Canadian Retail Thread

[SteelTown]

Big day for Hamilton because H&M opens!

[SpongeG]

they opened two stores in Dubai today too



Located in Dubai's Mall of the Emirates, the new H&M stores will each occupy over 1000 square meters of fashion and feature the retailer's most fashion forward collections for women, men, teens and children. A third store will also open in the Persian Court of Ibn Battuta on Wednesday, September 13th.

[neilson]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

they opened two stores in Dubai today too



Located in Dubai's Mall of the Emirates, the new H&M stores will each occupy over 1000 square meters of fashion and feature the retailer's most fashion forward collections for women, men, teens and children. A third store will also open in the Persian Court of Ibn Battuta on Wednesday, September 13th.

H&M is ok, but it's got nothing on Steve and Barry's.

www.steveandbarrys.com

^Wait until they come to Canada.

[SteelTown]

I dunno about that when H&M partner designers such as Karl Lagerfeld, Stella McCartney and in November, Viktor & Rolf well at the same time very affordable.

[SpongeG]

i went to H&M in London UK and thought they were quite good for the price

its basically like Old Navy but the Swedish version

[neilson]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

i went to H&M in London UK and thought they were quite good for the price

its basically like Old Navy but the Swedish version

Well, again, it's more like the Steve and Barry's of "trendy clothes".

I think between H&M and Steve and Barry's, things are getting better.

[SteelTown]

From yesterday's grand opening...

[malek]

Le Chateau names new CEO; wants to emulate Zara in fashion world

18:26:09 EDT Sep 7, 2006

Canadian Press: LUANN LASALLE


MONTREAL (CP) - Hoping to woo fickle fashionistas with the most up-to-date trends, Le Chateau (TSX:CTU.A) named a new CEO Thursday as it reported a slight dip in second-quarter profits.
Jane Silverstone Segal, wife of founder Herschel Segal, emerged as Le Chateau's new chief executive after a strategic review to determine the direction of the Montreal-based clothing retailer.
She has worked for the company for 27 years in the sales and buying departments, as president, and most recently as vice-chairwoman.
Former CEO Herschel Segal will continue to provide active strategic direction as executive chairman of the board. He opened the first Le Chateau store in Montreal in 1959.
"She's an excellent merchant," Segal said of his wife. "She's ready to run it and she's doing a great job."
She has the ability to see the coming trends and as for her fashion sense, "that's her forte," Segal said in an interview.
His wife, who is a lawyer, worked at Le Chateau as a university student and returned to the company in the 1970s, preferring the retail world to the legal world.
Le Chateau said it earned $5.4 million, or 87 cents per diluted share, for the three months ended July 29. That compared to a profit of $6.2 million, or $1.01 per diluted share, in the same period a year ago.
Quarterly sales were $71.9 million, up from $69 million a year ago.
Segal said Le Chateau will focus on men's wear and footwear and hopes to emulate the Spanish clothing chain, Zara, known for the international appeal of its trendy clothes.
"We can do it in Canada as well as them. We're here," he said.
"That's where the bar is," he said of the goal to emulate Zara, which sells men's, women's and children's clothes in more than 40 countries.
Le Chateau recently closed its junior line for girls.
The company announced in March it had hired Genuity Capital Markets to examine "various strategic alternatives," including a sale, merger or capital reorganization.
Segal said the strategic review is over and will result in a more customer-centric and merchant-oriented company.
"That means you're going to get a better hit rate on your product and you're going to sell it faster and it comes in with a better bottom line."
The couple's three children aren't interested in the business and the eventual management of the company will have to be decided in the future, Segal said.
Le Chateau, which has some stores in the United States, is studying more expansion south of the border but won't make any decisions before Christmas, he said.
The company is also going into secondary Canadian markets, Segal added.
Shares in Le Chateau closed Thursday at $39.75, up 15 cents, on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

[miketoronto]

To be honest I don't think stores like H&M opening are that big news in Canada. All it signals is the continued loss of Canadian retail stores, and the continued trend of stores from other countries moving in, and really taking away from us having any unique offerings.

Its sad that since the 1990's, every new store is American and European, etc.

Whats the point of even travelling to the US or Europe, when we will have all the same stores here.

It would be nice for Canadian companies to again be the number one stores in our malls and downtowns.

[SpongeG]

yeah its exciting but i agree

i know when Pottery barn was only in the states it was more exciting now that we have one here its like who cares

same thing would happen if Target moved into Canada - it would lose all its cache and appeal

[miketoronto]

I really notice it on my trips to the USA now. Before it use to be interesting to go shopping while in the USA. Now its all the same stuff I have at home for the most part. Its just plain boring.

Why can't we have any unique stuff anymore.

Canada use to be home to many proud Canadian retail stores. Now most of them are gone.

My mom remembers when she was dating my dad and would come up to Toronto to visit him, that no trip to Toronto was complete till you went to EATONS DOWNTOWN. We don't have that kind of retail scene anymore, as all the stores are the same friggen stores you can find in the USA and Europe.

Canada use to have such an idenity, and now the retail scene in this country shows Canada as a whole. A place that has lost its idenity for the most part.

One of Canada's once proud retail destinations that was not in every mall in the world.

[Arriviste]

Originally Posted by miketoronto

Whats the point of even travelling to the US or Europe, when we will have all the same stores here.

I guess there is no point. Afterall, shopping really defines the character and appeal of any foreign land.






I hope the sarcasm was not lost on anyone.

[LordMandeep]

MIKE ITS CALLED GLOBALIZATION!!!! It didn't exist back in those days. This has happened everywhere.

Yorkdale and eatons center are still packed and very busy, so people don't mind.

Went to yorkdale last Saturday and there were so many people.

