General Retail News

[Kitchissippi]

The Farm Boy at the Rideau Centre must be doing really well. Every time I'm in there it is packed. It's made buying groceries one of my favourite things to do when I take the LRT downtown.

[alamgirkhan]

Rideau is one of the top performing malls in Canada.

https://www.retailcouncil.org/wp-content...pping-Centre-Study_2020-01-15_WEB_v4.pdf

[kevinbottawa]

Originally Posted by alamgirkhan

Rideau is one of the top performing malls in Canada.

https://www.retailcouncil.org/wp-content...pping-Centre-Study_2020-01-15_WEB_v4.pdf

Rideau is out of the top 10 for the first time. They got replaced by CF Sherway Gardens who used to be at #12 in previous reports. Their renovations and the new Saks have paid off. The Montreal Eaton Centre might overtake Rideau too once it's renovated.

[eltodesukane]

Bose is shutting down all of its stores in Canada.
(there is one at Rideau Center)

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by kevinbottawa

Rideau is out of the top 10 for the first time. They got replaced by CF Sherway Gardens who used to be at #12 in previous reports. Their renovations and the new Saks have paid off. The Montreal Eaton Centre might overtake Rideau too once it's renovated.

I may be wrong, but wasn't Rideau #2 at one time?

[kevinbottawa]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

I may be wrong, but wasn't Rideau #2 at one time?

Maybe. I wasn't living in Ottawa back then.

[eltodesukane]

Originally Posted by alamgirkhan

Rideau is one of the top performing malls in Canada.

https://www.retailcouncil.org/wp-content...pping-Centre-Study_2020-01-15_WEB_v4.pdf

[Capital Shaun]

Originally Posted by eltodesukane

There's now residential planned for Shoppers City East??? First time I read that anywhere.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by Capital Shaun

There's now residential planned for Shoppers City East??? First time I read that anywhere.

Not just me then? I wasn't sure what this was about.

[wingman]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

Not just me then? I wasn't sure what this was about.

Isn't that the site of the new east-end Costco? Costco Tower? lol

[Capital Shaun]

Originally Posted by wingman

Isn't that the site of the new east-end Costco? Costco Tower? lol

Yup.

[kwoldtimer]

That reminds me - I was told recently that the Innes Rd Costco would be turned into the Costco HQ offices once the new one opened. Has there been any confirmation of that?

[wingman]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

That reminds me - I was told recently that the Innes Rd Costco would be turned into the Costco HQ offices once the new one opened. Has there been any confirmation of that?

I heard it was going to be turned into a Costco Business Centre. We don't have one... so could be true?

For reference: https://www.costcobusinesscentre.ca/

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by wingman

I heard it was going to be turned into a Costco Business Centre. We don't have one... so could be true?

For reference: https://www.costcobusinesscentre.ca/

Perhaps - the site is way too big just to be an office.

[rocketphish]

Originally Posted by wingman

I heard it was going to be turned into a Costco Business Centre. We don't have one... so could be true?

For reference: https://www.costcobusinesscentre.ca/

I heard this as well.

[rocketphish]

Westboro Ten Thousand Villages store to close as company ends most Canadian operations
The Richmond Road store is one of 15 outlets across the country to be closed as the chain wraps up its Canadian operation.

Blair Crawford, Ottawa Citizen
Updated: January 21, 2020

After more than 20 years in business, Westboro’s Ten Thousand Villages store is closing.

The Richmond Road store is one of 15 fair-trade Ten Thousand Villages outlets across the country to be closed as the chain wraps up its Canadian operation.

Eight independently owned and operated outlets will remain open, most of them out West.

The Westboro store is staffed by one paid employee and a team of volunteers and carried products as diverse as furniture and coffee, folk music instruments and home decor items. Staff there referred media inquiries to the Mennonite Central Committee, which operates Ten Thousand Villages.

The company announced the shutdown “with a heavy heart” on Tuesday afternoon.

“In this challenging retail environment, we recognize your commitment, support and dedication to the success of Ten Thousand Villages Canada,” the company said in a release. “However, in spite of all our best efforts, we have been unable to achieve the level of sales that would continue to provide us with the ability to operate a sustainable business model. It is for this reason that Mennonite Central Committee Canada (MCCC) has made the difficult decision to close their social enterprise, Ten Thousand Villages Canada.”

The stores, along with the company’s distribution centre in New Hamburg, Ont., its head office, and its online operation at Tenthousandvillages.ca will be closed by May 29. No date has been set for when the Ottawa store will close. The store celebrated its 20th anniversary in October.

According to its website, Ten Thousand Villages was founded in 1946 in Pennsylvania by an American Mennonite, Ruth Edna Byler, who bought and sold handiwork from women she had met while working to alleviate poverty in Puerto Rico. Her project was adopted and expanded by the Mennonite Central Committee.

“We are proud to say that we have empowered over 100,000 makers around the world to earn a fair and stable income, share their craft with a global market, gain access to education and medical services, better working conditions, equal opportunities for women and so much more. And the truth is, none of this would have been possible without the passion and dedication of our staff, volunteers and most importantly, you, our loyal customers,” the company said in its statement on social media.

