The Metro Vancouver Retail Thread

[Conrad Yablonski]

Originally Posted by Sheba

A New Life for Dead Malls
“Malls are being turned into...churches

Not in Canada-religion is pretty much dead here-word is that the Great Ghost in the Sky isn't taking it too well.

[connect2source]

A rather concise list of new retailers in the Pacific Centre expansion :

http://www.retail-insider.com/retail-insider/2015/3/tenants

[LowerLonsdaleMike]

Originally Posted by Conrad Yablonski

Not in Canada-religion is pretty much dead here-word is that the Great Ghost in the Sky isn't taking it too well.

Where are you getting your facts from? There actually is huge growth in Church expansion and expanding into malls is actually a clever idea for some of the larger Churches that are looking for bigger spaces. In fact, some currently lease out Cineplex theatre space across Canada.

[LeftCoaster]

Originally Posted by connect2source

A rather concise list of new retailers in the Pacific Centre expansion :

http://www.retail-insider.com/retail-insider/2015/3/tenants

The 9 tenants mentioned by CF are of course correct, but there is a bit of incorrect info in the article too. Not sure when the rest of the names are being released, but it should clear up soon.

[Conrad Yablonski]

Originally Posted by LowerLonsdaleMike

Where are you getting your facts from?

None other than the Great Ghost in the Sky himself-my background means I have a direct line 24/7.

[daveraver]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

its a glorified H&M

Yes...an H&M that carries Paul Smith, Rick Owens, Jil Sander, Vivienne Westwood,etc... All original designers (not H&M collaborations). Same yet very different at the same time.

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by LeftCoaster

The 9 tenants mentioned by CF are of course correct, but there is a bit of incorrect info in the article too. Not sure when the rest of the names are being released, but it should clear up soon.

The new release said that the 9 announced will open early Summer 2015.
The remaining 4 will be announced "in the coming weeks" and will open in Fall 2015.

Note that the lease plan showed 12 retail units, whereas the announcement says there will be 13 - so the units will be demised differently than shown.

[SpongeG]

Originally Posted by daveraver

Yes...an H&M that carries Paul Smith, Rick Owens, Jil Sander, Vivienne Westwood,etc... All original designers (not H&M collaborations). Same yet very different at the same time.

its like 80% housebrands, holt renfrew has no worries.

i go to the store in edmonton whenever i can, its nice to look around but it feels like an H&M in europe with a few designer brands thrown in the mix, its not a department store at all, they barely have shoes

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

its like 80% housebrands, holt renfrew has no worries.

i go to the store in edmonton whenever i can, its nice to look around but it feels like an H&M in europe with a few designer brands thrown in the mix, its not a department store at all, they barely have shoes

If it works....

****

From the National Post regarding Sears' sale and lease-back of Metrotown store and Cottonwood store (Chilliwack) plus one in Calgary to Concord Pacific for $140 million.

No word on the redevelopment.

http://business.financialpost.com/2015/0...three-of-its-properties/?__lsa=1c48-cffb

Article from the NewsLeader:

http://www.burnabynewsleader.com/business/295952761.html

Older NewsLeader article showing parcel:


http://www.burnabynewsleader.com/news/209521191.html

Compare to aerial posted by urbancanadian.

So the parking lot to the east and in front of McDonalds is part of the Sears/Concord site,
and any direct connection to the existing HBC wing would be entirely on Ivanhoe Cambridge lands.

Originally Posted by 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]

More on Sears:

I was wondering what time frame that 2013 proposal was for.. I didn't expect them to sell the land this soon to Concord Pacific.
That being said, this does fit with Sears' aggressive behaviour. Reagrdless what they say, I really think they are stripping the company's assets and then will eventually shut down or sell the retail operation when that's all that's left.

Sears Canada boosts cash balance with sale-lease deal for three properties

Sears Canada is the latest retailer to monetize some of its real estate. The retailer will sell three properties to real estate development firm Concord Pacific for $140-million, then lease the locations back under long-term deals. The stores are located at the Metropolis at Metrotown in Burnaby, British Columbia, Cottonwood Mall in Chilliwack, British Columbia, and North Hill Shopping Centre in Calgary, Alberta.

