The Metro Vancouver Retail Thread

[connect2source]

Originally Posted by Vin

Like I said before, street retail doesn't really work. You have to take away the traditional street to calm it down for the shoppers.

Street shopping, or the 'high street' concept has proved enormously successful for Park Royal. My comment about the chaos had to do with the layout, mostly the horribly designed road-network at Park Royal and nothing to do with the success or failure of street shopping.

Seems the moment the new-extension of Main Street opened, every prominent retailer clamoured to be on it and many like Aritzia bolted from their previous locations in the mall.

Didn't we already beat this topic to death a couple of days ago?

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by Vin

Like I said before, street retail doesn't really work. You have to take away the traditional street to calm it down for the shoppers.

Another way of putting it is that streets can't serve all functions.
Some are for transport, others shopping or local uses.

Different cities take different views to this
- some try to put retail on major arterials - leading to conflicting uses.
Others put retail on quiet side streets.

[NewfBC]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

i like the idea of winners/homesense moving into one level of target and that fitness place or whatever else on the other level.

where homesense/winners currently is and the vacant TGIF former space with a few of whats in between be comined and made into simons would be great cause that area feels so weird now.

Are you being silly? Simons isn't going to go into a space where they have no direct outside access or presence.

Ron.

[Tetsuo]

Originally Posted by NewfBC

Are you being silly? Simons isn't going to go into a space where they have no direct outside access or presence.

Ron.

Well if they swallow the TGIF space they'll have plenty of exposure from the outside with the space's patio

Outside access on the other hand

I still think grabbing Chapters spot would be great for them

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

i like the idea of winners/homesense moving into one level of target and that fitness place or whatever else on the other level.

where homesense/winners currently is and the vacant TGIF former space with a few of whats in between be comined and made into simons would be great cause that area feels so weird now.

The present Winners/Homesense space is too small for Simons

What would be better is:

Winners/Homesense on lower level of Target.

Fitness World / Goodlife Fitness - east half of upper level of Target (with outside access)
Chapters or Old Navy (or new retailer) - west half of upper level of Target

Chapters or old Navy (or both) in old Winners/Homesense space (plus adjacent vacancies)

Old Chapters/Old Navy (old Brettons department store space) - new 2 level Simons with expansion into parking lot (or 3rd level) if necessary.

The Ivanhoe Cambridge plans don't show where the movie theatres sit on top of the upper level
- so I don't know if they could add a second floor to the old Winners/Homesense,
but as others have said, there's no access from outside, so its not a prominent anchor space.

[memememe76]

Any reason why Chapters and/or Old Navy should want to move? They both seem very busy whenever I go there.

Please, have Fitness World move into the mall!

[Tetsuo]

The movie theatre doesn't sit ontop of old Breton's space (check out Google earth)

[urbancanadian]

I've always imagined that if Ivanhoe Cambridge worked with Sears/Concord Pacific in their upcoming project, they could extend the mall out that way. They could pay so that they own the podium/mall part of the development, which would make Concord happy since they don't like managing retail.

I made a quick map below:


The yellow lines are the existing mall corridors and the red lines would be the expansion corridors. Highlighted in purple are Chapters/Old Navy, Sears, and Hudson's Bay. The blue part would be the new Sears Flagship should that ever come to pass.

The current Sears would be demolished, as well as Chapters/Old Navy to make way for the mall's expansion. And there is still space, in addition to the new mall retailers, for a Chapters/Old Navy relocation, a new Simon's-sized store and whatever else. Simon's could, for example, have a Kingsway frontage.

[red-paladin]

You should email that to them at [email protected] and see what they say! I don't know if it's financially feasible, but it looks like a great idea to me.

[SpongeG]

Originally Posted by NewfBC

Are you being silly? Simons isn't going to go into a space where they have no direct outside access or presence.

Ron.

its a glorified H&M

[red-paladin]

When the Playdium arcade / attraction was in the space that Winners / Homesense is now, it was at least 2 high floors tall. Is that space just vacant above the store now?

[officedweller]

Interesting stuff -
Depending on the lease, the landlord may have relocation rights to cause a tenant to change locations.
I didn't know the Playdium space was double height ceilings - that could provide flexibility for Simons, too.
(I was wondering if the Playdium/Winners Homsense could be expanded upwards or if the theatres were in the way.)

On UrbanCanadian's plan, I could also see the mall go from Sears to Hudson's Bay parallel to Kingsway instead of forming a T - that would lead directly to Hudson's Bay, rather than leaving it stranded.

[Retail-Insider]

Ted Baker will open its 1st Canadian location outside of Toronto at Pacific Centre: http://www.retail-insider.com/retail-insider/2015/2/ted-baker

[memememe76]

Price Smart has rebranded to Price Smart International. I think the one in Surrey on 152 and Fraser is the first edition. It features a much larger Asian grocery component. Even has cooked dim sum! Not sure if it can compete with T&T, but it is noticeably cleaner.

[Conrad Yablonski]

Originally Posted by memememe76

Price Smart has rebranded to Price Smart International. I think the one in Surrey on 152 and Fraser is the first edition. It features a much larger Asian grocery component. Even has cooked dim sum! Not sure if it can compete with T&T, but it is noticeably cleaner.

Interesting I just noticed that driving by somewhere and was wondering how it was-Thanks for the intel.

[Spork]

Originally Posted by memememe76

Price Smart has rebranded to Price Smart International. I think the one in Surrey on 152 and Fraser is the first edition. It features a much larger Asian grocery component. Even has cooked dim sum! Not sure if it can compete with T&T, but it is noticeably cleaner.

The older T&Ts are going to have to start upgrading/expanding in size a bit faster. The difference between the one at Aberdeen and the one near the Olympic Oval is like night and day.

[st7860]

These days Price Smart looks like Superstore and T&T got married and had a baby.

[Conrad Yablonski]

Originally Posted by st7860

These days Price Smart looks like Superstore and T&T got married and had a baby.

Then there's For Real Food Mart which seems to have a lot of money and if rumours are to be believed expansion plans.

[vanlaw]

Originally Posted by memememe76

Price Smart has rebranded to Price Smart International. I think the one in Surrey on 152 and Fraser is the first edition. It features a much larger Asian grocery component. Even has cooked dim sum! Not sure if it can compete with T&T, but it is noticeably cleaner.

The Price Smart on Grandview near Rupert did this a while back, maybe 2 years ago. They didn't actually rebrand the name, but the store underwent a huge reno to add the fresh food (dim sum, bbq duck etc) and a massive fresh seafood section, and all the other Asian dry goods etc. Prior to the reno, the store was pretty dead, maybe partly due to its entrance being in the lower covered part of that development. Since the reno, the place is always busy. I'd expect they'll just throw the new signage on that store and call it a day.

[Sheba]

A New Life for Dead Malls

As anchor brands such as JC Penney, Sears, and Macy's close stores and Americans show a preference for shopping online or in walkable urban centers, more malls are expected to close.

But there is good news: In many areas of the country developers are finding new uses for dead malls. Dunham-Jones keeps a database of projects that retrofit dying malls for other purposes, and says that there are 211 spaces across the country being retrofitted in one way or another.

“Malls are being turned into medical centers, colleges, elementary schools, churches,” she said.

http://www.msn.com/en-ca/money/homeandproperty/a-new-life-for-dead-malls/ar-AA9ynAo