Winnipeg Retail

[Danny D Oh]

Originally Posted by rrskylar

Wondering if Lowe's will ever to Winnipeg with stores in both Regina and Saskatoon and a second store under construction in Saskatoon you would think Winnipeg might be on their radar.

They've been one of the main tenants of the proposed development on Reenders too. But then they tried to take over Rona and everything stalled.

[CoryB]

It would not surprise be if Lowe's is also on the list of tenants in discussion for The Plaza at Polo Park. Westport Festival also lists a home improvement store as one of the lead tenants and while anyone would be far enough from their other locations Lowe's seems most likely due to Rona's poor financial position and the lack of real competition in that local area.

[horrorbro123]

Icing Has Open Second Location In Polo Park

[esquire]

^ Thank you horrorbro, on the spot with all the Polo Park store openings!

[CoryB]

There is a fresh report out that Lowe's aggressive expansion into Canada is back on. This has implications for Westport Festival and Kildonan Mile, both of which Lowe's is expected to anchor. It is also good news for The Plaza at Polo Park and Seasons of Tuxedo both of which are expected to add Lowe's to their rosters.

The big question, as it was with Target and more recently Costo, is will a northwest (Garden City) store of Winnipeg happen and if so where will it be located?

[bomberjet]

With the Lowes thing. I was reading in the Saskatoon or Regina threads, that the small Lowes there is shit. They don't sell a lot of things that say Home depot or Rona does. So people will drive further to go to a HD as opposed to a small Lowes store. So hopefully they're going for the large stores in Winnipeg, which I would expect they are if they want to compete. See the recent Target semi-failures. Not necessarily store size, but the underwhelming selection.

[esquire]

I can't say I'm too excited to see Lowe's come to town. I mean, competition is good yadda yadda, but what will they bring to the market that the other guys don't? Different kinds of latex paint and furnace bolts that weren't available before?

All their entry into the Winnipeg market will do is encourage the likes of Shindico to get moving on more greenfield big box developments. Thumbs down.

[bomberjet]

I have the same feelings. I could really care less if the Kildonan Mile things goes forward. Just extend Reenders already and I'm good with all that. Of course Shindico is supposed to pay for part of it, so Steveo will have something to say about that haha Which I'll also agree with in this case. So what do you do.

[Kildonaner]

It's official No Frills is on its way! This should give Co-op at Inkster and Main a run for its money.

[esquire]

^ That's awesome. It's a bit far from my place, but I'm going to include the Notre Dame one on my occasional grocery shopping rotation. I used to patronize the Extra Foods regularly when I lived right downtown... it never seemed to come up in discussions about downtown grocers even though it was super convenient for anyone living in the area (well, provided you had a car)... it was basically downtown's Real Canadian Superstore.

[vjose32]

Nice to Icing opening, I did a little work there. Next is apparently a Boston Pizza in Dauphin and some Garage stores

[CoryB]

Originally Posted by CoryB

Loblaws closed the company owned and operated Extra Foods on Notre Dame and Main St (at Inkster). They continue to own both sites and have them currently listed on their own site as franchise opportunities under the No Frills banner. If an acceptable operator does come forward Loblaws is no longer directly exposed to the risk of inventory losses those sites may incur.

I would not be surprised to see Sobey's look at a similar model of the Sargent Ave Safeway.

Nice to see the WFP running a story about a month old. I wonder if the article today is confirmation that franchise operators have been found for those two sites. I did not see any mention of that in their article today.

[cheswick]

Originally Posted by CoryB

Nice to see the WFP running a story about a month old. I wonder if the article today is confirmation that franchise operators have been found for those two sites. I did not see any mention of that in their article today.

The article says the two stores will be opening in the first half of 2015. So I assume that means they have franchise deals in place.

[cllew]

Originally Posted by vjose32

Nice to Icing opening, I did a little work there. Next is apparently a Boston Pizza in Dauphin and some Garage stores

The BP in Dauphin closed a few years ago so they must have found a new operator.

According to CKDM radio in Dauphin, it's going back into its old location in the Dauphin Mall as the restaurant that replaced them closed down.

[wags_in_the_peg]

Originally Posted by cllew

The BP in Dauphin closed a few years ago so they must have found a new operator.

According to CKDM radio in Dauphin, it's going back into its old location in the Dauphin Mall as the restaurant that replaced them closed down.

good to hear, i spend time in Dauphin from time to time. it's in the Dauphin Mall parking lot not attached. I use to go there in the 80's before BP was all plastered over Winnnipeg.

[Danny D Oh]

Originally Posted by esquire

I can't say I'm too excited to see Lowe's come to town. I mean, competition is good yadda yadda, but what will they bring to the market that the other guys don't? Different kinds of latex paint and furnace bolts that weren't available before?

All their entry into the Winnipeg market will do is encourage the likes of Shindico to get moving on more greenfield big box developments. Thumbs down.

To be honest I feel that market is already kind of saturated. I know Rona has been struggling across the country, and everytime I set foot in their store it is not very busy. They must do great business on the contractor side of their operation, cause I look at how big their stores are, Home Depot too, and the amount of traffic they get, just doesn't add up.

[Simplicity]

Originally Posted by Danny D Oh

To be honest I feel that market is already kind of saturated. I know Rona has been struggling across the country, and everytime I set foot in their store it is not very busy. They must do great business on the contractor side of their operation, cause I look at how big their stores are, Home Depot too, and the amount of traffic they get, just doesn't add up.

Not to mention that the customer service at Rona is bad on an otherworldly level.

It amazes me how Home Depot can staff competently in nearly all their departments, and yet you walk into a Rona, and if you're able to even find anybody, they never know a thing about their department or trade...

[cllew]

I always end up with the person with the tag on their apron that says "I work in all departments" when I go to Home Depot. Then both of us go looking to see if we can find the departmental clerk if they are not on a break, training or in the back "checking stock"

[Simplicity]

Originally Posted by cllew

I always end up with the person with the tag on their apron that says "I work in all departments" when I go to Home Depot. Then both of us go looking to see if we can find the departmental clerk if they are not on a break, training or in the back "checking stock"

Really depends on when you go. I find the more senior staff are working during the day given that those are the plum shifts.

But during the evening, yeah, it's getting more and more that I'm waiting for the department clerk to arrive after being phoned over the intercom.

Either way. Better than Rona!

[SpongeG]

i love lowes, so much more than home depot. problem with the two is home depot just has more exclusivity deals with brands and manufacturers that lowes can't carry the same items/brands that people seem to want