The Metro Vancouver Retail Thread

[mr.x]

Kerrisdale can also be a traffic nightmare, at least west of Arbutus during rush hour and weekends. Just saying.

Fundamentally, people like indoor shopping a lot more. This is Vancouver, it's cold and rains 2/3rds of the year. You've also got a lot more options at malls, so one trip makes good use of your time, and prices are generally lower because of economies of scale (and more sales). And in this day and age, ma & pa shops aren't what they used to be - people like their brands and franchises.

The only hope of saving retail villages is to further increase residential density around it. I live near West Point Grey Village, and in the couple last few years many shops have closed down - some have relocated to denser areas including malls, others closed down completely. I foresee the same decline happening on West 4th over the next few years, although restaurants in retail villages will remain being strong.

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by itinerant

Tom only characterized a change in his neighbourhood clientelle and "the people who live here now... want to shop in Richmond". If that means asian, it is inferred by you and others on the thread; not him.

I read that as Asian too.

Only because Richmond, as a shopping destination, is really only known for Asian malls. Richmond isn't really known for discount stores (Winners, Homesense) even though they are there. It's not known for high end stores either (and if so, he would have said they shop at Oakridge (just down the road), not Richmond.

Being a home store, he could have meant IKEA, but being only one store he could have said "IKEA" unless he was comcerned about naming it.

So in my view, he meant Asian (or IKEA).

[itinerant]

Originally Posted by officedweller

I read that as Asian too.

He also mentioned Target at Oakridge.

I think Tom and Brent's customer likes interesting, beautiful, things that are quite precious--and their store catered to that nicely. Broadly speaking, perhaps the point he was driving at was that that his customer didn't shop in Kerrisdale anymore, and perhaps didn't live there anymore either. Time for them to make a decision about whether it still made business sense for them to stay there, and they made it.

So, who lives in Kerrisdale now and shops in Richmond? Well, it might be that he meant asian immigrants who prefer to live in a tony neighbourhood and shop at Yaohan. But it might also mean that he thinks the neighbourhood is younger with families, and that they prefer trips to the mall over walks to the high street to buy $10 French milled lavender soaps.

[officedweller]

Yeah, could also be a generic snotty "they're middle class (or house-poor) and shop in the suburbs". This could tie into the Target reference, as Target isn't a high end store (i.e. not his customer base). He should move to South Granville.

[GeeCee]

I was thinking of Ikea more than anywhere else in particular with the Richmond reference.

[mezzanine]

Originally Posted by itinerant

So, who lives in Kerrisdale now and shops in Richmond? Well, it might be that he meant asian immigrants who prefer to live in a tony neighbourhood and shop at Yaohan. But it might also mean that he thinks the neighbourhood is younger with families, and that they prefer trips to the mall over walks to the high street to buy $10 French milled lavender soaps.

So when he calls these people less like neighbours and more like "space aliens" does he mean both groups?

[officedweller]

Letter to Editor from the Courier - maybe it was a reference to Richmond's Winners & Homesense:

Hobbs' closure sad, but not surprising

Vancouver Courier
December 12, 2012

To the editor:

Re: "Lack of customers, high rents force Hobbs to close," Dec. 7.

I sympathize with Thomas Hobbs but the reasons he gives for having to close his business are not new to me and other former business owners. I owned and operated a retail business from 1980 to 1991. High rents and property taxes, competition from Oakridge, theft and finally the GST were problems that I encountered. Customers preferred to buy sale items from Woodwards and they complained if the prices for the children's clothing in my store were higher. They were not interested in high end, imported clothing. They simply wanted bargains.

Now, 21 years later I choose to pay $25 for a name brand clothing item at Winners rather than $80 for the same item at a local store. I can also buy a bar of Italian soap at Winners for $6 instead of $12 or $14 at the local boutique. Most people I know are very familiar with prices and don't like to pay twice the amount if they don't have to. It's not that we "don't want to buy beautiful dishes, or candles or nice soap." Winners and Home Sense (not only located in Richmond) have become very popular because of their competitive prices, fast turnover and creative display.

I enjoyed shopping at the Hobbs gift shop when I visited Kerrisdale and am sorry that it will close.

Read more: http://www.vancourier.com/Hobbs+closure+surprising/7686633/story.html#ixzz2Esmk5TAe

[memememe76]

But Vancouver has Winners and Homesense.

