[Moncton] Retail Thread

[lukepaa]

Check this out!!! Exciting news!!

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores...=34&template=news_display.cfm&newsID=477

[MonctonRad]

Well, this is kind of out of left field. The vibe had been about Cabela's but Bass Pro Shops is huge too.

For those who don't like clicking on links, I will repost the first paragraph of the announcement.....

Bass Pro Shops announces plans to open fourth Canadian store in Moncton, New Brunswick
October 18, 2013

Retail hub of the Maritimes

SPRINGFIELD, Mo.-- Bass Pro Shops®, an outdoor retailer specializing in hunting, fishing, camping and other related outdoor recreation gear, will locate its fourth Canadian store in Moncton, New Brunswick. The new 110,000 square-foot Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World store will be easily accessible from the major cities in the Maritimes, making it a retail destination drawing from more than 1.2 million people living within a three-hour drive. The specific address of the store will be announced in the near future.

The Maritimes provinces enjoy a rich tradition of outdoor sports and history as they are situated on the Atlantic Ocean and contributing waterways of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Gulf of Maine. With 11,000 kilometres of saltwater coastline, 250 rivers, 6,500-plus lakes and more than 10,000 kilometres of trails, the area offers world famous fishing and hunting. Some of the best anglers head to Canada to fish everything from salmon to shark; from brook trout to smallmouth bass. Trophy black bear, moose, white-tailed deer and waterfowl can be found in the area’s pristine forests, secluded marshes and coastal woods.



“This area offers some of Canada’s best hunting and fishing opportunities, and we are very proud to announce that our fourth Canadian Bass Pro Shops store will be located in Moncton,” said Johnny Morris, founder of Bass Pro Shops. “This regional location is very accessible and will allow us to bring Bass Pro Shops’ low prices and friendly, expert service to better serve the many sportsmen and women as well as the many visitors to the Moncton area each year. We are very excited to be a part of this vibrant community.”

Bass Pro Shops’ award-winning outdoor stores are known for combining retail with entertainment, conservation and outdoor education. More than just a fishing and hunting store, Bass Pro Shops stores offer equipment and clothing for hiking, backpacking, wildlife viewing, camping, outdoor cooking and more. A gift and nature centre also will serve up a wide variety of outdoor-related items from lamps and dishes to bird feeders and furniture. Their expansive boat showroom will feature Tracker, Nitro, SunTracker, Tahoe, Grizzly and Mako boats built by Tracker Marine Group, the world’s largest manufacturer of fishing boats.

Bass Pro Shops’ unique exterior and interior motifs have branded them as visually appealing, high quality outdoor stores. The outdoors feel is brought indoors through massive log and rock work, large indoor aquariums and water features stocked with native fish species as well as an extensive collection of museum quality fish and wildlife mounts. Historic photos and exhibits will pay tribute to the regions great outdoor heritage.

Bass Pro Shops will host more than 116 million people visiting their 79 stores and Tracker Marine Centres across America and Canada this year; the average customer stays two and a half hours and drives an average distance of 80 plus kilometres. Bass Pro Shops was named by Advertising Age magazine as one of the Top 10 Hottest Brands in America along with name brands such as Old Spice, M&M’s, iPad and Droid. Also, Bass Pro Shops has been recognized numerous times for their conservation and outdoor education efforts, as well as being named by J.D. Powers & Associates as one of the top eight retailers in America for customer service excellence.

Visit this link to see video showcasing a Bass Pro Shops store: http://youtu.be/Nib4BEQl2-k.

Check this out, They actually already have us on their map as a "future store"!!!

[NBNYer]

Originally Posted by lukepaa

Check this out!!! Exciting news!!

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores...=34&template=news_display.cfm&newsID=477

What does this mean for the Cabela's rumor? Are both stores coming to New-Brunswick or is this just the same rumor?

[MonctonRad]

Good question, I was wondering the same thing. Whaler from the Saint Joh thread was the main source for the Cabela's rumour. He seemed quite certain. Maybe I'll PM him and see what he has to say.......

Cabela's and Bass Pro Shops are in heavy competition. Perhaps this is a case of Bass trying to beat Cabela's to the punch......

[NBNYer]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Good question, I was wondering the same thing. Whaler from the Saint Joh thread was the main source for the Cabela's rumour. He seemed quite certain. Maybe I'll PM him and see what he has to say.......

Cabela's and Bass Pro Shops are in heavy competition. Perhaps this is a case of Bass trying to beat Cabela's to the punch......

