette.com/business/5182799.bin
The landmark Ogilvy department store will join Holt Renfrew as part of the upscale retail portfolio of Selfridges Group Ltd., which is buying the store for an undisclosed sum.
Photograph by: ALLEN MCINNIS THE GAZETTE, The Gazette


MONTREAL - Montreal's historic Ogilvy's department store is changing hands for the second time in just over a year.

Selfridges Group Ltd., the real estate arm of Canada's wealthy Weston family, is the new buyer.

Terms were not disclosed. Selfridges said it will retain current management.

"This store is a great addition to our growing international portfolio," said chief financial officer Paul Gallagher.

"SGL is pleased to have this opportunity to enhance its retail operations in Montreal, which has an international reputation as a leading fashion centre."

Just last year, the upscale Ste. Catherine St. store - founded in 1866 - was purchased by a private investment group comprised of Champlain Financial Corp., BB Real Estate Investment Trust (controlled by the Beaudoin/Bombardier families) and the Quebec Federation of Labour's Fonds immobilier de solidarité.

It bought the building, also for an undisclosed sum rumoured to be about $100 million, from owners that included a Toronto investment firm and the CBC Employee Pension Fund, and announced plans to open a second Ogilvy's location at Quartier Dix30 complex on the South Shore in 2012.

Those plans are still in place, a Selfridges Group spokesperson said Friday.

The downtown store sold previously for a reported $50 million in 2000 and $38,500 in 1927.

...

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/business/Ogilvy+store+changes+hands+again/5182798/story.html#ixzz1Um5PFerx

[SteelTown]

Marshalls department store announces locations across Canada

By Marc Weisblott | Daily Brew – Wed, 15 Dec 3:29 PM EST

Popular U.S. discount department store Marshalls formally announced its expansion to Canada this week. The move is part of a trend that finds more American retailers moving north in the aftermath of the recession.

Six locations of Marshalls will open in Canada next year, including four planned for the Toronto area, one of which is notable for its conversion from a nightclub that aspired to be the most cutting-edge in the world.

The bankruptcy of Circa, less than three years after opening, provided a prime downtown location for Marshalls owner TJX Companies, which expects to eventually open up to 100 similar stores across the country.

...

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/dailybrew/marshalls-department-store-announces-locations-across-canada.html

Found out today Marshalls is coming to Hamilton, they are renovating a closed cinema on Upper James. Winners is across the street haha.

[SteelTown]

Don't think this has been mentioned yet.....

RioCan has announced a partnership with Tanger Outlets to bring 10 to 15 outlet malls across Canada. It’s also not clear if the typical mix of American outlet mall tenants such as Burlington Coat Factory or Off Saks Fifth Avenue will appear north of the border.

http://www.thespec.com/news/business/article/579385--the-americanization-of-retail-will-change-where-you-shop

[Jay in Cowtown]

My wife was in Kelowna BC on the weekend and noticed they have a Carl's Jr. there... apparently the first one to open in Canada.

[SpongeG]

yup opened a few months ago - apparently there are some in the works for vancouver area right now by the same franchisee as kelowna

[ue]

Surprised this hasn't been posted ...

Blockbuster to pull plug in Canada
marina strauss AND iain marlow
From Thursday's Globe and Mail
Published Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2011 6:03PM EDT
Last updated Thursday, Sep. 01, 2011 9:31AM EDT

After more than two decades, Blockbuster Canada is about to roll its final credits and fade to black by the end of the year.

Its receiver was unable to find a suitor for the rental retailer, which was facing burgeoning competition from online rivals and mail-order services and went into receivership in May.

Although 55 parties mulled buying the chain – 14 of them made offers and eight of them were for all or almost all of the assets – none of the proposals were acceptable to Blockbuster’s court-appointed receiver.

...

It’s similar to what happened in past years to other struggling U.S. chains, such as Linens ’n Things, which succumbed to cutthroat competition in their home market and, in the process, dragged down their stronger Canadian arms.

...

As a result, the remaining stores will be liquidated by Dec. 31, according to the receiver's recommendation, allowing it to benefit from the heavy holiday shopping season.

Read More: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/blockbuster-to-pull-plug-in-canada/article2149222/

[Travis007]

Not surprising to hear though. With Netflix (etc), free online streaming, and cheap (illegal) bootleg DVD copies, Blockbuster has become an obsolete entertainment alternative. I can't think of any recent times where I or someone I know has gone to Blockbuster to rent something. I started to notice something was up months ago when all the Toronto stores were closing up.

[SpongeG]

youtube movies has just started offering its service here in canada last week too, they have had it in the states for a while

[SpongeG]

Canadian Tire plans big expansion with Forzani buy

More square footage and marketing in store

By Mario Toneguzzi, Calgary Herald

CALGARY — Canadian Tire is hoping to score big with its $771-million acquisition of Calgary's Forzani Group, namely to become the retail sporting goods authority in Canada.

Michael Medline, who recently replaced Bob Sartor as president of FGL, told the Herald Wednesday that the goal was simply to grow in size and reach.

