Canadian Retail Thread

[yaletown_fella]

I cant believe HBC is opening a Saks on freakin Queen. Pisses me off.

The high end brands should be kept in Mink Mile/Yorkville.

I hate that the city is becoming homogenized. Now tourists have less of a reason to venture north to Bloor.

If the high end shopping shifts to the CBD the city will feel smaller.

Having a satelitte "high street" is what makes Toronto unique compared with other cities.

[GreaterMontréal]

So, the Ogilvy-Holt Renfrew in Montréal will be the largest luxury store in Canada, at 220,000 square-foot ?

http://www.retail-insider.com/2014/01/combined-ogilvyholt-renfrew-to-be-one.html
7th largest in North America.

[vid]

Originally Posted by yaletown_fella

I cant believe HBC is opening a Saks on freakin Queen. Pisses me off.

The high end brands should be kept in Mink Mile/Yorkville.

I hate that the city is becoming homogenized. Now tourists have less of a reason to venture north to Bloor.

If the high end shopping shifts to the CBD the city will feel smaller.

Having a satelitte "high street" is what makes Toronto unique compared with other cities.

Yeah, with a Saks on Queen there will basically be no reason whatsoever for anyone to go to Yorkville ever again. Saks is just such a major, dominant force that puny, insignificant Yorkville will never be able to compete.

[GreaterMontréal]

Originally Posted by vid

Yeah, with a Saks on Queen there will basically be no reason whatsoever for anyone to go to Yorkville ever again. Saks is just such a major, dominant force that puny, insignificant Yorkville will never be able to compete.

Maybe the goal was to compete with Yorkville ?

[miketoronto]

Originally Posted by GreaterMontréal

Maybe the goal was to compete with Yorkville ?

First of all, the Saks store will be puny and not be able to offer that much of a selection of anything.

Second, Yorkville has a ton of shops, including many unique one of a kind places, that can't be found anywhere else in the city.

Both areas can coexist and complement each other, like they do now.

[yaletown_fella]

Originally Posted by miketoronto

First of all, the Saks store will be puny and not be able to offer that much of a selection of anything.

Second, Yorkville has a ton of shops, including many unique one of a kind places, that can't be found anywhere else in the city.

Both areas can coexist and complement each other, like they do now.

New York wouldnt be as unique if all the luxury brands and restaurants found in Midtown had twin stores located in Downtown Manhatten. The city would become more homogeneous.

Luxury is what defines the Upper East Side (similar to luxury defining Yorkville)

I fear this will set a precedent for luxury retailers to shift to the CBD in Toronto.

Also, I think Hudsons Bay is an iconic and historic part of Toronto's CBD upper-mid ranged retail scene. Theyve already put a great deal of money into renovation. It's a shame to see it go.

My guess is this is the cheapest option for the developer and Saks to "get their feet wet" in the market. Baker wants to start with the downtown store because the Yonge/Bloor store has insufficient ceiling heights to appeal to Saks (not to mention the bunker look) It will likely require a $300,000,000 (+) reno or partial demolition (of course preserving the structural supports of the HBC tower)
If the Queen store is reasonable successful then Saks will (fingers crossed) be willing to move into Bakers eventually renovated/rebuilt store at Yonge/Bloor.

[Martin Mtl]

Originally Posted by yaletown_fella

New York wouldnt be as unique if all the Upper East side and 5th Avenue luxury brands and restaurants had twin stores located in Downtown Manhatten. The city would become homogeneous.

Luxury is what defines the Upper East Side (similar to luxury defining Yorkville)

I fear this will set a precedent for luxury retailers to shift to the CBD in Toronto.

Soho has a lot of luxury retailers and, in fact, provides a shopping experience just as fashionable or even more so than good old 5th Avenue.

[SpongeG]

yeah soho has all the big brands chanel, louis, prada, gucci, hugo, ralph, stella, dolce, you name it its there, the west village also hasa lot of high brands along bleeker

[LeftCoaster]

Originally Posted by taal

Can you elaborate, what is point ?

It seems like a good way for the Bay to get cash, and there is a lot less risk then converting the store on bloor (which will probably remain in the short term but I can see the Bay vacating the location ... and it getting redeveloped).

Originally Posted by ue

I thought they were converting the Bloor St Bay store into a Saks? Why convert a floor of the company flagship into another store, especially when there will be another 2 kilometers to the north.

Clearly the point of the buyout is that the Bay on Bloor is not being redeveloped into a Saks. It will remain a Bay, or something else, but it will not become a Saks.

Originally Posted by GreaterMontréal

So, the Ogilvy-Holt Renfrew in Montréal will be the largest luxury store in Canada, at 220,000 square-foot ?

http://www.retail-insider.com/2014/01/combined-ogilvyholt-renfrew-to-be-one.html
7th largest in North America.

No, The Norstroms in Vancouver will be larger at 230,000 SF.

It's a weird comparison anyway because the Saks plus the high end portions of the Bay downtown Toronto will be about that large too, but how does one measure that?

Originally Posted by miketoronto

First of all, the Saks store will be puny and not be able to offer that much of a selection of anything.

Second, Yorkville has a ton of shops, including many unique one of a kind places, that can't be found anywhere else in the city.

Both areas can coexist and complement each other, like they do now.

How is 150,000 of ultra high end puny? The Holts in Pacific Centre is 110,000SF and is by far their most productive store. Size is not the important factor in high end retail. This isn't a Sears or Eatons, they don't sell dishwashers and craftsman tools...