Yes and Whaler seemed to have some inside information on the deal. With the little information that we have, it does seem like a race to tap the maritime market. These are massive stores and I think whoever sets up first might scare the other one into not settling here.

[icetea93]

I could see Cabela's opening a store fairly soon in Halifax to combat Bass Pro in Moncton.

[Stirsnack]

I realize that an indoor mall is both very expensive to build and maintain as well as being a 1970's thing that is dead compared to the strip malls and power centers of today. But I wanted to toss out a think tank question. Champlain place is basically the only indoor mall we have now, moncton mall is closed into a northwest center strip mall, highfield is dead, but Where in Metro would be a good spot to build another destination mall ? I too am tired of champlain place being only for women. when future shop and Sam the record man were there, i had a place to go while the wife spent my pay check now i sit on the bench in the food court. But think of what we could do to create another place, anything goes, have fun. I would love an anchor mall with IMAX and Best buy, i know they are long shots but it would be a start. I got thinking about this when a friend of mine came down from Toronto, first time in Moncton, he has heard me go on and on about how Moncton was the hub for retail as well as other reasons, we went to Champlain and his comment was, when are we going to the mall, this is a closet. Got me thinking. It wasn't Toronto center of the universe arrogance either, he was used to 2-4 story malls. and was shocked when this was the crown jewel of shopping. Any thoughts ?

[q12]

Interesting that they would announce a store opening before even having a location. Most retailers try to hide their plans for competitive reasons.

It's also funny how that press release reads like it was written by the city of Moncton with "Retail hub of the Maritimes" nonsense.

Apparently these guys go after taxpayer money to open stores as tourist attractions, with a lot of these proposed stores never opening.

Fishing for Taxpayer Cash

Bass Pro's Record of Big-League Subsidies, Failed Promises, and Consequences for Cities Across America.

http://public-accountability.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/fishing_for_taxpayer_cash.pdf

Taxpayer Subsidies

“Bass Pro’s financials are and always have been private,” the company said in written responses to questions. “Any valuation of the company by outsiders is nothing more than speculation from people with no first-hand knowledge of Bass Pro Shops.”

Bass Pro’s critics complain about the company’s practice of accepting municipal subsidies to build megastores in their communities, often with the understanding they would create jobs or increase tax revenue.

The Public Accountability Initiative, a Buffalo, New York-based research group, estimated in a 2010 report that Bass Pro-anchored retail projects had won more than $500 million in taxpayer subsidies.

Another watchdog group, the Franklin Center for Government & Public Integrity, based in Alexandria, Virginia, estimated in August 2012 that Bass Pro and its closest competitor, Sidney, Nebraska-based Cabela’s, received or were promised more than $2.2 billion from taxpayers over the prior 15 years.


http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-03...-building-megastores-with-taxpayers.html

So it seems there is a race to the taxpayer trough in the city of Moncton.

[bigrivernb]

Champlain news: Costa Blanca has failed to pay the rent and is now closed and being packed up. a new spot will soon be available. Lets see what the unit is used for....

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by q12

So it seems there is a race to the taxpayer trough in the city of Moncton.

You don't know that q12, you are just making an assumption. I'm not saying that you are wrong, but if the city of Moncton was involved, don't you think they would have had a big announcement ceremony at city hall with lots of media in attendance. All this is is a posting on the "new stores" listing on the Bass Pro Shops website.

Sounds like a bit of sour grapes from you.....

[q12]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

You don't know that q12, you are just making an assumption. I'm not saying that you are wrong, but if the city of Moncton was involved, don't you think they would have had a big announcement ceremony at city hall with lots of media in attendance. All this is is a posting on the "new stores" listing on the Bass Pro Shops website.

Sounds like a bit of sour grapes from you.....

It's ok MonctonRad, you live in your little bubble. It's a little "fishy" (pun intended) when a rumour of Cabelas costing 35 million and then an announcement about a Bass Pro Shops without any other details.

If I were the city of Moncton I don't know if I would want media attention about using taxpayers money for a retailer if this were the case, and I'm not saying that it is. There just seems to be a lot media stories about this happening in the United States.

