The Metro Vancouver Retail Thread

[officedweller]

When the eatons brand was retired in 2002, Sears Canada CEO Mark Cohen noted that “The notion that customers see value in a top-drawer, high-priced, somewhat selective assortment is false. [Canadians] value very high levels of presentation and customer service but don’t exhibit any desire to pay for it.” Yet high-end retail has increased in recent years as the gap between upscale and downmarket merchants widens. It remains to be seen if Toronto will support three Nordstrom locations (Eaton Centre, Sherway Gardens, and Yorkdale), or if we’ll be writing about other branding change at Yonge and Dundas a decade from now.

https://torontoist.com/2014/01/from-eatons-to-sears-to-nordstrom/

[bluefox]

Originally Posted by officedweller

“The notion that customers see value in a top-drawer, high-priced, somewhat selective assortment is false. [Canadians] value very high levels of presentation and customer service but don’t exhibit any desire to pay for it.”

“A Bugatti for the price of a bicycle” is 100% a Canadian attitude. Nailed it. We want the best stuff but somehow as cheap as possible.

[connect2source]

I'd love to see it as a mall extension where we'd finally create space for large flagships like, as mentioned, Uniqlo and others. Perhaps a 2-3 level, airy and open space which would insulate Pacific Centre from another department store failure. It would connect Robson and the rest of the mall seamlessly and give shoppers something other than a tiny hallway-like 70's claustrophobic, underground shopping experience.

[MIPS]

All that money dumped into the building and not even a decade later they're moving out.

The toilet bowl died for this.

[jollyburger]

Maybe Microsoft will move out and they can totally level it.

[city guy]

what about a downtown IKEA or what if UBC made this into a proper educational hub

[jollyburger]

I wonder how the Park Royal location plays in with any Simons expansion into Vancouver. Would they just dump it?

[FarmerHaight]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

Canada really needs a larger population for these kind of things to work. This failure doesn't instill confidence in foreign companies wanting to invest into Canada.

I think someone posted earlier about how Vancouver's downtown store made consistent profits, and so did Toronto's downtown location, but almost all other locations lost money. So it seems like Canada's largest cities can support luxury retailers perhaps in part because tourists also shop for luxury goods when they visit, but Canada's second-tier cities cannot.

[WarrenC12]

Downtown Walmart, let's gooooooo.

[TwoFace]

A giant London Drugs would be fine with me, it's about the only store downtown that is full all the time.

[FarmerHaight]

Originally Posted by TwoFace

A giant London Drugs would be fine with me, it's about the only store downtown that is full all the time.

I think the DT peninsula is fully saturated with London Drugs: Davie, Robson, Granville, Gastown, Vancouver House.

[TwoFace]

Originally Posted by FarmerHaight

I think the DT peninsula is fully saturated with London Drugs: Davie, Robson, Granville, Gastown, Vancouver House.

True, maybe amalgamate the : Davie, Robson and Granville ones into one mega store.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by TwoFace

A giant London Drugs would be fine with me, it's about the only store downtown that is full all the time.

Mostly with people stealing stuff!

[TwoFace]

Originally Posted by whatnext

Mostly with people stealing stuff!

That's the Gastown/Hastings one, huge planing mistake by LD

[connect2source]

My Realtor partner is close friends with an agent at Cushman and Wakefield connected with CF and mentioned, according to him, that CF wasn't even notified by Nordstrom, re: the closures, until yesterday.

[Vin]

Simons finally has a spot downtown to consider. Pacific Centre should consider lowering their lease rate to make it more attractive to large retailers.

Granville Street's grunginess and lawlessness have been driving away shoppers for decades now, resulting in less wealthy suburb folks coming to shop in this neighbourhood. With Nordstrom's impending closure, there's one less major tax payer for Vancouver that's for sure.

[Vin]

Originally Posted by TwoFace

That's the Gastown/Hastings one, huge planing mistake by LD

Destructive and thieving yahoos roam all over downtown Vancouver now. Shops and markets regularly have their windows broken, or merchandize stolen: sometimes even brazenly. I've witnessed this a few times already.

[trofirhen]

What about converting it into something like a rectangular version of Westlake Center in Seattle? A lively inviting place that is a real magnet for people downtown?
With a smart boutique hotel, perhaps? (gotta think of all the possibilities).

[jlousa]

Convert it to a large SRO.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by jlousa

Convert it to a large SRO.

Would they call it 'Swagger'?