Canadian Retail Thread

[1overcosc]

Nothing lasts long anymore. Things are deliberately made to break fast so consumers buy another one soon.

IMO, this practice needs to be curtailed with all force possible. It's horrible for the environment.

[Pavlov]

Originally Posted by Acajack

I don't buy any food at Dollarama but for many household items they've made a big dent in the bottom line of the larger retailers. Like decorations for parties and holidays, children's crafts, gardening stuff, household storage like hooks, bins, or kitchen stuff like tongs, graters, or outdoor brooms for your garage, or cleaning supplies, etc. Much of it is two to three times cheaper at Dollarama.

Maybe the Dollarama stuff doesn't last as long, but I'm not sure that's always been the case...

Finding $1.00 greeting cards and gift bags at a dollarama was a revelation.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Reesonov

Finding $1.00 greeting cards and gift bags at a dollarama was a revelation.

Exactly. It's perfect for stuff like that, given that Hallmark and Carlton charge 4-6x that much for what basically amounts to the same thing. Dollarama has its purpose.

[eemy]

Coffee Culture is in Waterloo as well. I get the impression it is slightly more upscale and would compete more with Williams or Starbucks than Tim Hortons.

Williams is a chain that I think has solid expansion potential, but so far it hasn't spread too far out of Southwestern Ontario.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by esquire

Exactly. It's perfect for stuff like that, given that Hallmark and Carlton charge 4-6x that much for what basically amounts to the same thing. Dollarama has its purpose.

I can't believe that people used to pay 5.99 plus tax for kiddie birthday cards that get tossed in the garbage 1 second after they are opened at the party.

[caltrane74]

Eglinton-Centre Renovation

[WhipperSnapper]

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

Nothing lasts long anymore. Things are deliberately made to break fast so consumers buy another one soon.

IMO, this practice needs to be curtailed with all force possible. It's horrible for the environment.

But there's hardly a market for things to last 30 plus years with a price to match. Everyone wants the latest and greatest.

[Rusty van Reddick]

Originally Posted by jeremy_haak

Williams is a chain that I think has solid expansion potential, but so far it hasn't spread too far out of Southwestern Ontario.

No, it doesn't. Recent visit to Waterloo confirms it's as horrible now as it was first visit in 1995. Completely execrable espresso. In 2015, coffee chains have to have good coffee, which Williams does not.

[hipster duck]

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

Nothing lasts long anymore. Things are deliberately made to break fast so consumers buy another one soon.

IMO, this practice needs to be curtailed with all force possible. It's horrible for the environment.

I actually find that the opposite is happening. My 5 year old computer (a PC) still works like new - even the battery hasn't lost much of its charge over the years. In comparison, my previous computers have all had some issue come up after that much time: the battery would die, the screen would start to go, etc.. I still use the same iPod I used in 2008; the one I had previously lasted 2.5 years before it conked out. I have friends with 15 year old cars with 200,000 km on the clock that are still working reasonably well. When my parents' 1979 Toyota had 200,000 km just ten years after they bought it, it was a rusting piece of junk that basically doubled its value every time my dad filled up the tank.

My impression is that consumer durables are getting, well, more durable. I'm not an expert on this, but part of the reason might be that Chinese made goods have had their "Japan moment", and they are just as capable of making precision-engineered components as well as any advanced industrial country.

[Nouvellecosse]

I definitely find computers are getting more robust, but they have a higher replacement rate compared to say, a TV or DVD/blu-ray player partly due to generating more heat, but mostly because the advancement of technology is so relentless that people always want newer things.

[casper]

Originally Posted by Nouvellecosse

I definitely find computers are getting more robust, but they have a higher replacement rate compared to say, a TV or DVD/blu-ray player partly due to generating more heat, but mostly because the advancement of technology is so relentless that people always want newer things.

It use to be application processing requirements driving the need to upgrade. Today with so much moving to the cloud there less pressure on the client side with new applications.