There won't be sour grapes in Halifax, if a retailer has to be subsidized to set-up shop. Even if either one of those opened in Halifax or Moncton (without taxpayer assistance), they wouldn't interest me, however there are many people (and probably more in New Brunswick) that certainly would shop there.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Stirsnack

I realize that an indoor mall is both very expensive to build and maintain as well as being a 1970's thing that is dead compared to the strip malls and power centers of today. But I wanted to toss out a think tank question. Champlain place is basically the only indoor mall we have now, moncton mall is closed into a northwest center strip mall, highfield is dead, but Where in Metro would be a good spot to build another destination mall ? I too am tired of champlain place being only for women. when future shop and Sam the record man were there, i had a place to go while the wife spent my pay check now i sit on the bench in the food court. But think of what we could do to create another place, anything goes, have fun. I would love an anchor mall with IMAX and Best buy, i know they are long shots but it would be a start. I got thinking about this when a friend of mine came down from Toronto, first time in Moncton, he has heard me go on and on about how Moncton was the hub for retail as well as other reasons, we went to Champlain and his comment was, when are we going to the mall, this is a closet. Got me thinking. It wasn't Toronto center of the universe arrogance either, he was used to 2-4 story malls. and was shocked when this was the crown jewel of shopping. Any thoughts ?

There has certainly been some grumbling on this thread recently over the direction that Champlain Place has been taking in terms of securing it's future prosperity and growth.

I think a lot of this discontent is fuelled by the preponderant male demographic of this site. There are a few exceptions (like ice tea, porchmouse and cbujold), but most people who post regularly here are decidedly male, and they seem rather lukewarm over Champlain's transmogrification into a "fashion mall".

To be clear, Champlain Place is doing nothing wrong in establishing it's current retail direction. The last 15 years or so have been very hard on traditional shopping centres. With the rise of enhanced suburban retail strips and power centres, many traditional malls have fallen by the wayside. This is not just a local phenomenon, but is a continent wide trend. In fact, there is a whole thread in the Canada section of SSP documenting this phenomenon (Dead Malls of Canada).

Locally, Highfield Square is about to be torn down. The Riverview Mall has been transformed into a call centre cluster. The Moncton Mall has transformed itself into a successful retail strip (the Northwest Centre) with anchors like Target, Marshalls, Sobeys etc.

The only original mall in the city that is still a mall is Champlain Place. It has survived and prospered precisely because it has expanded, renovated and rebranded itself as a "fashion mall". Champlain Place can quite legitimately claim to be one of only three fashion malls in the Maritime region. This makes Champlain Place a retail destination. Good for them!! I'm glad that Champlain Place is such a strong contributor to the local retail economy.

The problem in Moncton is that Champlain Place is the only show in town in terms of traditional mall retailing. Everything else is based in power centres and suburban strip developments. As Champlain Place drifts ever upwards in terms of retail quality (and increasing rents per square foot), a lot of mid level retailers that would like to remain in traditional mall settings are being left by the wayside. In essence, they are being frozen out of the Moncton market. This is not a good thing.

Champlain Place needs a little competition in terms of traditional mall retailing. By this, I mean that retailers in the city need a second option in terms of where to set up their businesses. My own personal preference would be for a new downtown mall, ideally in association with the new events centre, perhaps anchored by a return of the Bay to the Moncton market.



This particular proposal for the events centre includes a strong street presence on Main Street with space for a significant retail component in front of the arena facing the street. There would be room here for a return of the Bay as well as a small to medium sized mall corridor for businesses to set up. Retailers frozen out of Champlain by increasing rents could move here and prosper.

Again, Champlain Place is doing nothing wrong by moving upscale, and the addition of new retailers like Coach, Swarovski, Fossil, Pandora and Sephora actually help to draw consumers to the city from surrounding areas. We just need to have a second traditional mall in the city (preferably downtown) that is able to accommodate other retailers not suited to the high end environment of Champlain Place.......

[MonctonRad]

Regarding Bass Pro Shops, there is already a lot of chatter on both NS and NB hunting and fishing forums about this announcement. Not surprisingly, this chatter is mostly all positive.....

Found this quote:

Daddy needs a new everything.
Especially a second job, now.
As for the location, the most valid rumours I've heard so far is the corner of the TCH and Elmwood Dr.
I've been asking around for a few months and that's the site that comes up most often, and from the most knowledgeable folks.

This comment about a location already selected at the Elmwood/TCH intersection is intriguing. We already know they are clearing land on the northwest corner of this intersection for the new Elmwood Home Hardware and a grocery store of some kind (possibly Superstore). The amount of land that they are clearing though is way more than would be required for just those two stores. This does lend some credence to the speculation that this could be where Bass Pro might set up. It would have good visibility from the TCH, which is something that Bass Pro would like to have.

It is interesting that the NB government is currently spending money to realign the Elmwood Drive eastbound off/on-ramps from the TCH. I wonder if this is related to the new commercial development here......

