[Saint John] Retail Thread

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by sailor734

I hear the local Mercedes Benz dealership (Tristar) is closing. Owned lately by the Steele group their Moncton location will now be the only Mercedes location for NB.

This is a surprise. The Moncton location initially opened as a satellite of the Saint John dealership.

[sailor734]

Not really a surprise. It's hard for NB to generate sufficient sales from any luxury auto brand to justify two locations. The Moncton store is newer and meets current Mercedes design standards/requirements while Saint John does not

I think Moncton was only ever opened by the Saint John franchisee when Mercedes had someone else approach them about a Moncton dealership. Right of first refusal type of thing.

[DyAm00394]

Originally Posted by sailor734

Not really a surprise. It's hard for NB to generate sufficient sales from any luxury auto brand to justify two locations. The Moncton store is newer and meets current Mercedes design standards/requirements while Saint John does not

I think Moncton was only ever opened by the Saint John franchisee when Mercedes had someone else approach them about a Moncton dealership. Right of first refusal type of thing.

It's already closed apparently and the website for the SJ location is now shut down. The Moncton/Dieppe location also posted on social media 2 days ago "One Location, Same Elevated Experience. Mercedes-Benz Moncton Is Here To Serve New Brunswick". A lot of people on their post are angry about the closure and are saying it's an inconvenience, that they are no longer supporting them.

[sailor734]

Originally Posted by DyAm00394

It's already closed apparently and the website for the SJ location is now shut down. The Moncton/Dieppe location also posted on social media 2 days ago "One Location, Same Elevated Experience. Mercedes-Benz Moncton Is Here To Serve New Brunswick". A lot of people on their post are angry about the closure and are saying it's an inconvenience, that they are no longer supporting them.

I drove by today and the front line was still full and there were cars in the showroom......maybe not moved to Moncton yet?

Well, if you want to buy a German luxury car in NB Moncton is now your only option.
Lexus is now the sole luxury brand in SJ and for a lot of people when it comes to high end cars Japanese vs German is a case of apples and oranges.

[DyAm00394]

Two new franchise opportunities are now online for Just Cuts at McAllister Place and Regent Mall. They are a salon brand with locations across Australia, New Zealand and the UK.

Only Saint John and Fredericton is advertised for Atlantic Canada. This is part of their expansion into Canada.

[sailor734]

I've never quite understood the franchise hair cutting thing. I've always gone to a specific
barber not a particular brand of shop.

[DyAm00394]

In addition to Just Cuts I just posted about, there is also a new franchise opportunity online for Gabriel Pizza.

SJ and Halifax are the only locations in Atlantic Canada listed for franchise opportunities.

[DyAm00394]

Status update of the new Lawtons Drugs inside Brunswick Square. Moved up to the 2nd floor, directly above their current location. Will be opening on June 24th, 2024.



(Photo is from Retail Talk & Share NB Facebook group).

[DyAm00394]

My City Life is on the move again. They mentioned online that the landlord, (Plaza REIT), found someone else willing to pay more for the space. It's a large 10,000sf spot so I wonder who the new tenant will be? And where My City Life will go? Because it was a hard time for them to find a spot.

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

Originally Posted by DyAm00394

Status update of the new Lawtons Drugs inside Brunswick Square. Moved up to the 2nd floor, directly above their current location. Will be opening on June 24th, 2024.



(Photo is from Retail Talk & Share NB Facebook group).

So it’s just going to be a regular Lawtons, not an expanded version with more grocery options?

[DyAm00394]

McAllister Place is for sale!! Listed on June 19th.

The brochure mentions there are plans for up to 526-units of high and medium density residential development on an 11 acre undeveloped portion of the site.

The mall is situated on 79.12 acres, (approximately 44 acres is developed). Also mentioned is that the mall is 98.8% occupied right now.

Link to listing: https://property.jll.com/en-ca/listi...stmorland-road

Link to Brochure: https://res.cloudinary.com/global-de...r_11525031.pdf

[jonny golden]

This looks like a tailor made opportunity for Leyad, the Montreal based developer who recently purchased the Wheeler Park Power Center in Moncton.

They also have a large residential apartment portfolio, with the largest being a three-tower complex comprising 450 units.

They are in a growth mode and are looking to add more assets, both commercial/retail as well as residential.

[DyAm00394]

- Bath Depot is coming soon. Two new job adverts have been posted online. They've opened a store in Moncton last year, (back in August 2023). Their website: https://www.bathdepot.com/


- And Best Buy Canada has recently opened the first Best Buy Express small-format store in British Columbia. They plan to convert 167- The Source stores across Canada under this new rebrand partnership will Bell Canada. All 167 stores will be open by the end of 2024.

Sources have recently confirmed that both the remaining NB locations at McAllister Place, (here in Saint John), and CF Champlain (in Dieppe) will be converting over to Best Buy Express.

[sailor734]

According to an article in today's TJ business section Slate Office REIT (Brunswick Square owner) has just defaulted on interest payments on 158M debt that were due June 30. Slate has said they do not expect to make interest payments on a second series of convertible debentures that will be due Aug 30. Slate's senior lenders have issued default notices.

Slate had been trying to sell assets and their publicly traded units have declined in value by 94% in the past five years.

For those with a TJ or other Post media subscription....

https://financialpost.com/real-estat...39;s%20efforts.

[Pugsley]

Originally Posted by sailor734

According to an article in today's TJ business section Slate Office REIT (Brunswick Square owner) has just defaulted on interest payments on 158M debt that were due June 30. Slate has said they do not expect to make interest payments on a second series of convertible debentures that will be due Aug 30. Slate's senior lenders have issued default notices.

Slate had been trying to sell assets and their publicly traded units have declined in value by 94% in the past five years.

Yeah, there is a whole bunch of wacky stuff with that group. If you search them, you'll find articles and stories of shareholder revolt and a struggle to control the board. Apparently lots of very upset investors and some shady stuff that has been going on for the past few years.

Sad that this happened to Brunswick Square because a small and overly-ambitious REIT took it over and then did nothing with it, other than upset their investors.

This is why I am concerned over who buys it AND/OR McAllister Place. We need proper REITs or Property Owners like Ivanhoe Cambridge or Oxford at play here if we want to see these assets thrive. Not some poor-ass wannabes.

[sailor734]

Originally Posted by Pugsley

Yeah, there is a whole bunch of wacky stuff with that group. If you search them, you'll find articles and stories of shareholder revolt and a struggle to control the board. Apparently lots of very upset investors and some shady stuff that has been going on for the past few years.

Sad that this happened to Brunswick Square because a small and overly-ambitious REIT took it over and then did nothing with it, other than upset their investors.

This is why I am concerned over who buys it AND/OR McAllister Place. We need proper REITs or Property Owners like Ivanhoe Cambridge or Oxford at play here if we want to see these assets thrive. Not some poor-ass wannabes.

Well, it will be interesting to see if this speeds the sale. You would certainly expect that they are motivated sellers. ( and if they aren’t, the receivers may well be 😁)

[DyAm00394]

Vintage Pursuit’s old smaller spot inside McAllister Place, (next to Rogers near the food court), is under construction for a new tenant. Construction hoarding wall is up around the unit.

[DyAm00394]

Spirit Halloween is returning for another season at 90 Consumers Drive. Job listings now online: https://www.work4spirit.com/?city=Sa...ew%20Brunswick

[DyAm00394]

Bath Depot is opening at SmartCentres inside the former Mastermind Toys spot according to the recently updated leasing plan for the plaza.