Canadian Retail Thread

[SpongeG]

nordstrom didn't buy up the locations, cadillac fairview bought out the leases from sears and will negotiate new leases with nordstrom

[Gerrard]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

nordstrom didn't buy up the locations, cadillac fairview bought out the leases from sears and will negotiate new leases with nordstrom

Mis-worded. CF owns the property, Sears leased it like all retailers do in malls.

But I was still right. Even though I was poopooed so forgive me for gloating!

[SpongeG]

lol its kinda obvious though that something was going on behind the scenes to pave the way for them to buy out sears etc. so in a way nordstrom did have a hand in getting the leases...

[Coldrsx]

Booming Edmonton spurs new wave of shopping developments


BY BILL MAH, EDMONTONJOURNAL.COM JULY 20, 2012 12:05 PM



STORYPHOTOS ( 1 )



Summer in the city
Photograph by: Shane Howard , edmontonjournal.com
EDMONTON - Edmonton may already boast North America’s largest mall and one of its biggest power centres, but a new wave of shopping developments is springing up across the region.
Tightening vacancy in Edmonton’s retail market, a strong economy, growing population and an influx of new retailers are spurring the building boom.

Over 3.2 million square feet of development is being added to Edmonton’s commercial footprint over the next year, said Colliers International in its first-quarter retail market report.

Vacancy in the retail market has plummeted to 2.4 per cent, a historic low, it said.

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/busin...671/story.html

[SpongeG]

nice, i hope to go to edmonton in august, i am sure i won't recognize it

speaking of retail i was at walmart in peace river last week and their cell phone dept was closed down to staffing issues, not enough people, they have a big sign outside - as did a lot of the store there, now hiring, walmart was pretty busy and they only had two cashiers on with long lines

[Coldrsx]

^moral of the story, AVOID WALMART>

[SpongeG]

no leave jobless bc and move to alberta jobs galore here - its insane!

[SpongeG]

big news for loblaws but too bad JC Penny is such a ghetto dept store

Loblaw’s Joe Fresh hooks up with J.C. Penney
MARINA STRAUSS - RETAILING REPORTER

Grocer Loblaw Cos. Ltd. is making a big retail bet in the United States with its Joe Fresh fashion line, amid slowing spring sales of its cheap-chic offerings in a sluggish Canadian apparel market.

On Wednesday, Loblaw said it will roll out almost 700 Joe Fresh shops next spring within troubled U.S. department-store retailer J.C. Penney, getting close to achieving its goal of running as many as 800 Joe Fresh stores across the United States.

Loblaw’s four-year deal with J.C. Penney emerged as the country’s largest grocer reported that its second-quarter Joe Fresh sales failed to get a lift from a year earlier. What’s more, teaming up with J.C. Penney is a risky step. The U.S. company is struggling through a massive makeover under Ron Johnson, a retail star who took the top job late last year after launching tech giant Apple’s iconic stores. The latest deal raises the stakes for Loblaw and Joe Mimran, creative director for Joe Fresh.

“It’s a gamble – of course it’s a gamble,” said Walter Loeb, president of retail consultancy Loeb Associates in New York and a former director of Hudson’s Bay Co., noting that Mr. Mimran has taken chances before. “I think this is going to be a winner.”

Joe Fresh has been one of the few engines of growth for Loblaw, which has been scrambling over the past six years to return to its glory days. Now the grocery titan is racing to find more ways to pump up its Joe Fresh business and feeling the heat to make its J.C. Penney partnership work.

Loblaw is counting on J.C. Penney’s Mr. Johnson and his vision to reinvent the department store with specialty shops such as Joe Fresh and a new pricing strategy, emulating his success in re-imagining electronics retailing for Apple.

...

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe...rticle4439978/

[miketoronto]

I just got back from a trip to Chicago, and I got to visit the new City Target in downtown Chicago, which despite what seems like some effort to respect history, still does not fit the grand space of the old Carson Pirie Scott Building.

After visiting the store (the second time I have been in a Target) I am left with the same question I have always asked. "Why are my fellow Canadian's so obsessed with Target?".

Maybe I am more demanding of the products I buy than the general population.
But Target was no different than a Zellers, save for one thing.
The one thing I noticed that was different, was that they had some more trendy looking home design items.
That being said, the rest was the same discount store crap you find at Zellers, Walmart, etc.
In fact I tried, but I could not find one nice item in the men's clothing department. All the clothing are those cheap clothing brands with no style.

So at the end of the day, just like Zellers, it is a great place to go buy your cleaning supplies, and maybe a cheap housewares item. But other than that, I just don't get this obsession with Target. Unless that is you like cheap looking, poor fitting clothing, or really enjoying buying everyday items like cleaning supplies.

[Ramako]

Some people can only afford to shop at places like Wal-Mart and Target, and within that marketplace, Target is the most fashionable.

