Winnipeg Retail

[CoryB]

Originally Posted by vjose32

Yes I remember the old Future Shop on McPhillips quite well. It's now a Thrift Store.

I also remember when Northgate used to be a pretty vibrant place with Zellers, Kmart, BiWay, and a kids party play zone thing. It was good aside from the vacant food court, lol.

Then Kmart got forced out, Zellers expanded, Cinema City replaced the food court and BiWay and it all went downhill after that.

Now they have pretty much all of Zellers and Kmart sitting vacant.

I also remember when we had a Woolco at Garden City Square and they had a small mall there, that was until Walmart came in and sealed off the entrance to the mall and effectively killed everything in it except Scotiabank.

If I am not mistaken the exists of both KMart and BiWay were tied to the end of those chains. My memory could also be foggy but I thought BiWay was in the same strip mall as Buffet Square and not inside Northgate. Even at its peak though Northgate was a collection of mom and pop style local stores and never really attracted national chains. Even after Cinema City moved in and the enclosed extension between Kmart and the main Zellers door was demoed the mall was still doing relatively well.

Also the Garden City Square mall was dying long before Walmart closed the entrance. Like Northgate it was also a heavy collection of mom and pop style stores.

There actually used to be a relatively large number of the enclosed neighbourhood malls. The KMart and Safeway on Henderson, Fort Richmond Plaza and to some degrees Unitcity mall and Grant Park mall all fall into that model.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by CoryB

If I am not mistaken the exists of both KMart and BiWay were tied to the end of those chains. My memory could also be foggy but I thought BiWay was in the same strip mall as Buffet Square and not inside Northgate. Even at its peak though Northgate was a collection of mom and pop style local stores and never really attracted national chains. Even after Cinema City moved in and the enclosed extension between Kmart and the main Zellers door was demoed the mall was still doing relatively well.

Also the Garden City Square mall was dying long before Walmart closed the entrance. Like Northgate it was also a heavy collection of mom and pop style stores.

There actually used to be a relatively large number of the enclosed neighbourhood malls. The KMart and Safeway on Henderson, Fort Richmond Plaza and to some degrees Unitcity mall and Grant Park mall all fall into that model.

You're right regarding BiWay at the strip mall where Buffet Square is (was?)

I don't know that Garden City Square (not to be confused with Garden City Shopping Centre) was ever really in good shape as a mall... even in the mid-80s when mall mania was at its peak it was still a weak attraction. Had that been located somewhere else (say, along North Main, or maybe out on Inkster closer to The Maples) it might have done well, but I don't know what they were thinking putting it right across the street from a major regional mall, which Garden City Shopping Centre was at the time.

And just to nitpick to your last point, Unicity was most definitely a big regional mall. They had major anchors (The Bay, Woolco then Wal-Mart, Safeway) and it was filled with national chains. It was a bit like pre-expansion St. Vital, but maybe a bit smaller. But yeah, the local neighborhood malls have seen better days... there are hardly any of them left. A bit surprising considering our climate... you'd think that model would have been a winner in suburbia.

[vjose32]

Originally Posted by tedtim

I didn't mind going to Future Shop and giving a salesperson the commission IF they knew what they were doing.
I would go into the store, having done all the research on the product, and if the salesperson could answer my questions, I'd buy the product.
Sadly, most of the time they just would read the little card by the display, so I'd just buy the product at Best Buy.

Well you can't expect every employee to know every little detail about every product.

[The Unknown Poster]

Originally Posted by vjose32

Well you can't expect every employee to know every little detail about every product.

They used to have employees assigned to specific departments and they would know about the products they sold. A good sales person knows how to talk you through a sale anyway, not make it obvious they have no clue about it. Often times, someone considering a purchase just needs to be nudged in the right direction and Future Shop staff would too often nudge people in the wrong direction.

Its one thing to spend under $100. If Im considering spending a few thousand on a TV or something, you want to feel like the sales person is giving you the right info. Like someone else said in this thread, I usually do my own research anyway but still...

I always found Best Buy staff much more pleasant and helpful.

[Da Vinci]

Originally Posted by esquire

You're right regarding BiWay at the strip mall where Buffet Square is (was?).

