The Metro Vancouver Retail Thread

[officedweller]

The "Home" stores do nothing to integrate a "lifestyle" concept.

i.e. Sears Home stores were destinations only if you were looking for furniture and appliances - i.e. like a Brick store
- no impulse buying there.

Naming a store "home" tracks on the Sears Home branding and is bound to fail.
There are also Macy's Home stores in the US, but like the Sears Home stores, those are just rows and rows of beds and sofas and dining tables.

Call it "Hudson's Bay Furniture" if that's what it is.
Didn't Woodward's have a "Woodward's Furniture Fair"?

Woodward's also operated two stand alone Furniture Fair stores in Burnaby (which became Costco's first location in Canada in 1985) and Edmonton in the 1970s.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodward%27s

The main stores need to maintain some home elements - like the small home décor / accessories departments in Simons, Holt Renfrew and Nordstrom - of even Chapters / Indigo.

Remember when Eaton's renovated an upper floor to be a Crate & Barrel clone?

[SpongeG]

thats what they have in europe in the holland stores as posted in the pics. Trendy little decor items. The stores as they are too big and the downtown vancouver store shouldn't make furniture a priority now.

Nordstrom has some stores with home sections, like this one in texas



Was at Oakridge today, the Banana Republic store was looking weird, it was undecorated like loads of empty shelves, maybe they are closing? or getting ready to renovate it? Anyone hear anything?

also H&M park royal opens nov 9, the hoarding is all down, there are 3 retail spaces in that section. H&M takes up about 2/3 of the new space and of the other 2 one looks blank and the other has some construction going on.

[Envder]

Originally Posted by Whalleyboy

Found out JYSK will be going in here across from the fraser mills development

http://form.ca/kingedwardcentre.pdf

That seems much larger then the current Coquitlam one. Maybe the isles won't seem so crowd there. I wonder if they will keep both them running?

[SpongeG]

most likely. Jysk is in expansion mode and wants to add more stores.

In August 2017, JYSK opened store number 2,500 spread over the 48 countries where JYSK operates today. And the journey is far from over. On September 23rd JYSK Canada opened store number 60 in Sherbrooke, Quebec and has plans to open three more stores this year in Duncan, BC on October 28th; Coquitlam, BC on November 24th and Brampton, ON on December 2nd. JYSK Canada won’t stop there with plans to open 10 more stores over the next 24 months.

https://www.jysk.ca/press-releases

they also just opened in vietnam amid an expansion push into asia and will be expanding into south america soon too

[hollywoodnorth]

it will be interesting to see what H-Mart does with these smaller format stores they are planning to open on the West Side >>

https://vancouver.craigslist.ca/van/ret/d/mart-looking-for-full-time/6335413414.html

H-Mart's new stores in South Dunbar and UBC are looking for multiple part-time and full-time staffs.

H-Mart Dunbar
5557 Dunbar St. Vancouver, BC V6N 1W5

H-Mart Express UBC
106 5728 University Blvd. Vancouver, BC V6T 1K6

[SpongeG]

they have an h-mart express in coquitlam, just a reduced selection, but still has produce etc.

[LeftCoaster]

Originally Posted by connect2source

I could see the downtown HBC be widdled down to the sub-basement ( Men's could easily go there ) basement ( TopShop ) Main and 2nd ( women's ). That would easily be enough to house all major departments, maybe keep the 3rd for home, bedding etc. 4th, 5th and 6th for WeWork.

Hmm, sounds suspiciously accurate...

Well except for needing the home/bedding department.

[Vin]

For HBC downtown, I see no reason why they can't keep the 6th floor for men. After the renovation, there have been a lot more people shopping there especially during sales, making the space a success. Wework can always occupy 4th and 5th floor of the department store with one elevator dedicated to the office workers. The current department store escalators passing through 4th and 5th floors can go through well-decorated lobbies featuring art pieces, or even HBC merchandise displays, but with card/fob-access glass doors that would lead to the Wework offices.

Men's department used to be in the basement where Topman is now. It was not eerily quiet there most of the time, so I don't think HBC will bring it back down there again.

[SpongeG]

as long as it is as nice as it is now. The old mens dept where top shop is now felt crapped, dirty and uninviting. shame.

[officedweller]

The higher ceiling on the 6th floor is what makes it nice.
Basement and Sub-basement will feel cramped and all the pipes means no finished ceilings.
It may help if they paint the ceiling white instead of black.

