Winnipeg Retail

[WinCitySparky]

Yep I have lived 2 blocks from the Ellice location for 10 years and have stepped foot in there maybe 4 times. I am 38 if the demographic info is useful. With less people smoking and lotto being available online, I assume that alone has eaten up a huge piece of their market.

[FactaNV]

More commercial but couldn't find the right tab - I had no idea so much money was produced in Winnipeg. Nothing crazy on its own with 40 jobs at the new plant but this is a great example of exactly what Winnipeg needs, more private industry growth to grow the tax base.

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/bu...growth-in-mind

[wags_in_the_peg]

Yup fantastic to see this in Winnipeg. More "Made in MB" or even "Made in Canada" products will only help our economy, we as a country need to seriously reduce offshore products. The pandemic proved what that does to our supply chain

[FactaNV]

Originally Posted by wags_in_the_peg

Yup fantastic to see this in Winnipeg. More "Made in MB" or even "Made in Canada" products will only help our economy, we as a country need to seriously reduce offshore products. The pandemic proved what that does to our supply chain

Reshoring and friendshoring is vital as the world moves back into multipolarity. I would love to see Manitoba exploit that and start doing everything it can to get Canadian industry and friendly country industry moving in. How to go about that is up for debate but man it would be nice to see the Feds some of those tens of billions for a few factories in the Golden Horseshoe to other parts of the country.

[CoryB]

Straight up 7/11 is closing locations because of TCO (total cost of operations). Revenue is down, product and labor costs are up, some newer locations are seeing rising lease costs, they announced they want to shift to a model that includes fuel and older locations do not support that, and yes theft.

Add in that they are openly an acquisition target at the moment.

Sure theft may be part of the issue but it is not the whole issue. They have long done store closures locally so this is really nothing new.

With the higher number closing all at once though I am concerned Winnipeg is going to lose its "Slurpee Capital" title though.

[borkborkbork]

I don't think it's really that 7/11 can't make a buck with theft.

It's more that low-income and high-crime neighbourhoods where the bulk of their revenues come from tobacco just don't really fit with their strategy, which involves a food-first approach, with in-store licensed service and dining:

https://ccentral.ca/delivering-chang...-eleven-canada

Which is fine, of course. That's their decision. But it's a bit annoying that they and the press have to spin it as if these are no-go zones where even convenience stores can't even stay open due to roving gangs of thieves. Like do they have to stigmatize the neighbourhoods they're already exiting as a final fuck-you?

[Jeff]

hobbyism is set to close. defying all odds by staying open as long as it did, you gotta give em props for trying.

[CoryB]

Originally Posted by Jeff

hobbyism is set to close. defying all odds by staying open as long as it did, you gotta give em props for trying.

Sort of have to wonder if things might have gone different if they were in a better location. That spot has such low visibility and then all the construction nearby made it even more challenging to get there.

[bomberjet]

Other than nostalgia I could really care less if 7/11 closed outright.

[drew]

^ this really pisses me off as well.

Similar to Starbuck's closure in Osborne Village that was almost certainly because of their company wide contraction of stores - but instead stated they were closing because "crime".

I wonder what excuses they use in other cities... or is it just something these places can't help themselves with Winnipeg.

[CoryB]

Originally Posted by drew

^ this really pisses me off as well.

Similar to Starbuck's closure in Osborne Village that was almost certainly because of their company wide contraction of stores - but instead stated they were closing because "crime".

I wonder what excuses they use in other cities... or is it just something these places can't help themselves with Winnipeg.

Agreed. This places don't need to scream they are closing due to crime. Just close quietly and say it is for "changing operational reasons".

Starbucks has very openly said they are shifting from their cafe model with a dining room, wifi and open power outlets which heavily encouraged people to loiter there for endless hours after a single $3 purchase. I am honestly surprised it took corporate this long to figure out that take-away purchases, especially the drive-thru, are where they generate their revenue while the dining room is a major loss area. It was not at all a surprise when they announced their shift is to a new model that heavily minimizes or completely eliminates in store seating. And it isn't just about the drive-thru as a walk up location opened in Toronto without any seating.

Similar 7-11 announced a plan to shift to locations that could host a gas station and an convivence store. Locally, Inkster and Sheppard is the model of what 7-11 sees as their current path forward. It is then not surprising to see a number of locations that are running the 1970s store format slated to close. No need to try and burn down a whole community as you close your doors.

[morty]

Originally Posted by CoryB

Agreed. This places don't need to scream they are closing due to crime. Just close quietly and say it is for "changing operational reasons".

Starbucks has very openly said they are shifting from their cafe model with a dining room, wifi and open power outlets which heavily encouraged people to loiter there for endless hours after a single $3 purchase. I am honestly surprised it took corporate this long to figure out that take-away purchases, especially the drive-thru, are where they generate their revenue while the dining room is a major loss area. It was not at all a surprise when they announced their shift is to a new model that heavily minimizes or completely eliminates in store seating. And it isn't just about the drive-thru as a walk up location opened in Toronto without any seating.

Similar 7-11 announced a plan to shift to locations that could host a gas station and an convivence store. Locally, Inkster and Sheppard is the model of what 7-11 sees as their current path forward. It is then not surprising to see a number of locations that are running the 1970s store format slated to close. No need to try and burn down a whole community as you close your doors.