And I think Bargain Harold is the one that was located on Northgate SC accross the Dairy Queen when there was a food court on the south end of the mall. (still remember their gazebo)

[CoryB]

Originally Posted by esquire

And just to nitpick to your last point, Unicity was most definitely a big regional mall. They had major anchors (The Bay, Woolco then Wal-Mart, Safeway) and it was filled with national chains. It was a bit like pre-expansion St. Vital, but maybe a bit smaller. But yeah, the local neighborhood malls have seen better days... there are hardly any of them left. A bit surprising considering our climate... you'd think that model would have been a winner in suburbia.

Having major anchors alone does not make a regional mall. The Crossroads Shopping Centre had a Woolco and a Safeway with a couple of nation chains in the enclosed mall between them. Grant Park has definitely had (and still does) national chains but it was never a real regional mall either. I could be wrong about Unicity but it definitely seems to fall into the pattern of not a regional mall like Polo Park or St Vital which is why it ultimately stopped being a mall.

[esquire]

^ I'd say Unicity probably ranked alongside Garden City in the constellation of Winnipeg malls. Not as large as Polo Park, St. Vital or Kildonan Place, but certainly larger and more significant than the neighborhood malls which typically had a discount retailer (K-Mart, Woolco, Zellers), supermarket and the usual roster of local shops and services (insurance broker, hair salon, video rental joint, dry cleaner, etc.).

By the 90s, Unicity was down at the heels a bit and the national retailers were fleeing, but for at least the first 15 years they were a player when it came to local malls.

[CoryB]

Unictiy in its current big box format continues to struggle. After La Senza Girl left that spot was vacant for close to a year. Shortly after it finally got filled Pennington's left and it has now been vacant more than a year. The struggles of Unicity really should have called both the retail developments at Westport Festival and ASD into question before they ever got past the concept stage. With Target making a hasty exit from Canada who are they hoping will anchor either of those developments? Even if you give some stock to the rumor the ASD development is the Tanger Outlet mall that was announced many years ago with a specific location the area still seems like it will struggle.

[vjose32]

Yes I remember there being a Bargains Harold in Northgate when I was a kid, but i'm fairly certain after that it became a Biway. Living down the street from there I used to go there quite often, spent a lot of time playing video games at Kmart, usually Xmen or Sonic from what I recall, whatever they had at the time.

It's true Kmart might have closed there because they were pulling out, but my cousin who worked at the River East Kmart at the time told me that store was actually making them money unlike the River East store which remained open for some time after the Northgate store closed. I heard it was under pressure from the landlord who was connected to Hudsons Bay/Zellers apparently, something like that. I could be wrong, but that is what I remember.

And yeah GC Square wasn't much before but it certainly didn't help cutting off the stream of customers from Walmart.

In thinking further about demo-ing GC Square and Future Shop to make room for a Costco I don't think there would be enough parking for something like that there. There's plenty of room and they could kick Jysk and Staples to the curb for more room if needed, or move Jysk next door to Future Shop, but would parking be sufficient?

[Bdog]

Originally Posted by esquire

^ I'd say Unicity probably ranked alongside Garden City in the constellation of Winnipeg malls. Not as large as Polo Park, St. Vital or Kildonan Place, but certainly larger and more significant than the neighborhood malls which typically had a discount retailer (K-Mart, Woolco, Zellers), supermarket and the usual roster of local shops and services (insurance broker, hair salon, video rental joint, dry cleaner, etc.).

By the 90s, Unicity was down at the heels a bit and the national retailers were fleeing, but for at least the first 15 years they were a player when it came to local malls.

I agree - Unicity always felt more "grand" than say a Fort Richmond Plaza. Definitely similar to the pre-late-90s St. Vital mall (which is around when Unicity was demolished).

Speaking of those neighbourhood malls, some might remember when Pembina Crossing was actually the enclosed Southwood Mall. Dominion at one end, and K-Mart at the other, with a mish mash of stuff in between (Oceana, Jumbo Video, and TVS to name a few - some of those might have been just after it shifted to its current format).

[OverUnder]

I was just driving down St. James today when the complete collapse of retail around St. Mathews became apparent.

