London's Malls

[MolsonExport]

^did you open up her box?

[ericlewis91]

More updates at Masonville

FoodCourt being worked on (mostly pillars and ceiling, no new seating yet)
Some of upstairs new ceiling is complete (lots more to do all over mall)
Clock + Water Fountain are gone (tarped out)

Stores Closed:

Carlton Cards + Tabi
Sony
Buck or Two ("store closing sale)

Relocation: Lenscrafters + North by Northwest

Wonder what is going on at Masonville.. I heard rumors of a Forever 21 which would take the spaces of NorthWest/Tribal/Lens/Buck/Payless/Sony

But who knows... other spaces are available!

[manny_santos]

Inside London Mall yesterday...

Only three interior tenants, one of which will be gone after Monday:
- Doug Ferguson's campaign office (where the Indian carpet store used to be)
- Schmokey BBQ (with an application for a liquor license)
- sketchy looking flea market (reminded me of a dump of a market I saw in NYC a few years ago)

The Lotto kiosk is gone, the bubble tea store is gone, and the dry cleaner is gone. Sears Outlet Store still seems to get a steady stream of traffic. Still no activity where Price Chopper used to be. There is still a Christmas wreath up on a wall by the Sears entrance, right above the Great Canadian Chew-Chew Train. Also has the obligatory mechanical rides that most dying malls have.

On the exterior, H&R Block is gone, but Falcon Travel is still there. Kelsey's is still the big draw.

God, someone needs to redevelop that property into something useful. Sears Outlet Store should move out to an industrial area. The London Mall site should be something that incorporates Kelsey's and improves the appearance to the access to McDonalds, but otherwise I visualize part of that property returning to nature.

[haljackey]

Looks like that mall's doing just as badly as the Liberals are doing in the polls!

Sorry for the pun but it seems funny because that's where the Lib's campaign office is.

Haven't been to the London Mall in years, but I think I went to the Kelsey's there about a year ago.

[ericlewis91]

maybe re-locate the sears outlet to one of our many big box store areas

and then build a mix-use residential/commercial centre with apartments and stores below...

wait, that will never happen....

[MolsonExport]

Keep it going just as is. for head-to-head competition with Oxbury, as London's shittiest mall. May the worst mall win.

[joeymac]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

Keep it going just as is. for head-to-head competition with Oxbury, as London's shittiest mall. May the worst mall win.

Perhaps they can see Wonderland Mall style re-purposing. Say what you will about Southside Group, but they are pretty good at buying abandoned properties and re-using them. (Former Canadian Tire, Wonderland Mall, Home Depot, Beaver Lumber/No Frills)..

[manny_santos]

Originally Posted by joeymac

Perhaps they can see Wonderland Mall style re-purposing. Say what you will about Southside Group, but they are pretty good at buying abandoned properties and re-using them. (Former Canadian Tire, Wonderland Mall, Home Depot, Beaver Lumber/No Frills)..

We don't need any more anti-pedestrian commercial developments. We need developments that create a sense of neighbourhood and are easily accessible for pedestrians and cyclists.

I envision that property as follows:

- Streetfront shopping along Oxford Street, with parking behind as well as between the commercial buildings and Burger Thing; parking would continue to be accessible from Highbury, Oxford, and Mornington
- Food Basics moving to a slightly larger location closer to the corner of Oxford and Highbury, with access from the parking lot above and from on Oxford
- The south half of the property redeveloped into residential use; the existing two-level parking garage accessible from Mornington could be integrated into parking for a new high-rise apartment building, while the rest of the property would be condos
- All residential and commercial developments in this area would be connected by well-lit pedestrian walkways

[joeymac]

That would be great, but developers that would build something like that don't seem to know where London is on a map.

[manny_santos]

Originally Posted by joeymac

That would be great, but developers that would build something like that don't seem to know where London is on a map.

Either that or the City has got to start telling developers they have to build to their specifications or they are not welcome in the city.

[joeymac]

Hmmm, like Niagara on the Lake. Everything there must fit a very strict building code.

[GreatTallNorth2]

Originally Posted by joeymac

Hmmm, like Niagara on the Lake. Everything there must fit a very strict building code.

Dude, we're not even close to being Niagara on the Lake if we tell developers to start building people friendly developments. That's kind of like how people say they don't want London to become Toronto. We couldn't become Toronto, no matter how hard we tried.

