[Moncton] Retail Thread

[MonctonRad]

This is a picture I snapped today of the new Bouclair store at Wheeler Park. It will be opening shortly.



And yes, if you are wondering, I have the week off and have nothing better to do with my time.

[Sushi Guy]

Hey Moncton Rad,

I don't know in witch Thread to post this but I have a question:

When I look at all the new Moncton subforums, I don't see any "downtown" Moncton thread?...In witch Thread should I go if it is not retail (event center, urban development, downtown parking issues...)??

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Sushi Guy

Hey Moncton Rad,

I don't know in witch Thread to post this but I have a question:

When I look at all the new Moncton subforums, I don't see any "downtown" Moncton thread?...In witch Thread should I go if it is not retail (event center, urban development, downtown parking issues...)??

I haven't created a downtown thread (yet), as I didn't have a decent placeholder for it, but you are not the first one to bring it up. If you have a downtown issue you would like to discuss, just put it in the main Moncton thread for now. If I think it is significant enough, I will use it to create a downtown thread.

[MonctonRad]

Well, another indication that the gentrification of Champlain Place is continuing unabated. No wonder that Cadillac Fairview is kicking all the local retailers out! (not really kicking them out, but offering them lease arrangements which are not tenable for most of them)

I was at the mall today and noted that the former Northern Reflections location is now boarded up and undergoing hurried renovations. I asked a salesperson at a nearby location what was going on and she said Coach was going to be moving in there.



Coach is a high end purveyor of leather goods, principally purses and some accessories like watches. The only existing Atlantic Canadian store is at the Halifax Shopping Centre.

Again, it seems that many of the new high end stores at either HSC or MicMac are going to end up at Champlain as well.

The list includes:
Sephora
Pandora
Coach
Pseudio
and maybe Fossil.

[JasonL-Moncton]

As I've said before...I just hope that all or most of those being 'booted' from the mall open a store front downtown.

JL

[NBNYer]

Originally Posted by JasonL-Moncton

As I've said before...I just hope that all or most of those being 'booted' from the mall open a store front downtown.
JL

Some of those "booted" stores have indicated that they were going to make this move. Has there been any sign of movement on this?

[MonctonRad]

The only one that I know of for sure is Colpitt's, which is moving into the National Bank Building next to Timothy's coffee shop.

[NBNYer]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Well, another indication that the gentrification of Champlain Place is continuing unabated. No wonder that Cadillac Fairview is kicking all the local retailers out! (not really kicking them out, but offering them lease arrangements which are not tenable for most of them)

I was at the mall today and noted that the former Northern Reflections location is now boarded up and undergoing hurried renovations. I asked a salesperson at a nearby location what was going on and she said Coach was going to be moving in there.



Coach is a high end purveyor of leather goods, principally purses and some accessories like watches. The only existing Atlantic Canadian store is at the Halifax Shopping Centre.

Again, it seems that many of the new high end stores at either HSC or MicMac are going to end up at Champlain as well.

The list includes:
Sephora
Pandora
Coach
Pseudio
and maybe Fossil.

Coach is a pretty big catch for Champlain. They've got some nice merchandise.

Looks like Moncton is by far the smallest market in Canada to land this brand, the closest are Victoria and Halifax. A big vote of confidence in the retail market from Coach. Champlain is "movin' on up"!

[OUIR@random]

Sephora has been confirmed. Pseudio is rather lackluster IMHO; the brands they sell are already selling in Champlain; (Pantorama, DTox, Boathouse, among others) I don't understand this move, they have Pseudios in Miramichi & Bathurst... so it is not newsworthy to me and rather disappointing... They have discounted Hurley, Billabong and Guess apparel at Winners anyway. I was thinking Banana Republic, JCrew or Zara. As for Coach, my wife is a Coach fan and the average price for a purse can be around $300-1000US$, can the Moncton market take that? What is the source for the Coach rumor? Mall employees are rather unreliable sources since they usually have wishful thinking rather than concrete facts, understandably CF is secretive with their lease negotiations and employees are usually the last to know. Time will tell, but I must agree; if Coach comes to Champlain it is quite a catch since it's a high profile tenant. Jack & Jones is that place closed yet? There is nobody there, ever! What were they thinking, nobody knows that place or brand; it's not True Religion or Lucky Brand...

