The Metro Vancouver Retail Thread

[trofirhen]

Originally Posted by Prometheus

What makes you think they will? I can't think of a single wooden utility line that has been updated on the downtown peninsula within the last couple of years, approximately. It's as if the city has gone completely to sleep on this file. I would love to be mistaken, however.

Back in September, I commented on the same thing, and Graham_YVR told me that the Vancouver BIA has plans for Alberni Street that include utility pole removal and more.
He talked about sidewalk widening, improved street furniture, lighting, and more "permeability" as I recall. Maybe contacting him on this could set the record strraight.
I'm sure Graham is right, but yes, like Godot, we're still waiting for it! This is Alberni Street, not Main and Columbia !!

[LeftCoaster]

Just as an FYI, there are no utility poles on Alberni.

The utility pole that always draws all this flack is just a single pole on Alberni as part of the run along Thurlow.

[mcminsen]

I'm having trouble keeping track of the changes with all the supermarkets. And then in today's Courier, the new Safeway flyer appears to be transitioning to a Safeway/Sobeys. I'm presuming that eventually Safeway will be gone completely? Here's the front flap to the new flyer.


Jan.21 '16, my pics

[trofirhen]

Originally Posted by LeftCoaster

Just as an FYI, there are no utility poles on Alberni.

The utility pole that always draws all this flack is just a single pole on Alberni as part of the run along Thurlow.

It "poisons" the whole feel of the district. Would it bethat expensive and difficult to put a few blocks of poles on Thurlow underground?

[cairnstone]

Originally Posted by GeeCee

I heard an odd rumor that the 10 year old shopping complex (Thrifty Foods) on Austin and Mariner in Coquitlam is closing and everyone has to be out by April. Apparently it's going to be redeveloped?

Edit: address is 2662 Austin Avenue.. still has a few active listings on Spacelist.

Edit2: Thrifty Foods will be closing according to their Facebook page. Haven't found anything about the rest.

Does not surprise me a bit that it is closing. The area is awkward not around any other shopping areas. Only draws a small local population. So an orphaned project.

If im correct it was under construction or had just opened when thriftys was sold to Sobeys. And was there second location in metro area. So i bet the lease is up and the numbers don't reflect renewing. As Sobeys will have a new store on north road, old Safeway at lougheed, a Safeway near coquitlam center.

[connect2source]

Originally Posted by mcminsen

I'm having trouble keeping track of the changes with all the supermarkets. And then in today's Courier, the new Safeway flyer appears to be transitioning to a Safeway/Sobeys. I'm presuming that eventually Safeway will be gone completely? Here's the front flap to the new flyer.


Jan.21 '16, my pics

I think this is inevitable. How long would Sobey's be able to licence the Safeway name and logo when it has nothing to do with it any more? I doubt Safeway would like having identical branding in Canada when there have been big changes to the merchandise mix since the purchase in 2013, namely Compliments as the house brand, replacing Lucerne and other past Safeway brands.

As Safeway was bought out in the UK and Australia in the 1990's the names stayed for a while but gradually changed over to the new owners, in the UK Safeway eventually was re-branded to Morrisons and in Australia to Woolworth.

I think the gradual change is brilliant, Safeway has a very loyal following in the west, I doubt many of the changes have really been noticed by customers. As far as the branding, I've noticed "ingredients for life' is gone, but still in the US and the US and Canadian websites already look very different.

[Vin]

Vancouver already lagging when it comes to retail.....

Burnaby, however, is stepping up to fill this void.




http://www.vancitybuzz.com/2016/01/brentwood-town-centre-become-amazing-brentwood/

Brentwood Town Centre to become 'The Amazing Brentwood'
BY
HELEN SIWAK
5:07 PM PST, WED JANUARY 20, 2016


Brentwood Town Centre is undergoing a spectacular overhaul that, when completed in the fall of 2018, will make it one of the largest urban destinations in North America. According to Retail-Insider, the first phase of development of the new centre will feature a modern luxury retail zone, fashion anchor stores, new upscale restaurants and a cinema, all in a indoor-outdoor configuration located directly on and around the SkyTrain station.

According to Retail-Insider,

The existing 500,000 square foot centre will be transformed into a mixed-use super regional shopping centre featuring in excess of 1.1 million square feet of retail space. As many as three large stores may anchor the centre, and landlord Shape Properties confirms that they have been in discussions with four upscale fashion department stores. Discussions continue with a variety of smaller retailers, including a number of luxury brands that are interested in locating in the centre’s new ‘modern luxury zone’.

Not all retail will be luxury focused and the developer is looking to add various lifestyle, aspirational and approachably-priced retailers in the centre, including a number of sports and athleisure focused brands.

