Canadian Retail Thread

[SpongeG]

not a very good review but it is a soft opening and it will give target time to get these problems sorted out before it fully opens - sounds like they have a lot of work to do if they want to impress canada

[Shinook]

Meh, Target is nothing but a glorified, Americanized Zellers giving Canadians false hopes of providing American retail prices in Canada. If it's bargains you are looking for, you will still have to make that trip south of the border.

[SpongeG]

i just want to be able to buy mrs meyers soap - thats really all i need and target is one of the few stores who carries the full line, whole foods used to carry it but they stopped a couple years ago

[manny_santos]

Originally Posted by Shinook

Meh, Target is nothing but a glorified, Americanized Zellers giving Canadians false hopes of providing American retail prices in Canada. If it's bargains you are looking for, you will still have to make that trip south of the border.

The way the Canadian dollar has been going, shopping in the U.S. may not be quite as attractive this summer as it has been the past couple of years. For me though, the dollar would have to go back below 75 cents before I would consider buying another pair of running shoes in Canada.

[vid]

Target in the US also sells a line of products featuring the face of Giada de Laurentiis. I am going to fill my home with them. I will build a shrine. It will be awesome.

[SpongeG]

Ottawa store? Simons tweets yes

OTTAWA — Trendy Quebec retailer Simons confirmed in a Twitter message Wednesday that it is coming to Ottawa in 2015.

The message came after widespread but unsourced reports in recent weeks that the retailer would be opening at the Rideau Centre mall around the same time another well-known clothier, Nordstrom, would also open shop.

Simons chief executive officer Peter Simons refused to give interviews on Wednesday.

However, while replying to a comment on Twitter just after noon, the company let the news slip. Twitter user “evermovingKat” posted, “@Simons_eng (the company’s official Twitter account) coming to the #Ottawa Rideau Centre! … in 2015.”

The company’s account responded: “We’re very happy! See you soon.”

Cindy VanBuskirk, general manager of the Rideau Centre, would neither confirm or deny that Simons is moving in.

Where Simons will locate within the Rideau Centre is unclear. The mall is preparing for two major projects, a renovation of its existing space and a proposed expansion. The two projects could represent $250 million worth of construction at the iconic downtown shopping centre.

VanBuskirk said plans for the renovation of the existing mall, which will move the food court to the area underneath the old Sears store and make way for Nordstrom, are moving along, but the expansion is on hold while the mall waits for proper approvals. The City of Ottawa has still not granted approval for the expansion, but more important, the board of directors for Cadillac Fairview, which owns the mall, has not yet approved the expansion. VanBuskirk said the board is expected to make a decision in June.


...

Read more: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Ottawa+store+Simons+tweets/8160819/story.html#ixzz2OmPxBzZT

[SpongeG]

Target Canada president says Canada-U.S. price parity not in the cards for new stores


By Hollie Shaw, CD Out - All March 27, 2013

Target Canada president Tony Fisher addressed Tuesday the sticker shock gripping some consumers who expected the retailer’s prices would be on par with its U.S. stores when it opened outlets across the country this month.

The hot-button issue of Canada-vs.-U.S. retail pricing was the subject of a Senate committee report this year and resurfaced in last week’s federal budget when the government announced it would drop tariffs on hockey gear and baby clothing.

Fisher told a Canadian Club of Toronto luncheon that Target, which has opened 20 stores in Ontario since the beginning of the month, knew it would have to open stores that would be competitive with other retailers operating in the Canadian market, whether they be U.S.- or Canadian-owned.

“We built this business model to be successful in Canada,” he said, which involved a detailed business analysis of what it takes to compete in the local marketplace alongside other large retailers — most notably, key U.S. rival Walmart.

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Read more: http://www.canada.com/Target+Canada+pres...+stores/8155301/story.html#ixzz2OmQMdWxA

[MTLskyline]

The first hr2 store opened Thursday at Quartier Dix30 in Brossard.


http://www.edmontonjournal.com/business/Holt+Renfrew+opens+first+store+Canada/8166272/story.html

[miketoronto]

I really don't see the price difference that much between Canada and the USA. I am living in the USA for work at the moment, and I have looked at the exact same products in both countries. The result I have found is that the prices are almost identical.