[SpongeG]

i love target for its home goods, cheap clothes designer collaborations, the thomas o'brien stuff alone is mazing

i love that it carries a lot of hard to find brands like Mrs Meyers, method, jr watkins etc

it is just a walmart zellers space but they do it right - same reason apple freaks love apple stores, or fashionistas love H&M - there is just something you can't put into words about the place

[Gerrard]

Originally Posted by miketoronto

I just got back from a trip to Chicago, and I got to visit the new City Target in downtown Chicago, which despite what seems like some effort to respect history, still does not fit the grand space of the old Carson Pirie Scott Building.

After visiting the store (the second time I have been in a Target) I am left with the same question I have always asked. "Why are my fellow Canadian's so obsessed with Target?".

Maybe I am more demanding of the products I buy than the general population.
But Target was no different than a Zellers, save for one thing.
The one thing I noticed that was different, was that they had some more trendy looking home design items.
That being said, the rest was the same discount store crap you find at Zellers, Walmart, etc.
In fact I tried, but I could not find one nice item in the men's clothing department. All the clothing are those cheap clothing brands with no style.

So at the end of the day, just like Zellers, it is a great place to go buy your cleaning supplies, and maybe a cheap housewares item. But other than that, I just don't get this obsession with Target. Unless that is you like cheap looking, poor fitting clothing, or really enjoying buying everyday items like cleaning supplies.

No, the biggest difference Mike for most shoppers is that unlike a Zellers, a Target store doesn't look like it was forgotten in some low income ghetto from the 1960s. Everything is well laid out, with wide uncluttered aisles, linoleum without cracks and god knows what festering viruses lurking below.

In short, you can sell petrified turds to the average consumer as long as the packaging is shiny and nice.

Target knows the customer experience is important -most Canadian retailers do not.

[manny_santos]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

big news for loblaws but too bad JC Penny is such a ghetto dept store

Loblaw’s Joe Fresh hooks up with J.C. Penney
MARINA STRAUSS - RETAILING REPORTER

Loblaws should stick to its bread and butter - selling bread and butter.

They've become a company lacking focus. I don't go to the supermarket to buy clothing.

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by manny_santos

Loblaws should stick to its bread and butter - selling bread and butter.

They've become a company lacking focus. I don't go to the supermarket to buy clothing.

Lots of people do though. Joe Fresh is already the #1 purveyor of clothing in Canada and will pass $1 billion in sales very soon. Do people go to Walmart to buy food?

[Nouvellecosse]

I've bought hundreds of dollars worth of stuff since the brand started. Over $200 this summer alone.

I can't say it really bothers me that they sell food in the same building, considering I've also bought electronics and other non-food items at Superstore over the years as well.

[memememe76]

Vancouver has a standalone Joe Fresh. I didn't notice one in Montreal last time I was there. What about other cities? I buy quite a few pieces at the standalone store, but not so much at the grocery store. I like the clothes and the prices are great.

[MTLskyline]

Originally Posted by memememe76

Vancouver has a standalone Joe Fresh. I didn't notice one in Montreal last time I was there. What about other cities? I buy quite a few pieces at the standalone store, but not so much at the grocery store. I like the clothes and the prices are great.

The one in Montreal has been open for about 2 years now. I could understand how a tourist could miss it though, it is not really anywhere near downtown. It is way up in Park Extension in the old Jean-Talon train station.



Montréal by Sylvain Bournival, on Flickr


Montréal by Sylvain Bournival, on Flickr

[memememe76]

Wow! Impressive. Just another reason to go back to Montreal, lol.

[manny_santos]

Originally Posted by isaidso

Do people go to Walmart to buy food?

I occasionally have, but groceries is not the first thing that comes to mind when I think of Walmart.

Perhaps my point should be that Loblaws should keep their clothing line separate from their supermarkets. A standalone Joe Fresh store is okay by me; I just don't go to the supermarket with the intention of buying a new pair of jeans to go with my pop and burgers. If I want clothes, I'll go to a clothing store. Or even Walmart.

I guess I've just always been a believer in companies maintaining focus on what they do best instead of trying to be all things to all people. Walmart tries to be too many things and is not good at any one particular thing in my opinion; likewise I think that Loblaws should keep its focus on groceries, and not divert focus onto other products that are outside their core business. I don't want to see Loblaws become Walmart.

Imagine if Starbucks started selling clothing.

[telyou]

Originally Posted by manny_santos

Loblaws should stick to its bread and butter - selling bread and butter.

They've become a company lacking focus. I don't go to the supermarket to buy clothing.

The Loblaws executives have very little say in Joseph Mimran does with the Joe Fresh brand. He has complete control. Trust me, Loblaws is still sticking to it's bread and butter as you say but it doesn't hurt to branch out.

Originally Posted by MTLskyline

The one in Montreal has been open for about 2 years now. I could understand how a tourist could miss it though, it is not really anywhere near downtown. It is way up in Park Extension in the old

That's not a standalone store. It's inside a Loblaws. As far as i know only NYC, Toronto and Vancouver have standalone stores. I think they're gunning for 20 standalone stores in Canada/US within the next 2 years.