Quote:
Originally Posted by harls
You'd think they'd build a Simons in Gatineau before Ottawa, but I suppose they would have studied such a proposition beforehand and concluded St-Laurent would be a better location.
I guess Les Ailes de la mode did the same thing with Bayshore.
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There were rumours in Gatineau that the Métro supermarket at Les Promenades de l'Outaouais that closed last year would become a Simons, perhaps with a second floor added on top of the 30 000 sq ft on the ground floor.
In the end, the former supermarket became a huge (for this type of chain at least) Urban Planet store that just opened this spring.
I think Simons is on somewhat safer ground at St. Laurent than Les Ailes de la Mode was at Bayshore. The company probably does not feel that way, but east end Ottawa is still a bigger gamble than Gatineau would have been - they're a well-known name across Quebec and tons of people from Quebec City live in Gatineau. Whereas in Ottawa they have to make their name, even among most Franco-Ontarians. Plus, the chain has one store per 200,000 people in the Quebec City region, and a store in Sherbrooke which is a city of 185,000 people. The urban Outaouais has close to 300,000 people (and a higher per capita income than Qc City and Sherbrooke), so it would surely be able to support this kind of store by itself.
Not sure either if the "Quebec pride" factor will hurt them. Les Ailes thought people from Gatineau (most of whom already knew the brand) would flock to their Bayshore store, and make up for the fact that Ottawans needed a bit of time to get to know the store. That didn't happen, and I overheard many people in Gatineau say that they refused to go to Les Ailes because a well-known Quebec chain had snubbed Gatineau in favour of Ottawa.
Simons is probably on safer ground at St. Laurent though, which is a much more popular more shopping destination for Gatineau residents than Bayshore is. Though it's not a good a choice as Rideau, as others here have mentioned.
Anyway, if the St. Laurent store turns out to be a success, it is quite possible that some other Simons stores will eventually pop up in the region, likely at Bayshore and in Gatineau and maybe Rideau.