In fact I find fresh food more expensive in the USA. A bunch of rapini cost $3.50 here in the USA, compared to $1.50 in Toronto.

As for Target, I never got the obsession with it. It is a place to go buy soap and other items of that nature. Not a place for a day out shopping. Unless you count shopping for soap and brooms fun.
Target's clothes suck and have no style at all.

[SpongeG]

i know mrs meyers soap is $3.99 in the states if you can find it in canada it sells for $7.99 - not very many stores carry it, whole foods and superstore used to carry it but the price was double that of the states

i like target for reasons i can't explain, i love the designer collections like nate berkus and dwell etc.

[miketoronto]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

i know mrs meyers soap is $3.99 in the states if you can find it in canada it sells for $7.99 - not very many stores carry it, whole foods and superstore used to carry it but the price was double that of the states

i like target for reasons i can't explain, i love the designer collections like nate berkus and dwell etc.

I think Canadians just think because something is American it is better.

The truth is that American stores used to be great, but really are not anymore.
To see amazing stores you have to go to Europe or Asia.
We just don't know how to do it in North America anymore, except for some of the big cities.

Target is just a renamed Zellers, Woolworths, Woolco, etc. It is no different. Just a good place to get home essentials, and little else.

[SpongeG]

its fun though
me and my friend can spend hours in a target store

i find food prices to be about the same a bag of chips and a case of pop are ususally priced the same or more down there, i can only compare wa state prices - but they do have a better coupon system which can save you loads, my old coworker lived in the states and loved coupon shopping down there some items would be like 90% off after coupons

[Innsertnamehere]

Originally Posted by miketoronto

I really don't see the price difference that much between Canada and the USA. I am living in the USA for work at the moment, and I have looked at the exact same products in both countries. The result I have found is that the prices are almost identical.

In fact I find fresh food more expensive in the USA. A bunch of rapini cost $3.50 here in the USA, compared to $1.50 in Toronto.

As for Target, I never got the obsession with it. It is a place to go buy soap and other items of that nature. Not a place for a day out shopping. Unless you count shopping for soap and brooms fun.
Target's clothes suck and have no style at all.

That's what I have found with the US as well. Food is expensive as hell unless its a fast food joint, but everything else seems to be cheaper. (with obvious exceptions in certain places)

[isaidso]

You can eat quite cheaply in Canada if you know where to shop, it's other goods where we get ripped off. Retailers have nothing to gain from agreeing that we're being fleeced. They'll argue till they're blue in the face that the prices need to be as high as they're at.

They made a similar argument in the UK. The British said no, and the retail industry buckled. Canadians are far too used to doing as they're told and not rocking the boat. Retailers charge us more because we let them. We're door mats.

Bilingual labeling, different regulations, and taxation should only add marginally to the price of a good, perhaps 2-3%. We're supposed to have a common market with the United States. Sending a product north a further 100km should not equate to the prices that we see in our stores. The 20-30-40-50% premium we pay for many things is ridiculous.

[SpongeG]

grande prarie, AB - is getting a new shopping place not really a centre i guess a strip mall or a retail development will have homesense, pier 1, bed bath & beyond, bouclair home, osh kosh, carters, bulk barn and a few other stores i couldn't really remember the names of - and target's store exterior looks complete, all signage is up

[manny_santos]

Originally Posted by isaidso

Bilingual labeling, different regulations, and taxation should only add marginally to the price of a good, perhaps 2-3%. We're supposed to have a common market with the United States. Sending a product north a further 100km should not equate to the prices that we see in our stores. The 20-30-40-50% premium we pay for many things is ridiculous.

Bilingual labeling should make no difference, especially for companies that sell their product in many countries. Coca-Cola for example: one label for Canada, one for the United States, one for Mexico, and so forth. And yet, including tax, a bottle of Coca-Cola in Mexico is typically about a third of the price of the typical price in Ontario (approximately 82 cents vs. $2.25) - and that's with HST being lower than Mexican VAT. The price difference is mostly due to labour costs, and Canadians' willingness to pay more.