Another poster on the NS hunting forum stated that the opening date would be fall 2015. This is probably nothing more than pure speculation..........

[Good2go]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

It is interesting that the NB government is currently spending money to realign the Elmwood Drive eastbound off/on-ramps from the TCH. I wonder if this is related to the new commercial development here......

I thought this work was to make the area safer before the new high school opened?

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Good2go

I thought this work was to make the area safer before the new high school opened?

I'm sure that you're right on this. I forgot about that.

The Elmwood/TCH interchange is destined to get busier and busier over the next couple of decades, what with the new commercial development in the area, further expansion at the Caledonia Industrial Park, and the new Moncton High School and all the residential sprawl that that will engender.

[Taeolas]

Another thing wtih the Champlain Place direction, is the fact that the male demographic tends to be a lot more online than the fashion demographic.

Most guy stuff tends to be a "what does it do" based, which makes it easier to buy sight unseen, or even virtual mode. There's very little stuff for guys that we want to see in person (The Bass Pro Shops being one of the few), and in those cases we tend to be better served by the box stores.

Fashion is more based on look and feel and fit, which is harder to handle online, so stores still make sense and do well for them, to give buyers a chance to touch, feel and try on.

While it might be nice to see more male stores in the malls... What would guys really be looking for that they wouldn't get online anyway if they had a chance? Speaking for myself, much of my purchases are now mostly virtual, online, or at most, big box store based.

[OUIR@random]

I think that people are wrong when assuming that rents will be THAT lower (than Champlain) in a new downtown mall within the new events centre. I expect rents to be quite high, this project will have a huge price tag, I don't expect tenants to get any ''deals'' of any kind. I don't see this mall being busy outside of major events. Downtown malls are a thing of the past, it's a very 60s-80s concept, and many of them have been demolished or have been repurposed, I think many people here should rethink this idea of a downtown mall...
I see the downtown events centre having; restaurants (bar & grill type) + (fast food type), a nightclub or sports bar, a hotel and a few retails tenants (5-10 units max) facing Main Street, a department store is a very big IF, but I'm sure that there will be no new traditional mall (as we know them) in Moncton...

As for Bass Pro Shops, it's great news and quite the draw, however the announcement is very vague and ambiguous. I hope they are not coming here to get money from any level of government, because hell will freeze over before it happens (to a large US retailer, gimme a break!), don't they know of our current financial status in New Brunswick?! They don't say much really, this project could be killed, resurrected and killed again before it opens. (No opening date or location). It feels like a lot of hot air at this point, before we see land clearing and a structure going up, I'm not holding my breath. Regardless, I sure hope this happens! Cheers!

[stephan.richard]

Now we will have three good open spots in the mall with the relocation of Bluenotes next to Boathouse then the Laura Secord corner and now the departure of Costa Blanca I cant wait to see who will call the mall home,, But one spot that I cant wait to see the finished product is the Super Wal Mart.

And to see that Bass Pro Shop will be calling Moncton home it is a huge honor for the city and the region. To see such a huge US retailer here is awesome.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

The Elmwood/TCH interchange is destined to get busier and busier over the next couple of decades, what with the new commercial development in the area, further expansion at the Caledonia Industrial Park, and the new Moncton High School and all the residential sprawl that that will engender.

I think regardless whether or not the proposed Bass Pro Shops is built on Elmwood, the time is rapidly approaching when the city and province should seriously consider building an interchange connecting McLaughlin Drive and the TCH.

Congestion will only continue to build on Elmwood Drive as suburban sprawl spreads north of the TCH in this section of the city. Elmwood is also a secondary entrance to the Caledonia Industrial Park. Even without Bass Pro, there is obviously a fairly large retail/commercial development in the works for the northwest corner of the TCH/Elmwood interchange. I predict that within five years, this interchange will be as congested as the Mountain Rd/Wheeler Blvd interchange.

A new interchange connecting McLaughlin to the TCH would give an alternate route for traffic to access the TCH from the north central part of the city. This would take pressure off of Elmwood. In addition, a McLaughlin interchange would improve access to the recently constructed Mascaret and Odyssee Schools and perhaps would help give a kick start to the development of the "vision lands".

If in fact Bass Pro does move into the neighbourhood, then a new interchange will become even more important........

[MonctonRad]

I just got a reply to my PM from Whaler regarding Cabelas.

He said that he was part of a group that had been in contact with both Bass Pro and Cabelas. He just mixed up the two when he mentioned that Cabelas was coming to Moncton. He in fact meant Bass Pro.

This should clear up any confusion on this issue....