[Moncton] Retail Thread

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Monctoncore

Not only is it looking better, I have heard from sources downtown, that places like stile are actually doing better now than they were before. Also where is the lingerie store located on main? I thought it was next to stile.

Next to Colpitts

[MonctonRad]

From Retail Talk & Share:



Proof that Hot Topic is indeed moving into Champlain Place.

Rumour is a mid November opening date.

[Scarface]

Unfortunatly HBC Might be following Sears Canada.
Staff has simingly decided to retire out of the blue, and staff who is left at the top has stated that HBC is not profitable. In fact they follow up with saying the bussiness would be worth more sold, then ran as it is now.

They spoke about this on the 23rd of October 2017 on BT Toronto.

[OUIR@random]

HBC is not comparable to Sears Canada at this point. Let's not get ahead of ourselves. This is pure speculation and gossip. What is happening at the board of directors level (executives leaving) is the results of minority shareholder tactics Land and Buildings Investment Management. Lots of information about this in the news.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by OUIR@random

HBC is not comparable to Sears Canada at this point. Let's not get ahead of ourselves. This is pure speculation and gossip. What is happening at the board of directors level (executives leaving) is the results of minority shareholder tactics Land and Buildings Investment Management. Lots of information about this in the news.

Yes, but minority shareholders, especially if venture capitalists (vultures that they are) can make a lot of trouble for national retailers.

Capitalists like this couldn't give a damn about the stores themselves. They aren't interested in retail. All they're interested in is making a profit (think Kevin O'Leary on steroids). If more money can be made on selling a high profile downtown department store for it's real estate value then so be it. They don't care if this weakens the chain overall - as long as the dividends go up, they're more than happy.

Personally, I'm not sure if major retailers should be publicly traded. Sure, this can be a way to raise capital for expansion plans, but in the long run it might be more trouble than it's worth.........

Having said all this though, I agree with you that HBC is still in a pretty good position going down the road. They are not comparable to Sears at all.

[Colouratura]

Going with the HBC talk, this is interesting news. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/...rd-taylor-building-to-wework-to-cut-debt

[Colouratura]

While at the mall two days ago, a worker across from Toys R Us said the word in the mall is that the toy store will be closing after Christmas.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Colouratura

While at the mall two days ago, a worker across from Toys R Us said the word in the mall is that the toy store will be closing after Christmas.

I think that's just hearsay at this point in time.

Toys R Us Canada is profitable, and was only dragged into bankruptcy by the co-bankruptcy of it's US parent. AFAIK, the bankruptcy is only to allow the retailer to restructure it's debt so that it can carry on into the future.

In other words, the chain itself isn't going to die. Certainly some unprofitable locations will be let go, but I would be surprised if the Champlain Place store is amongst those locations.

[Taeolas]

Originally Posted by Colouratura

While at the mall two days ago, a worker across from Toys R Us said the word in the mall is that the toy store will be closing after Christmas.

Hopefully that is something that can be taken with a huge grain of salt.

The Moncton and Freddy TRU stores always seem fairly busy year round (never been to the SJ store or the ones outside the province). While the chain itself is restructuring, it is not the "Shut everything down" liquidation that Sears is going through.

[Scarface]

Could just be Rumors but there is always some truth behind it.

Heard in the grape vine today that Taco Bell is looking for a stand alone location , or 2 in Greater Moncton.

There is also rumors of Giant Tiger @ Mapleton Plaza is either closing, or planing on Moving but they would not be the only ones in Mapleton Plaza to leave.

[josh_cat_eyes]

Originally Posted by Scarface

Could just be Rumors but there is always some truth behind it.

Heard in the grape vine today that Taco Bell is looking for a stand alone location , or 2 in Greater Moncton.

There is also rumors of Giant Tiger @ Mapleton Plaza is either closing, or planing on Moving but they would not be the only ones in Mapleton Plaza to leave.

I thought they should have moved in the old Canadian Tire, but I can totally see a lot of tennants there moving out.

I wonder if by Cabellas would be a good location for them?

[Scarface]

Originally Posted by josh_cat_eyes

I thought they should have moved in the old Canadian Tire, but I can totally see a lot of tennants there moving out.

