The Metro Vancouver Retail Thread

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

I don't think Nordstrom was doing that badly here, they are having problems in the states and it seems to please investors to make profits, etc the easy thing to was close their Canada division. Walmart had to do the same in its expansion into Europe. Nordstrom tried to go private a few years back but failed in that attempt.

Nordstrom lost $95-million in Canada over the past 12 months, on sales of $515-million, according to a court filing. In addition to COVID-19, the company said, high operating costs and a “lack of brand awareness” undermined performance. Nordstrom, founded as a shoe store in 1901, has 350 outlets in North America. Its U.S. stores, many of which include spas and high-end restaurants, are consistently profitable.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-nordstrom-closing-canada-replace/

I don’t know exactly why U.S. retailers come to Canada to die, but I suspect it’s because the U.S. market and the Canadian market are different – different enough, at least, that the same strategies in different markets can subtly backfire. As I learned when I worked in marketing at HBC, which then owned Lord & Taylor and Saks, U.S. shoppers are more accustomed to shopping on sale. “If a Canadian sees that something is launching on sale,” a more experienced colleague once told me, “they think there’s probably something wrong with it.” Americans were faster to adopt and more prolific with online shopping. (I suspect this is because our geography and mail system make it more cumbersome to process returns).

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/commentary/article-nordstrom-closing-canada/

Do they actually believe this stuff? Canadians see something on sale and they think something is wrong with it?

[bluefox]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

Do they actually believe this stuff? Canadians see something on sale and they think something is wrong with it?

More likely Canadians' griping about product quality is proportional to the price they think is fair.

[officedweller]

... lack of brand awareness = not being slaves to logos and marketing

... Canadians see something on sale and think something is wrong with it? = yeah, what's wrong is the price is STILL too high.

[TwoFace]

I shop at The Bay, quality products and real discounts.

[jollyburger]

Retail Insider has an indepth Q&A with retail gurus about Nordstrom's exit.

https://retail-insider.com/retail-inside...led-in-canada-feature-expert-interviews/

[Vin]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

Retail Insider has an indepth Q&A with retail gurus about Nordstrom's exit.

https://retail-insider.com/retail-inside...led-in-canada-feature-expert-interviews/

Let's face facts: the true demographics who can sustain the luxury industry here have either been driven out of the country or have never been here in the first place. Luxury brands are catering to the affluent newly landed or overseas tourists, and the pandemic restrictions made things worse. Locally, we are a mostly Walmart or Winners nation. Even The Bay is a luxury few can afford. The most expensive clothing an average Canadian joe is willing to splurge is probably a Hockey team jersey.

[svlt]

^ I'm not sure what it is - it's fine to paint Canadians generally with a brush of the nation being more pragmatic, practical and less invested into perceived frivolities than the US - but I think what it also points to is that we just have far less disposable income than the high flyers in California, Texas and New York. There are plenty of Americans with loads of wealth that can shop at Nordstrom without batting an eye, whereas while there are some in Vancouver and Toronto that would - and do - dress expensively, there just isn't enough critical mass there to sustain this kind of retailer.

I think if Holt Renfrew didn't exist Nordstrom would corner the market and be profitable here, but as far as I can discern Holts does extremely well in its three key markets and there isn't enough disposable wealth in Canada to be spread around for another luxury dept store. Canadians in the few cosmopolitan major cities here are just too house poor and there aren't enough of the wealthier ones, and almost no one in a smaller town would bother to wear anything nicer than what's sold at the Bay or even Gap.

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by svlt

^ I'm not sure what it is - it's fine to paint Canadians generally with a brush of the nation being more pragmatic, practical and less invested into perceived frivolities than the US - but I think what it also points to is that we just have far less disposable income than the high flyers in California, Texas and New York. There are plenty of Americans with loads of wealth that can shop at Nordstrom without batting an eye, whereas while there are some in Vancouver and Toronto that would - and do - dress expensively, there just isn't enough critical mass there to sustain this kind of retailer.