[NBNYer]

Welcome to the boards OUIR@random!

Originally Posted by OUIR@random

Pseudio is rather lackluster IMHO; the brands they sell are already selling in Champlain; (Pantorama, DTox, Boathouse, among others) I don't understand this move, they have Pseudios in Miramichi & Bathurst... so it is not newsworthy to me and rather disappointing... They have discounted Hurley, Billabong and Guess apparel at Winners anyway.

I don't really get this either. Seems counter to what CF is trying to accomplish with Champlain, maybe the rumored list of "several national retailers" alluded to in this thread that are waiting to get into Champlain isn't that long after all.

Originally Posted by OUIR@random

I was thinking Banana Republic, JCrew or Zara.

Banana Republic I can see, Zara is a long shot and I don't think there will be a JCrew in NB anytime soon. They are a newcomer to the Canadian market and are still expanding in major centres, MTL doesn't even have one yet.

Originally Posted by OUIR@random

As for Coach, my wife is a Coach fan and the average price for a purse can be around $300-1000US$, can the Moncton market take that? What is the source for the Coach rumor? Mall employees are rather unreliable sources since they usually have wishful thinking rather than concrete facts, understandably CF is secretive with their lease negotiations and employees are usually the last to know. Time will tell, but I must agree; if Coach comes to Champlain it is quite a catch since it's a high profile tenant.

True, it is just a rumor, who knows

Originally Posted by OUIR@random

Jack & Jones is that place closed yet? There is nobody there, ever! What were they thinking, nobody knows that place or brand; it's not True Religion or Lucky Brand...

They are actually expanding to Saint John, someone's buy stuff there

[OUIR@random]

Thank you NBNYer!

JCrew and Zara is only wishful thinking! I was not expecting them to come. LOL
Remember that some international retailers especially american ones are slow to come to the province of Quebec, we had American Eagle in NB many years before them and they don't have any Hollister, Aero, A&F, not even in Montreal yet, but we do here... A&F is coming to HSC.
Like everyone else here I like to buy local, but sometimes outlet shopping in Maine, Massachusetts and Tax free New Hampshire just "can't be beat" on selection & price.

Being an Apple fan, Apple at Champlain would be cool!

[OUIR@random]

Originally Posted by NBNYer

They are actually expanding to Saint John, someone's buy stuff there

Not me or anyone I know, their stuff looks ok, but I much prefer Lucky or True Religion, not same price point however, TR jeans are around 200-400$ a pair. Don't get me wrong I wish any retailer good luck, it's just that everytime I go at Champlain, J&J is empty, always...

I did not know about J&J Saint John, that's another thing, we should have stores found nowhere else in NB, and should go upscale like HSC... Having the same stuff as SJ and Freddy won't make Moncton a destination... we have already lost ground to those two... We have to match Halifax and Bangor, not Freddy and SJ.

Again regarding Coach... remember when everyone was saying Victoria Secret was coming to Champlain... it was a new La Senza in the end.

[MonctonRad]

Greetings OUIR@random and welcome to the forum!

re: Pseudio - I agree completely, not really a "high end" tenant, but is an essentially confirmed tenant, since there was a job posting for a manager for this store on kijiji.

re: Sephora - apparently confirmed from several sources.

re: Pandora - also confirmed via an internet job posting.

re: Coach - less certain. As you have stated, this is hearsay from a mall employee, but she seemed quite adamant about this information and since a Coach store recently opened in Halifax, there may be some credence to this.

re: Fossil - no concrete information, but an online retail blog did state that the chain was interested in both the Moncton and Halifax markets. A fossil store is definitely opening in Halifax.

re: Banana Republic - not even a whisper about this but they certainly fit the profile of tenants that Champlain wants to attract to the mall. BR is part of the GAP empire, so the chain should be familiar with the mall. I could see them coming.

re Jack & Jones - I agree that the store is not crawling with patrons all the time, but they are also opening in SJ, which presumably indicates some confidence in the market. My middle son has bought a number of things at the store. I think they're doing OK.

