Canadian Retail Thread

[Hardhatdan]

Originally Posted by miketoronto

That is such bad news. Yet another chain store ruining Queen West even more.
Yet one more reason not to even step foot on Queen West anymore, since all the stores can be found in your local mall now.

The city of Toronto should really have a bylaw limiting stores like H&M. We really don't need three H&M's downtown, ruining our unique streets. One store at the Eaton Centre was more then enough for the downtown.
Now you gotta trek all the way out to Ossington to even find a sort of vibe of the old Queen West.

If there is demand, then ya you really do need 3 H&M's in Downtown.
Small scale retailers have their niche, that is what makes them unique. H&M sells cheap, fashionable, disposable clothing, they are two different markets.

It like buying an ikea versus. a solid walnut with cherry in-lay.

[SpongeG]

yah

its not as bad as europe - in london you can come across an H&M every few minutes it seems

it is a free market if people dislike something they just don't shop there and eventually the place will close down

[LordMandeep]

to many H&M's. I am 100% sure they will open on a Sherway gardens... mike.


Lol 3 in a row. Sherway is still quite far from queen street west...

[miketoronto]

It looks like the extension at Harry Rosen on Bloor Street is in full swing. I was downtown today shopping on Bloor with my mom, and they have a huge rendering up of the extra floor, and the construction has seemed to have started.

[SpongeG]

there is a mall in California and they opened Two H&M's the same day in the same mall

[SSLL]

^ the two were Men's and Women's stores most likely.

There's only two downtown (Queen and Eaton Centre). Bloor is uptown and kms away.

[SpongeG]

New record set for retail sales

Retail sales in B.C. set another all-time record in May, totalling $4.75 billion. That was a seasonally adjusted increase of $79 million over April retail sales, and mainly the result of sales in Greater Vancouver, according to Statistics Canada figures.

May sales in metropolitan Vancouver were $2.8 billion in May, up $57 million from April. Sales in the rest of B.C. totalled $2.57 billion, up $22 million.

Strong growth in retail sales is being driven by gains in employment and labour income, expanding at an annual average rate of more than six per cent in the past few years.

Credit Union Central of British Columbia forecasts that the upward trend will continue, rising 6.3 per cent in 2007 and 6.7 per cent in 2008.

http://www.abbynews.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=38&cat=23&id=1041172&more=0

[danby]

Some good news for edmonton

New lease on life for North Town Mall
Renovation aims to fill largely empty centre
Ron Chalmers, The Edmonton Journal
Published: 1:38 am
EDMONTON - A two-year renovation of North Town Mall could fill one of this city's largest vacant spaces.

North Town is strategically located on the northeast corner of 137th Avenue and 97th Street -- just north of Northgate Centre and east of Griesbach. The seven-hectare site holds a major ETS station and a large Co-op taxi stand.

But the 32-year-old mall, originally owned by Triple Five Corp., is run down and 78 per cent empty.


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Font: ****Anthem Properties of Vancouver, which bought it in May 2006, now has started a sweeping redevelopment.

"In acquiring it, we recognized the potential of the property," says Anthem vice-president Sylvia Yung. "We spoke to key tenants that we are thinking of bringing in. That was part of our due diligence."

Anthem also has negotiated with existing tenants. CIBC, Rogers and Wendy's will remain where they are, Yung says. "London Drugs will reopen with a new store in the spring of 2008."

T & T Asian Supermarket, which has a large store in West Edmonton Mall, will open at North Town in the spring of 2009.

The 230,000-square-foot mall currently has 180,000 square feet of vacant space, according to CB Richard Ellis, a commercial real estate broker. If it were fully leased, retail vacancy in northwest Edmonton would fall from the current rate of 12.5 per cent to 3.9 per cent -- approaching the city-wide rate of 3.2 per cent.

But the owner expects to do even better -- by expanding to 270,000 square feet.

"Anthem is good at looking at diamonds in the rough," Yung says. "In this particular market, where it is very difficult to find perfect properties, we were willing to put in the elbow grease and work with tenants to make the real estate succeed."

The renovation was designed by Nejmark Architects of Winnipeg.

