Canadian Retail Thread

[SSLL]

Cool! I love the idea!

[MikeTTG]

It started in NYC a few years back. There's been a cereal bar in BCE Place in Toronto since earlier this year.

[neilson]

Originally Posted by MikeTTG

It started in NYC a few years back. There's been a cereal bar in BCE Place in Toronto since earlier this year.

IS Vector a good cereal, and where in the USA can I buy it?

[MikeTTG]

Originally Posted by neilson

IS Vector a good cereal, and where in the USA can I buy it?

That's a question for the nice folks at Kellogs.

[West_aust]

Originally Posted by neilson

IS Vector a good cereal, and where in the USA can I buy it?

It's good, and no need to head to the us to buy some, they are sold everywhere

[Rusty van Reddick]

^if you haven't noticed, Neilson lives in Alabama.

[neilson]

Originally Posted by furrycanuck

^if you haven't noticed, Neilson lives in Alabama.

Thank You; Some ppl tend to miss that part.

[SSLL]

I don't like Vector, it's too sugary for me. Reminds me of Frosted Flakes (without the Frosting)

[West_aust]

Originally Posted by furrycanuck

^if you haven't noticed, Neilson lives in Alabama.

i indeed havent noticed, my bad

[neilson]

Originally Posted by West_aust

i indeed havent noticed, my bad

So, how can I get Vector short of driving up to Canada and getting the cereal personally?

[Coldrsx]

Edmonton ideal incubator for independent retailers
Western Canada's retail champ result of key factors

Gary Lamphier
The Edmonton Journal



Few people think of Edmonton as a retailing powerhouse. That's supposed to be the domain of major eastern cities like Toronto or Montreal. But that's exactly what Edmonton is becoming.

With a regional population of barely one million people, E-town has given birth to a dozen national or regional retail chains, including such firms as The Brick, Katz Group, AutoCanada, Liquor Stores, Liquor Barn, Planet Organic, Running Room, Booster Juice, Fountain Tire and XS Cargo.

That's more than any other city west of Ontario.

Whether you're talking car dealerships or booze outlets, drugstore chains or big-box furniture and appliance stores, organic food outlets or purveyors of fruit drinks, Edmonton is Western Canada's retail champ.

I used to think this was simply an oddity. A curious byproduct, perhaps, of this prairie burg's unlikely status as home to both the world's largest indoor shopping mall, West Edmonton Mall, and the country's biggest power centre, South Edmonton Common.

But that alone doesn't explain it. Clearly, there's a confluence of several other key factors here that make Edmonton an ideal incubator for independent, fast-growing retailers.

Among them: lofty population growth; high disposable-income levels; youthful demographics; record housing starts; lack of a provincial sales tax; low retail rental rates; long winters, which make retail stores popular gathering places; and an entrepreneurial business culture that's far less reliant than Calgary or Vancouver on conventional head-office jobs.

Given that, it's little wonder that Edmonton consistently boasts one of the highest retail-sales growth rates in Canada. Here's a snapshot of just a few of the key retail players that are based here:

- The Brick Group Income Fund is Canada's largest independent furniture, appliance and home electronics retailer. Its national store network -- operating under such banners as The Brick, United Furniture and HomeShow Canada -- generated sales of more than $1.2 billion last year. The 35-year-old company, which expanded into Quebec in 2005, expects to add nearly 20 new outlets in 2006, boosting its total store count to 212. At the same time, it's consolidating most of its retail banners under the Brick name and improving its distribution system.

Company chairman and founder Bill Comrie took The Brick public in July 2004 on the TSX. The Brick's units closed Friday at $10.10, giving the company a market value of about $547 million.

- Katz Group is one of North America's 10 largest drugstore chains, with annual sales of some $6.5 billion. Its sprawling, 1,800-store network operates under a variety of banners, including Pharma Plus, Rexall, Medicine Shoppe, Guardian and I.D.A. It also operates the Snyders drugstore chain in Minnesota.

