[Moncton] Retail Thread

[MonctonRad]

The sign has been installed:

[MonctonRad]

I have it on good authority that BPS (Bass Pro Shop) does not have a fixed opening date due to construction delays, and will open no earlier than mid October and, more likely, not until sometime in November.

[mmmatt]

There was some confusion regarding Quiznos on Mountain Rd.

I spoke with the owner and I guess they have that location up FOR SALE, but it is profitable and will remain open if it sells or not.

[Scarface]

Originally Posted by mmmatt

There was some confusion regarding Quiznos on Mountain Rd.

I spoke with the owner and I guess they have that location up FOR SALE, but it is profitable and will remain open if it sells or not.

The confusion to my knowledge had to do with there hours of operation, and the fact they where closed when most would assume a business like that would be more profitable open...

But I am glad to hear they plan on staying open tho...

[stephan.richard]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

I have it on good authority that BPS (Bass Pro Shop) does not have a fixed opening date due to construction delays, and will open no earlier than mid October and, more likely, not until sometime in November.

Well I drove near there yesterday and its starting to look like a Bass Pro Shop store and I cant wait to see the finished product!!

[OUIR@random]

With several spaces for lease at Champlain, I think Aritzia would be a good choice for the mall, it's a very successful Canadian chain based in Vancouver. I hear about it over and over in the news. They certainly need something new and fresh at Champlain Place...

[micks5477]

Originally Posted by stephan.richard

Well I drove near there yesterday and its starting to look like a Bass Pro Shop store and I cant wait to see the finished product!!

The exterior may be starting to look like a Bass Pro Shop, but the interior is empty with concrete floors and walls. Long way to go and one worker said probably an opening date sometime in November.

[bigrivernb]

Originally Posted by micks5477

The exterior may be starting to look like a Bass Pro Shop, but the interior is empty with concrete floors and walls. Long way to go and one worker said probably an opening date sometime in November.

Speaking to a insider, there is a lot of art being applied to the walls, I'm assuming this is the delay....that being said this insider has said there is one major piece that will be a extreme wow...From what I'm told no corners are being cut....its going to be a destination. I've noticed a lot of the brand signage is up on the outside....the bay doors are on for the Tracker boats store facing Paul street and the old conference center addition is now the new receiving bay doors. The outside entree is getting stone and the finessing. My insider says very little will be done to the landscaping usually they have a stream, with stone and what not...but space limitations wont allow for too much of a outside feature, be my insider said the inside one will make up for it. No Doubt when this gets going its going to be talked about, and will draw a crowd. Looking forward to seeing this turn the tides for retail in this area for more growth and development.

[MonctonRad]

This is interesting. This is a link for a new store manager position for Pennington's in Moncton.

http://ca.indeed.com/cmp/Reitmans-Ltd/jobs/Store-Manager-bbf758332300c103?q=Retail+Store+Manager

The interesting thing is that they list the location as being Wheeler Park whereas the current Pennington's store in Moncton is at the Landing on the Bend.

I suspect that the Smart Set at Wheeler Park is to be rebranded as a Pennington's location. All Smart Set's in the country will be shuttered within the next six months or so. Reitman's Group is known to be planning on rebranding about half of the current Smart Set locations to other stores in their corporate stable. Pennington's is part of the Reitman's group.

If so, the only question is whether the Pennington's store at the Landing on the Bend will be closed, or if Moncton will end up with two Pennington's stores. This is not beyond the realm of possibility as there seems to be a growing trend for many retailers to have two locations in the greater Moncton area; one on the east end of the city and the other on the west side.

[stephan.richard]

Originally Posted by bigrivernb

Speaking to a insider, there is a lot of art being applied to the walls, I'm assuming this is the delay....that being said this insider has said there is one major piece that will be a extreme wow...From what I'm told no corners are being cut....its going to be a destination. I've noticed a lot of the brand signage is up on the outside....the bay doors are on for the Tracker boats store facing Paul street and the old conference center addition is now the new receiving bay doors. The outside entree is getting stone and the finessing. My insider says very little will be done to the landscaping usually they have a stream, with stone and what not...but space limitations wont allow for too much of a outside feature, be my insider said the inside one will make up for it. No Doubt when this gets going its going to be talked about, and will draw a crowd. Looking forward to seeing this turn the tides for retail in this area for more growth and development.

But Can't wait to see the finished product.. I think Moncton is starting to become the premier destination for shopping. I think for Moncton to outclass itself with Halifax would be to attract Tagner or even Premier Outlets. With that said IF I would be George Leblanc I would give them tax breaks for their first years in operation. But hope we can add more regional retailers in Moncton.

[Taeolas]

I agree (and mentioned elsewhere/earlier) that Moncton feels like it's prime to get an Outlet mall setup.