[ldoto]

London is getting two Target stores, as the U.S. retail giant announced Thursday where it’s locating its first wave of 105 stores in Canada.

Zellers stores at Westmount and Masonville malls will be converted to Target, set to open early in 2013.

Target bought Zellers and its 220 stores in a $1.8-billion deal with Hudson’s Bay Co. and wants to eventually open as many as 200 stores in Canada.

“Well, I think it is great. I love Target,” said Peggy Taylor of St. Thomas, shopping at the Zellers at Westmount Shopping Centre. “I think it is cheaper and there is more variety at Target.”

But not all customers were happy with the decision, saying they’ll miss buying Canadian.

“It’s a shame to see Zellers go. It is Canadian. But Target is not bad, either,” said Gwen Willison of Lambeth, who was at Zellers with her friend, Shirley Marr.

The friends regularly shop at Target in Port Huron, Mich., and see little difference between the two retailers.

“I like this store. They are both the same, really, but I hate to see a Canadian store go,” said Marr, also from Lambeth. “I do not like these American companies coming over here and buying us up.”

A Target will also be located in Stratford, at Stratford Mall.

Shoppers may be disappointed to find there’s little difference between the two chains, said Michael Pearce, a professor at the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario. “There is a cachet to the name, but people may find the experience is not that special in terms of merchandise. Still, it is a step up from Zellers and Wal-Mart,” he said.

Target markets more toward discounted women’s fashions, giving it a leg up on the discount competition, he added.

The announcement about Target’s Canadian roll-out came from Target Canada president Tony Fisher in Chicago.

The first wave of stores breaks down as 15 in British Columbia, 13 in Alberta, two in Saskatchewan, five in Manitoba, 45 in Ontario, 19 in Quebec, one in New Brunswick, one in PEI, two in Nova Scotia and two in Newfoundland and Labrador.

An announcement about the next round of openings is expected in September.

Target also announced it’ll open its Canadian head office in Mississauga

[manny_santos]

Good news, especially for Westmount.

I say good riddance to Zellers. I don't care if it's Canadian, American, British, Chinese, or Indian. While you can get good prices there and arguably higher quality merchandise than Wal-Mart, most of the stores I've been to are poorly merchandised, poorly designed, and very run down. Target, which just so happens to be an American company, is making an investment and giving Canadians a better shopping experience.

[MolsonExport]

^total agreement.

[ldoto]

Yes!!!

[Stevo26]

Originally Posted by manny_santos

Good news, especially for Westmount.

I say good riddance to Zellers. I don't care if it's Canadian, American, British, Chinese, or Indian. While you can get good prices there and arguably higher quality merchandise than Wal-Mart, most of the stores I've been to are poorly merchandised, poorly designed, and very run down. Target, which just so happens to be an American company, is making an investment and giving Canadians a better shopping experience.

Agreed. For me, Zellers has always been a slummy, low-rent, run-down kind of shopping experience, and that's why the Zellers store at Westmount can't go soon enough.

Canadians do lots of things really well, but retail isn't one of them. The biggest problem that most of our indigenous retailers have had for a long time is something I call 'the English shopkeeper mentality': "There it is, that's the price, it comes in only one colour, we have only one in stock, and if yer don't bleedin' well like it, yer can sod off!"

[MolsonExport]

^Full agreement. All things being equal, of course I would support Canadian chains/brand names. But all things are not equal, and the service/price combination at Canadian-based stores is typically low/high (thus, the dreaded less for more)

[MolsonExport]

This could be the adrenaline shot needed to get Westmount mall moving. One thing that keeps me from visiting is the utter lack of a foodcourt. the management suggests Metro's on-the-go menu (lousy potato wedges and a dessicated rotisserie chicken), along with Zagel bagel (I don't want a fuggin bagel sandwich) and the crappy bland food (e.g., hot turkey sandwich with instant gravy on instant mashed potatoes...or liver&onions) of the Zellers old fart restaurant.

[Simpseatles]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

along with Zagel bagel (I don't want a fuggin bagel sandwich) and the crappy bland food (e.g., hot turkey sandwich with instant gravy on instant mashed potatoes...or liver&onions) of the Zellers old fart restaurant.

Hey, I love Zalley's Bagel Bakery!

Does Zeller's still have a diner style restaurant there? Always creeped me out as a kid for some reason. Because, why is there a restaurant within a discount department store? And if the store can't seem to keep itself clean and organized, then what should I infer about the restaurant!