Fortune magazine ranks the company's media-shy founder, owner and CEO, Daryl Katz, as one of the world's 500 wealthiest people, with a personal fortune estimated at some $1.6 billion US.

Although most of Katz Group's corporate and administrative staff are located at its flagship office in Metro Toronto, Katz and a small group of senior execs are based here in Edmonton.

- AutoCanada Income Fund, which operates a chain of franchised auto dealerships across six provinces stretching from B.C. to Nova Scotia, generated revenues of $628 million in 2005.

By completing a $110-million IPO on the TSX in May -- issuing nearly 11 million units at $10 a pop -- AutoCanada established itself as Canada's first publicly traded, multiple-location, franchised auto-dealership network. The units have performed well since, closing Friday at $11.44 apiece.

AutoCanada's 14 dealers sold some 19,000 Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Hyundai vehicles last year, while processing 204,000 service and collision repair orders. The company intends to grow by acquisition and by opening additional franchised auto dealerships.

- Liquor Stores Income Fund, Alberta's largest liquor retailer, operates the Liquor Depot and Liquor World chains. The company went public at $10 per unit on the TSX in September 2004, and it has grown rapidly since.

The 80-store chain reported sales of $38 million in the first quarter of 2006 -- up about 42 per cent versus the prior year -- and it's well on its way to reaching its ultimate goal of 100 retail outlets.

Liquor Stores' units have also fared well, closing Friday at $18.95 on the TSX, giving the company a market value of more than $200 million.

- Planet Organic, whose shares trade on the TSX Venture Exchange, is another fast-growing, acquisition-oriented Edmonton-based retailer that's making noises across the country.

Planet Organic's natural food stores are located in Edmonton, Victoria, Calgary, Port Coquitlam and Halifax, and it also operates 48 natural-health outlets under the Sangster's banner. A third company unit, Trophic Canada, is a leading maker of natural supplements.

Planet Organic has reported five straight profitable quarters. Its shares closed Friday at $2.37 on the TSX-V.

[email protected]

© The Edmonton Journal 2006

[malek]

The Brick can just go to hell, worst service ever.

[Hardhatdan]

Don't pay a cent till 3055!

[malek]

Originally Posted by Hardhatdan

Don't pay a cent till 3055!

actually they're pretty bad in quebec in regards to financing, they barely had 12 months.

every retailer over here has 36 months.

[SHOFEAR]

Originally Posted by malek

The Brick can just go to hell, worst service ever.

I hate the Brick... but after spending three or four hours this past week trying to find a certain style of hammock I broke down and went to the Brick at WEM. Out of the nearly two dozen furnature stores I've been to the most helpful--by far-- was at the Brick.

[SSLL]

From: http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Con...l=969483202845
________________________

An interior decorator called Ed
cheap un-chic | In tribute to Ed Mirvish on his 92nd birthday, we prove you can furnish a bachelor pad for $500 at Honest Ed's, and have a total kitsch immersion in the process.
Jul. 23, 2006. 01:00 AM
CHRISTOPHER MAUGHAN