“To do that you have to be looking at more square footage. We have six and a half million square feet today. We’ll need more square footage,” said Medline of the FGL stores under various banners across the country. “We have great stores today but I think they’re going to be bigger over the medium to long term."

The company is also focused on marketing, specifically in boosting its presence through social media, in addition to the traditional avenues of advertising.

"Those are the ways I think we can really appeal to Canadians and become more a part of their lives and their sporting lives," said Medline, who previously was president of the company’s automotive and dealer relations division.

“We want to be very strong in numerous categories ... And sports was one of them,” he said, making the acquisition a good strategic fit.

A local retail expert agrees.

“The Canadian Tire purchase of the Calgary-based Forzani Group is an excellent example of one gorilla-sized retailer teaming up with another and will be a powerful combination,” said Michael Kehoe, an Alberta-based retail specialist with Fairfield Commercial Real Estate Inc. in Calgary.

“In the ultracompetitive Canadian retail environment, every advantage counts and the real estate, operational and retailing efficiencies to be gained by both firms are obvious."

FGL was conceived in 1974 when John Forzani, along with brothers Joe and Tom and friend Basil Bark, opened Forzani’s Locker Room.

Today, FGL operates more than 500 stores from coast to coast under the corporate and franchise banners: Sport Chek, Sport Mart, Athletes World, National Sports, Sports Experts, Intersport, Atmosphere, Tech Shop, Nevada Bob’s Golf, Hockey Experts, The Fitness Source and S3.

Last fall Canadian Tire became serious about the opportunity to acquire FGL, which was formalized in February.

“We’re very picky about acquisitions. We don’t do a lot of them. We did the (Calgary-based) Mark’s Work Wearhouse deal in 2001 which closed in 2002 which I ran back then," said Medline. "Mark’s has been an incredible success strategically and financially. We’re really happy with that.”

...

Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/Canadian+Tire+plans+expansion+with+Forzani/5335707/story.html#ixzz1X7255kmP

[Coldrsx]

West Edmonton mall turns 30

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/story/2011/09/15/edmonton-wem-mall-30-years.html

[freeweed]

Yeah, and it sure looks it.

I'm actually going to miss the early/mid 80s feel of the place, if they ever get around to renovating it. It's one of the very few things that has remained virtually unchanged since my childhood.

[MolsonExport]

West Edmonton mall turns 30

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/story/2011/09/15/edmonton-wem-mall-30-years.html

I've always liked the non-pretentious name of the mall.


I hate the names "Mall of America" (red white and blue flags waving in the breeze....maybe even a crying eagle or two), "American Dream Mall" (NJ: city on a hill B/S and all that).

[MolsonExport]

Two new Apple Stores coming to Ontario....

Conestoga
Waterloo, Ontario

Mapleview Centre
Burlington, Ontario

Please bring one to London.

[Coldrsx]

Yeah, and it sure looks it.

I'm actually going to miss the early/mid 80s feel of the place, if they ever get around to renovating it. It's one of the very few things that has remained virtually unchanged since my childhood.

The entire mall has MAJOR interior renos going on right now. But I agree.

Whale - gone
Brass - going
neon arcades - mostly gone
water jets in food court - basically gone

[SpongeG]

i remember when it was just phase one an dthan phase two seemed so exciting and than phase three was like mind blowing

[artvandelay]

Topshop opened at the flagship Bay locations in Calgary and Vancouver over the weekend. Hopefully the "Topman" mens line is soon to follow. I'd say that the Bay is on par with Macy's for women's clothing and shoes (at least at their downtown location), but the menswear is lagging behind.

[SpongeG]

it's not too bad in Vancouver they have a good Ralph Lauren polo shop, the new Ralph Lauren Denim Supply line, a diesel shop, Penguin, Ben Sherman, Firetrap, Bench, Armani Jeans, Esprit, Kenneth Cole, etc. and they have a new white space with Hugo Boss and DKNY and some other higher end labels and the shoe dept is really good

[telyou]

Topshop opened at the flagship Bay locations in Calgary and Vancouver over the weekend. Hopefully the "Topman" mens line is soon to follow. I'd say that the Bay is on par with Macy's for women's clothing and shoes (at least at their downtown location), but the menswear is lagging behind.

Is this the real Topshop or the fake imitation from Montreal?
According to Topshop's website they are not in Canada yet.
I thought the Yorkdale Bay was their first location in end of September.

[Overground]

It's the real Topshop from the UK.

I was in the downtown Vancouver store the other day and asked a couple workers in the Men's dept to find a confirmed date for Topman but all I could get was the same info we already know, it will be around 6 months till it opens.

On a side note, I'll have to assume the delicatessen will be closed permanently. I've always liked popping by there and getting a few items.

[SpongeG]

they have to wait for the deli and wine store lease before they can proceed - apparently their leases expire in 2012

I am interested to see how the separate entrance from granville street will work

will they also shut down the godiva and pharmaplus stores?

Nespresso is looking for a new downtown location too (info from retail thread in vancouver)

[SpongeG]

Sobeys signs deal to supply Canadian Target stores with food and groceries



By The Canadian Press

STELLARTON, N.S. - U.S. retailer Target ( NYSE :TGT) laid down more groundwork Friday for its entry into Canada in 2013 with additional store locations and a supply deal with Sobeys (TSX:EMP.A).

