Winnipeg Retail

[CoryB]

Top four chains thought to be looking for a large block of mall space in Winnipeg currently are Nordstorms, H&M, Zara and Simons. Simons was confirmed as a planned anchor for The Elms and confirmed again recently they are still actively looking for space in the Winnipeg market.

An announcement for the Sears space is Polo Park seems doubtful as it was not listed on the pending store closures. This is unconfirmed but I had heard that the oldest Sears stores, including Polo Park and Garden City, are owned rather than leased which could make a transfer of ownership more complicated than purely leased space.

Something else to keep in mind that is complicating leasing at Polo Park currently in the Cadallic Fairview controls leases at Polo Park, Seasons of Tuxedo and Polo North (old stadium site). They need to juggle filling space at all three and Winnipeg will likely only see one each of Nordstorms, Simons and Off 5th. With three properties all needing anchors who do you put where and when? The dark horse in all this is Holt Renfrew might open a full store here again, especially if the other three all find success here.

That said, tomorrow's announcement is more likely focused around what is happening with the conversion of the former Zeller's space into multiple CRUs.

[cheswick]

H&M would be a safe guess. They've been looking at Winnipeg for a while

[cllew]

Not sure why Sears owning the stores would be a problem?

If they wanted out of Polo Park and maybe Kildonan Place I am sure the mall owners would buy the store and have an easy time finding a tenant.

Not sure if Garden City would be an easy location to sell and re-rent unless the mall owner could get Target to take a look at that side of the city.

[Biff]

Originally Posted by CoryB

That said, tomorrow's announcement is more likely focused around what is happening with the conversion of the former Zeller's space into multiple CRUs.

^^^ This is the most likely as they have been working for some time now on the renovations. Eddie Bauer relocation is almost complete allowing for the construction of the second entrance/exit to the new wing. The full size rendering on the former Zellers wall looks really good.

[CoryB]

Originally Posted by cllew

Not sure why Sears owning the stores would be a problem?

If they wanted out of Polo Park and maybe Kildonan Place I am sure the mall owners would buy the store and have an easy time finding a tenant.

Not sure if Garden City would be an easy location to sell and re-rent unless the mall owner could get Target to take a look at that side of the city.

Sears owning their stores could be an issue if a new anchor is interested in leasing rather than owning. Their might also be lots of terms on how Sears can exit operations in the mall, such as "going dark", which would need to be negotiated. Further, it is confirmed that Sears owns stakes in at least 13 malls, Kildonan Place being the only Winnipeg one, so they would not only need to arrange the conditions for the closing of their store but also likely the sale of their interest in the mall itself.

As for Garden City, you would be fooling yourself to think Target is not actively looking. The issue there though as the Garden City Sears space seems too small for a Target. Would the property owner be willing to demolish some of the existing structure to land Target? Hard to say but that was the deal that happening to land Canadian Tire.

[h0twired]

It would be nice to get a full size Banana Republic location instead of just the tiny one currently in Polo Park.

[h0twired]

Originally Posted by cllew

Not sure why Sears owning the stores would be a problem?

If they wanted out of Polo Park and maybe Kildonan Place I am sure the mall owners would buy the store and have an easy time finding a tenant.

Not sure if Garden City would be an easy location to sell and re-rent unless the mall owner could get Target to take a look at that side of the city.

Target would be a good fit for the Sears in Garden City.

Especially when you consider how much room they would have to expand should they decide to grow into the west parking lot.

[h0twired]

Originally Posted by cheswick

H&M would be a safe guess. They've been looking at Winnipeg for a while

https://twitter.com/geoffkirbyson/st...66090882789378

Meh.

[Cyro]

^^ as per twitter as well.

Originally Posted by Jeff

from the polo park Facebook page:

"Polo Park

7 hours ago.


Hey Facebook fans! Exciting news....HUGE store announcement tomorrow! Who do think it will be?"

H&M opening store at Polo Park

One of the world’s largest fashion retailers is finally making its way to Winnipeg.

http://www.winnipegsun.com/2013/10/3...e-at-polo-park

H&M, Hennes & Mauritz Inc., announced Wednesday it will open its first Manitoba location in Manitoba at Polo Park Shopping Centre next fall. The news comes after years of rumours the retailer has been looking to enter the Winnipeg market.