[miketoronto]

I don't like GLOBALIZATION. I don't need every country to have the same thing. I like different stuff. GLOBALIZATION sucks to be honest.

I really would not have a problem with Canada inacting laws saying that a retail company has to be Canadian, or make their products in Canada, to open up shop here.

In history class we learned Canada use to have laws like this, and that helped build strong Canadian companies and keep American companies out.

I say support Canadian companies again and lets support our talent.

Montreal for example use to be a fashion capital where many Canadian companies designed amazing clothing you could only get in Canada. Not so much anymore.

[waterloowarrior]

^^^
So the plan is to basically get out of the WTO and NAFTA, raise tariffs and other countries can have high tariffs against us, driving up the costs of consumer goods! No more Wal-Mart, Bestbuy, Futureshop, Source, Sears, Home Depot, Staples, 7-11, no H&M, AE, GNC, Apple or Sony Stores, EBGAMES, and ....... No IKEA!

[CMD UW]

Originally Posted by miketoronto

I don't like GLOBALIZATION. I don't need every country to have the same thing. I like different stuff. GLOBALIZATION sucks to be honest.

I really would not have a problem with Canada inacting laws saying that a retail company has to be Canadian, or make their products in Canada, to open up shop here.

In history class we learned Canada use to have laws like this, and that helped build strong Canadian companies and keep American companies out.

I say support Canadian companies again and lets support our talent.

Montreal for example use to be a fashion capital where many Canadian companies designed amazing clothing you could only get in Canada. Not so much anymore.

So, you'd like us to have a closed economy like saaaay North Korea, riiiight.

Mike, you seem to easily forget that retailing is a business. And if the business doesn't make money, then it won't work. Many of the large department stores that went out of business or were losing money happened for a reason > changing consumer demands and market conditions.

[SpongeG]

Lucky jeans is opening up In Metrowtown next week

this is the second store in Canada after the first one opened up in Toronto a couple weeks ago

[danby]

there is a rumor of a miss sixty/enegrie going into West Ed aswell

In edmonton there opening the first lacoste in alberta in West Ed its opening this spring

and alberta's first H&M.. as in West Ed Too


West ed is acully getting some world class stores!

[SpongeG]

Planet Organic bags Big Fresh
EDMONTON - Planet Organic Health Corp. of Edmonton has bought The Big Fresh at 12120 Jasper Avenue.

With Planet Organic already having one natural-foods store in Old Strathcona, "this gives us a greater foothold in the Edmonton market," vice-president Darren Krissie said Tuesday.

The Big Fresh gives Planet Organic a location on the north side of the river, where it can better serve downtown residents, Krissie said.

He plans to retain the Big Fresh name during a transitional period, then re-brand the store as a Planet Organic market.

The store was bought at an undisclosed price from Shelley Robertson, who will not remain with the operation.

"All the staff are staying," Krissie said. "They were an important part of the acquisition."

Scott Bladon, Planet Organic's corporate store management co-ordinator, said The Big Fresh has "the same philosophy" as Planet Organic,

Planet Organic sells organic produce and meat, natural groceries, deli foods, fair-trade coffee and chocolates plus supplements and body-care products.

"This gives us stronger buying power and will bring better pricing to The Big Fresh," he said.

The store will retain its essential character, Bladon said. "We will just tweak it over the next few months." Planet Organic also has stores in Calgary, Port Coquitlam, Victoria, and Halifax.

A second Calgary store is scheduled to open in October. A Port Credit, Ont. location will open in November.

The company also owns the seven-store chain of Healthy's Nutrition Centres in Toronto, the 48-location chain of Sangster's Health Centres, plus Trophic Canada, which manufactures vitamin, mineral and herbal supplements.

For the quarter ended March 31, 2006, Planet Organic Health reported sales of $10.1 million and net, pre-tax income of $785,438, or 1.6 cents per diluted share. Its shares closed Tuesday on the TSX Venture Exchange at $2.44, up 14 cents from Monday.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/ne...b75d-6f71-4ded-8f5d-5332dd508c48&k=78400

[SpongeG]

Seattle's Best pulls out of cafe biz in java-loving Vancouver

Caffeine-fuelled Vancouver will lose all five Seattle's Best Coffee cafes at the end of the month, leaving the brand's parent company, Starbucks, with one less competitor for Vancouver locations.

Jay Garnett, president and CEO of Vancouver-based Whitefish Group, which owns the Canadian licence for Seattle's Best Coffee, said the company is giving up the retail business and will instead focus on increasing sales of the coffee to retailers and restaurants.

The decision means 35 employees will lose their jobs at the shops, but Garnett said they will all have opportunities within the company or with customers who sell its products.

"This has been a very emotional decision," Garnett said Friday. "We built our cafes for the long term, but from a business standpoint, this is the best decision for the company."

He said Whitefish has been the Canadian licensee for Seattle's Best Coffee since 1993, when the brand was owned by AFC Enterprises. At that time, the plan was to develop wholesale and retail sales across the country. By 2003, when Starbucks bought the SBC brand, Whitefish had built seven cafes in Vancouver and had developed the infrastructure to open 100 locations in Canada.

But Starbucks had other plans for its new acquisition.

"Starbucks is the strongest player in the marketplace and they didn't want to compete for retail locations, but they were interested in expanding the wholesale side," Garnett said.

"This is not a financial decision -- it's a resource decision," he said, adding Starbucks hasn't taken over any of the SBC cafe leases. "When the owner changed the business model, we couldn't continue to grow."

Whitefish already distributes Seattle's Best Coffee to 1,000 customers in Canada. The company also distributes a number of other brands, including Santa Vittoria mineral water, David Rio teas and Krusovice beer.

http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/money/story.html?id=01edd689-64de-4cb5-a0d9-9b1f08b932c1