The Metro Vancouver Retail Thread

[EastVanMark]

Not to mention Robson street only is what it is today because of the failed "pedestrian only" experiment on Granville. Most people forget that.

[connect2source]

Originally Posted by officedweller

Stores like narrow sidewalks - it puts customers closer to store display windows and slows walking speed which allows pedestrians to be distracted by goods on display.

In comparison, you can walk down Granville and be 12 feet away from a display window the entire time.

True but wider sidewalks also allow for street furniture, large cafes with patios, street artists all which keep people in the area for longer periods, this is the norm throughout Europe which boasts far more successful retail zones in their city centres than those in North America.

[s211]

Originally Posted by duener

I remember years ago asking city staff about the narrow sidewalks on Robson. They said that the business community told them "if it ain't broke..."

So hopefully Robson will lose business - thereby encouraging a redesign of the street with wider sidewalks / more comfortable pedestrian space.

The REAL reason for the pushback comes from the owners. If you move the frontage back, you permanently "demolish" rentable area, which diminishes your value.

50 feet of frontage times 10 feet of depth = 500 sq.ft.

500 sq.ft. times $100 per sq.ft. rent = $50,000 per annum of lost revenue.

Cap that at 5-6%, and you're talking about $833K to $1M in lost value.

That's why you see the remainder lots trying to hold on to what they have.

[SpongeG]

i can't ever recall ever seeing an empty space on robson, i mean they have always gone from one tennant to another and there is that short close, but the old esprit store still has no new tennant which is something i haven't seen, a store sitting for lease so long

...

Carl’s Jr.® Opens First Restaurant in Canada

British Columbia Location Feeds Canada’s Need for Premium-Quality Burgers

CARPINTERIA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--CKE Restaurants, Inc. announced today that Jove Franchise Development Corporation (“Jove”) has opened the first Carl’s Jr.® restaurant in Canada. This restaurant is located in Kelowna, British Columbia. and is the first of five Carl’s Jr. restaurants Jove plans to open and operate in Canada. CKE plans to open additional Carl’s Jr. restaurants as part of a larger expansion across Canada in the coming years.

CKE’s entry into Canada is part of a strategic plan to accelerate franchise development in international markets and to double CKE’s international presence to over 700 restaurants within the next five years. CKE currently has active franchise development agreements in Vancouver, British Columbia and is actively seeking qualified franchise candidates throughout Canada.

looks like Vancouver will have one soon

[SpongeG]

Vancouver streets increasingly haunted by Rolls-Royce Ghosts


By Malcolm Parry, Vancouver Sun June 30, 2011

TRIKE THREE: "Race Sunday, sell Monday." That slogan existed long before Rolls-Royce built its first car in 1906. Even then, the British firm favoured reliability trials over speed events. But its aviation division, now a separate enterprise, supplied engines for many world speed-record holders, and its 1940s-vintage power plants still win aircraft races today.

The man responsible for Rolls-Royce in Western Canada, Raul Jon-Mario Elli -a.k.a. Rocky -does go racing, often in an 800-horsepower Trans Am GTI Series car as noisy and brutal as pylon-racing aircraft. Monday morning, as managing partner and general manager of Chicago-based Fields B.C. Co., he checks three city showrooms. They're the BMW Store, Mini Yaletown and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Vancouver, where Fields B.C. has spent $12.5 million in upgrades and new facilities. His word for the latter outlet's June performance: "Phenomenal."

That's because six Rolls-Royces -all the lower-priced $290,000-to-$350,000 Ghost models -were delivered, four in Vancouver and one each in Calgary and Edmonton. Sales for the year are reportedly 17, against a target of 14 to 18. That may not seem much, but the Goodwood, England factory produced only 2,711 Rolls-Royces in 2010 -up from 1,585 in 2009 -for delivery to 83 dealers worldwide. A Montreal showroom opened June 25.

