General Retail News

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

For now, they are saying all locations will close. But who knows, they might change their mind.

The Gatineau location on La Gappe already closed some months ago.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by Acajack

The Gatineau location on La Gappe already closed some months ago.

Didn't even know there was one in Gatineau. Quite frankly, I only know the one on Bank. Can't say I've ever been though.

[c_speed3108]

Bank Street BIA posted a list of their free spaces along with most rents:

http://www.bankstreet.biz/9/news/commercial-space/

[gjhall]

Looks like HBC has bought Saks, and the rumour is for an Ottawa store...

@RetailInsider
It appears Saks Fifth Avenue has been purchased by The Hudson's Bay Company. A formal announcement may be made tomorrow. Article to follow._) https://twitter.com/RetailInsider_/s...58345700065281

@DanielDe93 Even better - we've just been told it appears the deal was finalized this evening. Expect Saks in Toronto, Calgary and Ottawa. https://twitter.com/RetailInsider_/s...58765600231424

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by O-Town Hockey

from www.ctvottawa.ca

Is it sad that I'm actually a little excited about this outlet mall? Looks like it will have some unique stores and, at least from the renderings, it looks like a decent pedestrian experience. The actual execution will be key on this one.

The proof of the decent pedestrian experience will be in the parking.

This looks like another one of those crappy little suburban things with a cutesy interior pedestrian plaza, surrounded by a small lake of surface parking lots.

[kevinbottawa]

Originally Posted by gjhall

Looks like HBC has bought Saks, and the rumour is for an Ottawa store...

I don't know where a Saks would go, but hopefully somewhere on Rideau Street. A lot of the businesses between Sussex and King Edward look crummy. Rideau still has so much potential.

I wonder what this means for Holt Renfrew in Ottawa? Can they compete with Saks, Nordstrom, Simons, and Hudsons Bay?

[c_speed3108]

Originally Posted by kevinbottawa

I don't know where a Saks would go, but hopefully somewhere on Rideau Street. A lot of the businesses between Sussex and King Edward look crummy. Rideau still has so much potential.

I wonder what this means for Holt Renfrew in Ottawa? Can they compete with Saks, Nordstrom, Simons, and Hudsons Bay?

Noticed the Sparks BIA on twitter, loosely campaigning for it to go on Sparks this morning...

[OTSkyline]

Yay Saks in Ottawa! It's great to see Ottawa explode with new (much-needed) retail stores, can't wait to have them all built/opened (Saks, Nordstrom, Nordstrom Rack, H&M, Simons etc...)

On a side note, anyone know what they are opening at Trainyards? The are almost done construction on the building on Industrail which seem to house 2 stores but no sign yet on "Opening soon" or anything. Anyone know what it is?

I'm also pretty surprised that with all this huge retail land there hasn't been more "mixed-use" development at Trainyards. I mean there is that 1 office building for the government on Terminal Ave but why haven't they built maybe 1 medium-height office tower, 2 medium/tall residential towers and maybe a couple of townhomes around the site already? I think it could become a great mixed-use community with people living, working and shopping there...

[c_speed3108]

Originally Posted by OTSkyline

Yay Saks in Ottawa! It's great to see Ottawa explode with new (much-needed) retail stores, can't wait to have them all built/opened (Saks, Nordstrom, Nordstrom Rack, H&M, Simons etc...)

On a side note, anyone know what they are opening at Trainyards? The are almost done construction on the building on Industrail which seem to house 2 stores but no sign yet on "Opening soon" or anything. Anyone know what it is?

I'm also pretty surprised that with all this huge retail land there hasn't been more "mixed-use" development at Trainyards. I mean there is that 1 office building for the government on Terminal Ave but why haven't they built maybe 1 medium-height office tower, 2 medium/tall residential towers and maybe a couple of townhomes around the site already? I think it could become a great mixed-use community with people living, working and shopping there...

There is not all that much demand for office space right now in Ottawa.

As for residential, the Trainyards is surrounded on all sides by industrial lands. It's hardly a place where most people would want to live.

I think another issue is that most developers in the city don't really do mixed well. Most are either in the residential business or retail business. The most we generally seem to get a a condo tower with a shopper's drug mart on the ground floor. Nothing of any scale.

