[Moncton] Retail Thread

[stephan.richard]

Originally Posted by OliverD

I don't understand why people go to Bangor, the shopping there isn't great. I'd just drive a couple hours further to Freeport/Portland/Kittery.

But Bangor is a hop skip and a jump from nearly all points in the Maritimes either VIA the I-95 and the Route 9 that they call the airline route. But my personal preference would be to support the local Moncton economy but its the price on many merchandise that draws me to that area,

[lukepaa]

Originally Posted by NBNYer

That proposed development at the corner of McLaughlin and Morton would be a good spot. Could that be the rumor?

There's also the rumored Shediac Starbucks.

I hadn't heard the one in Shediac...but I have heard about one in the shoppers/igloo parking lot...although the development on the corner or McLaughlin/Morton would make more sense...if indeed it ever happens...I'm not holding my breath on this one.

[NBNYer]

Originally Posted by lukepaa

I hadn't heard the one in Shediac...but I have heard about one in the shoppers/igloo parking lot...although the development on the corner or McLaughlin/Morton would make more sense...if indeed it ever happens...I'm not holding my breath on this one.

Someone on here had mentioned that there may be a Starbucks as part of the Hotel Shediac development.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by cbujold

Kinda disagreeing with you boys regarding Mode Choc. They need traffic down there and this store which sell cheaper clothes and stuff may just be what brings shoppers down in that area. I was at the Bowring store last week and the staff were telling me it had been dead all summer. Very little traffic and they hope it picks up pretty soon. The more stores the busier it will be for everybody. Mode Choc is new so people will check it out. Quebec companies are known for their fashion flair so who knows it may do well in Moncton. Money is tight right now and people are looking for bargains.

Interesting expasion strategy for Mode Choc, with stores only in Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean and Quebec City at the moment, but choosing to go to Moncton instead of highly-populated points west of there in Quebec.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Interesting expasion strategy for Mode Choc, with stores only in Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean and Quebec City at the moment, but choosing to go to Moncton instead of highly-populated points west of there in Quebec.

Indeed.

The Mapleton Centre in Moncton may be desperate. You never know, maybe they gave Mode Choc an offer they couldn't refuse, something like free rent for a couple of years....

Just joking of course........

[Demeshio]

Anybody hear the speculations going on about the land that was cleared at the corner of Elmwood and TC HWY 2? I was told that a Costco will be built at this location. Any truth to this rumor?

[Hogie75]

Originally Posted by Demeshio

Anybody hear the speculations going on about the land that was cleared at the corner of Elmwood and TC HWY 2? I was told that a Costco will be built at this location. Any truth to this rumor?

as far as I have heard it is going to be Home hardware moving there (from further up Elmwood Drive) and a Grocery store (I have heard anything from Co-op to Superstore).

[David_99]

Originally Posted by Demeshio

Anybody hear the speculations going on about the land that was cleared at the corner of Elmwood and TC HWY 2? I was told that a Costco will be built at this location. Any truth to this rumor?

The latest Costco re-location rumour I heard went from the Day&Ross land to the area behind the Hilton on the other side of the highway.

[Good2go]

Originally Posted by bigrivernb

DQ in under renovations in the mall to accommodate the Orange Julius as one unit...so that leads to the question....anyone have Ideals on what will open where Orange Julius is now?? I have speculation that it will be Thai express...thoughts??

Close - the building permit says Ruby Thai Kitchen is moving into that spot.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Good2go

Close - the building permit says Ruby Thai Kitchen is moving into that spot.

Here is the website with their menu:

http://www.irg168.com/rubythai.html

This will be a "new to region" store. They have a number of locations in the US (especially California), and are present in both Ontario and Alberta. This will be only their sixth location (so far) in Canada.

[OUIR@random]

Ruby Thai is a great addition to the food court at Champlain Place!!!

[MonctonRad]

I was doing some sleuthing on the web last night and found a little tidbit from one of the outsourcing companies that Target deals with.

It seemed to confirm that the NB Target locations will be opening in November. It didn't say when in November, but if they want to maximize business in the pre-Christmas period, I would presume it would be no later than November 15th.

The Moncton Target store is pretty much finished, except for exterior signage and interior fixtures. If they put their minds to it, it probably wouldn't take much more than a couple of weeks to finish everything off.......

[stephan.richard]

Originally Posted by David_99

The latest Costco re-location rumour I heard went from the Day&Ross land to the area behind the Hilton on the other side of the highway.

Did You nean behind the Hampton Inn or behind the Farfield Inn in Dieppe. But then What would happen to the older Costco location could that be bought out by Wal Mart for them to roll out Sams Club in the Moncton area.