If I was wondering about any store at the mall, it would be MEXX/MEXX Kids. Those stores seem empty all the time, yet have been open for a couple of years....

[NBNYer]

Originally Posted by OUIR@random

I did not know about J&J Saint John, that's another thing, we should have stores found nowhere else in NB, and should go upscale like HSC... Having the same stuff as SJ and Freddy won't make Moncton a destination... we have already lost ground to those two... We have to match Halifax and Bangor, not Freddy and SJ.

Well matching Halifax might also be a bit of "wishful thinking"

This is another effect of Southern NB's spread out population, which results in doubling (ant tripling) of retailers, services, entertainment, airport service etc etc etc and contributes to a lack of variety. Moncton loosing ground is not a good thing overall. Having no clear front runner in retail in NB and a collection of smaller cities may make NB as a whole less appealing to international retailers.

[OUIR@random]

Thanks MonctonRad!
Good observation regarding Mexx, that place is always empty and the brand is not very sought-after, I wonder how they are still open...

[OUIR@random]

Unique stores that Champlain HAD that I missed is Kernels and Disney. Kernels is now at HSC and Disney is returning at MicMac (rumor). Disney closed many stores a couple of years ago because there was too many, but I guess they are doing better now? Dunno? Future Shop is missed too, but that is whole other animal... Speaking of which, Linen Chest is no Pottery Barn, I went there a few times with my wife (yawn) and there was no one in the store. IMHO, Future Shop attracted more shoppers than Urban Planet & Linen Chest, male shoppers like me anyway. LOL, but I do understand that Future Shop wanted out of Champlain (rent) and wanted their own big box building anyway.

Can't wait for Best Buy at Trinity!

[icetea93]

Coach is opening in Champlain Place , it's not a rumor. They confirmed it on Facebook this week. As far as Coach in Halifax, I believe it opened in 2008 but don't quote me on that.

[MonctonRad]

Well there you have it!

Thanks icetea93.

I think that it is official. The "big three" malls in the Maritimes are HSC, MicMac and Champlain.

[icetea93]

Originally Posted by OUIR@random

Thank you NBNYer!

JCrew and Zara is only wishful thinking! I was not expecting them to come. LOL
Remember that some international retailers especially american ones are slow to come to the province of Quebec, we had American Eagle in NB many years before them and they don't have any Hollister, Aero, A&F, not even in Montreal yet, but we do here... A&F is coming to HSC.
Like everyone else here I like to buy local, but sometimes outlet shopping in Maine, Massachusetts and Tax free New Hampshire just "can't be beat" on selection & price.

Being an Apple fan, Apple at Champlain would be cool!

The only indication that A&F will open in HSC is a YellowPages listing they have at 7001 Mumford Road (HSC). Though, this is a big indicator. I've contacted business reporters from the Chronicle Hearld and they basically said that they are opening but probably aren't read to reveal that publicly yet. They may be waiting for a space to be available at 6000- 8000sq.ft. May happen after Apple and Victoria's Secret are nearing completion/opened. Do you have any more info on A&F in Halifax?

[OUIR@random]

My bad regarding A&F, it is just a rumor at this point. Hollister Co. is a subsidiary of A&F; as is abercrombie (childrenswear), and Gilly Hicks (women). Maybe that is why they have an address at HSC...?

Great news regarding Coach, such a catch for Champlain! My wife was not able to find the link, so if you have it... thanks!
There is an online NB newspaper stating that Coach and Sephora is coming, however they also state that they will be the only Maritime location... ?!