You need a toaster oven, a new dress shirt and some aspirin. What do you do?
In any other city, you make three trips, but in Toronto, you go to Honest Ed's.
On the occasion of Ed Mirvish's 92nd birthday, the store with the garish, 23,000-bulb sign at the corner of Bloor and Bathurst is still evolving as the emporium of all things. As of May, it added an immigration centre to its list of goods and services, which also includes a dental office and a beauty salon.
Of course, it's still necessary to negotiate the maze of counters, half-floors, little nooks and mirrors that give the place its charm but also frustrate first-timers to no end.
In theory, there's no reason ever to shop at another store. So the Star decided to put that theory to the test. The mission: furnish a bachelor apartment using only items found at Honest Ed's, and do it for less than $500.
Rats. Guess that $6,500 antique Buddhist shrine by the Pepsi and paper towels will have to wait.
First things first: the big-ticket items. At just over the $350 mark, most of those are taken care of, including desk ($99), DVD player ($49), coffee table ($89) and TV ($149). The DVD player even has a built-in karaoke machine — that staple of any decent bachelor pad.
As for a futon sofa-bed, the store was out of stock, so our bachelor will be sleeping on the floor, albeit with some extra cash in hand.
Should be a cinch coming in under $500.
But as most locals know, it's easy to get distracted at Honest Ed's. There's something about that store that makes the desire for kitsch overpowering.
Maybe it's the black and white movie stars of decades past staring at you from behind the '50s-era cash registers. Liberace and Tony Bennett are Ed's favourites, says store manager Russell Lazar, who's tagging along on the first leg of the mission, pausing at points of interest along the way.
Whatever the reason, it's hard not to find yourself wanting that statue of a cartoon pig in a police uniform, or those fun little birds that keep bobbing for water.
Then there are the antiques, which are out of everyone's price range but add to the distraction anyway. Every so often, though, some eccentric buyer will surprise the staff with a big purchase.
"We sold a couple of these stoves recently," says Lazar, pointing to a group of black cast-iron relics. "A guy from Thunder Bay who actually collects these came down and bought them."
Lazar explains that a lot of the antiques come from former Mirvish theatre productions. "We have people from all over buy our antiques; we even used to sell some on eBay. People as far as Las Vegas would buy them."
The iron stoves seem out of place among all the gilded wood of oriental statues, rickshaws and miniature dragon boats. Honest Ed's is all about weird juxtapositions— a few years back they even had a snack bar in the middle of the ladies' wear section.
Consider the objet on view outside the linens department. It's hard to believe anyone not on a serious drug trip would be in the market for this giant cuckoo clock adorned with a deranged-looking moose head. He stares down at passersby with bug eyes and a maniacal grin, and if you've got 20-foot-high ceilings and $15,000, you can take him home with you.
If you're a rich eccentric, but a little more conservative, you can get a $500 machine that turns a penny into a flat pendant with an inscription of the Lord's Prayer. Sounds pretty steep, especially for a machine that no longer works, but Lazar insists it's a true Honest Ed's bargain.
But back to the task at hand: furnishing that apartment. In the linens department, the pillows were printed with bunny ears or wacky-looking animals, and the sheets felt chintzy, but at $5 and $8 respectively, who cares. And at just $12, you can get a lovely set of brown, floral printed drapes that would go great with a puke-green carpet.
It's still necessary to negotiate the maze of counters, half-floors, little nooks and mirrors that give Honest Ed's its wacky charm
So, the mission continues to be a success. Perhaps it wasn't that much of a challenge in the first place. Honest Ed's customers certainly didn't seem to think so.
"Oh, yeah, I think it's doable," long-time shopper James Gow says the of $500 limit. For him, the real challenge of Honest Ed's is making it out of there without getting lost. "But people like it. I think a lot of the people who come here from other countries are used to the hodgepodge."
"When I get here, I'm laughing because the prices are so cheap," says Osinowo Kunle, who's been coming to the store for the past 18 years. "But I also really like this place because it's different. It's not so impersonal. It's like the markets back home in Nigeria."
Moving through the store, Lazar pauses on one landing, pointing to a picture of a greasy-haired, stubbly, toothless old man. Underneath his photo, a caption reads, "Honest Ed welcomes you."
"Back in the '50s, before he became a public figure, people used to think this guy was Honest Ed," says Lazar, grinning. "But his name was Dick. He was a homeless man who helped Ed clean up around the store. He had a bit of a drinking problem, but he was proud to work here and Ed always kept him on."
One night, when Dick had been picked up after a bender, police actually mistook him for Mirvish. They even called Ed's mother in the middle of the night to say he'd been arrested.
Spend any time in Honest Ed's and you realize that, besides the kitsch and the bargains, a lot of the charm comes from the people who shop and work there — many of whom have relationships with the place going back decades.
Take Lazar, for example. He's been working there for 40 years. "I started when I was 5," he likes to tell people (but he does not like to divulge his age). Even though he's a manager who spends a lot of his time in an office, the customers know him well.
"Aren't you Russell Lazar?" a smiling woman asks as she passes us.
"Well, hi, how are you?" he answers warmly.
"You know, I've been coming here 30 years, but I didn't recognize you," she says. "You were a lot skinnier."
Stella Cordoso has been at Ed's for 24 years, and says she'd never dream of working for anybody but Mirvish as she shows off the gold watch he gave her for her 20th anniversary at the store.
"I learned all my English working here," she says with a slight Eastern European accent. "Now, when there's a customer who doesn't speak English well, they always ask, `Where's Stella?'
Given that newcomers to Canada have long been a big part of Mirvish's clientele, Cordoso gets to practise her Polish, Russian, Czech and Ukrainian pretty regularly. She says hearing a familiar language makes the store especially homey for a lot of newcomers.
So much so that Leslie Lakos, the full-time immigration consultant, says he doesn't feel the least bit out of place at his little desk in the middle of the department store.
This store was built on the concept of immigrants," he says with a smile, leaning in for emphasis. "Think about it. Why wouldn't you sell meat in a kitchen?"
Newcomers are a part of the clientele that Lazar says is close to Mirvish's heart. In his office, among the awards, letters from prime ministers and world leaders, antique swords and photos of celebrities, you'll find two seashells sitting on a postcard from a former customer. "Dear Mister Ed," it says. "These two shells are from my home village. I wanted you to have them."
On the way down from Mirvish's office, the remaining items for the apartment get taken care of and, lo and behold, there's $30 left on the tab.
Just enough for a bust of Elvis. The only question is whether to get the shiny bronze model, or the rosy-cheeked, blue-suede-lapelled version of the King.
"It's strange, but they're one of our biggest-selling items," says Lazar, who clearly has an anecdote for just about every item in every department of the store. "Once, a couple came in here to get their wedding pictures taken.
"They wanted a souvenir and asked for our kitschiest item. So we gave them one of these, and Ed even signed it."