Between Target, Future Shop, and the eastern strip mall that was bought for the St. Mathews extension, that area has lost a large number of retail developments that were used to justify the 30+ million dollar road improvements in the area. The brand new lights on St. James to a now empty retail centre were especially disappointing.

[buzzg]

Originally Posted by OverUnder

I was just driving down St. James today when the complete collapse of retail around St. Mathews became apparent.

Between Target, Future Shop, and the eastern strip mall that was bought for the St. Mathews extension, that area has lost a large number of retail developments that were used to justify the 30+ million dollar road improvements in the area. The brand new lights on St. James to a now empty retail centre were especially disappointing.

If they didn't improve them, you would've been involved in a complete collapse of the road you were driving on.

Almost all of the businesses relocated in the same vicinity.

[wags_in_the_peg]

Originally Posted by OverUnder

I was just driving down St. James today when the complete collapse of retail around St. Mathews became apparent.

Between Target, Future Shop, and the eastern strip mall that was bought for the St. Mathews extension, that area has lost a large number of retail developments that were used to justify the 30+ million dollar road improvements in the area. The brand new lights on St. James to a now empty retail centre were especially disappointing.

that strip mall is being torn down, that is why all business are empty!

[Jammon]

Originally Posted by vjose32

Yes I remember there being a Bargains Harold in Northgate when I was a kid, but i'm fairly certain after that it became a Biway. Living down the street from there I used to go there quite often, spent a lot of time playing video games at Kmart, usually Xmen or Sonic from what I recall, whatever they had at the time.

It's true Kmart might have closed there because they were pulling out, but my cousin who worked at the River East Kmart at the time told me that store was actually making them money unlike the River East store which remained open for some time after the Northgate store closed. I heard it was under pressure from the landlord who was connected to Hudsons Bay/Zellers apparently, something like that. I could be wrong, but that is what I remember.

And yeah GC Square wasn't much before but it certainly didn't help cutting off the stream of customers from Walmart.

In thinking further about demo-ing GC Square and Future Shop to make room for a Costco I don't think there would be enough parking for something like that there. There's plenty of room and they could kick Jysk and Staples to the curb for more room if needed, or move Jysk next door to Future Shop, but would parking be sufficient?

Garden City Square did some fair business before Walmart came in- but the mall was actually competition for what they were selling. When Woolco was there, you had the two anchor tenants in Safeway and Woolco and about a 25 store indoor strip mall. I remember Mariposa was in there because my Mom used to go shopping in there all the time and the store had some crazy-assed mirrors on the ceiling, etc. There was also a Garbonzo's pizza at one point and a Pizza Place, a music store, a dentist, some law offices, and a bargain store along with Scotiabank.

Biway wasn't in Northgate Mall- it was in the adjacent plaza they built years later after Northgate. I sure do remember going to Zellers and K-Mart though.

[laumag]

I drove by the empty Liquidation World (Big Lots) building and the empty End of the Roll building on McPhillips Street this afternoon and noticed that the For Sale/Lease signs were gone. I believe these properties were handled by Colliers. Anyone know what's going on there?

[steveosnyder]

Originally Posted by laumag

I drove by the empty Liquidation World (Big Lots) building and the empty End of the Roll building on McPhillips Street this afternoon and noticed that the For Sale/Lease signs were gone. I believe these properties were handled by Colliers. Anyone know what's going on there?

Kia Motors... It went to the city for variances a little while back.

[vjose32]

Originally Posted by steveosnyder

Kia Motors... It went to the city for variances a little while back.

That would be interesting. Also see construction has started on the new Toyota dealership, should make things a lot better as the current parking lot is terrible.
Btw, where can we see this info on Kia?

[vjose32]

This is interesting. Seems they are going to be building some new shopping center at Henderson and the perimeter, on the southeast corner. Not sure why we need retail there.

http://www.collierscanada.com/5554

[esquire]

Originally Posted by vjose32

This is interesting. Seems they are going to be building some new shopping center at Henderson and the perimeter, on the southeast corner. Not sure why we need retail there.

http://www.collierscanada.com/5554

Lots of high income earners in ESP + little existing retail/commercial nearby = salivating strip-mall developers.

For what it's worth this appears to be outside Winnipeg city limits.

[Biff]

It's technically in ESP. They have been trying to lease this for two years now. So far, nothing.