The centre will feature four distinct retail areas; ‘Brentwood Interior’, ‘Brentwood Boulevard’, ‘West Mews/Grand Lobby’, and ‘The Plaza’. Each is described below.

Brentwood Boulevard, an outdoor retail street, will feature 22 retailers in 70,000 square feet of space, as well as two restaurants occupying approximately 10,000 square feet, plus some 4,000 square feet of restaurant patio space. Brentwood Boulevard’s design is inspired by some of the world’s most iconic high streets.

West Mews and Grand Lobby will feature 17,000 square feet of retail space, as well as a further 4,000 square feet for at least six restaurants, excluding approximately 1,500 square feet of patio space. The area will offer one-of-a-kind brands, designer stores, and unique restaurants.

The Plaza will be a one-acre open-air social hub featuring fashion brands mixed with patios, pubs and casual dining. It will feature 15 stores as well as six restaurants spanning over 30,000 square feet, plus 7,100 square feet of patio space and 4,000 square feet of garden rooftops. Also, three of the restaurants at The Plaza will be multi-level, according to plans.

According to Shape Properties’ Executive Vice President, Darren Kwiatkowski, Brentwood will feature considerably more space devoted to restaurants than is typically found in shopping centres in Canada. This addresses the fact that malls are increasingly becoming social and entertainment destinations, as opposed to being pure retail centres. Brentwood will feature a variety of diverse food options with chef-driven concepts (and some chains) to be included to elevate the food experience.

The Brentwood SkyTrain Station will become an integral component of the centre, and Mr. Kwiatkowski explained that transit ridership is expected to grow substantially as the Lower Mainland continues to densify. Brentwood is also easily accessible by car and its central location means that this development will be able to pull in shoppers from Burnaby as well as Vancouver, Coquitlam, New Westminster, and even North Vancouver via the Second Narrows Bridge.

[officedweller]

More info here - it just mentions a combined flyer:

http://betterfoodstartshere.com/

We are proud to serve Western Canada, and look forward to seeing you at our stores. On January 29th, look out for our new combined Safeway and Sobeys flyer to see what positive changes we have in-store for Western Canada. We are proud to serve Western Canada, and look forward to seeing you at our stores.

Originally Posted by connect2source

I think the gradual change is brilliant, Safeway has a very loyal following in the west, I doubt many of the changes have really been noticed by customers. As far as the branding, I've noticed "ingredients for life' is gone, but still in the US and the US and Canadian websites already look very different.

A licence for use of trademarks is usually a term of the sale contract for the business - how long the use would be allowed would have been negotiated.
In this case, since the vendor was exiting the market, the term was longer.
If the vendor stays in the same market, the licence may be very short or tied to disposal/sale of existing (branded) inventory.

[bluefox]

Originally Posted by connect2source

I think this is inevitable. How long would Sobey's be able to licence the Safeway name and logo when it has nothing to do with it any more? I doubt Safeway would like having identical branding in Canada when there have been big changes to the merchandise mix since the purchase in 2013, namely Compliments as the house brand, replacing Lucerne and other past Safeway brands.

They didn't get rid of the Lucerne dairy products; in fact, Sobeys partnered with Agropur to sell the facilities to the latter and expand the Lucerne brand presence to Sobeys and IGA stores.

I agree, though, it's a matter of time. This flyer is a toe in the water. The typefaces and the new slogan, the two brands appearing on one flyer, the subliminal messaging of the red arrow pointing at the Sobeys logo... all suggests we're in for some changes. If rebranding wasn't such a costly endeavour for brick-and-mortar retailers, Sobeys would have probably already done it.

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by bluefox

If rebranding wasn't such a costly endeavour for brick-and-mortar retailers, Sobeys would have probably already done it.

.. and then over time they may run up against increasing costs for maintaining separate brands.

[connect2source]

Macy's did the same thing when they merged all the names of Federated Dept. Store brands a few years ago, for example the The Bon Marche in Washington, became Bon-Macy's for a while then the Bon name vanished a few years later and the stores simply became Macy's, seems similar to what Sobey's may do with the Safeway name.

There's very little 'Safeway' remaining in this combined flyer, the look, the tag line, fonts and overall style are all Sobey's as bluefox pointed out.

[officedweller]

Tri-City News on Thrifty's - failure to agree on lease terms, apparently...

http://www.tricitynews.com/news/austin-station-thrifty-foods-to-close-april-25-1.2156493

[SpongeG]

the land lord must have something up their sleeve

[Conrad Yablonski]

Originally Posted by Vin

Vancouver already lagging when it comes to retail.....Burnaby, however, is stepping up to fill this void.