I wonder if by Cabellas would be a good location for them?

Not sure Since Giant Tiger seems to be looking into accessible locations.
Access by: Public Transit, Cars, and even on foot.

[MonctonRad]

lululemon is now open at CF Champlain.

[drewber]

Originally Posted by Scarface

Could just be Rumors but there is always some truth behind it.

Heard in the grape vine today that Taco Bell is looking for a stand alone location , or 2 in Greater Moncton.

There is also rumors of Giant Tiger @ Mapleton Plaza is either closing, or planing on Moving but they would not be the only ones in Mapleton Plaza to leave.

I've stated this previously but Taco Bell doesn't get enough business at their current location to justify a standalone location. 30% of sales are from the Taco Bell side of the menu and regardless what some people think the menu at the dual locations is exactly the same as the rest of the country. I'd take that rumour as nothing more than that.

[MonctonRad]

I had an interesting conversation with a Costco employee (who shall remain nameless lest I get she/he into trouble) today.

This individual was unusually informative regarding Costco's plans for the city, and given the specificity of the information this person was willing to give, I am of the opinion that what I am about to relate to the rest of you is the truth.

1) - Costco did indeed look at multiple options before settling on their new location, including buying the old Sears Home store and setting up their gas bar there (this plan was apparently nixed by Superstore), moving to the Day & Ross site, and moving to Harrisville Blvd.
2) - The decision was finally made to move to the Elmwood Centre location at the NW corner of the Elmwood/TCH interchange this summer. The principle reasons being location, and the fact that the owners of the site were prepared to make Costco an offer they couldn't refuse since having a Costco as part of the development would vastly improve the marketability of the remainder of the development.
3) - The new store will be significantly bigger than the current Costco (175,000 sq ft vs 117,000 sq ft). This means it will be about 50% larger than the current store and will have a significantly increased selection of goods. The store will be state of the art.
4) - There will be a large Costco gas bar on site.
5) - The new store will have 800 parking spots (3x more than what the current store has - no more circling the lot 4-5 times looking for a free parking space). The reason for so many spaces is that the current store is able to process about 600 customers per hour at the checkouts, and if you assume a typical visit of one hour and leaving room to grow in the future, this was felt the bare minimum necessary for a new store.
6) - Construction will likely be next summer, with a fall opening.

As I said, what she/he told me sounded like the truth, and there are other things going on regarding the Elmwood Centre development which leads me to believe things are definitely afoot, especially this:



The new plans to extend Granite Drive all the way through to McLaughlin in order to give back-up access/egress to the development. I think the need for this extension was only relative until Costco came along (meaning vastly increased traffic volumes). With Costco on board, the need to make Granite Drive a through street became absolute........

[SpongeG]

start building it in the summer and open in the fall?

wow vancouver has a bus shelter that could use some tips, its taken months and months if not a year and its still not done

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

start building it in the summer and open in the fall?

wow vancouver has a bus shelter that could use some tips, its taken months and months if not a year and its still not done

Well, to be fair, site prep is already done, so they could get started as soon as the frost gets out of the ground in the early spring. If they started in late April or May, they could be done by November. It's a Costco after all - not one of the architectural wonders of the world.

[habs33]

I heard the same from a HomeHardware employee that it will be a Sept opening.

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Well, to be fair, site prep is already done, so they could get started as soon as the frost gets out of the ground in the early spring. If they started in late April or May, they could be done by November. It's a Costco after all - not one of the architectural wonders of the world.

[Scarface]

Well seems like good nes on all fronts. It Home Hardware, and Costco are trully moving to this development. With Costco having there own on site gas bar I'm going to guess at the corner of Granite, and McLaughlin will there still be a gas bar/convenience store at the NW corner of Elmwood, and Granite?

[stephan.richard]

That will be good news for the Elmwood drive area and that will bring a lot of great development for that end of town witch i though it was the much neglected area of town. My gut feeling would be that Costco could leave the Trinity Drive area in September of Next year and maybe a retailer like IKEA could take over the old Costco location. And it will be nice to have Costco Gas in Moncton and that will lower the gas prices in town.