Canadian Retail Thread

[eternallyme]

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

The Cat Centre is actually expanding right now, which is quite surprising given Kingston. Between the new expansion and the vacancy created by the Target closure, that mall's going to have a hard time filling the space.

The transit expansion has helped that mall, as it's a lot easier for Queen's students to head over there now, but I honestly can't see that alone being enough to attract THAT many new leases...

The fact that Kingston only has one mall (correct?) helps it as well. What are income levels like in Kingston? Is there enough for Cataraqui to move into the upper-middle rungs of retail? That would then become THE draw for everyone between Newcastle and Prescott...

[1overcosc]

Originally Posted by eternallyme

The fact that Kingston only has one mall (correct?) helps it as well.

Essentially, yes. The only other indoor mall is the Frontenac Mall but it's very small and half-empty. Going to get torn down and converted to a strip mall very soon.

Originally Posted by eternallyme

What are income levels like in Kingston? Is there enough for Cataraqui to move into the upper-middle rungs of retail?

Unbalanced. Most of the population is low-income, but there's a sizeable minority of pretty well off people that are enough to fuel some higher end retail and housing.

Originally Posted by eternallyme

That would then become THE draw for everyone between Newcastle and Prescott...

The Cat Centre is already a pretty big regional draw, it regularly gets customers from Belleville, Napanee, Brockville, Ganonoque, Westport, etc. Newcastle to Prescott is a bit much, though, they're closer to Toronto & Ottawa respectively.

[Tony]

I will actually miss Target. I really do enjoy shopping there, probably cuz it's not crazy busy, crowded and full of dumb people like Walmart - which I never shop at.

I really am feeling sorry for the brandnew urban big box development 1/2 hour walk from me (Stockyards). It's really quite a decent urban development where all your big box stores are available in slightly smaller square footage formats on two storeys and a 3 level parking garage. Very neat retail urban development. First Best Buy drops out as a major anchor, now their only other large format anchor is leaving.

[MolsonExport]

The demise of Target is the death knell for at least one major London-area Mall (Westmount Shopping Centre)


sdwruters

[craneSpotter]

On a much smaller scale, but Sony announced it is also closing it's 14 Canadian stores.

http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Sony+close+stores+Canada/10731958/story.html

[kwoldtimer]

And MEXX announced the other day that it was closing all its stores. 95 of them, I think.

[Trevor3]

Target is in what amounts to our "A" mall in Corner Brook (The Plaza), but in reality it's store selection is really in the realm of a "B" mall.

It's a stones through from Wal-Mart, Cdn Tire, Dominion already, and the city already has 2 malls which are more or less dead because they couldn't retain anchors after Zellers Select and the Metropolitan chains shut down 10-20 years ago, but they're downtown as opposed to on the highway like the Plaza is. Last time the Plaza lost an anchor, it sat empty for 2 years before Sportchek took over a portion and the rest sat empty for another 5 until an NLC liquor store moved in.

Since this is THE regional mall for the west coast, it's in a weird position and would likely survive without a hiccup even if the Target space is essentially left to rot. And Corner Brook, with a stagnant population and shaky paper mill based economy isn't a high priority bet for many retailers, though Costco has been looking at building out on the east end of the city for a few years now.

Best case scenerio, they subdivide it and lure in Future Shop and maybe Winners, perhaps even add a food court.

[craneSpotter]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

And MEXX announced the other day that it was closing all its stores. 95 of them, I think.

Yeah. Likely Sears is next, unless Target pulling out gives it a boost.

Weren't there regular articles up until last summer about the great retailer rush into the Canadian market?

[eternallyme]

Originally Posted by craneSpotter

Yeah. Likely Sears is next, unless Target pulling out gives it a boost.

Weren't there regular articles up until last summer about the great retailer rush into the Canadian market?

I think a realignment is underway - more at the edges, hollowing out in the middle.

[Xelebes]

Originally Posted by craneSpotter

On a much smaller scale, but Sony announced it is also closing it's 14 Canadian stores.

http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Sony+close+stores+Canada/10731958/story.html

Didn't see much foot traffic in the WEM location in the last year or so so it doesn't surprise me.