[officedweller]

From Urban YVR - Nestors at The Independent

http://urbanyvr.com/nesters-the-independent


Entrance near corner at street level to 2nd floor store


http://urbanyvr.com/nesters-the-independent


http://urbanyvr.com/nesters-the-independent

[SpongeG]

Originally Posted by officedweller

The higher ceiling on the 6th floor is what makes it nice.
Basement and Sub-basement will feel cramped and all the pipes means no finished ceilings.
It may help if they paint the ceiling white instead of black.

i really like what they did for top shop, its a great space, feels good in there, better than the old mens dept ever felt in the same spot. I just hope if they move mens to the basement basement they don't cheap out.

[SpongeG]

when i was at metrotown the other day I was thinking they should just bite the bullet and extend the hallway through the old target space creating a new south entrance and breaking the space up for smaller CRU's. The top space can stay the same but it would bring a lot more light and be more pleasant area with that plaza outside etc. The eaast entrance to the parkade could be utilized by a retailer or a restaurant space, *cough* cheescake factory *cough*. I don't think there are many retailers that seem to want the space.
met map_LI by snub_you, on Flickr

[Sheba]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

when i was at metrotown the other day I was thinking they should just bite the bullet and extend the hallway through the old target space creating a new south entrance and breaking the space up for smaller CRU's. The top space can stay the same but it would bring a lot more light and be more pleasant area with that plaza outside etc. The eaast entrance to the parkade could be utilized by a retailer or a restaurant space, *cough* cheescake factory *cough*. I don't think there are many retailers that seem to want the space.

The problem is once the Sears space is gone there will only be The Bay as a big end-of-hallway anchor. Are they going to abruptly end the Sears hallway with an exterior entrance or will they try to have somewhat large stores there.

I have no idea why the mall hasn't done anything with the Target space yet - it seems pretty obvious there isn't a lineup of large stores begging to get into Metrotown that need that much space. It would make more sense to reno Target into two single-floor spaces - it worked where the Chapters and Old Navy are so it's not like it's a new untested idea. Maybe the Toys R Us (depending on who they're leasing from - Concord or the mall) could move into one floor and then put a restaurant / entertainment in the other floor, with an exterior entrance.

[NewfBC]

Originally Posted by Sheba

The problem is once the Sears space is gone there will only be The Bay as a big end-of-hallway anchor. Are they going to abruptly end the Sears hallway with an exterior entrance or will they try to have somewhat large stores there.

I have no idea why the mall hasn't done anything with the Target space yet - it seems pretty obvious there isn't a lineup of large stores begging to get into Metrotown that need that much space. It would make more sense to reno Target into two single-floor spaces - it worked where the Chapters and Old Navy are so it's not like it's a new untested idea. Maybe the Toys R Us (depending on who they're leasing from - Concord or the mall) could move into one floor and then put a restaurant / entertainment in the other floor, with an exterior entrance.

I'm sure the operators of the mall (the professionals) know what they're doing and aren't just twiddling their thumbs wondering what to do with the Target space. Sometimes there are long term plans. The operators of the mall aren't hurting for cash and can afford to hold the space as is.

As for the Sears side, the Concord development includes over 600-thousand (about 1/3 the size of the existing mall) sq ft of commercial space.. they may work out a deal to connect part of this to the mall.

Ron.

[Sheba]

Originally Posted by NewfBC

As for the Sears side, the Concord development includes over 600-thousand (about 1/3 the size of the existing mall) sq ft of commercial space.. they may work out a deal to connect part of this to the mall.

Ron.

That's not what the renders show. Phase 4 is roughly where the Sears is now and it clearly shows a roadway.


http://www.vancouvermarket.ca/2017/10/27/plan-emerges-for-metrotown-sears-site/

[whatnext]

Appalling, simply appalling:

Hudson's Bay Co. has put its flagship store in downtown Vancouver on the auction block, a move that could fetch as much as $900-million and help appease anxious investors.

Toronto-based HBC, which runs its namesake, Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord & Taylor chains among others, has hired real estate advisers CBRE and Brookfield Financial Corp. to find a buyer for its Hudson's Bay store in downtown Vancouver to try to cash in on a hot commercial property market, industry sources say...

https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/report-...e-amid-investor-anxiety/article36753518/

[GeeCee]

Can't read the article due to the paywall, but how is it appalling exactly? Retail is dying and that's some of the most expensive real estate in the country.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by GeeCee

Can't read the article due to the paywal, but how is it appalling exactly? Retail is dying and that's some of the most expensive real estate in the country.

Retail in BC is not dying, and certainly not at a flagship downtown store. Funnily enough I was at Park Royal today and it was packed, not even Christmas season yet. If you want to see how real estate asset sales play out for department stores, look up the history of Woodwards and Eatons.

[jlousa]

Hate to see the Bay offload it's downtown store, it's a terrible move and will come back and bite them long term.