Don't those malls tend to prefer to set up outside the communities? So maybe instead of Moncton, Moncton should be piggybacking Salisbury up to be the Outlet mall location. It's close enough that Moncton would get a lot of the boom from it, and it's still on the main highway.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by stephan.richard

I think Moncton is starting to become the premier destination for shopping. I think for Moncton to outclass itself with Halifax would be to attract Tagner or even Premier Outlets. With that said IF I would be George Leblanc I would give them tax breaks for their first years in operation. But hope we can add more regional retailers in Moncton.

Moncton is certainly becoming "a" premium shopping destination, but I don't think we can claim to be "the" premium shopping destination in Atlantic Canada. Halifax is larger, and likely will always be able to attract some premium retailers that we can't. That being said, We can aspire to getting "different" retailers than Halifax, especially in certain niches that fit more with Moncton's character and geographic location. Bass Pro Shop makes more sense in Moncton than Halifax. IKEA probably makes more sense in Halifax however. I think Moncton's destiny is to be the default regional retailing hub for NB/PEI. We will give Halifax a run for it's money, but I don't think we can expect to best them on the retailing front (especially the high end retailers).

As for a factory outlet mall, I do think they should be centrally located (and along a major highway) but not necessarily within a major city. I think anyplace along the corridor from Sussex to the Halifax Stanfield Airport would be fair game. The problem with locating right in Moncton is that the factory outlet centre could parasitize business from other retailers, especially Champlain Place.

[icetea93]

Forever 21's F21 Red discount/outlet-like brand is looking for locations in Canada. So far they've chosen Ottawa and Windsor. I could see Moncton maybe getting one. Don't hold your breath for Aritzia or similar higher-end stores though.

[stephan.richard]

Originally Posted by icetea93

Forever 21's F21 Red discount/outlet-like brand is looking for locations in Canada. So far they've chosen Ottawa and Windsor. I could see Moncton maybe getting one. Don't hold your breath for Aritzia or similar higher-end stores though.

But I was in Bangor a couple weeks ago and at the Bangor Mall they shut down the Abercombie and Fitch and they openned a Rue 21 Location. But in Moncton never say never. I think as soon as Sobeys can decamp from the mall that area will change and that will make the mall nearly a fashion destination.

[MonctonRad]

I dropped by Cabela's today, and was very impressed with how busy the place was. The store and parking lot were full and it was impressive the number of out of province plates in the parking lot (and we're not just talking about NS and PEI here). I saw plates from QC, ON, ME, MA etc. There were some large motor homes and fifth wheels parked on the cul-de-sac at the end of Cabela's Court too. Presumably these were tourists who noticed the store on the way by on the TCH and dropped in to check it out.

I think Cabela's chose their location very wisely........

[Taeolas]

Yeah I was in Cabela's yesterday as well. Not really my type of store, but I can certainly see the appeal. The store itself is beautiful, and quite full when I was in there. Once BSP comes in and they start resonating with eachother, that should be quite the boom Moncton will have there. As is the Princess Auto /Cabelas combo is pretty dangerous to the male wallet.

[bigrivernb]

I'm starting to see just how picky Bass Pro Shop is on how there store is going to look....They have painted signage around the building, The bass pro shop sign being one of them....covered over it...started over....half way though it they covered it again and started over....the other signage was on the building and most of it has been painted over and re-started.... perfectionist I'm sure. That being said, if that's the case I'm sure it will be a crowd pleaser once opened.

[Scarface]

Originally Posted by bigrivernb

I'm starting to see just how picky Bass Pro Shop is on how there store is going to look....They have painted signage around the building, The bass pro shop sign being one of them....covered over it...started over....half way though it they covered it again and started over....the other signage was on the building and most of it has been painted over and re-started.... perfectionist I'm sure. That being said, if that's the case I'm sure it will be a crowd pleaser once opened.

Only if they can finally paint something, and stick with it...

But on a lighter note it does not seem like the delays aren't anything like what caused Walmart's construction delays so that's a positive.

[MonctonRad]

According to Retailer Insider, Grafton-Fraser has purchased all Jones New York operations in Canada, and has saved the chain from extinction. While Jones New York will still shutter all their locations in the US, the 35 Canadian stores will remain open, and in fact Grafton-Fraser plans on opening 70 new stores in Canada over the next decade.

This will give Jones New York over 100 Canadian locations. Usually when a retail chain in Canada reaches that benchmark, there will usually be at least one outlet in Moncton, so I'm going out on a limb to predict that we may see a Jones New York store in the hub city sometime in the next five years or so, presumably at Champlain Place.

[micks5477]

Updated pics of Bass Pro Shop. Long way to go with exterior and then they can work on finishing interior. Still some glass windows to put in.