[manny_santos]

Originally Posted by hipster duck

I actually find that the opposite is happening. My 5 year old computer (a PC) still works like new - even the battery hasn't lost much of its charge over the years. In comparison, my previous computers have all had some issue come up after that much time: the battery would die, the screen would start to go, etc.. I still use the same iPod I used in 2008; the one I had previously lasted 2.5 years before it conked out. I have friends with 15 year old cars with 200,000 km on the clock that are still working reasonably well. When my parents' 1979 Toyota had 200,000 km just ten years after they bought it, it was a rusting piece of junk that basically doubled its value every time my dad filled up the tank.

My impression is that consumer durables are getting, well, more durable. I'm not an expert on this, but part of the reason might be that Chinese made goods have had their "Japan moment", and they are just as capable of making precision-engineered components as well as any advanced industrial country.

I've noticed this too. I bought my first laptop in 2005 and it was garbage, despite costing about $1500. The one bright spot was that I got a 3 year warranty, and at one point or another I had every single part replaced at least once, except for the keyboard. The battery went after only 18 months and when trying to explain this to the staff at Best Buy they couldn't seem to grasp the idea of the battery no longer functioning "But it's supposed to last 5 years!" Getting them to sell me another battery was a major production and when they finally sold me one it cost $200 (and that was after they sent me the wrong one). The computer died another 18 months later.

I bought another laptop in 2010, this time from Staples. Haven't needed it serviced once, though the component that connects the power port to the motherboard is loose. Battery lasted over 4 years, but nowadays it's easy to buy an OEM replacement online for a low price.

[Nouvellecosse]

Was the first one an Acer? I've heard some stories about them from several years ago but their reputation is really improving.

[manny_santos]

Originally Posted by Nouvellecosse

Was the first one an Acer? I've heard some stories about them from several years ago but their reputation is really improving.

Gateway

[casper]

Originally Posted by manny_santos

Gateway

Gateway is a brand owned by Acer. I would avoid Acer.

Lenovo, HP and Dell are considered the Tier-1 manufactures. I think Lenovo is the best of the three.

[Xelebes]

One has to be reminded that there was the event known as the Capacitor Plague that happened between 2000 and 2005. This came about from a bit of corporate espionage when the incomplete designs of a new capacitor series were stolen from a very reputable capacitor manufacturer. The ones who stole the designs flooded the market with these subpar capacitors. This resulted in computer parts having lifespans of three to five years going down to one to three years with the capacitors in the electronics being among the first to go out.

[Nouvellecosse]

Originally Posted by casper

Gateway is a brand owned by Acer. I would avoid Acer.

Lenovo, HP and Dell are considered the Tier-1 manufactures. I think Lenovo is the best of the three.

Actually Gateway wasn't bought by Acer until 2007 so if he got his Gateway in 2005 it shouldn't have been related. Perhaps it was just bad luck.

[casper]

Originally Posted by Nouvellecosse

Actually Gateway wasn't bought by Acer until 2007 so if he got his Gateway in 2005 it shouldn't have been related. Perhaps it was just bad luck.

When it comes to notebooks. There are consumer grade and business grade machines. The "consumer grade" machine are focused on driving down cost and competing on price. The consumer grade machines are commonly found in places like Staples, Best-Buy etc.

The business grade machines are a bit more quality focused. For a notebook it means more metal less plastic housing and hinges. Usually it is only an extra $100-$200 more to get a business grade machine.

Both Acer and Gateway (before being taken over) tended to offer consumer grade and dabble in some business grade models. The Tier-1 guys tend to be business grade oriented and dabble in some consumer grade models. A Lenovo ThinkPad is well built a Lenovo IdeaPad tries to compete on price.

The refurbished market is becoming interesting. A lot of corporate accounts are now 3 year leases on business grade equipment. After the lease those machines get refurbished and are now flooding the computer market, especially the small computer stores. They are actually pretty good deals.

[caltrane74]

Eaton Centre Renovation

More billboards sprouting up, are they static or LED?

[SpongeG]

joe fresh has opened in Mexico City

http://blog.joefresh.com/2015/09/joe-fresh-opens-in-mexico-city/