Under the Sobeys deal, the Canadian grocer will supply Target with frozen, dairy, and dry grocery products, including both national brands and Target's private label products starting early in 2013.

As part of the agreement, the two companies will use each other's distribution networks to help reduce transportation expenses.

Target also announced 84 additional Zellers locations that it is entitled to under a $1.825 billion deal with the Hudson's Bay Co. that gave it up to 220 sites.

The retailer said that it has acquired leasehold interests for 29 of those locations of which the vast majority will become Target stores, while the remaining leases have been sold to other retailers or back to the landlords.

The 84 locations are in addition to 105 locations identified in May.

...

http://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/Sobeys-signs-deal-supply-capress-1695053882.html

[SpongeG]

Canada a magnetic north for U.S. retailers

NEW YORK/TORONTO (Reuters) - More U.S. retailers looking for fresh markets are turning to Canada, lured by their northern neighbor's resilient economy, strong currency and the familiarity with their brands.
Express Inc , a specialty clothing retailer with about 600 U.S. stores, last week opened a Canadian store in Toronto and said it would have six by the end of the year.
Nordstrom Inc and Kohl's Corp is looking into opening department stores in Canada, though neither has announced plans.
Target Corp , the No.2 U.S. discount retail chain behind Wal-Mart Stores Inc , expects to start opening Canadian stores in 2013.
Many chains see Canada as untapped territory, having nearly run out of promising locations in the United States to open new stores, said retail consultant Wendy Evans.
"Many of them have reached or are about to reach saturation in the U.S.," said Evans, whose firm, Evans and Co, advises companies on cross-border expansion.
U.S. chains are also looking for ways to counter a poor outlook for retail sales at home because of unemployment and a weak economy.
Home improvement chain Lowe's Cos Inc, which last month reported worse-than-expected quarterly sales, has sought a boost in Canada where it has 28 locations. It has about 1,700 stores in the United States.
"Canada is going well," Lowe's Chief Executive Robert Niblock told Reuters last month. "We have got many more stores in the pipeline."
The United States has nine times as many people as Canada's population of about 34 million.
But compared to a U.S. economy in danger of tipping into a double-dip recession, Canada is holding up much better, even though it is vulnerable to any U.S. slowdown. It also has regained all the jobs lost in the 2008-09 recession.
Its currency has traded at nearly the same value as the U.S. dollar for years, flattering the top lines of retailers that report their results in greenbacks.
Zale Corp , which owns Peoples Jewellers, Canada's largest jewelry chain, said the Canadian dollar added 1 percentage point to its sales gains in established stores last fiscal year.
Zale gets 17 percent of its sales north of the border, where its stores generated on average $1.4 million last year, compared with $1.2 million stateside at its Zales chain.
Upscale jewelry store chain Tiffany & Co this year opened a store in Calgary to tap that oil boomtown's growing wealth.
PRICE CONSIDERATIONS
To be sure, Canada's economic picture is far from perfect. Unemployment rose to 7.3 percent in August, and Canadian retail sales slipped 0.6 percent in July, a steeper-than-expected drop.
Cultural differences might be a constraint. Consumer spending accounts for 58 percent of Canada's gross domestic product, compared with 70 percent in the United States. Even so, that might suggest more room for growth if Canadians adopt the free-spending ways of their American neighbors.
For retailers, one of the attractions is that they often can charge higher prices than in the United States for the same products, much to the chagrin of consumers.
J. Crew Group Inc, which last month opened its first Canadian store, annoyed Canadian shoppers with its higher prices. The company told Toronto's Globe and Mail newspaper that prices would remain about 15 percent higher because of the costs of doing business in Canada.
Canadian shoppers prize value, making the country "fertile ground" for lower-price chains, said John O'Bryan, vice chairman of commercial real estate firm CBRE Canada.
That's one reason that the trend of expanding in Canada is most evident among discount retailers.
Target Corp plans to open up to 150 outlets. Wal-Mart has some 329 stores in Canada, with more to come.
TJX Cos Inc, earlier this year opened its first Canadian location for its Marshalls discount department store chain, and believes the market could sustain 100 stores.
GOOD NEIGHBORS
For chains considering their first venture outside the United States, Canada is an obvious destination. Retailers and analysts say Canadians are familiar with U.S. names, in part because thousands of them make cross-border shopping trips every year to take advantage of lower prices and greater selection in the states.
"Canadians have been shopping Express for years. We see a lot of Canadian activity around our border locations," said Express spokeswoman Barbara Coleman. Express may open up to 50 stores within five years.
But the push also stems from a concern among retailers that spot locations are becoming more scarce.
"There is limited real estate," said Daniel Baer, Canadian retail and consumer products leader at Ernst & Young. "They want to be in certain key malls where space is limited."
Working with Canadian commercial real estate developers is different than with U.S. developers, Nordstrom Chief Financial Officer Michael Koppel said at a conference earlier this month.
The upscale retailer, which is opening fewer full-service department stores at home, started looking north last year.

...

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/canada-magnetic-north-u-retailers-213041298.html