This move will not kill Yorkville by any means but it is a big shot at their dominance in high end and Cadillac Fairview's attempt to concentrate high end shopping downtown rather than at Yorkville. It is also an attempt to take a bite out of Yorkdale's share of the destination shopping trips made within Canada.

It's a very smart move by CF. Expensive, but a strategic coup for sure.

[GreaterMontréal]

No, The Norstroms in Vancouver will be larger at 230,000 SF.

They have excluded Nordstrom

''In our analysis, we only included American retailers Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus/Bergdorf Goodman and Barney's New York. We've excluded retailers such as Nordstrom and Bloomingdale's, since both sell a considerable amount of mid-range merchandise that likely won't be carried in the new, upscaled Ogilvy.''

[LeftCoaster]

Fair enough, I suppose it could carry that distinction, that's more than a few asterisks next to that claim though.

[GreaterMontréal]

Originally Posted by LeftCoaster

Fair enough, I suppose it could carry that distinction, that's more than a few asterisks next to that claim though.

Nordstrom : At 383,000 square feet (35,600 m2), the downtown Seattle location is the chain's largest store.

The Saks in Toronto should have more upscale merchandise than Nordstrom. If I go with their reasoning.

[GreaterMontréal]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/loblaws-coming-to-toronto-s-kensington-market-1.2513661

good or bad news ?

[Ramako]

Originally Posted by GreaterMontréal

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/loblaws-coming-to-toronto-s-kensington-market-1.2513661

good or bad news ?

I'd say irrelevant. Yeah, Kensington does have a couple of food markets, but it's not groceries that encourage most people to go to Kensington.

[miketoronto]

Originally Posted by GreaterMontréal

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/loblaws-coming-to-toronto-s-kensington-market-1.2513661

good or bad news ?

This is totally bad, and just furthers the suburbanization of downtown Toronto.

On that record, I have no problem with supermarkets. But there is already a massive Loblaws literally a 10 minute walk away, plus a METRO store.

We are starting to see downtown get way too saturated with chains, and it is going to have an effect on unique areas like Spadina.
Spadina for example, has tons of food shops in Chinatown, and in Kensington Market. There really is no need for supermarket in this area, considering there are others not far away, and all the other stores here in the first place.

There really is going to be no reason to go to half of Toronto's neighborhoods in this trend keeps up. There used to be a pride in living downtown and supporting local places like Kensington Market.

While downtown is being made more boring, the suburbs are getting tons of unique mom and pop food shops, etc.

[yaletown_fella]

Originally Posted by Martin Mtl

Soho has a lot of luxury retailers and, in fact, provides a shopping experience just as fashionable or even more so than good old 5th Avenue.

The problem is we're left with an embarrassing concrete bunker that was supposed to be the gateway to Yorkville/Mink Mile.

Hopefully Neiman Marcus will save Yonge/Bloor and we'll get a big new mixed use development (complete with classical style domed skylight)

[caltrane74]

So let me get this straight.. The Current Bay Yonge and Queen is going to become the South end of the. Eaton Centre????

If that happens... Then.

“This is the biggest expansion of the Eaton Centre since it was built,” said John Sullivan, president and chief executive officer of Cadillac Fairview, which owns and operates the mall.

John said ‘What if we purchased your complex and made it part of the Eaton Centre? . . . We could market it and advertise and do directories in the mall and signage in the mall and we could renovate the (pedestrian) bridge and really make it the single most exciting, most dynamic retail complex in all of Canada.’ ”

“To be honest it dawned on me when I saw that Richard bought Saks, that they would be a great anchor for the south end of the mall. Richard is a very astute guy. In about 60 seconds he saw the idea had a lot of merit,” he said.]

Retail analyst Maureen Atkinson of J.C. Williams Group said the move solves the problem the Eaton Centre used to have of essentially being prevented from expanding in all directions by existing buildings.
Atkinson believes moving into Canada is a first step for Nordstrom and Sak’s and that both retailers are likely considering international expansion strategies.

Read the Full Article Here

[SpongeG]

nordstroms sells brands like dockers... i don't think they would ever be found in saks or holt renfrew the bay or sears you would

[trebor204]

Target to open 9 more stores in Canada in 2014

http://pressroom.target.ca/news/target-to-continue-canadian-expansion-in-2014

Spring 2014:

The Stockyards, Toronto, Ontario
Kingsway Mall, Edmonton, Alberta
Hillside Centre, Victoria, British Columbia

Summer 2014

Erin Mills Town Centre, Mississauga, Ontario
Park Place, Barrie, Ontario
Carrefour Candiac, Candiac, Quebec

Fall 2014:
St. Laurent, Ottawa, Ontario
Sheridan Centre, Mississauga, Ontario
Polo Park, Winnipeg, Manitoba

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by miketoronto

This is totally bad, and just furthers the suburbanization of downtown Toronto.

On that record, I have no problem with supermarkets. But there is already a massive Loblaws literally a 10 minute walk away, plus a METRO store.

We are starting to see downtown get way too saturated with chains, and it is going to have an effect on unique areas like Spadina.
Spadina for example, has tons of food shops in Chinatown, and in Kensington Market. There really is no need for supermarket in this area, considering there are others not far away, and all the other stores here in the first place.

There really is going to be no reason to go to half of Toronto's neighborhoods in this trend keeps up. There used to be a pride in living downtown and supporting local places like Kensington Market.

While downtown is being made more boring, the suburbs are getting tons of unique mom and pop food shops, etc.

One of the reasons for this is that rents are cheaper in the suburbs, whereas as downtown rents climb, increasingly it is only the big guys (chains) are able to pay them.

Which squeezes the mom and pops more and more out of the central city and pushes them to the outskirts.