Canadian Retail Thread

[MolsonExport]

The Holt Renfrew expansion at Square One just screams too much expansion.

How would you propose to ban the Holt Renfrew expansion at Square One on the basis of being too much expansion?

Without economies of scale (by expansion) many incumbent local retail chains could (have already) been undercut by foreign rivals.

Have you been to China? I was in Shanghai recently, and almost all the major luxury brands had numerous locations throughout the core (which extends for tens of kilometers in every cardinal direction).

Anyhow, why focus only on luxury brands? Don't mom & pop and standalone stores targeting the less affluent also merit consideration? Should restaurants be similarly constrained to the core? Even if rents become exorbitant?

Are you worried more about the reputation of these high-end retailers, or the effects on the urban fabric? Some of your arguments seem to be more regarding the former.

[ue]

lol, Mike, I had look up Saks in San Francisco because I knew that couldn't be right. Yes, SF only has one Saks, but SF proper has a land area smaller than Old Toronto. The Bay Area still has 6 Saks Fifth Avenue locations - San Francisco, Livermore, Petaluma, Milpitas, Gilroy, and Folsom. How is that any different from Holts deciding to have Old Toronto, North York, and Mississauga locations?

[miketoronto]

Originally Posted by ue

lol, Mike, I had look up Saks in San Francisco because I knew that couldn't be right. Yes, SF only has one Saks, but SF proper has a land area smaller than Old Toronto. The Bay Area still has 6 Saks Fifth Avenue locations - San Francisco, Livermore, Petaluma, Milpitas, Gilroy, and Folsom. How is that any different from Holts deciding to have Old Toronto, North York, and Mississauga locations?

The other locations you mention are discount warehouse locations. They only have one actual Saks, and its the one in downtown SF.
I actually found out about that, because it was written up in a retail magazine about Saks deciding to limit the number of the stores they have in each city, and SF was used as one of the examples.

[miketoronto]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

How would you propose to ban the Holt Renfrew expansion at Square One on the basis of being too much expansion?

Are you worried more about the reputation of these high-end retailers, or the effects on the urban fabric? Some of your arguments seem to be more regarding the former.

We can't ban it. But I think Holt Renfrew is getting too aggressive with their expansion and it could backfire. Seriously, there is a Holt Renfrew downtown. You drive not even 15 minutes west, and you have Sherway Gardens. You drive not even 15 minutes west and you will have Square One. And lets not forget Yorkdale which is also only 20 minutes from the downtown store, and only 20 minutes from Sherway or Square One.
In fact retail leasing info for Sherway actually mentions how they are only 30 minutes drive from most residents in the GTA, or over 4 million residents.

For a store that is supposedly high end and exclusive, that seems excessive, and I can't see the market actually supporting that many locations in a small area, without it just eating sales that would otherwise have gone to downtown or Sherway. Which is what will happen.

I take into account the fact of the stores reputation as well as the urban development, because the two are linked in some ways.

I know my retail. And I also remember when Holt Renfrew was something special that you went into on a trip down to Bloor Street, and it was something unique.
Or if you got something from Holt Renfrew it was special.

All this expansion will make Holt Renfrew just another household name, and will just become common place and therefore lose its cache.
And this could have effects on the urban development, because it could reduce the specialness of Bloor Street as a unique retail destination.

You can trumpet mediocre retail expansion. But great cities are built on great things including retail. And Holt Renfrew and other stores have a lot of work to do downtown before they should be even looking at expanding. Holt Renfrew's flagship on Bloor is so small by world standards it is not even funny.

[Mamiamato24]

Omg Tim Hortons has flower doughnuts!!!

[MolsonExport]

^those flower donuts should only be sold at the downtown flagship Tim Whoreton's.

[SpongeG]

lol

[Mamiamato24]

OMG with the green sprinkles...

revolutionary!

[Mr.Wolf]

Most brands have lost any cachet they had in recent years.

When you see some nouveau rich teenage girls hanging around with their Louis Vuitting handbag in a suburban mall, that doesn't scream "sophistication" but that's where most brands are making their profits nowadays.

If people living in McMansions want to splash on some designer gear, the Europeans will go in the suburbs because they don't look down on them anymore.