“We have been waiting for a great location in Winnipeg and are very happy to have found one at Polo Park,” said Toni Galli, country manager of H&M Canada, in a prepared statement.

The store, which will take up approximately 25,000-square-feet of space in the mall, will be the chain’s 68th location in Canada.

[Jeff]

68th location in Canada.. wow. we must've been top priority! haha

[CoryB]

With H&M opening a 28,000 sq ft store, other than the Safeway redevelopment at Polo Park, there is not really been a single block of space in a mall for many years now. Winnipeg seems to be a really competitive market for prime retail space.

With the reports being that there will be 20-25 new stores opening in Polo Park it would have been nice to hear more of who else is coming.

With H&M off the list of junior anchors now the focus is definitely shifted to when Zara will land a spot.

[h0twired]

Originally Posted by CoryB

With H&M off the list of junior anchors now the focus is definitely shifted to when Zara will land a spot.

Zara? I could do without another store making crappy disposable grade clothing. Its bad enough there was that much hype around H&M.

I (and my wife) would rather see the following be in Polo Park

- Pottery Barn
- Williams-Sonoma
- Crate and Barrel
- Anthropologie
- Scotch and Soda
- Lego Store
- Levis
- Eileen Fisher

... to name a few

[h0twired]

Originally Posted by Jeff

68th location in Canada.. wow. we must've been top priority! haha

Its not really a matter of priority.

Its about being able to get a large enough space in Polo Park.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by CoryB

Winnipeg seems to be a really competitive market for prime retail space.

It's a bit weird how even though retail spending has increased dramatically since the 1980s, it appears that we are now down to 2.5 shopping districts that many major retailers will consider: Polo Park, St. Vital and to a lesser extent (hence the .5), Kildonan Place. Compare that to the 1980s when Unicity, Garden City and downtown would have been on that list of prime retail areas too. That near-monopoly really limits the ability of new-to-Winnipeg retailers to enter the market, given that they will only consider a couple of malls that tend to be filled to capacity most of the time.

[Biff]

Originally Posted by CoryB

With the reports being that there will be 20-25 new stores opening in Polo Park it would have been nice to hear more of who else is coming.

This is a number that will be in flux depending on the size of the stores. I estimate that with the size of store H&M is opening it will occupy approximately 1/4 of the total available. I would have to think that there maybe 15 or so other new units depending once again on size.

[Bdog]

Originally Posted by esquire

It's a bit weird how even though retail spending has increased dramatically since the 1980s, it appears that we are now down to 2.5 shopping districts that many major retailers will consider: Polo Park, St. Vital and to a lesser extent (hence the .5), Kildonan Place. Compare that to the 1980s when Unicity, Garden City and downtown would have been on that list of prime retail areas too. That near-monopoly really limits the ability of new-to-Winnipeg retailers to enter the market, given that they will only consider a couple of malls that tend to be filled to capacity most of the time.

I think you could even add the Kenaston Strip (from Sterling Lyon to McGillivray) to that list now too.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Bdog

I think you could even add the Kenaston Strip (from Sterling Lyon to McGillivray) to that list now too.

True enough - but apart from IKEA, I'd say it rates as another "half" destination, in the vein of Kildonan Place. There are some national retailers, but not yet the full range or assortment you would see in and around the big two destinations of Polo Park and St. Vital.

[CoryB]

Originally Posted by h0twired

Zara? I could do without another store making crappy disposable grade clothing. Its bad enough there was that much hype around H&M.

I (and my wife) would rather see the following be in Polo Park

- Pottery Barn
- Williams-Sonoma
- Crate and Barrel
- Anthropologie
- Scotch and Soda
- Lego Store
- Levis
- Eileen Fisher

... to name a few

Pottery Barn, Williams-Sonoma, Crate and Barrel are all thought to be candidate stores for Seasons of Tuxedo, which is run by the same company as Polo Park.


Anthropologie, Scotch and Soda, Lego Store are all fair game but would any of them need in the neighbourhood of 30,000 sq ft that Forever 21, H&M, Zara and Zara Home will take up? If you are looking for an alternative to those with a bigger front print TopShop would seem to be near the top of the list but with HBC's current hatred for Winnipeg that is about as likely as a full line Holts.