U.S. operations aren’t affected by the shutdown of the Canadian stores.

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-new...as-company-ends-most-canadian-operations

[MichelKazan]

https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/carlton-cards-papyrus-stores-closing-within-weeks-1.4778542

Carlton Cards closing all stores in Canada.

This will affect stores at Billings Bridge, Place d'Orleans, Carlingwood, Place du Portage and Bayshore. I think this may also affect the Paper Destiny store in St Laurent.

[Skynet]

The Metro on Rideau is now closed, making way for construction by Claridge.

[rocketphish]

First this announcement:

Iconic "Bad Boy Furniture" Chain Expanding into New Markets

By Mario Toneguzzi
[email protected]
July 08, 2019

The iconic Toronto-based retailer Bad Boy Furniture is set to continue its expansion efforts in southern Ontario and beyond as chairman and CEO Blayne Lastman builds on the well-known brand he resurrected in 1991.

“We’re going to stay just in Ontario for now. So maybe three or four more and then just take a little rest,” said Lastman.

“We’re not ruling out plans for other places in Canada but very, very cautious.”

The Bad Boy phenomenon began in 1955, when Mel Lastman, Blayne’s father, opened his first Bad Boy store on Weston Road. From there it was built up to 45 stores across Canada and employed more than 1,000.

But in 1974, Lastman sold it to remain in politics as he was Mayor of the City of North York.

“Ten months later Bad Boy closed and was out of business for 16 years until I brought it back in 1991,” said Blayne Lastman.

The first store, and flagship store, was at 1119 Kennedy Road in Scarborough. Today the company has superstores in Ancaster, Barrie, Brampton, Burlington, Kitchener, London, Mississauga, North York, Scarborough, Whitby.

“We’re right now opening August 15 in Kingston, Ontario and we’re in the middle of negotiations in Ottawa,” said Lastman.

And despite a challenging economy, Bad Boy has been booming.

“Our year end is September 30 and last year was the best year we ever had in our history. We’ve been fortunate - very, very fortunate. And we’re e-commerce as well. We’re fully e-commerce in our trading areas only right now which will be opened up to the rest of the country in the near future,” said Lastman.

“The year before last was the best year and this year outdid it.”

On the company website, it describes the time Lastman brought the brand back to life, taking Ontario by storm.

“His decision to re-open the new store in the center of Toronto’s "furniture strip" had many naysayers scratching their heads. This prime location, coupled with zany promotional initiatives, proved to be invaluable in Bad Boy’s success! The nineties were an extremely challenging time with the recession, especially for the business community, and many long-standing companies had no other choice but to close down. Blayne, who had just as much gusto as his father, beat all odds by implementing an innovative, flash-forward sales strategy,” it says.

When asked in a recent interview why he wanted to re-open the brand, he joked: “A moment of craziness.”

“It was always my dream to do it. When I opened in 1991 my father told me I was out of my mind because it was the worst recession this country’s ever seen. But there we were and we knew something which was we were going to work harder as a team which we do than anyone else,” explained Lastman.

“And we do all these zany types of promotions . . . All kinds of things. And we do a big business with the builders and on the retail side.”

So what sets the Bad Boy brand apart from the numerous competitors in the marketplace?

“Everything. A fridge is a fridge is a fridge. It’s one of the most boring things in the world but we build the excitement around it,” said Lastman. “And we give good old-fashioned service because that’s the most important thing. And the lowest prices guaranteed. And when we say it we mean it.”

Lastman’s eclectic ideas and gimmicks infused shoppers with excitement and captured an enormous amount of media attention, explains the company’s website.

“In fact, in 1994, the United States White House served Bad Boy with a "Cease and Desist" order for Bad Boy's use of a President Bill Clinton look-a-like. In typical Bad Boy style, Blayne did not Cease and Desist; instead, he responded with, "This is Canada, not the 51st State!" Following this, there was a sequel commercial featuring a Hillary Clinton look-a-like! The Clinton look-a-like promotion caused such a sensation around the world that journalists and talk show hosts from Germany, Japan, the United States and Italy all called for interviews with the now infamous Blayne Lastman.”

In 2006 Bad Boy formally became Lastman's Bad Boy.

The company has been working with Nick Goddard, President of Portage Design Group, on the expansion of the brand.

“He’s got a good feel for our consumer. He’s done all of our stores for the last decade or more and he’s done a great, great job,” said Lastman.

The stores are typically 25,000 to 30,000 square feet. The biggest one is 34,000 square feet in London.


https://www.retail-insider.com/retail-in...rniture-chain-expanding-into-new-markets

And now this job fair:


https://www.badboy.ca/job-fair-registration-form


So where might this new store be located in Ottawa? I can't see IKEA allowing them into the vacant Sears Home Store space on their property. Some of the shopping malls have large empty spaces...

[Jayday23]

Originally Posted by rocketphish

First this announcement:

So where might this new store be located in Ottawa? I can't see IKEA allowing them into the vacant Sears Home Store space on their property. Some of the shopping malls have large empty spaces...

That location has already been leased by a montreal furniture chain called "Maison Corbeil".