[MolsonExport]

I went to Canadian Tire yesterday (for the rare occasion...I really don't like the place), and spent about $50 (Cash). I got 10 cents in Canadian Tire Money back. That is really a very shitty loyalty program. When I was a kid, I can remember my dad getting 4-5% back in $CT for cash purposes. They really "give like Scrooge"

sure enough, they have lowered the reward rate:

Canadian Tire Money is given out for purchases paid for by cash or debit, based on the pre-tax total, excluding labour and shop supplies costs. The coupon rate earned was initially 5% of the eligible purchase price but was subsequently lowered to 3%, then to 1.4%, and now is 0.4%

By this calculation, I should have got $.20CT.

[harls]

CT money is so depressing. Especially when you save up a wad thinking you're going to get a great discount at the till, and it comes to 80 cents or something.

I Iove handing over my Canadian tire money in a crumpled heap, out of sequence, and stained with food.

[vid]

I like to save it all up until I have a couple bucks, and then use it to pay for a bottle of pop, purposefully keeping a couple bills in my wallet to delay the transaction. Then, when leaving Canadian Tire (because ours does backpack searches every time), I make sure I have stuff from other stores in my bag so I can slow the store down even more by forcing them to inspect every compartment of my backpack (11 in total) and dig around for receipts for it all.

I did that last time I rode Greyhound; they gave up after I told them to thoroughly inspect the rain cover (compartment 7) and practically pushed me onto the bus. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to ride Greyhound anymore.

[Nouvellecosse]

Backpack searches every time?? Wow, I refuse to shop at a store that harasses it's shoppers. Especially if they do it selectively by picking on young male shoppers and letting everyone else float on by. There's a store here including a CT that would tell me to leave my backup at the service desk when entering. I tell them that I don't do that, and then if they make a fuss, I leave.

That CT hasn't done that for a several months now, probably because of shopper backlash.

[SignalHillHiker]

Originally Posted by jeddy1989

Forever Flawless has a kiosk set up in the Avalon mall, the woman there said that they are opening a location in the mall. According to their website the only other stores in Canada are in Vancouver, Edmonton and Victoria.

http://www.foreverflawless.com/v/vspfiles/locations.asp

Woot woot!

[J.OT13]

I heard this a while back from someone; apparently if you get mugged abroad, you can give them your Canadian Tire money and they won't know the difference. I'm sure it's not 100% full proof, but it's worth a shot.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

I heard this a while back from someone; apparently if you get mugged abroad, you can give them your Canadian Tire money and they won't know the difference. I'm sure it's not 100% full proof, but it's worth a shot.

So to speak! Try that is some parts of the world and it could quite literally be "worth a shot".

[Policy Wonk]

I save my Canadian Tire money for when I inexplicably get fundraising solicitations from the Conservative Party. I have done it at least half a dozen times but I'm still on their mailing list.

[casper]

Originally Posted by Policy Wonk

I save my Canadian Tire money for when I inexplicably get fundraising solicitations from the Conservative Party. I have done it at least half a dozen times but I'm still on their mailing list.

Perhaps the lawyers they use to handle the senators take CT money

[caltrane74]

Well folks it's official. Nordstorm is moving into the Eaton Centre along with a $240 million dollar renovation of the mall to reconfigure the space once occupied by Sears Canada. Brand new US retailers are being sought at this moment to fill the space along with Nordstrom, which will occupy 3 of the 7 former sears floors (Sears to retain top 4 floors) and the mall will be renovated!!! yay



From the Retail Insider

As many of us expected, Nordstrom has announced that it will replace Sears at the Toronto Eaton Centre. It will open a 213,000 square foot, three-level store. Construction begins in March and the store is scheduled to open in the fall of 2016, around the same time as its Yorkdale Shopping Centre location.

Although Sears will vacate the Toronto Eaton Centre space next month, it will continue to occupy approximately 460,000 square feet of office space over four floors above Nordstrom for Sears Canada's headquarters. The office space was formerly retail space.

In total, the Toronto Eaton Centre Sears is about 816,000 square feet. Besides the square footage to be occupied by Nordstrom and Sears Canada's office space, an additional 140,000 square feet of retail space will become available for other retailers. Tenant(s) are expected to be announced in the near future.

Despite the fact that it will be the company's Canadian flagship, the Toronto Eaton Centre Nordstrom will be its second-largest Canadian store location. Its Vancouver store will be larger at almost 230,000 square feet.

[esquire]

^ It's interesting to see the steady march of luxury retailers into Canada over the past six years or so. It seems that we are going from being a nation of Bay and Sears shoppers to Nordstrom and Saks shoppers. I wonder if Canada really is that much more prosperous than before, or is this just the combination of easy credit and consumerism taken to the next level?