[SpongeG]

It's never too cold to go shopping

Canadian winters unlikely to cool off hot retail trend

Canadian retailers have snow reason to avoid setting up shop in new outdoor shopping centres.

Ian Thomas, of B.C.-based Thomas Consultants, said the attraction of shoppers to centres with great, well-designed stores outweighs our annual battle with blustery weather.

He was speaking at the Outdoor Centres Forum hosted by the International Council of Shopping Centres in Toronto. The topic was the move from malls to mini-villages, or new outdoor shopping meccas chock full of outdoor shops, condos, offices, big box stores and restaurants.

"Each of us are guilty in Canada of complaining about the weather but it doesn't seem to be a factor anymore. What we are seeing is the proliferation of these large-scale outdoor centres in cold climates," he said, adding Cadillac Fairview is planning a "new urbanist centre" in Toronto.

These 'lifestyle centres' have gained a toehold in the Canadian retail industry, with three recently completed in Vancouver, Edmonton and Montreal.

And it could happen here, although it might mean tearing down old malls to make way for the new.

"I think that lifestyle centres could be a located in the downtowns of middle-sized cities," Don Watt, chairman and CEO of Toronto-based DW+Partners retail consultancy.

Cold weather cities such as Cleveland or Indianapolis in the northern U.S. have already integrated them into neighbourhoods.

Yet Perry Caicco is skeptical about how the trend will translate in the Canadian retail industry.

"There's a healthy dose of skepticism," said Caicco, managing director of institutional equity research for CIBC World Markets.

He said our climate is a deterrent to outdoor shopping, as is the massive amount of capital investment needed to move these massive projects forward.

Buying power also clouds the picture as Canadian income is spread more evenly among a large middle class. In the U.S., where lifestyle centres are thriving, polarized income classes play a role.

Lifestyle centres often cater to high-income consumers.

http://www.hamiltonspectator.com/NAS...=1112101662835