Oh that droll wag Vin and his ironic POV-he bestrides the board like a colossus-the rest of us just shrivel in his shade.

[csbvan]

Originally Posted by Vin

Vancouver already lagging when it comes to retail.....

Burnaby, however, is stepping up to fill this void.

Indeed. I think that Vancouver would be smart to bulldoze most of Alberni or Water St to create a giant mall filled with suburban-esque chain stores as opposed to high end chains and boutiques. It is so small town to bring in Versace, Louis Vuitton, etc. Wal-Marts and Cactus Clubs indicate a big city.

[Sheba]

Originally Posted by csbvan

Indeed. I think that Vancouver would be smart to bulldoze most of Alberni or Water St to create a giant mall filled with suburban-esque chain stores as opposed to high end chains and boutiques. It is so small town to bring in Versace, Louis Vuitton, etc. Wal-Marts and Cactus Clubs indicate a big city.

Scroll back a bit...

Originally Posted by Vin

Brentwood Town Centre is undergoing a spectacular overhaul that, when completed in the fall of 2018, will make it one of the largest urban destinations in North America. According to Retail-Insider, the first phase of development of the new centre will feature a modern luxury retail zone, fashion anchor stores, new upscale restaurants and a cinema, all in a indoor-outdoor configuration located directly on and around the SkyTrain station.

[trofirhen]

Originally Posted by csbvan

Indeed. I think that Vancouver would be smart to bulldoze most of Alberni or Water St to create a giant mall filled with suburban-esque chain stores as opposed to high end chains and boutiques. It is so small town to bring in Versace, Louis Vuitton, etc. Wal-Marts and Cactus Clubs indicate a big city.

Now, now, ...

[Sheba]

Sears Canada races to close more stores amid cost-cutting efforts

Sears Canada Inc. is stepping up its efforts to close another round of stores, raising more questions about its fate and putting pressure on landlords who already have a lot of empty retail space.

The struggling Sears has instructed real estate firm CBRE to look for alternative uses for Sears's weakest stores, such as its clearance outlets, Brandon Stranzl, executive chairman of Sears Canada, said in an interview this week. As well, Sears officials are working internally to shrink its store network, he said.

He said "everything and anything" is on the table as Sears races to cut costs and revive its core full-line department-store business amid tumbling sales.

"We've got this network we're going to rationalize and we're going to figure out which stores make the most sense," said Mr. Stranzl, who took the top job last summer. "We've got a higher level of activity today than in the past few years" in looking to drop sites.

Sears, which sold off some of its best stores over the past few years to raise money, is concentrating now on scaling back its underperforming real estate at a time when landlords grapple with a glut of vacant retail space after chains such as Target Corp. and Future Shop Ltd. closed their stores.

Sears's sales declines over the past decade underline the urgency for it to reduce its footprint. The retailer's sales have plummeted by almost half to what is expected to be just more than $3-billion in fiscal 2015 from about $6-billion 10 years earlier.

...

Sears's most recent store-closing plans differ from previous shutdowns, which involved landlords often approaching Sears with offers to buy back the retailer's store leases to replace Sears with alluring foreign retailers, such as United States-based Nordstrom Inc., which could draw more customers.

But amid the rash of retailers such as Target that have closed stores, landlords no longer have compelling new retailers to fill so much space. Now Sears has broadened its store-closing efforts to its home and outlet centres.

The Globe & Mail

[logan5]

Brentwood Boulevard, an outdoor retail street, will feature 22 retailers in 70,000 square feet of space, as well as two restaurants occupying approximately 10,000 square feet, plus some 4,000 square feet of restaurant patio space. Brentwood Boulevard’s design is inspired by some of the world’s most iconic high streets.

`

This is awesome! Champs-Elysees is coming to Brentwood. Even if it was inspired by lowly Commercial Dr. I'd be happy with that.

[Vin]

Originally Posted by Conrad Yablonski

Oh that droll wag Vin and his ironic POV-he bestrides the board like a colossus-the rest of us just shrivel in his shade.

Originally Posted by csbvan

Indeed. I think that Vancouver would be smart to bulldoze most of Alberni or Water St to create a giant mall filled with suburban-esque chain stores as opposed to high end chains and boutiques. It is so small town to bring in Versace, Louis Vuitton, etc. Wal-Marts and Cactus Clubs indicate a big city.

Provincial town thinking.
Don't worry pals, one fine day Vancouver will follow suit. It has to, as can be seen from your replies, the ego is at stake here. The "jewel" of the Lower Mainland can't be so behind when it comes to world-class retail right?