[SSLL]

From: http://www.canada.com/components/pri...b572d6&k=91067
___________________

RONA's western expansion levels home improvement field

Carla Wilson
Times Colonist

Thursday, July 27, 2006


CREDIT: Bruce Stotesbury, Times Colonist
Chief executive Robert Dutton will join Langford Mayor Stew Young and other city and business officials to open RONA's latest big-box home improvement store in Langford this morning. Dutton promises continued investment in B.C., including new stores for Vancouver Island.
Hardware powerhouse RONA opens its latest store in Langford today, closing in on its goal of 700 stores country-wide and $7 billion in sales by 2007.

The publicly traded, Quebec-based company holds 15 per cent of the market share in the home improvement sector, putting it in a dead heat with U.S. giant Home Depot, Robert Dutton, president and CEO of Rona Inc., told the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday.

Western expansion is part of Rona's growth strategy, which includes the capital region, said Dutton.

"Over the next 20 years, it is estimated that the region will need to house and employ almost one-quarter more people than it does today," Dutton said. "Good news for those of us in the business of selling building materials and renovation supplies."

The new 110,000-square-foot RONA Home and Garden big-box store at 850 Langford Parkway carries 40,000 products and is creating more than 200 jobs. It includes a garden centre, green house, and design boutiques.

The company-owned store in Langford compliments the existing RONA Baywest Hardware store at 220 Bay St. Another big box store is planned for the Island, Dutton said, but would not say where it would go. Rona is already established in Duncan, Nanaimo, Cobble Hill, and Campbell River.

RONA has three types of stores -- big-box, specialized, and traditional; and three types of ownership -- corporate, franchise and affiliate stores which have local roots and help the company serve different regions of Canada.

