The Metro Vancouver Retail Thread

[theKB]

Originally Posted by spm2013

Looks like they're lease was up in April 2014.

$180 CAD /SF/Year

6,920 SF | Retail

http://looplink.vancouver.cbre.ca/ll/17352457/1176-Robson-Street/

$130,000/mo in rent/fees. Wonder what that store's break even point was.

It is listed as a sublease.

I would think the metric for a lot of these vancouver properties doesn't really work given our small population. I be AE's bellingham store is doing amazing though

[SpongeG]

i remember years ago they did a story about robson rents on the tv news and they said a lot of stores don't make money on robson but having a store on robson was more valuable than not having one, apparently the gap on robson doesn't do very well

[officedweller]

Yeah, many stores are there for the public exposure/presence.
That's where corporate owned stores that don't individually have to profit would do better than franchises.

[theKB]

I totally agree and know that most high street stores are not there to make a profit. It's advertising in the end.

I just wonder if its getting to the point on robson that some companies are deciding to pack it in especially on that second block.

[connect2source]

The 'prestige element' is long over, however, for the 1100 Block of Robson until there is some significant redevelopment. That block has long since lost it's cache which still exists on the 1000 Block thanks to some forward thinking landlords and property owners who know it takes more than relying on the past importance of Robson. I have my doubts that the 1100 Block will ever return to it's former glory, the epicentre of retail has shifted east and the upper-eschelon has moved to Alberni.

[Vin]

To be prestigious again, Robson area truly needs a modern shopping mall. Good retailers around the world are scouting for conducive ready-to-occupy shoplots in malls. And here I'm not referring to suburb-style one or two storied malls, but one for the city centre with 3 stories or more in a spacious air-conditioned podium. Here are examples....Nu Sentral mall, KL and iapm mall, Shanghai.

Originally Posted by ILM

From my Instagram

NuSentral's roof!

Originally Posted by rizalhakim

vs
iapm mall Shanghai

Even Melbourne is embracing the mall culture downtown even though the weather there is excellent for street retail shopping, the Emporium Melbourne (note that Uniglo is opening up there):

http://www.broadsheet.com.au/melbourne/f...hrough-glimpse-inside-emporium-melbourne


Sad to say, but Vancouver is really losing out in terms of interesting retail concepts.

[casper]

Originally Posted by Vin

To be prestigious again, Robson area truly needs a modern shopping mall. Good retailers around the world are scouting for conducive ready-to-occupy shoplots in malls. And here I'm not referring to suburb-style one or two storied malls, but one for the city centre with 3 stories or more in a spacious air-conditioned podium. Here are examples....Nu Sentral mall, KL and iapm mall, Shanghai.


Even Melbourne is embracing the mall culture downtown even though the weather there is excellent for street retail shopping, the Emporium Melbourne (note that Uniglo is opening up there):

Sad to say, but Vancouver is really losing out in terms of interesting retail concepts.

Vancouver does have a substantial downtown mall....
http://www.pacificcentre.ca/en/Pages/default.aspx

[mr.x]

Originally Posted by casper

Vancouver does have a substantial downtown mall....
http://www.pacificcentre.ca/en/Pages/default.aspx

If you call that a substantial mall (or even a sufficient mall) for downtown Vancouver, then you clearly haven't traveled enough.

[SpongeG]

vancouver couldn't sustain another downtown mall unless pacific centre shut down and a new one was built elsewhere downtown and the tenants could move in there

we could never have a mall with YSL, Alexander McQueen, Dior etc.

just another mall with H&M, gap, le chateau, aldo at best

[Vin]

Originally Posted by casper

Vancouver does have a substantial downtown mall....
http://www.pacificcentre.ca/en/Pages/default.aspx

There are mid size cities where a single downtown street hosts multiple big malls, with hotels, food centres, condos and offices in the midst, and they are mostly successful and draw crowds of people, including tourists.

For instance, Melbourne already has quite a number of large malls in its CBD, including the famed Crown Casino mall, but the city is building new ones for people to shop in more comfortable environments. The city is probably smaller than Vancouver, but there are people who think big. Maybe that is why Melbourne has overtaken Vancouver as the best city to live in the world. Obviously mountains and water views are not enough, but the innovation from people helps.

[Vin]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

vancouver couldn't sustain another downtown mall unless pacific centre shut down and a new one was built elsewhere downtown and the tenants could move in there

we could never have a mall with YSL, Alexander McQueen, Dior etc.

just another mall with H&M, gap, le chateau, aldo at best

You don't think Vancouver is mature enough for those brands you mentioned? Perhaps they never set foot here only because there aren't any suitable locations to set up shop. Do you think YSL would want to open up in a wood frame shack on Robson street?

If Robson street can have repeat stores of Pacific Centre, I don't see why downtown Vancouver cannot sustain another retail centre. More high-end stores concentrated in one spot can help bring down the clamour for the very expensive but substandard retail spaces of Robson street. Good mall concept is a huge draw for people and can do well in Vancouver.

An ideal place for a new mall could be at Jim Patterson's Toyota site on Burrard, or even one next to Scotia Bank theatre. Imagine movie patrons able to stroll next door to dine or shop. Too bad there isn't any site available in that hood for such a mall. There were definitely many missed opportunities here.

