Halifax Retail

[-Harlington-]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

I naturally disagree with this approach to retailing.....

It is true as far as tourism and such though, different cities have different things that different people may want

Halifax has this as does Moncton and many other cities

It 🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵 for some people but thats what helps certain cities and it can be good for others, lol

[icetea93]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

I naturally disagree with this approach to retailing.....

Haha I don't blame you (if you want to see these stores in Moncton). Maybe we will see a store in Moncton, you never know. I know they like large university populations and high income cities, but it really surprises me that they have stayed away from the French language (Montreal at over 4 million people, does not have an A&F/Hollister). That may be a large roadblock for Moncton getting a store since it has a relatively large french population, but I heard that Canadian stores are making up to three times more than their American counterparts so they may want a bigger piece of the Canadian market once they expand into their choice cities.

[MonctonRad]

I don't want to hijack this thread but A&F have stores in smaller market cities in the US. There's an A&F in Bangor for cripes sake.

I realize that they want to start in the larger regional markets in Canada but there very well may be some growth into mid sized cities at some point down the road.

I think your point about American retailers being spooked by the francophone market is quite valid. Moncton however is majority English (2/3rds) and this shouldn't be an issue.

The French fact in Moncton can sometimes be an advantage. There are Quebec based retailers who have set up shop here who haven't yet come to Halifax. The same is true for some European chains. H&M set up shop in Moncton before Halifax. It was just announced this week that a new men's jean store (Jack & Jones) is setting up in Champlain soon. It's a European chain whose Canadian presence is mostly in Quebec, with a few stores in Ontario. This will be their first North American store outside Central Canada.

Now back to your regularly scheduled Halifax retail thread.....

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by icetea93

it really surprises me that they have stayed away from the French language (Montreal at over 4 million people, does not have an A&F/Hollister). That may be a large roadblock for Moncton getting a store since it has a relatively large french population, .

If they are staying away from the "French" aspect in Quebec it is probably due to the legal requirements for doing business in French there, and has nothing to do with the demographics.

Although I guess Champlain Place is in Dieppe and that bylaws there would likely require them to have at least some bilingual signs in the store. But other than that they could operate their store in Dieppe (Moncton) completely in English like they do elsewhere in Canada and the U.S. Something they could not do in Montreal.

[icetea93]

A&F/Hollister like to open in cities with upscale tenants (Coach, Banana Republic, Club Monaco, Swarovski, BCBG, Lululemon athletica, etc. in Halifax). Moncton doesn't seem to get the upscale stores, they seem to get the more affordable type fashion stores like H&M and Old Navy first, and sometimes woman's cosmetics stores like Yves Rocher.

A&F/Hollister are commonplace in the United States. They also took a huge hit by other retailers like Aeropostale a few years back and decided to expand internationally into only the highest profile shopping centres in their chosen markets in order to grow as a company and become upscale and highly sought-after.

I have no doubt that Moncton could support an A&F/Hollister store, but their requirements for a store just don't seem to be in Moncton's favour for the near future anyway.

That said, you are right about the french/european stores opening in Moncton (ex: Jack & Jones). I would love to see a Simons store open in Moncton, I would definitely visit the store when I can.

Another reason that these stores are opening in Moncton first could be available space as well, Mic Mac is completely full with tenants (except the Toys R Us space that is too large for most retailers) and Halifax Shopping Centre is trying to bring only the most popular stores to the market (Sephora, Hollister) and may have passed on other, less big-name retailers. I know spacing was the reason Hollister opened here before Ottawa because they have been looking for a top quality space in Ottawa malls for years now.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by icetea93

A&F/Hollister like to open in cities with upscale tenants (Coach, Banana Republic, Club Monaco, Swarovski, BCBG, Lululemon athletica, etc. in Halifax). Moncton doesn't seem to get the upscale stores, they seem to get the more affordable type fashion stores like H&M and Old Navy first, and sometimes woman's cosmetics stores like Yves Rocher.

A&F/Hollister are commonplace in the United States. They also took a huge hit by other retailers like Aeropostale a few years back and decided to expand internationally into only the highest profile shopping centres in their chosen markets in order to grow as a company and become upscale and highly sought-after.

I have no doubt that Moncton could support an A&F/Hollister store, but their requirements for a store just don't seem to be in Moncton's favour for the near future anyway.

That said, you are right about the french/european stores opening in Moncton (ex: Jack & Jones). I would love to see a Simons store open in Moncton, I would definitely visit the store when I can.

Another reason that these stores are opening in Moncton first could be available space as well, Mic Mac is completely full with tenants (except the Toys R Us space that is too large for most retailers) and Halifax Shopping Centre is trying to bring only the most popular stores to the market (Sephora, Hollister) and may have passed on other, less big-name retailers. I know spacing was the reason Hollister opened here before Ottawa because they have been looking for a top quality space in Ottawa malls for years now.

Interesting also is that H&M does not have a store in Ottawa, even though the Ottawa-Gatineau metro area is 10 times the size of metro Moncton!

[icetea93]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Interesting also is that H&M does not have a store in Ottawa, even though the Ottawa-Gatineau metro area is 10 times the size of metro Moncton!

