The Metro Vancouver Retail Thread

[hrhsheba]

Does anyone have any idea who leased the space on Burrard (near Georgia) that was recently vacated by Ports International? The "FOR LEASE" sign switched "LEASED" in less than two days but I've seen no activity in there since.

[officedweller]

Noticed that David's Tea has opened in Pacific Centre - in the mall at Dunsmuir next to the sliding glass doors - apparently open since December.

[SpongeG]

david's tea also opened in lougheed mall - they took over an odd little portion of bootlegger, better use of the space

[officedweller]

Saw the corner door at The Homer open and work going on inside - still a pretty empty space. No clue what is going in.

[Conrad Yablonski]

Originally Posted by officedweller

Noticed that David's Tea has opened in Pacific Centre .

David's is great if you like lukewarm tea-Hey who doesn't like a paper cup of corporate approved lukewarm tea, eh?!

[NewfBC]

Originally Posted by Conrad Yablonski

David's is great if you like lukewarm tea-Hey who doesn't like a paper cup of corporate approved lukewarm tea, eh?!

Yeah.. That must be why Starbucks decided to acquire Teavana.

Ron.

[connect2source]

Just noticed the Nike Store ( New Age Sports ) on the 1100 block of Robson has shut it's doors. Seems the 1100 block is really suffering, needs some redevelopment IMO. The Esprit store has been sitting vacant for an eternity as has the former Shifeon space, the London Drugs complex looks like mostly short term tenants. I believe this block will decline further while the 1000 block will remain strong and Alberni continues it's improvements.

Landlords of the 1100 block need to seriously consider lowering rents and some redevelopments quickly or the change may be permanent. I hope the Robson BIA is actively working with the city and landlords on some sort of game plan.

[officedweller]

My guess is that the Winners, Homesense, renovated Hudson's Bay, Holt Renfrew and new tenants in Pacific Centre are keeping people eastwards. Add to that the loss of HMV/Virgin as an anchor for the area.

BTW - Robson rents are coming down:

Retail garnered some good news from this year’s assessment notices, however.

Robson Street businesses, which had seen rising rents boost property assessments, are now benefiting from a decline in lease rates.

Cushman & Wakefield Ltd. reported last fall that Robson Street rents have been falling, from $240 a square foot in 2011 to a current rate of $220 a square foot. But appraisers are now working with figures between $160 and $180 a square foot.

...

The result has been a 13% drop in the assessed value of 1136 Robson Street, home of Zefferelli’s Spaghetti Joint; a 7% decline in the valuation of 1107 Robson Street, home of retailer Plenty; and a 6% decrease in the valuation of 1160 Robson Street.

When combined with the average increase across commercial properties in the city of 7.5%, many businesses will end up paying at least 12% less in property tax this year than last year. •

http://www.biv.com/article/20130115/BIV0...rbour-mixed-news-for-owners-lower-robson

[connect2source]

Agreed, the improvements further east are outstanding, Granville has done a 180, Gastown is great, many anchors have opted for South Granville instead of Robson which is now highly established and gaining stature ( spent many years as a BIA Board member through much of the transition from local to internation chains ).

Perhaps Robson has run it's course, the city has made no effort to improve street appearance, sidewalks, add furniture, improve lighting and the like. Shop fronts of the 1100 block are dated and retail spaces and sized for the 80's 90's requirements so perhaps we'll move on and not worry about Robson while allowing Alberni, Granville and Pacific Centre to take the lions share of improvements.

[officedweller]

Retail downtown has been distributing itself away from the "high street" model, which Robson represented. Our downtown retail is a bit more dispersed now (although Robson and Granville are still spines).
I wonder what will be opening in the Telus Garden retail space? That will add to the eastwards draw.

Compare that to downtown Seattle, where their downtown retail is concentrated, but seems to be spread across many adjacent streets.

[connect2source]

I love the eastward trend, it's back to where the city centre was intended to be. To me Robson was a 20 year stopgap while Granville Street, Gastown and other areas previously considered the prime shopping districts re-fashioned and reinvented themselves.

I love the dispersed concept, perhaps Alberni will be the focus of the Robson area in the near future. I also love the the flurry of European anchors such as H&M and Topshop, they're 'Robson Killers' plain and simple, and with UNIQLO on the horizon, Granville and Georgia will again become our shopping epicentre, now.. if only London Drug would vanish.

[officedweller]

London Drugs creates a lot more traffic on that corner than any of the former occupants (Birks, Bollum's or Duthie's).
The oddity is that the upstairs theatre space at Vancouver Centre was converted to an ESL school, rather than big box retail (2nd floor and higher ceilings than the basement of The Bay) - but that was before the trend for them to locate downtown.

[Conrad Yablonski]

Originally Posted by officedweller

The oddity is that the upstairs theatre space at Vancouver Centre was converted to an ESL school....

Just saw that yesterday goes to show how big that business is now.

[dreambrother808]

That London Drugs does crazy business. I don't foresee them planning on moving anytime soon. They have made an effort with new signage to fit into the area a bit better. The Starbucks beside it is the busiest in the city. Granville and Georgia has grown in importance in part due to the Canada Line.

[connect2source]

Agreed about the popularity of LD, convenient and great location, just wish our most visible trophy retail location was something more exciting than a drug store, I believe today that space would have attracted something international such as UNIQLO.

[LotusLand]

Wait the Nike Store on Robson closed? When?

[memememe76]

A current complete lack of an entrance to / exit from Pacific Centre on Robson, I think, doesn't help matters either.

[officedweller]

And that has only just happened - so the trend for the next couple of years may see increased alienation/separation of the western Robson strip from Pacific Centre.

And as dreambrother mentions, maybe the shopping district is re-orienting in response to the opening of the Canada Line station.

[connect2source]

Or perhaps it's prime time that the Robson and Downtown BIA's lobby the city to improve the appearance, sidewalks, lighting, street furniture.. of Robson which is non-existant and/or in deplorable condition, it may also motivate landlords and owners on the 1100 block to re-develop, and refashion their spaces to appeal to today's retail needs. I do agree, however, the the eastward trend is unstoppable as there is just too much strength coming online, especially, as officedweller mentioned, the Canada Line influence, which was not present during the last, almost 2 year Eaton's renovation to the eatons/sears store in 1999-2000.

[djh]

Originally Posted by connect2source

Or perhaps it's prime time that the Robson and Downtown BIA's lobby the city to improve the appearance, sidewalks, lighting, street furniture.. of Robson which is non-existant and/or in deplorable condition, it may also motivate landlords and owners on the 1100 block to re-develop, and refashion their spaces to appeal to today's retail needs. I do agree, however, the the eastward trend is unstoppable as there is just too much strength coming online, especially, as officedweller mentioned, the Canada Line influence, which was not present during the last, almost 2 year Eaton's renovation to the eatons/sears store in 1999-2000.

Yeah, I'm generally not too into this trend of running to the government to bail a failing industry out (dodges the bullet here). If it's failing, and it's a private industry, they need to adapt to survive and the market is telling them something.
Perhaps that end of Robson needs to do something that will draw the public first, and that in itself will be the impetus for the city to make changes? Not cart-before-horse to support already hugely successful but bland brands.
(slightly Devil's Advocate here)