"The agreement with Concord is a great way for Sears Canada to create value from its network without adversely impacting operations," Ron Boire, president and chief executive officer of Sears Canada, said in a statement. "This transaction will strengthen our financial position as we continue to implement initiatives designed to make Sears successful.”

Sears Canada (SCC.TO 0.00%) has been struggling in recent years and slashed thousands of jobs as part of a widespread cost-cutting. The deal is scheduled to close on June 8 and Sears Canada expects the transaction to generate after-tax proceeds of approximately $130-million.

“The transaction is important for Sears Canada as it increases its cash balance, which in turn extends the number of years it can continue to operate while generating losses,” Desjardins Securities analyst Keith Howlett wrote in a note to clients, noting the company has about $259-million with essentially no debt.

......

http://www.bnn.ca/News/2015/3/11/Sears-C...ale-lease-deal-for-three-properties.aspx

Sears Canada Inc downgraded, no special dividend expected
Jonathan Ratner | February 26, 2015 | Last Updated: Feb 26 9:32 AM ET


........


“Our view is that a radical restructuring plan is urgently required to capture as much value as possible for all stakeholders, and to minimize further cumulative operating losses,” he added, noting that the company consumed roughly $255-million of cash in fiscal 2014.

Mr. Howlett expects Sears Canada will sharply reduce its capital budget for fiscal 2015.

The analyst also noted that with 140 Target Corp. sites on the market in Canada, the timing for selling under-market leases is not ideal.

http://business.financialpost.com/2015/0...downgraded-no-special-dividend-expected/

[osirisboy]

That's exactly what came to my mind. They are simply selling off all their assets. They said in the article that the cash from these sales will be used to make Sears succesful. Im guessing successful for the shareholders? Lol. It doesn't seem like they have put any money back into Sears whatsoever.

[officedweller]

Article on the closure of the Richmond Centre Sears:

http://www.richmondreview.com/news/295937221.html

As for what’s moving into Sears’ old Richmond Centre space, mall owner Cadillac Fairview isn’t revealing plans.

“We don’t have any announcements we can make to the general public,” said Sheila Luft, general manager at Richmond Centre

http://www.richmondreview.com/news/295937221.html

[hrhsheba]

I see that all but one of the street-level retail spaces at 1100 Robson have been leased (the old White Spot location is still up for rent). Does anyone have any idea who's going in there?

[VanK]

Originally Posted by hrhsheba

I see that all but one of the street-level retail spaces at 1100 Robson have been leased (the old White Spot location is still up for rent). Does anyone have any idea who's going in there?

Based on nothing more than an educated guess - I would say a flagship Apple store.

[officedweller]

Well, it'll be interesting to see if Apple is announced as one of the 4 remaining tenants under Nordstrom - it wasn't in the first batch announced.

[LeftCoaster]

It's been a rumour for ages but hasn't been announced.

Hmmm.

[dreambrother808]

And Starbucks finally comes to Chinatown... Opening in the new building at Main and Keefer.

[mukmuk64]

There's another Starbucks opening below the Opsal in SEFC as well.

[officedweller]

Report: Costco banned from importing fish to Canada
March 17, 2015 | By Dan Berthiaume

Toronto - Costco Canada has reportedly had its license to import fish into Canada suspended. According to Reuters, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency suspended Costco’s license to import fish on Feb. 26, but is only making it public now.

... The suspension of the license came after Costco had three incidents in two years regarding canned tuna. ...

Costco has not yet commented publicly.

http://www.chainstoreage.com/article/report-costco-banned-importing-fish-canada


See also:

http://www.inspection.gc.ca/about-the-cf...s/costco/eng/1426256180157/1426256184516

[Graham_Yvr]

There's a huge Starbucks opening in the former Indigo Bistro restaurant space at Wall Centre. Direct Burrard access as well as entrance through the South Tower hotel lobby. This is well positioned directly across from St. Paul's Hospital. This could be the largest in town...downtown at least.