I agree. There are a few stores through-out Atlantic Canada that are not as prominent elsewhere for some reason.

Ex: Aeropostale has 6 stores in Atlantic Canada:
Halifax (2)
Moncton
Saint John
Fredericton
St. John's

Aeropostale opened their first store in Winnipeg this year (when Halifax had 2). I have no idea what the reason was but the only thing that comes to my mind when brands open in smaller markets first is that the required retail space is not available in the larger city.

There are other factors too like the size of the surrounding area (population that the store will serve, and with Halifax that number is much larger than its approximate 410 000 population due to it being the only large city in NS, probably closer to 700 000-750 000). Some stores only open in certain regions, like the Olive Garden only has restaurants in Winnipeg, Calgary, and Edmonton for some reason (none in Toronto ?!). Some stores also look at the mall and see if it is a suitable home for their brand. If the mall is run-down then they may pass on opening a store there.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by icetea93

I agree. There are a few stores through-out Atlantic Canada that are not as prominent elsewhere for some reason.

Ex: Aeropostale has 6 stores in Atlantic Canada:
Halifax (2)
Moncton
Saint John
Fredericton
St. John's

Aeropostale opened their first store in Winnipeg this year (when Halifax had 2). I have no idea what the reason was but the only thing that comes to my mind when brands open in smaller markets first is that the required retail space is not available in the larger city.

There are other factors too like the size of the surrounding area (population that the store will serve, and with Halifax that number is much larger than its approximate 410 000 population due to it being the only large city in NS, probably closer to 700 000-750 000). Some stores only open in certain regions, like the Olive Garden only has restaurants in Winnipeg, Calgary, and Edmonton for some reason (none in Toronto ?!). Some stores also look at the mall and see if it is a suitable home for their brand. If the mall is run-down then they may pass on opening a store there.

Good points. BTW Aeropostale has no stores in Quebec, not even in Montreal. Note that in spite of its name Aeropostale is not a French company at all, but is New York-based I think.

[icetea93]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Good points. BTW Aeropostale has no stores in Quebec, not even in Montreal. Note that in spite of its name Aeropostale is not a French company at all, but is New York-based I think.

Wow I was not aware that they did not have stores in Quebec at all. That is shocking considering they are a very fast-expanding brand that seemed to just explode into Canada...

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by icetea93

Wow I was not aware that they did not have stores in Quebec at all. That is shocking considering they are a very fast-expanding brand that seemed to just explode into Canada...

It's probably due to the language/translation requirements that they don't have any stores in Quebec. You do see people wearing Aéropostale in Quebec though, because of course people from Quebec go shopping when they are in Ottawa (at least those in Gatineau) or U.S. states like NY, NH, VT, NJ, ME and FL.

[icetea93]

Random note:

I heard that the Hollister store in Halifax is currently the 3rd highest grossing Hollister store in the world based on sales figures. The only two stores ahead of it are the New York flagship and brand new Hong Kong flagship (meaning our's is the highest grossing non-flagship Hollister store in the world right now). This is incredible! Still had 1.5 hour waits to get to the cashier today, 5 days after it opened!

[MonctonRad]

That's funny

It obviously won't last but maybe it will help convince A&F of the viability of their brands out here in the colonies......

[icetea93]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

That's funny

It obviously won't last but maybe it will help convince A&F of the viability of their brands out here in the colonies......

Very true, and hopefully it'll convince them to open their other brands soon in Halifax. And no obviously sales won't remain this outstanding but I fully expect this store to be above average in sales.

[Acajack]

Interesting that you are getting all of these retailers in the Maritimes.

FYI - Hollister is absent from the Ottawa-Gatineau, Montreal and Quebec City markets. As is Abercrombie and Fitch.

[Antigonish]

Could someone tell me if that North Face store in downtown is open yet? Need to buy a jacket next week lol

[haligonia]

Yep, it's open.

[alps]

Eastlink store in the former Dairy Queen space is now open.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by alps

Eastlink store in the former Dairy Queen space is now open.

How does the new store look? I haven't seen any photos of it.

There were plans for an "L"-shaped building around the old DQ site. Hopefully that will happen and look reasonable.

Either way both SGR and Barrington are getting some much-needed improvements these days.

[alps]

Originally Posted by someone123

How does the new store look? I haven't seen any photos of it.

I haven't looked too closely but I think it looks fine, nothing too exciting. The building has been entirely reclad in a purpley blue siding, possibly fibre cement. The interior looked a bit rough and I don't think it's completely finished. I'll try to get a photo!

[Phalanx]

It looks a little better than it did as the DQ, but that's not saying much. Kind of torn on the idea of an L-shaped building for the vacant lot - it would have been really nice for the DQ site to have been incorporated, but... yeah, that's not happening now. It's just that if the other building gets built, we're stuck with the current, awkward corner. If the corner lot ever is properly redeveloped, they're stuck with the existing DQ building footprint, which isn't very big for a modern building on a fairly prominent corner. That said, that vacant lot needs to be filled in soon.