[LFRENCH]

Originally Posted by Policy Wonk

I suspect locations in rural Michigan and suburban Seattle might be slightly more affordable than San Francisco and Silicon Valley at the moment.

Same reason why I compared one high cost environment to another, I would suggest that locations outside Calgary would exhibit the same notions. The targets I visited over Christmas (Kelowna, Victoria, Nanaimo) had better in store specials than the ones here in Calgary.

[Stryker]

As retail rental prices decrease, I hope we begin to see a return of more medium range business start again in canada.

This idea that you have to buy cheap crap from some dollarstor, or overpriced nonsense from a luxury goods store is getting old.

Even better online sales are gonna get hit hard going across the border so maybe that might make things more profitable for local businesses.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Xelebes

Didn't see much foot traffic in the WEM location in the last year or so so it doesn't surprise me.

Sony was like the Apple of the 90s, not quite so much now.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by esquire

I don't know if GT is any different in Ontario, but the stores around here are very downmarket... they remind me of the BiWay stores from the 80s. If Target is a notch above Wal-Mart, then GT is definitely a notch below it.

But with all the talk of the stratification of the Canadian retail market, I guess it would make sense.

The fairly new GT near my place in Gatineau is certainly every bit as nice as a Walmart (now that's a compliment!), although quite a bit smaller of course.

[craneSpotter]

Originally Posted by esquire

Sony was like the Apple of the 90s, not quite so much now.

True. Sony announced just before Xmas that is was trimming the offerings (fewer models) in its TV and mobile phone units for 2015, and will focus on the Playstation and imaging. It is willing to take a 30% cut in unit sales if it means making the divisions profitable. Some analysts say that if it doesn't work... they could see Sony dropping its TV division, giving up the market to Samsung, LG and the many Chinese brands.

[manny_santos]

Reading social media today, I've noticed a lot of people wanting Zellers to come back.

Well, I seem to remember back in about 2011 how many Canadians were bashing Zellers, how much they wanted Zellers to go away and get replaced by Target, because of how "messy" and "disorganized" the Zellers stores were (which was true in many cases). Seems like people have short memories.

[manny_santos]

Barely over six months ago...

• Video Link

[eternallyme]

Here is an excellent article on the successes (sometimes enormous) and failures that different retailers have coming north.

http://money.cnn.com/2015/01/15/investing/canada-retail-woes-target-sears/

Some stores - such as Lowe's, Costco, Apple and even Walmart - are MORE successful in Canada (in terms of per store sale and net profits) than in the US. If that article is any indication, early results from Nordstrom are promising as well.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by manny_santos

Reading social media today, I've noticed a lot of people wanting Zellers to come back.

Well, I seem to remember back in about 2011 how many Canadians were bashing Zellers, how much they wanted Zellers to go away and get replaced by Target, because of how "messy" and "disorganized" the Zellers stores were (which was true in many cases). Seems like people have short memories.

Zellers was crap. Understaffed, a mess, low quality, beaten on prices by Wal-Mart... how anyone could miss that I can't understand.

I think it's just nostalgia for the name... if the crowds were small at Target I can't imagine that they'd be any bigger at a resurrected Zellers.

[Taeolas]

Originally Posted by manny_santos

Reading social media today, I've noticed a lot of people wanting Zellers to come back.

Well, I seem to remember back in about 2011 how many Canadians were bashing Zellers, how much they wanted Zellers to go away and get replaced by Target, because of how "messy" and "disorganized" the Zellers stores were (which was true in many cases). Seems like people have short memories.

For me, it's not so much that I want Zellers back, as that I want a decent department store competitor at the Walmart level.

Sears is too high for the most part (and on the ropes). The Bay is at Sears's level (and not as wide spread). Giant Tiger and Dollerama are too low (below WalMart). As is, we have Walmart and then sort've Canadian Tire and/or Superstore at similar levels; but the later two are missing key elements to be considered a classic department store.

Now that Target's going, Giant Tiger seems to be the closest to sort've be stepping up to fill in the gap, but its not near the size yet to fill it.