[kevinbottawa]

613style.com is reporting they've received confirmation from the BIA that there will be a Saks on Sparks Street. I don't know how true that is (I have my doubts), but the space at O'Connor and Sparks was already in the HBC family as a Zellers so it would make sense.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by kevinbottawa

613style.com is reporting they've received confirmation from the BIA that there will be a Saks on Sparks Street. I don't know how true that is (I have my doubts), but the space at O'Connor and Sparks was already in the HBC family as a Zellers so it would make sense.

It would make sense but I certainly wouldn't call the Spark's "Tweet" (see below) a confirmation. Seems to me they will be lobbying to get the 5th Avenue but a confirmation is impossible in my view. It was just confirmed hours ago that HBC bought Saks and it is still not guaranteed. And even if it was, they (HBC) certainly wouldn't go out of their way to confirm the Ottawa store's location. Don't get me wrong, Sparks has a good shot at getting it, mostly because of the lack of available space on Rideau. I also don't see it opening in a suburban location.

Saks Fifth Avenue is Coming to Sparks Street!

The Hudson’s Bay company has successfully bought Saks for a reported $2.9 billion. This means that Saks locations are going to be popping up around the country, and thanks to our friends over on Sparks Street, we know for sure that Ottawa’s location is going to be on the historic street! - See more at:

According to Retail-Insider, the Saks we receive on Sparks Street may or may not be Saks Off Fifth, which is a version of the popular luxury store that carries discounted merchandise. It would be competing for market space with other high-end stores we reported as coming to Ottawa including La Maison Simons, Nordstrom Rack, and HR2 (Holt Renfrew’s discount division). Looks like Ottawa is starting to be the go-to spot for high-end fashion retailers! Who knows, maybe a stand-alone Louis Vuitton, Hermes, or Chanel is in our near future!

http://www.613style.com/saks-fifth-a...sparks-street/

BTW, how long did HBC have left on their Zellers lease? Also, was there ever a confirmation that we will get a HR2?

UPDATE: the first three paragraphs of the CTV news story indicates the HBC wants to expand Saks into Canada ASAP. I'm feeling they may want to open them before the entrance of Nordstrom into the market. If Sparks doesn't get the store, I'm predicting it might take over part of the Freiman Mall. I may need to get some sq footage information to back up my theory.

HBC to buy U.S. retailer Saks; plans to open 7 full-line stores in Canada

Alexandra Posadzki and David Paddon, The Canadian Press
Published Monday, July 29, 2013 6:14AM EDT
Last Updated Monday, July 29, 2013 11:51AM EDT

TORONTO -- Hudson's Bay Co. says it will open up to seven full-line Saks stores in Canada and about two dozen locations under a discount banner once it completes a US$2.9-billion friendly deal to acquire the U.S. luxury retailer.

"We're going to move as quickly as we can," Richard Baker, HBC's chairman and chief executive, told analysts during a conference call on Monday.

"We think there's a lot of opportunity for us to accomplish that rollout relatively quickly."


Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/business/hbc-t...#ixzz2aSF5xd5e

[kevinbottawa]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

It would make sense but I certainly wouldn't call the Spark's "Tweet" (see below) a confirmation.

I was thinking the same thing. I asked 613style if it was confirmed and they said yes, but I thought they misinterpreted the tweet from the BIA. Anyway, I just got this tweet from the BIA saying they want a Saks location, but that's pretty much it.

@SparksStreet: @613style @kevinrbourne Hudson Bay company announced it is looking to open a Saks Store in Ottawa and we want them to being it to Sparks.

But they also sent me a tweet about the Zellers space:

@SparksStreet: @kevinrbourne @613style awesome eatery with big patio is going in to the Old Zellers. Confirmed.

Kinda disappointed. I thought 46,000 sq ft would've attracted a major clothing retailer.

[c_speed3108]

Originally Posted by kevinbottawa

I was thinking the same thing. I asked 613style if it was confirmed and they said yes, but I thought they misinterpreted the tweet from the BIA. Anyway, I just got this tweet from the BIA saying they want a Saks location, but that's pretty much it.



But they also sent me a tweet about the Zellers space:



Kinda disappointed. I thought 46,000 sq ft would've attracted a major clothing retailer.

To me it depends on what the eatery is. The trouble with most clothing retailers downtown is they don't tend to stay open too late. That area needs things going on in the evening. If it s the right type of eatery it could work really well. If it just caters to office workers at lunch time and perhaps an immediately after work drink, it won't be good enough.