"All of the Edmonton architects were too busy to meet our timeline," Yung said. "We are using local architects and contractors." The improved North Town Mall "will have a modern, updated look with warm colours," plus new landscaping and a smoother-flowing parking lot, she said.

[email protected]




© The Edmonton Journal 2007

[West_aust]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

there is a mall in California and they opened Two H&M's the same day in the same mall

Same at Rockland centre in Montreal, they opened 2 H&M at both end of the shopping center (not on the same day though)

[habsfan]

Originally Posted by West_aust

Same at Rockland centre in Montreal, they opened 2 H&M at both end of the shopping center (not on the same day though)

That has got to be the dumbest thing I've ever heard!

[Martin Mtl]

Source: Apple to build double-decker flagship in Montreal

By Kasper Jade
Published: 12:00 PM EST

Apple Inc. is finalizing plans for its first Canadian flagship shop, a spacious multi-story retail outlet to be located in the heart of Montreal, a source tells AppleInsider.

The Cupertino-based gadget maker is reported to have secured some 9,300 square feet of space along the 1300 block of Rue Ste-Catherine Ouest, where it plans to heavily alter -- but not raze -- an existing structure.

According to a set of initial design plans, the company has proposed that the ground floor of the building be raised and that existing column structures on the property be relocated. Plans also call for the building to receive a new roof and stainless steel facade.

On the interior, Apple's proposal calls for two stories of retail sales space to be joined by a trademark glass staircases, similar to the one found at its SoHo, New York and Regent Street, London locations.

Office space, a back-end stock room, and bathroom facilities will consume a portion of the 9,300 square feet, trimming the retail sales area to approximately 8,000 -- leaving the Montreal location a couple thousand square feet short of Apple's Manhattan-based shops.

Although Apple presently operates four retail locations in Canada, none of the stores are designated as flagship locations. Montreal would represent just the 10th high-profile location for Apple, joining its eight existing flagships spread across the U.S., U.K., and Japan, as well as a ninth under development in Manhattan's Meatpacking district.

Apple's flagship shops have been strategically placed in the world's most densely populated shopping districts and are conceived as projections of the Apple brand with their architecture and interior design. Each year, the company spends an undisclosed sum on marketing costs for the the high-profile locations, ranging up to $10 million.

Unexpected delays withstanding, Apple hopes to begin operating out of the Montreal location during the summer or early fall of next year, according to the source.

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/07/..._double_decker_flagship_in_montreal.html

[habsfan]

The Cupertino-based gadget maker is reported to have secured some 9,300 square feet of space along the 1300 block of Rue Ste-Catherine Ouest, where it plans to heavily alter -- but not raze -- an existing structure.

Cool, so this is gonna be across the street from Ogilvy's?! Nice location!

[malek]

There's a BCBG there...

[Martin Mtl]

The stotes in Soho and London are awesome, so this is very exciting news for Mac lovers like me :-)

[West_aust]

Originally Posted by malek

There's a BCBG there...

BCBG is expanding their other location on ste-catherine using the building where burger king was, so it might be to close to one one de la montagne/ste-catherine and apple to take over that spot

[West_aust]

doublepost

[West_aust]

More info on the Apple flagship store in Montreal
-----------

Apple to begin work on Montreal flagship this winter (photos)

By AppleInsider Staff
Published: 02:00 PM EST

Apple Inc., which plans to turn an existing Montreal storefront into Canada's first high-profile Apple flagship shop, will have to hold off renovation efforts until the current tenant vacates the premises later this fall.

The Cupertino-based Mac maker has secured a lease at 1321 Ste-Catherine Quest in the heart of Montreal's shopping district, currently occupied by a MENS fashion retailer. Once MENS vacates the premises this November, Apple will begin to heavily alter the site, which it plans to turn into a two-story flagship retail store spanning some 9,300 square feet.

Among the planned renovations, as AppleInsider exclusively reported on Wednesday, are a new roof and stainless steel facade. Apple also plans to relocate some structural columns, raise the ground floor, and install a trademark glass staircase joining retail floors 1 and 2.