Levis used to have a store in Polo Park, that they closed on and left the market speaks pretty big volumes about the chances of that happening.

Eileen Fisher currently does not operate any stores in Canada. Unless someone is offering you a sweetheart of a deal of the most prime of spaces Winnipeg is never the first market for a chain entering Canada.

Originally Posted by esquire

It's a bit weird how even though retail spending has increased dramatically since the 1980s, it appears that we are now down to 2.5 shopping districts that many major retailers will consider: Polo Park, St. Vital and to a lesser extent (hence the .5), Kildonan Place.

I would argue that Winnipeg has four markets currently. The Kildonan Place area is a whole seems as important as St Vital. KP has the likes of Home Outfitters, Best Buy, Costco, Brick, Canadian Tire, Rona, Superstore that are all missing from St Vital Centre area without even taking into account smaller stores. The other area that is missing is Kenaston/Seasons of Tuxedo. Once the Seasons build out is complete this area is going to surpass St Vital as the number 2 area to be in. It is also a "must" neighbourhood for most brands now. Further, I keep hearing that Unicity area is going to see significant developments that will be pulling in people from across the city but time will tell.

Originally Posted by Biff

This is a number that will be in flux depending on the size of the stores. I estimate that with the size of store H&M is opening it will occupy approximately 1/4 of the total available. I would have to think that there maybe 15 or so other new units depending once again on size.

Interesting take on things. The Polo Park Facebook account seems to hint that H&M is going in the mall but not in the Zeller's space. Might HMV/Suzzie Sheer/Roots be relocating/closing to make way for H&M to take up home between Apple and Victoria's Secrets? In the dust of the H&M announcement I am also hearing that Zara may be close to landing a similar sized space in Polo Park.

[trebor204]

Here is a floor plan of Polo Park
http://www.cfretail.com/FloorPlans/P..._floorplan.pdf

Not enough room for an H&M between Apple and Victoria's Secrets (only 11,000 sq Ft)

Zellers had a sq footage of just under 100,000 sq. ft.
H&M will be smaller than Forever21 (37,000 sq ft)


http://www.cfretail.com/EN/PropertyS...k.aspx#dataTab

[SpongeG]

Originally Posted by CoryB

Pottery Barn, Williams-Sonoma, Crate and Barrel are all thought to be candidate stores for Seasons of Tuxedo, which is run by the same company as Polo Park.


Anthropologie, Scotch and Soda, Lego Store are all fair game but would any of them need in the neighbourhood of 30,000 sq ft that Forever 21, H&M, Zara and Zara Home will take up? If you are looking for an alternative to those with a bigger front print TopShop would seem to be near the top of the list but with HBC's current hatred for Winnipeg that is about as likely as a full line Holts.

Levis used to have a store in Polo Park, that they closed on and left the market speaks pretty big volumes about the chances of that happening.

Eileen Fisher currently does not operate any stores in Canada. Unless someone is offering you a sweetheart of a deal of the most prime of spaces Winnipeg is never the first market for a chain entering Canada.



I would argue that Winnipeg has four markets currently. The Kildonan Place area is a whole seems as important as St Vital. KP has the likes of Home Outfitters, Best Buy, Costco, Brick, Canadian Tire, Rona, Superstore that are all missing from St Vital Centre area without even taking into account smaller stores. The other area that is missing is Kenaston/Seasons of Tuxedo. Once the Seasons build out is complete this area is going to surpass St Vital as the number 2 area to be in. It is also a "must" neighbourhood for most brands now. Further, I keep hearing that Unicity area is going to see significant developments that will be pulling in people from across the city but time will tell.



Interesting take on things. The Polo Park Facebook account seems to hint that H&M is going in the mall but not in the Zeller's space. Might HMV/Suzzie Sheer/Roots be relocating/closing to make way for H&M to take up home between Apple and Victoria's Secrets? In the dust of the H&M announcement I am also hearing that Zara may be close to landing a similar sized space in Polo Park.

eileen fisher does operate in canada - vancouver has a store and calgary - the only 2 current locations

i've noticed a lot of levis stores have shut down recently