One of Elli's aces is that he can get models quickly from New Jersey. Another is that Chinese clients enjoy much quicker deliveries here than abroad. That's why you'll see a $600,000 long-wheelbase Phantom pass through the Fifth Avenue showroom in late July.

...

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Vancouv...+Ghosts/5028908/story.html#ixzz1Qra57rLa

[GeeCee]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

Carl's Jr.(r) Opens First Restaurant in Canada

British Columbia Location Feeds Canada's Need for Premium-Quality Burgers

CARPINTERIA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--CKE Restaurants, Inc. announced today that Jove Franchise Development Corporation ("Jove") has opened the first Carl's Jr.(r) restaurant in Canada. This restaurant is located in Kelowna, British Columbia. and is the first of five Carl's Jr. restaurants Jove plans to open and operate in Canada. CKE plans to open additional Carl's Jr. restaurants as part of a larger expansion across Canada in the coming years.



looks like Vancouver will have one soon

Kelowna!! I've been waiting for so long, haha. I wouldn't be surprised to see them not end up opening which has happened several times in the past.. there was supposed to be a Carl's Jr opening up in Surrey, wasn't there? It ended up becoming an A&W.

[mr.x]

Kinda odd how this is supposedly our main shopping street, yet a Espirit can't even survive there?

[duener]

Originally Posted by s211

The REAL reason for the pushback comes from the owners. If you move the frontage back, you permanently "demolish" rentable area, which diminishes your value.

50 feet of frontage times 10 feet of depth = 500 sq.ft.

500 sq.ft. times $100 per sq.ft. rent = $50,000 per annum of lost revenue.

Cap that at 5-6%, and you're talking about $833K to $1M in lost value.

That's why you see the remainder lots trying to hold on to what they have.

Fair enough. I think the city policy of "pushing back" the building line to create a wider sidewalk is ridiculous. None of the retailers should have to give up any space. It should be parking space IN FRONT of those shops that is turned into to sidewalk space. Car parking on a retail street downtown is a waste of space.

@EastVanMark - I'm sure this has been discussed to death on this forum, but the problems Granville had in the past had more to do with Pacific Centre than it being a transit-mall; go check out 3rd street in Santa Monica or Lincoln Ave in Miami beach and I'm sure you'll come away thinking "man, Vancouver could be so much better...."

[connect2source]

Originally Posted by duener

Fair enough. I think the city policy of "pushing back" the building line to create a wider sidewalk is ridiculous. None of the retailers should have to give up any space. It should be parking space IN FRONT of those shops that is turned into to sidewalk space. Car parking on a retail street downtown is a waste of space.

@EastVanMark - I'm sure this has been discussed to death on this forum, but the problems Granville had in the past had more to do with Pacific Centre than it being a transit-mall; go check out 3rd street in Santa Monica or Lincoln Ave in Miami beach and I'm sure you'll come away thinking "man, Vancouver could be so much better...."

Exactly!... also Vancouver in 1973 was a vastly different place with a very different retail environment. When Granville was made into a pedestrian / transit mall it lacked any sort of major retail draw, especially south of Robson which at that time was mostly movie theatres, low end retail, dodgy hotels, arcades and some record stores. It's unfair to expect the same results today, as mentioned Pacific Centre didn't help nor did the blank facade of the Eaton's ( Sears ) store.

[giallo]

Originally Posted by GeeCee

Kelowna!! I've been waiting for so long, haha. I wouldn't be surprised to see them not end up opening which has happened several times in the past.. there was supposed to be a Carl's Jr opening up in Surrey, wasn't there? It ended up becoming an A&W.

CJ is pretty good for fast food. I eat at it in Shanghai occasionally, and I don't feel like — afterwards, so that's a good sign.

I'm curious to see what their Canadian menu will have on it. They're big on developing regional menus.