[Harley613]

Originally Posted by c_speed3108

There is not all that much demand for office space right now in Ottawa.

As for residential, the Trainyards is surrounded on all sides by industrial lands. It's hardly a place where most people would want to live.

I think another issue is that most developers in the city don't really do mixed well. Most are either in the residential business or retail business. The most we generally seem to get a a condo tower with a shopper's drug mart on the ground floor. Nothing of any scale.

You are completely wrong! The Trainyards is rapidly becoming a place people will want to live. To the South there is only a thin ribbon of industrial separating a very nice neighbourhood from the Trainyards and it's all slated to redeveloped (the red area). After that the Trainyards will be a nice extension to the existing neighbourhood (the green area). The nasty Industrial buildings to the North are being torn down and the LRT garage is going in. The yellow area is going to be developed into an appealing commercial park with greenspace. This is mixed use done right, have patience, it will be a much nicer area in 5-8 years.

[kevinbottawa]

Originally Posted by Harley613

The yellow area is going to be developed into an appealing commercial park with greenspace. This is mixed use done right, have patience, it will be a much nicer area in 5-8 years.

"Commercial park with greenspace" doesn't sound very appealing. Sounds like another Kanata.

[gjhall]

Originally Posted by kevinbottawa

"Commercial park with greenspace" doesn't sound very appealing. Sounds like another Kanata.

I think Harley613 lost you with the terminology, but a business park it's not...

See here:
http://ottawa.ca/en/city-hall/planni...ns-and-stu-341

Shows the connections and development Harley613 was talking about. IF it takes off, it could be a real winner.

[kevinbottawa]

Originally Posted by gjhall

I think Harley613 lost you with the terminology, but a business park it's not...

See here:
http://ottawa.ca/en/city-hall/planni...ns-and-stu-341

Shows the connections and development Harley613 was talking about. IF it takes off, it could be a real winner.

Ah. Thanks for clarifying. When I heard greenspace and commercial it sounded like a business park on March Road.

[waterloowarrior]

It is designated mixed use centre in the Official Plan and a study was recently done to loosen up zoning regulations and encourage more development. You can see some concept renders in this document
http://ottawa.ca/sites/ottawa.ca/files/transit_en.pdf

edit: whoops, gjhall already posted this

[eternallyme]

Originally Posted by kevinbottawa

I don't know where a Saks would go, but hopefully somewhere on Rideau Street. A lot of the businesses between Sussex and King Edward look crummy. Rideau still has so much potential.

I wonder what this means for Holt Renfrew in Ottawa? Can they compete with Saks, Nordstrom, Simons, and Hudsons Bay?

There's no way it will last much longer at 240 Sparks. Agreed that Rideau Street, east of the current Rideau Centre, would be attractive. The Rideau Centre, or some consortium, should buy out some of the blocks closer to Dalhousie.

Sparks Street is not really meant for retail. It is great during the day and on big events, but go down there on the evenings or weekends (especially outside the summer months) and it is dead pretty much.

[J.OT13]

Speculations about Saks locations from Retail Insider. Here are the quotes that stand out as important;

Newer American Saks Fifth Avenue stores are generally in the 80,000-120,000 square foot range. Hudson's Bay has 90 Canadian stores. Several are in Saks-worthy locations. Although we'd only expect Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver to get Saks stores, we've do a more comprehensive metro-area breakdown of possible full-line or shop-in-store Saks Fifth Avenue locations via HBC.

Ottawa

Rideau Centre: A Saks Shop-in-store (or even a smaller full-line Saks) carved out of the 335,000 square foot Ottawa Rideau Street Hudson's Bay store would compliment Rideau Centre's Nordstrom store (which will open in 2015) as well as La Maison Simons, also in 2015. Competitor Holt Renfrew, located way over at 240 Sparks Street in Downtown Ottawa, could see an uncertain future as a result of a Saks opening in Ottawa.

Here's something kind of funny (yet kind of sad);

Montreal

We've consulted with a retail analyst who says they're not sure if Montreal's economy or language laws would welcome Saks Fifth Avenue to the city at the moment. Downtown Montreal has a 655,000 square foot Hudson's Bay store that is currently undergoing renovations to include luxury department 'The Room'.

We'll keep you updated on HBC's possible Saks purchase. As we mentioned, an announcement could be made as early as this week.

They give breakdowns of other Hudson Bay's properties in the big 6 cities. Read more;

http://www.retail-insider.com/