Canadian Retail Thread

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

Well, isn't the most prominent embassy also the American one, just steps from Parliament Hill?

Not sure I see the connection between a retail outlet and an embassy but, in any event, miketoronto has unique ideas about retail.

[Boris2k7]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

Well, isn't the most prominent embassy also the American one, just steps from Parliament Hill?

I certainly wouldn't mind if a Nordstrom had replaced the American embassy...

[Nouvellecosse]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

The company is owned by the New York-based firm NRDC Equity Partners.

Not sure what the relevance is. It's like complaining that you want Canadian neighbours because a NY couple owns the house next door as a vacation property, and then when a local family buys it saying that since their mortgage is through HSBC, that the house is still foreign owned so them being local doesn't count.

[MolsonExport]

Originally Posted by Nouvellecosse

Not sure what the relevance is. It's like complaining that you want Canadian neighbours because a NY couple owns the house next door as a vacation property, and then when a local family buys it saying that since their mortgage is through HSBC, that the house is still foreign owned so them being local doesn't count.

No point really. I thought that it was obvious from my post, but apparently it was not. I was having fun with the whole "gotta be Canadian" vibe happening.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

No point really. I thought that it was obvious from my post, but apparently it was not. I was having fun with the whole "gotta be Canadian" vibe happening.

Indeed, the idea of the masses consuming foreign crap they don't need with money they don't have at uniquely Canadian outlets leaves one shaking ones head.

[Nouvellecosse]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

No point really. I thought that it was obvious from my post, but apparently it was not. I was having fun with the whole "gotta be Canadian" vibe happening.

It seemed like you were just saying that in an obnoxious attempt to torment people which I honestly don't consider valid relevant. Not saying that you should only say things that people like, just that you should only say things that people don't like if it's serving a purpose other taking pleasure in people not liking them.

[artvandelay]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

The company is owned by the New York-based firm NRDC Equity Partners.

It's actually publicly listed now.

[Nouvellecosse]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

Indeed, the idea of the masses consuming foreign crap they don't need with money they don't have at uniquely Canadian outlets leaves one shaking ones head.

You're certainly reading a lot into things and making some heady assumptions. Not everyone is overextended financially, not every purchase is a trivial non-necessity, and not everything sold at stores in Canada is foreign made.

But beyond that none of those issues are directly related. A lack of Canadian stores is a separate issue from consumer debt, a lack of Canadian manufactured goods or overconsumption. And it doesn't mean addressing any one of these issues shouldn't be attempted because one cannot address all four at once.

[MolsonExport]

Originally Posted by Nouvellecosse

It seemed like you were just saying that in an obnoxious attempt to torment people .

Oh would you chill out just a little bit, Mr. Judge, Jury and Executioner?


ebaumsworld

[YOWflier]

Originally Posted by miketoronto

Just amazing that an American store is now the most prominent store just steps from Parliament Hill.

That Nordstom space should be a Canadian retailer.

Where's the issue? It is this American retailer that entered the marketplace, invested many millions of dollars, has anchored and will continue to anchor numerous charitable/fund-raising events, and created hundreds of temporary and permanent jobs in the process. This, while the Canadian retailer up the road in a similar business space took its ball and went home.

[Nouvellecosse]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

Oh would you chill out just a little bit, Mr. Judge, Jury and Executioner?


ebaumsworld

I realize you're basically harmless and just wanting to make light of everything. I just tend to be overly reactive when it comes to Mike since it's rare to see someone so earnest and I'd hate to see that eroded into jaded apathy. The whole "everything is so f*cked we may as well accept it and give up" mindset is so pervasive nowdays that it's worn down even the most enthused and ambitious.

I'm sure many of his feel he should be more pragmatic and I agree that pragmatic people tend to accomplish more things. But unrelenting idealists seem to accomplish greater things.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

ebaumsworld

"He doesn't like you. I don't like you either."

[eemy]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

The company is owned by the New York-based firm NRDC Equity Partners.

They had better kick out HBC and replace it with... Shoppers Drugmart I guess? (this is Ottawa we're talking about; I don't think they have enough Shoppers in that vicinity)

More seriously, the Nordstrom location is hardly a prominent spot in the mall. Simons and HBC (connected to the Rideau Centre, though not technically in it) both front onto Rideau Street, which becomes Wellington. Nordstrom fronts onto the Mackenzie King Bridge (basically the malls backdoor), the main claim to fame being that the Transitway runs over it. Once the Confederation Line opens, though, rapid transit will run under Rideau Street instead, and the Nordstrom space will become far less valuable.

The US Embassy is also no longer steps from Parliament Hill. It used to be right across the street, but the space was insufficient, so they moved to a location on Sussex near the Byward Market. The British High Commission now has a much more prominent location next to Confederation Square and the War Memorial, but the building is rather unremarkable so it's easy to forget it's there.

[SpongeG]

if it helps i've read comments recently on facebook where people say they choose to shop at futureshop instead of best buy cause at least its canadian, canadian consumers, some anyway, are totally unaware that futureshop is owned by best buy

[manny_santos]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

if it helps i've read comments recently on facebook where people say they choose to shop at futureshop instead of best buy cause at least its canadian, canadian consumers, some anyway, are totally unaware that futureshop is owned by best buy

It's shocking how poorly informed consumers can be. When Target announced it was closing all of its Canadian stores, there were actually a couple of comments on Facebook from people claiming that they only support Canadian companies "like Walmart". And of course for years after Wendy's sold Tim Hortons to Canadian interests, many people still claimed Tim Hortons was American owned.

A comment on a recent CBC article claimed that Air Canada was still owned by the government as well - which it hasn't been since 1988.

There's also the whole issue around The Beer Store in Ontario, where up until a year or two ago, most Ontarians thought it was government-owned like the LCBO and not owned by foreign private interests. Even I thought it was a Crown corporation my whole life.

How anyone could ever have believed Walmart was a Canadian company is beyond me, especially when it is a major symbol of capitalist America.

[Jaws]

Originally Posted by artvandelay

It's actually publicly listed now.

And widely held. No single fund/institution holds more than 7% of outstanding shares.

[Loco101]

Retailers and restaurants that many Canadians think are Canadian-owned but actually are not:

(most once were Canadian-owned)

Tim Hortons (now part of the same company as Burger King)

Future Shop (part of Best-Buy)

Dollarama (now Bain Capital, think Mitt Romney)

Hudson's Bay Company

The Bargain! Shop



Feel free to add to this list.

[eemy]

From what I can tell, HBC isn't majority owned by anyone anymore. RBI, the (Canadian) company that owns Tim Horton's and Burger King is 51% owned by a Brazilian firm. And 80% of Dollarama is owned by Bain.

In a global investment market though, ownership seems somewhat irrelevant to Canadianness for publicly traded companies. By the same logic I suppose Selfridges is Canadian?

[VIce]

Originally Posted by Loco101

Retailers and restaurants that many Canadians think are Canadian-owned but actually are not:

(most once were Canadian-owned)

Tim Hortons (now part of the same company as Burger King)

Future Shop (part of Best-Buy)

Dollarama (now Bain Capital, think Mitt Romney)

Hudson's Bay Company

The Bargain! Shop



Feel free to add to this list.

Like how BMO calls itself "BMO Bank" in the US to avoid people asking what the acronym stands for?

[SpongeG]

when i was a kid all the banks had full names on their signage and papers etc.

i used the bank of nova scotia
there was the toronto dominion bank
canadian imperial bank of commerce
bank of montreal

it was in the 90's when they started to shorten them, kfc shortened its name too, it was always known as kentucky fried chicken, apparently kfc makes it sound more healthy since fried is not mentioned