[SpongeG]

Originally Posted by mr.x

Kinda odd how this is supposedly our main shopping street, yet a Espirit can't even survive there?

esprit pulled out of pacific centre too, no downtown stores now, only in a few malls now

[SpongeG]

I wonder how this will turn out

Vancouver’s Blenz Sues 150 Rioters

Vancouver-based Blenz Coffee Ltd. filed a suit at the B.C. Supreme Court against some 150 unnamed people believed to have participated in the riotous aftermath of the Vancouver Canucks’ loss in the Stanley Cup final game June 15. The suit was filed June 23 by company president George Moen as three Blenz locations were damaged and the culprits caught on camera smashing windows, store signs, equipment and furniture; cash, merchandise and other property also went missing. Blenz is the first downtown Vancouver business to take legal action against the rioters. “We want to make sure our franchisee has full restitution, and we want the rioters to be held accountable. They ruined the lives of our employees and franchisee,” said Moen. A franchisee, two employees and a customer were trapped for more than two hours in the back room of one Blenz store. “They were terrorized for over two hours,” Moen said, adding the store in question won’t reopen for at least three weeks.

http://kostuchmedia.com/thewhatsonreport/59-thewhatsonreport/878-thewhatsonreport-june-27-2011.html

[Conrad Yablonski]

“We want to make sure our franchisee has full restitution, and we want the rioters to be held accountable. They ruined the lives of our employees and franchisee,”

I'm no lawyer but those people's lives were traumatised not ruined.

[EastVanMark]

Originally Posted by duener

@EastVanMark - I'm sure this has been discussed to death on this forum, but the problems Granville had in the past had more to do with Pacific Centre than it being a transit-mall; go check out 3rd street in Santa Monica or Lincoln Ave in Miami beach and I'm sure you'll come away thinking "man, Vancouver could be so much better...."

It could have been discussed here death here, but that doesn't make it true. Pacific Centre development and the redesign of Granville street came hand in hand and was supposed to compliment one another. It failed miserably. Robson Street as we know it today was never "planned" but rather developed all on its own. Business operators then, as they do now I might add, vehemently oppose removal of parking and/or automobile access, so I'll tend to take the word of people actually operating businesses down there as opposed to pie-in-the-sky dreamers on the internet. ...Have never been to Santa Monica, but have been to Lincoln Road outdoor Mall in Miami, and although the actual itself is pedestrian only, there is ample cheap street parking (about $1 an hour; including a multitude of parkades).

[SpongeG]

the bellaggio is finally open and has a large outdoor patio


pic by me

Fresh Slice and A&W at waterfront station (the A&W is open 24 HOURS!)

pic by me

[Built Form]

A third Caya (Come-As-You-Are Telus store) is opening end of the month at 991 Denman Street. And Granville Optical is moving to 670 Granville due to the upcoming demo of their current premises at Robson and Granville.


pic by Built Form

[vancityrox]

Im really surprised that Caya is opening another outlet in Vancouver when they are doing so bad financially. This has got to be the worst idea Telus has ever come up with. What were they thinking? Please close the Howe and Davie location so we can actually open a nice casual resto there with the cute patio not being wasted! geez

[SpongeG]

everytime i have passed the Caya in gastown its empty just a bored employee sitting there, but they have the financing of telus to stay open so I guess they can afford to sit empty

I noticed that old china shop on hastings near that big and tall store has been given a makeover and new store fronts, looks nice but still sitting empty

[Conrad Yablonski]

Originally Posted by vancityrox

Im really surprised that Caya is opening another outlet in Vancouver when they are doing so bad financially......

Telus-"— to be us and the future is dim"

I noticed that old china shop on hastings near that big and tall store has been given a makeover and new store fronts, looks nice but still sitting empty

It's been like that for a few years now.

The Manager of a nearby store (who knows the owner of that building)-told me the owner is quite well off and in no hurry to rent out to just anyone.

[Built Form]

Freedman Shoes at 1151 Robson closed down last month and will be replaced by the Canucks Store.