Maybe instead of fashion they dump their money into other hobbies?

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by svlt

^ I'm not sure what it is - it's fine to paint Canadians generally with a brush of the nation being more pragmatic, practical and less invested into perceived frivolities than the US - but I think what it also points to is that we just have far less disposable income than the high flyers in California, Texas and New York. There are plenty of Americans with loads of wealth that can shop at Nordstrom without batting an eye, whereas while there are some in Vancouver and Toronto that would - and do - dress expensively, there just isn't enough critical mass there to sustain this kind of retailer.

I think if Holt Renfrew didn't exist Nordstrom would corner the market and be profitable here, but as far as I can discern Holts does extremely well in its three key markets and there isn't enough disposable wealth in Canada to be spread around for another luxury dept store.

Canadians are just too poor and there aren't enough of the wealthier ones.

With Canada's ridiculous home prices is it any wonder Canadians have less disposable income?

[LeftCoaster]

Originally Posted by Vin

Pacific Centre should consider lowering their lease rate to make it more attractive to large retailers.

A flawless business strategy...

Tell me again that we need more malls but we should be lowering lease rates?

[TwoFace]

Not so sure about a lack of "disposable" income in Vancouver, all the restaurants and bars look pretty packed more often than not. My son works at a Yaletown restaurant and they are run off their feet most of the time, and yes, 20% tip is added to your bill.

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by LeftCoaster

A flawless business strategy...

Tell me again that we need more malls but we should be lowering lease rates?

CF isn't a charity?

[officedweller]

I don't think Vancouverites were ever into "dress to impress" and after the pandemic the dress code at the office - for those that still come to the office - has slacked off considerably.

[LeftCoaster]

Originally Posted by officedweller

I don't think Vancouverites were ever into "dress to impress" and after the pandemic the dress code at the office - for those that still come to the office - has slacked off considerably.

Vancouver was never the issue, it was always their top store in the entire company and only the in the last year or so was that title challenged by the new Manhattan store (not sure if it ended up overtaking or not). The problem was with the rest of the Canadian ops.

[Metro-One]

Well hopefully the silver lining here is the next tenants will be more entertainment based or cater to a broader demographic of mid income earners and will also embrace more lighting and screen animations on the Robson / Granville corner, you know, the heart of our primary entertainment district.

Always found the Nordstrom branding far too conservative and lackluster for that corner.

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by LeftCoaster

Vancouver was never the issue, it was always their top store in the entire company and only the in the last year or so was that title challenged by the new Manhattan store (not sure if it ended up overtaking or not). The problem was with the rest of the Canadian ops.

I still don't know many people who purchased items there (nor at Holt Renfrew).

[dreambrother808]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

CF isn't a charity?

CF’s business model doesn’t align with fulfilling Vin’s pipe dreams?

[LeftCoaster]

Originally Posted by officedweller

I still don't know many people who purchased items there (nor at Holt Renfrew).

Not too surprising, they make about 95% of their sales off about 2-3% of their client base.

I know personally I'll really miss Nordstrom, they had a lot of great stuff and a good mix of luxury brands and attainable fashion.

I think that may have ultimately been part of their demise in Canada, everyone thought of them as Holt's 2.0 but they had a much more approachable price point.

[SpongeG]

I used to shop online with Nordstrom when I lived in the middle of nowhere Alberta. Their online offerings were far more reasonable. The Vancouver store was just way too expensive, $800 T-shirts, $2000 shoes etc. I would buy things like candles or skin care stuff at the Vancouver store, but most of that stuff is sold at Holt Renfrew as well, Diptyque, Jo Malone, Aesop, Kiehls etc.

I know in the states most of the stores had a more reasonable selection, like Dockers, Levis, Guess etc, not Dior, Moncler, Balenciaga etc.

[dreambrother808]

Originally Posted by officedweller

I still don't know many people who purchased items there (nor at Holt Renfrew).

The majority of sales at places like Holts are made by a small minority of ultra-wealthy people.

No one posting here shows signs of running in those kind of circles.