[vid]

Products for Canada and the US get completely reformulated, not just because we have different food regulations, but also because we have different tastes. The different ingredients will affect the costs of simply making the product. Throw in the fact that it's produced locally (and labour does cost more in Canada) and that's the major source of price discrepancies in food products. Canadian-made food is made by Canadians, and Canadians are paid more than Mexicans and Americans for low-wage work. And even if the recipe is the same, we have different labelling requirements for the same thing. In Canada, High Fructose Corn Syrup is supposed to be called Glucose-Fructose, even though it's the exact same thing.

Making labelling bilingual really isn't a major issue, even with labelling regulations. CFIA wants at minimum, 6pt font for ingredients and allergy information, and a full nutrition panel and country of origin, and clear product description on all food products, in both official languages. It can be tricky to accomplish that, but once you've got a basic template down (and that process, which is part of my job, can take a few hours of experimentation to get something that meets those regulations and the customer's expectations) any modifications or expansions to the product line are quite simple to implement. And considering that packaging changes quite often (with seasons, for holidays, or for promotions), a company like Coca Cola would be incurring more design and plate charges for those promotions than they would for the bilingual aspect of the labelling.

The fact that we have two official languages really doesn't show up on the bottom line when it comes to labelling products; it's the customer service aspect. But then for a global company like Coca-Cola, they're going to have to provide service in French for the market in France anyway. If they're in the Quebec market, they're going to hire people in Quebec, and those people will speak French, and provide service in French, just as English speakers would in English parts of Canada or the US. In the Southern US (and increasingly, all of it) packaging is often in English and Spanish (or sometimes English, French and Spanish for export to the entire NAFTA area) and the Spanish speaking labour force in the US is used to provide service to Spanish speakers.

Products in Europe are crazy with their labelling. I live near a Polish deli and use their products a lot; the ingredients lists often cover close to 50% of the label and is in at least 8, sometimes as much as 22, languages, in a font size that is nearly impossible to read.

[casper]

Originally Posted by manny_santos

Bilingual labeling should make no difference, especially for companies that sell their product in many countries. Coca-Cola for example: one label for Canada, one for the United States, one for Mexico, and so forth. And yet, including tax, a bottle of Coca-Cola in Mexico is typically about a third of the price of the typical price in Ontario (approximately 82 cents vs. $2.25) - and that's with HST being lower than Mexican VAT. The price difference is mostly due to labour costs, and Canadians' willingness to pay more.

It comes down to what the market is willing to pay. Safeway will charge differences prices at different locations in the same city. The main reason is the local competition that is near the store and how low the prices have to go to be competitive. At some point the price becomes so low that you can't make a reasonable (or unreasonable) profit and you have to pull out.

In Mexico, the delivery truck driver the delivery the product to the store, that wholesaler that sell the product to the local supermarket, the staff that work in the local supermarket stocking shelves etc. makes a lot less in Mexico that they would working in Canada. The cost of advertising the product on television is going to be lower.

[SpongeG]

hopefully retail insider is reading this - on your blog it says this... wtf? is nordstorm going in at sherway or square one?

Nordstrom will have less upscale competition at Sherway Gardens, however, as Nordstrom will leave Sherway for a new 120,000 sqaure foot store at Mississauga's Square One Shopping Centre.

[miketoronto]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

hopefully retail insider is reading this - on your blog it says this... wtf? is nordstorm going in at sherway or square one?

Nordstorm will be at Sherway. Holt Renfrew is leaving Sherway for Square One.

Holt Renfrew is a great upscale store, and defiantly more upscale than Nordstrom.
I fear however that Holt Renfrew is going to start watering down its brand with expansion to places like Square One, etc.
They should really just focus on building a nice downtown flagship, and forget having branches everywhere.
You don't see fancy European department stores operate branch stores.

It just loses its style if it can be found in too many places in the region.


I also don't like the suburban focus on the new wave of retail expansion. This is defiantly a more American stye of growth. I don't think we have ever seen so many new to the market stores, or expansion start out in the suburbs, instead of downtown. Our downtowns are really losing out in this expansion of retail.
More than ever before there is going to be more reasons to go the suburbs than downtown for many shoppers. Particularly in cities like Calgary where malls like Chinook are taking all the big name stores. Lets hope Holt Renfrew services in the downtown location.