Starbucks has always, prior to a recent strategy shift, invested heavily in the in-store appearance and vibes because that's what established their brand and allowed massive worldwide growth. Describing the dining room as a "major loss area" is not at all accurate. Developing the Starbucks brand as a third place was their corporate focus for two+ decades, prior to the recent strategy shift. The brand power of Starbucks is what allows them to charge higher prices for the same product. One isn't just buying a $6 latte, they are also buying the image that comes with drinking Starbucks rather than holding a cup of Timmies. The drive-thru focus strategy shift (and heavy labour cuts and the resulting queues that come with it) is likely to affect the long-term brand and image of Starbucks in exchange for short term profits and an attempt to recover the stock price.

Do you have a source for 7 Eleven shifting towards fuel sales? They purchased some Esso stations from Imperial Oil back in 2016, but that was in order to expand their convenience store footprint. Recent corporate strategy from 7 Eleven has actually been to diversify away from fuel sales and try to expand heavily in the direction of food sales and private label brands. Both of those categories are much more profitable than fuel sales, particularly in a highly competitive retail fuel sales market like Winnipeg.

The Inkster and Sheppard location (1485 Inkster Blvd) was actually listed in August 2024 as being one of the at-risk locations for closing.

[CoryB]

Originally Posted by morty

Do you have a source for 7 Eleven shifting towards fuel sales? They purchased some Esso stations from Imperial Oil back in 2016, but that was in order to expand their convenience store footprint. Recent corporate strategy from 7 Eleven has actually been to diversify away from fuel sales and try to expand heavily in the direction of food sales and private label brands. Both of those categories are much more profitable than fuel sales, particularly in a highly competitive retail fuel sales market like Winnipeg.

The Inkster and Sheppard location (1485 Inkster Blvd) was actually listed in August 2024 as being one of the at-risk locations for closing.

Sorry I cannot recall the exact source and searches are just turning up news reports of the 444 location closures.

It was announced around the same time the Inkster and Sheppard location opened locally. I want to say that happened around 2017-2019.

[bon_vivant]

Originally Posted by drew

^ this really pisses me off as well.

Similar to Starbuck's closure in Osborne Village that was almost certainly because of their company wide contraction of stores - but instead stated they were closing because "crime".

I wonder what excuses they use in other cities... or is it just something these places can't help themselves with Winnipeg.

The crime excuse is mostly BS. If a store is truly profitable, they can afford to beef up security. Look at Liquor Mart, for example. This report from CNN is closer to the truth:

"Seven & I Holdings, the chain’s Japan-based parent company, revealed in an earnings report Thursday that 444 locations of 7-Eleven are shutting down because of a variety of issues, including slowing sales, declining traffic, inflationary pressures and a decrease in cigarette purchases."

https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/11/busin...res/index.html

[Wpg_Guy]

Dollar stores are the new convenience/corner stores.

[cllew]

Originally Posted by Wpg_Guy

Dollar stores are the new convenience/corner stores.

Every time I stop into the Dollar store in front of Concordia Hospital I keep hearing from the overhead speakers Security to isle ##.

I am not sure if they actually have a LPO working, or if its just a sound effect that's part of the background music to try and stop theft.

[bomberjet]

Originally Posted by cllew

Every time I stop into the Dollar store in front of Concordia Hospital I keep hearing from the overhead speakers Security to isle ##.

I am not sure if they actually have a LPO working, or if its just a sound effect that's part of the background music to try and stop theft.

I always here 'security code XX' when I'm in there too! which is rare. None of the staff bat an eye and just carry on.

Originally Posted by cllew

The 1007 McPhillips St 7/11 that closed was one of the locations that had the portable crime camera tower in the lot.

I was out that way about 3 weeks ago and noticed that the tower was gone and wondering if somebody had vandalized it or 7/11 realized it was not working as a deterrent to theft?

Is that what those things are?! They look like light plants for working in the dark. There was one outside the Lowes/Rona+ in the parking lot for aaaaaages. It would sometimes flash blue, I guess indicating something going on?

IIRC the Sev on Henderson in Elmwood has/had one there too.

[neutroniks]

Originally Posted by bomberjet

I always here 'security code XX' when I'm in there too! which is rare. None of the staff bat an eye and just carry on.



Is that what those things are?! They look like light plants for working in the dark. There was one outside the Lowes/Rona+ in the parking lot for aaaaaages. It would sometimes flash blue, I guess indicating something going on?

IIRC the Sev on Henderson in Elmwood has/had one there too.

When I used to work in retail, the "Security to Aisle ___" was just to deter theft and scare would be thieves into thinking we were on to them. If there was an actual theft going on, we would just call a phone extension directly to the LPO office and describe the thief to the LPO officer and what we saw them taking.

[WinCitySparky]

Can’t have shareholders running for the exit after all. >

[cllew]

The 1007 McPhillips St 7/11 that closed was one of the locations that had the portable crime camera tower in the lot.

I was out that way about 3 weeks ago and noticed that the tower was gone and wondering if somebody had vandalized it or 7/11 realized it was not working as a deterrent to theft?