[Joat]

It would be nice if they redeveloped the post office building into a mall/retail and connected it to the bay and Vancouver centre. Vancouver centre is supposed to get a significant renovation with the upcoming office proposal, right?

Also, kind of beating a dead horse here but Its a shame Nordstrom took the first floor instead of the 2-4th.

[connect2source]

Although we have Pacific Centre, it's an absolutely atrocious and very dated design and not becoming of a vibrant multi-cultural city like Vancouver. In fact it doesn't even have the presence, light or openess of say Oakridge, very sad. It should have been re-developed years ago but now all we're about to get is another full block of 'hallway' under Nordstrom, there's no vision here and as others have mentioned, if someone were to think Pacific Centre is representative of today's urban shopping centres they most certainly haven't travelled.

City centre experiences are undergoing a huge transformation and the key elements are space, light and impact, and yes, the global leading retailers are looking to place their 'flagships' in centres such as these. Toronto had the vision way back in 1976 when they decided to re-design the Eaton Centre from it's original proposal of an underground mall to a multi-level, galleria type, natural light filled centre.

[SpongeG]

Originally Posted by Vin

You don't think Vancouver is mature enough for those brands you mentioned? Perhaps they never set foot here only because there aren't any suitable locations to set up shop. Do you think YSL would want to open up in a wood frame shack on Robson street?

If Robson street can have repeat stores of Pacific Centre, I don't see why downtown Vancouver cannot sustain another retail centre. More high-end stores concentrated in one spot can help bring down the clamour for the very expensive but substandard retail spaces of Robson street. Good mall concept is a huge draw for people and can do well in Vancouver.

An ideal place for a new mall could be at Jim Patterson's Toyota site on Burrard, or even one next to Scotia Bank theatre. Imagine movie patrons able to stroll next door to dine or shop. Too bad there isn't any site available in that hood for such a mall. There were definitely many missed opportunities here.

if the brands/stores wanted bad enough into the city they would be here already, most every high end brand already has a store inside holt renfrew which seems to be all they need for the market

we will see what comes on alberni street

i personally would love to see a new mall downtown but realistically can't see it happenning

back in the 90's we had many more high end brands on alberni, hornby, burrard, and west hastings, chanel, versace, versus, valentino, romeo gigli, hugo boss, istante, sonya rykiel and a few more

[Klazu]

I dislike mall shopping, but in my opinion the best site for a new mall would be the western half of the Robson/Bute/Alberni/Thurlow block. Demolish everything existing, remove the laneway and you would have a decent place for another Downtown mall. It would support both Robson and Alberni and would be great addition to the western Downtown.

[connect2source]

Originally Posted by Klazu

I dislike mall shopping, but in my opinion the best site for a new mall would be the western half of the Robson/Bute/Alberni/Thurlow block. Demolish everything existing, remove the laneway and you would have a decent place for another Downtown mall. It would support both Robson and Alberni and would be great addition to the western Downtown.

I dislike 'mall' shopping as well but new city centre complexes are re-writing the traditional mall experience and are instead becoming an integrated and seamless part of any downtown retail centre such as the examples shown above.

A light-filled, multi-levelled, architecturally stunning complex can serve more as a focal and gathering point, a shelter from the weather.. and give any CBD an anchor and a 'sense of place'. They're attempting that with the stunning re-do of Core in downtown Calgary, a valiant attempt to make the former malls 'current' and attract to new life and business to that area.

Sadly, there's no way to make the current Pacific Centre more open or light filled but I feel they could have attempted something far more innovative with the expansion of the mall portion rather than an additional block of the 70's corridor, low ceiling concept.

[Porfiry]

Originally Posted by Vin

For instance, Melbourne already has quite a number of large malls in its CBD, including the famed Crown Casino mall, but the city is building new ones for people to shop in more comfortable environments. The city is probably smaller than Vancouver, but there are people who think big.

Melbourne is a much larger city than Vancouver. 4.3 million people.

[Vin]

Originally Posted by Porfiry

Melbourne is a much larger city than Vancouver. 4.3 million people.

True. Greater Melbourne's population is definitely way larger, but downtown-wise, Vancouver has a much bigger population base than Melbourne's. If Melbourne has so many malls in the CBD, with most people living further away in the outskirts, I don't see how Vancouver's downtown cannot have more than one mall.

[memememe76]

Vancouver proper only has two real malls--Pacific Centre and Oakridge (I don't consider City Square or International Village real malls). When you have days like today, I do not feel Vancouver needs another mall. That said, I wouldn't mind PC being renovated.

[casper]

Originally Posted by mr.x

If you call that a substantial mall (or even a sufficient mall) for downtown Vancouver, then you clearly haven't traveled enough.

I have only traveled to a few major cities: Shanghai, Taipei, Tokyo, New York, Miami, San Francsico, New York, London, Paris, Berlin, Zurich, Barcelona, Istanbul, Lisbon, Geneva, Melbourne, and Sidney .

Most cities I have been to (except China and parts of the US) do not spear to be focused on a having a big shopping center in their downtown core full of chain stores operated by Multinational corporations. What tends to dominate is a lot of street front shops, many locally owned and operated. Major department stores in Europe tend to be stand alone.

Year after year, the shops in enclosed shopping centres in Canada individually are taking up more square footage the local companies are being replaced by major international brands. I think Pacific Centre is fine the way it is. If it wants to grow a block or two one way or another that is fine but I don't think that should be the focus.