The Metro Vancouver Retail Thread

[connect2source]

"Upscale Australian furniture retailer King Living will open its first Canadian store in Vancouver’s tony ’South Granville’ shopping district this year"

The space is the former Country Furniture ( later CF Interiors ) space at 15th and Granville, as well as the basement I'm guessing.


https://www.retail-insider.com/retail-in...ng-living-to-enter-canada-with-1st-store

[officedweller]

Walmart to spend $175 million on high-tech Surrey warehouse
https://vancouversun.com/business/commer...75-million-on-high-tech-surrey-warehouse

[NewfBC]

At Brentwood, 44k sq ft...

Canadian retailer Sporting Life to open first BC location next year

http://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-sporting-life-bc-opening-2019

Ron.

[officedweller]

Nice, thanks.

I see only 2 units that are close to 44K SF on the plans.
One is the underground space at 45K SF,
and the other is one level above the plaza level that I think is for the Rec Room.
Could be that they've combined units and Sporting Life will be on the plaza (?) below Rec Room.

Edit: Yup, the Rec Room is also 44K SF:
https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/th...-at-the-amazing-brentwood-622542224.html

[officedweller]

Of interest regarding Safeway / FreshCo:

FreshCo heading to Winnipeg
Sobeys plans to convert more than 60 Safeway locations to FreshCo in Western Canada over the next five years

By David Brown | July 27, 2018

...

Taking FreshCo to Winnipeg became possible after the company negotiated an agreement with UFCW 832 to amend the contract that covers 2,200 Safeway workers across Manitoba.

“We are the first Western province to get a contract done and to get stores converting,” Jeff Traeger, president of UFCW Local 832, told Canadian Grocer.

Negotiations included “very tight concessionary bargaining,” he said. With Safeway sales declining, Sobeys said it had to convert some stores to FreshCo or close locations. That meant accepting the lower wage rates for the FreshCo stores than what was set for Safeway employees in the most recent contract signed earlier this year.

Employees at the stores being converted were given four options, said Traeger. The most senior 20% of staff could stay at FreshCo with their Safeway salary; others could transfer away from the FreshCo store to another Safeway store; they could take a buy-out and leave the company, or they could take a lower salary along with a one-time lump sum payment.

Early this year, Sobeys said it planned to open five FreshCo stores in British Colombia if it could negotiate favourable terms and conditions in a new labour agreement. In April, with contract talks stalled, the government appointed a mediator at the union’s request. Both sides have submitted written proposals, which are being reviewed by the mediator.

http://www.canadiangrocer.com/top-stories/headlines/freshco-heading-to-winnipeg-82148

[Tetsuo]

Mercedes Benz is selling off their corporate stores

[GeeCee]

Not the most exciting news, but the Coquitlam Ikea store has added a secondary warehouse along United Boulevard for customer pickup of certain large items like kitchens and etc.

[SpongeG]

Muji expansion going on, they have changed the store a bit inside and you can see a bit of the work.

2018-08-06_12-34-47 by snub_you, on Flickr

2018-08-06_12-34-15 by snub_you, on Flickr

And it doesn't look like they will use the uncle tetsu place and this was the lineup just after 8:30 on saturday night. crazy. And compared to the prices i saw at the store in melbourne we are a bit cheaper in Canada.

2018-08-06_12-33-47 by snub_you, on Flickr

2018-08-06_12-34-04 by snub_you, on Flickr

[flipper316]

Godam people are stupid. Lining up for some cheesecake that probably tastes the same as the frozen 6 dollar ones from Superstore.

[jozero]

Originally Posted by flipper316

Godam people are stupid. Lining up for some cheesecake that probably tastes the same as the frozen 6 dollar ones from Superstore.

Or they have heard it is really good cheesecake, and they are excited about something and anxious to try it? I'd rather be excited about something than just immediately writing off anything that doesn't appeal to me specifically.

[memememe76]

It does NOT taste like a frozen cheesecake from Superstore (and I like their cheesecake too, so no diss to President's Choice). I had Uncle Tetsu on my last visit to Toronto, and I really really liked it. Really. I am looking forward to trying it here, just waiting for the lines to calm down a bit.

Anyways, the lineup to buy that Superstore cheesecake isn't exactly a calming experience either. Especially the Superstore in Metrotown.

[jollyburger]

What's worse lining up for Tetsu or knowing what Superstore cheesecake tastes like.

[supercanuck]

Could they not come up with a temporary ticketing system where by you get a numbered ticket and come back in X minutes/hours to pick up your cheesecake? I would like to try the cheesecake but not at the expense at an unknown number of hours.

[Abii]

lol at lining up for cheesecake. Me and my Chinese buddy were passing through metro and just as we're about to exit he sees the Tetsu place and wants to line up!!! The disappointment in his face when we were leaving was real.

[svlt]

Yeah Tetsu is actually pretty good, have tried it elsewhere and left impressed, but I feel there is no food in the world worth lining up physically for longer than 10 minutes.

[SpongeG]

Originally Posted by supercanuck

Could they not come up with a temporary ticketing system where by you get a numbered ticket and come back in X minutes/hours to pick up your cheesecake? I would like to try the cheesecake but not at the expense at an unknown number of hours.

Apparently the lineups lasted a year when they opened in Australia, and Toronto still sees lineups years later.

[officedweller]

Is Uncle Tetsu's light-tasting cheesecake light on calories?: The Dish
https://www.thestar.com/life/food_wine/2...eesecake-light-on-calories-the-dish.html

Aside from standard Real Canadian Superstore PC cheesecake
- has anyone checked out T&T's Japanese cheesecakes?

Here’s where the game changes: Uncle Tetsu is NOT the only place where you can purchase a fluffy, slightly cheesy Japanese cheesecake in Toronto.
...
2. T&T Supermarket Bakery: All over the GTA.

T&T’s bakery section has a vast variety of Asian baked goods and Japanese Cheesecake is one of them.

They might not be as fresh as Uncle Tetsu’s, but when half the reviews online say its better cold, does it make any difference? If you are a true Uncle Tetsu fan, you might be disappointed to know that the Toronto location has a limited selection of flavours. Well, T&T has flavours ranging from taro to green tea! You can also purchase a frozen version of Japanese Cheesecake called Castella. You can spend time browsing authentic Asian groceries rather than standing in line next time you crave Japanese cheesecake.

http://www.craveto.com/toronto-street-food/skip-the-line-at-uncle-tetsu

[officedweller]

T&T Lansdowne to open August 16th:

https://www.richmond-news.com/business/t-t-lansdowne-to-open-next-week-1.23395682

[NewfBC]

Originally Posted by officedweller

T&T Lansdowne to open August 16th:

https://www.richmond-news.com/business/t-t-lansdowne-to-open-next-week-1.23395682

"There will also be a six-foot dragon made of hundreds of pieces of sushi which customers may have the opportunity to devour."

I would like to be there to record that.. will be something to see I'm sure.

Ron.

[SpongeG]

so the redevelopment of Lansdowne is probably years off?