Another Gut feeling that I am getting also is that when "Claude Williams/ John Betts High school opens up that that section of Elmwood drive MAY boom with restaurants popping up there shops annd more residential developpements. But on that only time will tell.

On Champlain place speculations has anyone hear what might be going into the old Signal location accross from Timothies at the mall?

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by stephan.richard

Did You nean behind the Hampton Inn or behind the Farfield Inn in Dieppe. But then What would happen to the older Costco location could that be bought out by Wal Mart for them to roll out Sams Club in the Moncton area.

The hot rumour (which had some credence) was that Costco was very close to a deal for the Day & Ross depot on Mapleton Rd, but that deal apparently has fallen through. The other location that David mentioned is, I believe on the other side of the overpass next to the Hampton Inn (a Hilton brand). I have no information on that and this is news to me. There is land available for sale next to the Hampton Inn, but the lot looks too small for Costco.....

I'm not sure what would happen to the old Costco location if they move. It would be a huge loss for Wheeler Park if Costco moved. Costco is their principle anchor tenant. As for Sam's Club - that's not going to happen. Walmart opened a few of those in Ontario several years back and then closed them. Sam's has abandoned the Canadian market.

Originally Posted by stephan.richard

Another Gut feeling that I am getting also is that when "Claude Williams/ John Betts High school opens up that that section of Elmwood drive MAY boom with restaurants popping up there shops annd more residential developpements. But on that only time will tell.

I suspect that you are at least partially correct. New streets are being constructed at Royal Oaks and there is a new "rural estates" type subdivision going in right across from the entrance to the new high school. Home Hardware is relocating their Elmwood Drive store north of the TCH and this development will also apparently include a grocery store (possibly a Co-op). I am dubious about the value of further sprawl in this neighbourhood however. It would have been more appropriate to encourage infill south of the TCH rather that hopping the highway.

Originally Posted by stephan.richard

On Champlain place speculations has anyone hear what might be going into the old Signal location accross from Timothies at the mall?

No idea on that one. The only question marks at Champlain Place are the old Signal location and what will happen to the current Laura Secord/Bizou/Fruits & Passion location. Since these three stores are adjacent to each other and on the most prominent corner in the mall, you can bet that CF must have a high profile tenant lined up for this spot........

[josh_cat_eyes]

On the CF floor plan of the mall, they have nothing listed at the former signal spot. Presumably it's for lease. The one thing I don't like about that end of the mall is how they put H&M and Gap right across from each other down that hallway so there is no other store fronts. If it were not for Boathouse, Urban Planet, H&M and Sport Chek, I don't think I'd ever venture to that end of the mall. Maybe it's an undesired location right now?

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by josh_cat_eyes

On the CF floor plan of the mall, they have nothing listed at the former signal spot. Presumably it's for lease.

There is a longstanding "tradition" at Champlain Place of keeping one storefront empty, which allows any pre-existing tenant someplace to move to if they are planning on renovating. CF therefore might not be actively marketing this spot.

Originally Posted by josh_cat_eyes

The one thing I don't like about that end of the mall is how they put H&M and Gap right across from each other down that hallway so there is no other store fronts. If it were not for Boathouse, Urban Planet, H&M and Sport Chek, I don't think I'd ever venture to that end of the mall. Maybe it's an undesired location right now?

There is some truth to what you are saying. This wing of the mall certainly has a different feel to it than other sections do. Having said this though, the tenants are good quality ones (you forgot Eddie Bauer) and I don't think it's a major problem.......

[cbujold]

I was at our Costco store yesterday talking to a long time employee. He said that they were aware of all the rumours and that Costco did buy land but they have absolutely no intention of moving as they just put $7M in store renovations and Moncton is far off having a 2nd Costco. He did say however that they have to do something with the parking lot as it is a mess. It is not unusual for big companies to buy land in strategic locations when available and hang on for years. Irving has done that forever.

[Norshorer]

Wal-Mart Champlain Place
Drove past there this afternoon. They've got the new updated Wal-Mart logo installed outside (you know... the one that's supposed to have a yellow daisy/star/exploding starfish/WhateverTheHellThatIs next to the text) but they still have the word "Supercentre" covered-up with a blue tarp, so I'm guessing they're still a few weeks away from having the interior sections finished. From what I could see, the automotive service bay doors have been replaced with new glass windows which leads me to believe they've gotten rid of their garage area to make room for the expansion (think this was confirmed a few posts back?).