[Sir Conga]

Originally Posted by mezzanine

So when he calls these people less like neighbours and more like "space aliens" does he mean both groups?

I'm pretty sure he is saying the "pedestrians" aren't old WASPs. Others can defend this guy all they want, but fact is, these quotes are horrible. If a statement you make can easily be taken as bigoted... maybe it's not the right thing to say.

[SpongeG]

Originally Posted by memememe76

But Vancouver has Winners and Homesense.

yeah but you have to find parking and pay for it - in richmond its plentiful and free

[hollywoodnorth]

the ex BREAD GARDEN space on Bute at Robson has finally been leased. work is going on inside ... no signs yet. I will call it as a McDonalds ...... anyone?

also CHIPOTLE OPENS TODAY AT 11 AM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YES! (howe at robson)

[wrenegade]

Aritzia will be building their largest store in Canada, a two level flagship (similar to 2 of their stores in New York), at the new Park Royal Village expansion.

[Spork]

I was in NYC recently for work, and a coworker mentioned to me that "this great new store from Canada opened up here... A-something". Sure enough, she was referring to Aritzia. She was also surprised to hear that Lululemon is from Vancouver and Aldo is from Canada as well. I was going to ask her if she know what "TD" stands for as well, but held off, as our gradual takeover of the US is best left unknown.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by mezzanine

So when he calls these people less like neighbours and more like "space aliens" does he mean both groups?

Or maybe he just means people who aren't really neighbours but just astronauts who visit a few months a year and pay gardeners to do their low maintenance landscaping.

It's no secret many homes in the area are empty much of the time, Peter Ladner wrote about it in BIV a few months ago. Sorry if that offends some people's delicate demographic sensibilities.

[sacrifice333]

Originally Posted by Spork

I was in NYC recently for work, and a coworker mentioned to me that "this great new store from Canada opened up here... A-something". Sure enough, she was referring to Aritzia. She was also surprised to hear that Lululemon is from Vancouver and Aldo is from Canada as well. I was going to ask her if she know what "TD" stands for as well, but held off, as our gradual takeover of the US is best left unknown.

Love it. LOL

[LeftCoaster]

TD actually has more branches in the US now than Canada.

[officedweller]

From Retail Insider:

The Hudson's Bay Company will concentrate on five private-lable brands, while dumping 20 under-performing private-label brands. It wants to increase private label sales from a current 9% to 15% of sales by 2017. By next Fall, the only in-house brands at Hudson's Bay will be:

1) Hudson's Bay Company Signature,
2) Lord & Taylor,
3) 1670
4) Gluckstein Home and
5) Black Brown 1826.

Private label brands are twice as profitable as carrying designer brands. They're also 'exclusive' (not found elsewhere), potentially benefitting a retailer if popular.

Hudson's Bay Company Signature is the somewhat pricey Hudson's Bay striped merchandise label carried at selected Hudson's Bay stores, selected Lord & Taylor stores in the US and at the two new Hudson's Bay airport stores we previously discussed.

1670 will be an entirely new label to be launched autumn 2013. It will feature contemporary men's and women's fashions at 'moderate price-points' according to an industry insider who had little other information.

The Lord & Taylor and Black Brown 1826 labels hail from Hudson's Bay-owned Lord & Taylor. Lord & Taylor is an upscale American department store chain often compared to the likes of Nordstrom (and a notch above Hudson's Bay, price-wise).

Gone will be such labels as Alfani, Expression, INC, Hudson North, MOON, Hudson Room, and others. In all, 20 in-store labels will be discontinued.

Private-label merchandise has done well at Macy's in the US, making up about 20% of Macy's sales.

Source: Insider X, Globe & Mail.

http://www.retail-insider.com/

I always thought it was odd seeing Alfani and INC - because those are Macy's house brands, aren't they?

[Sir Conga]

.

[204]

Originally Posted by Sir Conga

I'm pretty sure he is saying the "pedestrians" aren't old WASPs. Others can defend this guy all they want, but fact is, these quotes are horrible. If a statement you make can easily be taken as bigoted... maybe it's not the right thing to say.

You read into it what you want to read into it. Who are you offended on behalf of?

[204]

Originally Posted by officedweller

I read that as Asian too.

Wow. Then maybe you need to recognize your own prejudices.