Photos of the existing MENS fashion retailer (below) show Apple to have chosen a location for its first Canadian flagship shop that is already reminiscent of some of its higher-profile stores, complete with a spacious interior and large window displays on both floors.

[204]

Originally Posted by West_aust

Same at Rockland centre in Montreal, they opened 2 H&M at both end of the shopping center (not on the same day though)

Each store caters to different demographics however. They don't carry the same clothes in both stores.

The H&M on second floor is mens and young womens (trendy) stuff. The one on the main floor is womens, kids, accessories.

[SpongeG]

from the vancouver sun...

Vancouver, H&M is ready for you


Published: Saturday, August 18, 2007

A gaggle of stylish young things puts the finishing touches on a tidy display of accessories while a painter in overalls touches up a nearby wall. Some mannequins are dressed to the nines while others are buck naked.
A few days before the doors open at B.C.'s first H&M outlet, it's organized chaos set to pop music.

But the Swedish clothing chain's Canadian marketing manager, Laura Shankland, is confident every last hoodie, chunky sweater and pair of jeans will be sitting pretty on the shelves when the Coquitlam Centre store opens next Thursday.


Final touches are underway for the grand opening of British Columbia's first H&M store in Coquitlam Centre next Thursday.*

Just don't expect them to stay that way.

If the response is similar to what the retailer has seen on opening day at its other Canadian outlets, all those neat piles will quickly be upended by thousands of eager shoppers hunting for the trend-conscious bargains H&M is known for around the world.

When the chain's West Edmonton Mall store swung open its doors for the first time earlier this year, "we had more than 300 people waiting," Shankland says. "That was way beyond our expectations."

But perhaps it shouldn't have been, based on how quickly H&M's well-publicized collaborations with top designers such as Karl Lagerfeld and Stella McCartney have flown off the shelves. Many have sold out completely in hours, "even minutes," she says. "Last year, in about 15 minutes, the Viktor & Rolf collection was basically cleared out."

Shankland admits H&M's entry into the Vancouver market "has been a long time coming. H&M fans have been e-mailing us for a long time asking us when we're coming there."

Small wonder -- the chain already has 31 stores in Canada, most in Ontario and Quebec. Calgary and Edmonton got theirs this spring.

The Coquitlam store is the first in what could be several Lower Mainland H&M outlets. A three-storey flagship store is slated to open in downtown Vancouver's Pacific Centre next spring, and Shankland says the company is actively looking for other Vancouver-area locations.

At more than 18,000 square feet, the Coquitlam store will be the third largest in Canada. It will carry clothes for men, women and children from infants through teens, as well as lingerie and accessories. Each gets its own readily identifiable section of the store, dressed in sophisticated tones of grey and brown.

But every outlet is unique, says Shankland. "You don't get one cookie-cutter version of H&M everywhere."

Along with wardrobe staples like leather jackets and handbags that won't soon fall out of fashion, H&M is known for churning out inexpensive versions of designer trends soon after they've made their runway or red-carpet debuts.

Vancouver-area shoppers might even get the jump on fashion junkies in Toronto and Montreal, since many of H&M's manufacturers are in Asia. "Vancouver is obviously very well-placed, because a lot of our shipments come in there."

The one tip Shankland offers to shoppers who aren't already H&M savvy is that if you snooze, you lose. New items arrive daily and they don't hang around on the racks very long.

"If you don't get something when you see it, you'll go back and it won't be there," she says. "You learn to grab it when you see it."

The H&M store at Coquitlam Centre opens Aug. 23 at noon. The first 150 customers will receive a 20-per-cent discount.

[SteelTown]

The Hamilton Spectator
(Aug 13, 2007)
RETAIL

Centre Mall's $100m plans still under wraps

Shopaholics will have to wait a bit longer to discover the shape of the $100-million renovation of Centre Mall.

"We're still working through the various phases," said Don Burton, senior vice-president of the shopping centres group for Redcliff Realty Management.

"The project requires negotiations with a variety of different players as some tenants, such as Sears, own property on the site, he said.

Redcliff has indicated it is considering a mix of existing and new tenants in a combined power centre/mall concept. Burton said the company hopes to unveil site plans to city council before the end of the year.