Wal-Mart Plaza Blvd
As of a few days ago, they still had the old 1980's logo mounted outside which is really, REALLY looking sad/dated by now and just started building the front walls for the expansion section a few days ago. Compared to the Champlain Place location, they sure are taking their sweet time to build the 🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵 thing. Seriously, think I've seen oil-based paints from the 1970's dry faster than this thing's going up. Strongly doubt they'll have this location ready to compete with Target in November unless they start hauling 🞵🞵🞵🞵 over the next several weeks.

Target
I can see how the rumors point to a November/December opening since the exterior (except for the Target logo/signage) is pretty much done. They started masking-off the Marshall's area with black construction tarp and as someone noted the other day, they've got the Starbucks logo up in the windows where that section/kiosk will be. Folks expecting a full-service Starbucks best keep driving up Mountain Rd. as I've been to a few Target Starbucks in NH and they're just small counters similar to how McDonalds was setup inside the Plaza Blvd. Wal-Mart. Since they're likely going to be a franchisee vs. a store owned by Starbucks, we probably won't have "pay with iPhone" or hot food items at that location (again, drive a few km up the road to get your fix).

Halifax NS & Saint John NB Wal-Mart Supercentres now open
For those interested in seeing what we "might" end up getting, both the Halifax and Saint John NB Wal-Mart Supercentres are now open. Haven't been to the one in Saint John yet, but the Halifax one had an interestingly massive layout. The pricing wasn't that much cheaper than your average Sobeys or Superstore... as a matter of fact, some dry goods were priced even higher. The only true deals were the produce sections and the meat dept. All chicken breast packages were 2 for $5, most marinating & grilling steaks were 2 for $5, large mangoes for $0.88 cents, avocados for $0.47 cents, etc. Plus there were even a few products I haven't seen sold in Canada before (some items in the Import/Foreign Foods aisle were interesting to say the least). It'll be an interesting competitor to the local grocery stores once both Moncton locations are up and running but it's NOTHING compared to the USA Supercentres in terms of product selection/variety and it's not a fair comparison to compare a USA Supercentre to a Canadian Supercentre (especially since there's TONS of American products which will never be sold in Canada). I'm still glad our stores are being updated as it might force pricing down elsewhere which would benefit everybody (except the grocery store owners, I suppose).

My only question is why did Wal-Mart opt to open their first Supercentre inside the HSC Annex Wal-Mart location first vs. putting a Supercentre in the Dartmouth Crossing Wal-Mart location instead? DM Crossing = Stick on Hwy 102, take the DM Crossing exit, drive through DM Crossing to the end near Home Depot and bam... you're there, no chance to miss where the Wal-Mart is. HSC location? Holy frickin hell... damn near impossible to find for someone who's never been there before.

1. Despite being labelled as such, it's not even inside/attached onto the Halifax Shopping Centre mall... it's in something called the HSC Annex
2. The signs directing you to the Wal-Mart are literally the size of an 8.5" x 11" page of paper and mounted in locations which aren't that obvious. Try reading that in heavy traffic, from 10 feet across the street.
3. It's located literally UNDERNEATH a Sobeys. Nope, I'm not making this stuff up... it's across the street from the HSC parking garage, down a hill and UNDER a Sobeys. Weirdest... setup... ever. Might as well have built it under Citadel Hill, at least then we'd be able to find it.
4. I asked at least 10 locals at HSC and even some HSC store employees yet NOBODY knew where the Wal-Mart of "HSC Annex" was located. So this Wal-Mart has been around forever, these people have lived in Halifax for (presumably) most of their lives, yet NOBODY knew where this store was located. Umkay... what da hell?!?

I'm not out to start any Halifax vs. Moncton flame-wars or anything like that, I'm just trying to state the obvious and point out how damn frustrating it was trying to find the much-hyped "first Supercentre in Atlantic Canada" a few weeks ago when I decided to go check it out. Sorry if this post is "TLDR", but I don't post much here anyway, so you'll have to excuse my propensity towards excessively trying to get a point across :-)

[Monctoncore]

From what I know, is the Saint John Walmart and the Halifax Annex Walmart, are similar to the one in Dieppe, its more of a re-arranging of store than an actual Super-Walmart, they didn't receive any expansions. The one in Moncton and the Dartmouth crossing locations are both getting huge expansions, which is why they are not finished yet.
Its not that there taking there time, they just have a lot more work to do than just moving things around to make room for groceries. When the those to Walmarts open they will be huge and have a different look then the one you were at.

The Walmart in Ontario sell Mexican Soda called Jarritos, I really hope they sell them here!

[stephan.richard]

I was Thinking in the empty Signal store I would see a potential Spencer store that is almost the same concept as what the IT store used to be before it shut down in the mall. What are your thoughts.