Not including the purchase of the Revy Home Centres chain, RONA has invested $100 million in B.C. to build new stores and renovate existing ones since 2001, Dutton said.

Add in all the western provinces and RONA's investment in the past two years is nearly $200 million, creating more than 1,000 jobs, he added.

As of today RONA, a sponsor of the 2010 Olympics, has 39 stores in B.C., Dutton said. "RONA has chosen Western Canada as a key growth platform, and we have implemented an aggressive strategy to grow our presence in B.C., Alberta and the Prairies."

The fast-growing company plans to invest $15 million annually for the next five years in this province, Dutton said in an interview after his luncheon speech. Growth is planned to come through new affiliate stores, building and renovation existing stores, as well as putting up new ones, and buying more existing stores.

As RONA looks ahead, it is in a marketplace with multinationals. Its 600 stores are found across the country in communities of all sizes and with stores of differing sizes. Dutton said 85 per cent of Canadians live less than 30 minutes from a RONA store.

Even if the new-housing bubble bursts, Dutton said that 72 per cent of existing houses in Canada are more than 20 years old, meaning there is a huge market for renovation. "People realize their best investment is their house."

Customer satisfaction, strong partners throughout its supply chain, a large and efficient distribution network, an e-commerce division, a business plan setting it apart in the marketplace, and being able to respond quickly to changing consumer needs are part of its formula for success, Dutton said.

RONA kicked off its acquisition moves in the early 1980s, mainly in Quebec, followed by more buys in 2000. The next year it bought the Revy chain. Acquisitions have continued this year with RONA buying Curtis Lumber, a B.C. firm.

RONA started as a purchasing and marketing association for a group of independent hardware stores and has reinvented itself a number of times, Dutton said.

RONA is part of the third-largest purchasing group in the global hardware section, giving it the opportunity to obtain supplies from the domestic and international market. Even so, in 2004, 90 per cent of supplies were bought from companies in Canada.

[SSLL]

From: http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Con...l=969048863851
__________________

Sears to close another floor
Toronto, Vancouver stores scale back
Company struggling, target of takeover bid
Jul. 27, 2006. 06:47 AM
DANA FLAVELLE
BUSINESS REPORTER

Sears Canada is closing another floor in its flagship Eaton Centre store in downtown Toronto, the company confirmed yesterday.
It's the second time Sears has downsized the former Eaton store since buying it from the failing T. Eaton Co. in 1999.
Sears, which has been struggling and is the target of a takeover bid, said it's also closing two floors in its downtown Vancouver location. That store was also part of the iconic Eaton's chain.
Both locations will now have a total of five floors each, Sears Canada spokesperson Vince Power said yesterday. A typical Sears store has two or fewer floors, he noted.
The company believes the move will make the stores more productive without hurting sales, Power said.
"We're doing some compacting," he said, noting that in Toronto electronics is moving to the same floor as menswear and two floors of women's wear are being combined on one floor. "Every category will still be represented."
There is no impact on staffing levels in the stores, he added. The plans were announced internally last March, he said. The company has yet to decide what to do with the empty floors.
The move will cut lighting and cleaning costs, he noted.
A spokesperson for the landlord, Cadillac Fairview Corp., said it doesn't comment on tenant matters.
Sears' majority shareholder, Sears Holdings Corp. in the U.S., has made a bid for the rest of the company in order to take it private.
A group of minority shareholders has complained about the offer and asked Ontario's securities watchdog to investigate. A decision is pending.
The company owns 220 stores across the country.

[SpongeG]

i remember reading a story or saw it on TV about how Edmonton has been the testing ground for US retailer/restaurants etc wanting to test out the Canadian market

they showed some Texas based movie theatre chain that opened a place in edmonton and it was doing well - is it still around?

and some restaurants that you can only find in the states and than only in Edmonton - i forget which ones but they liked Edmonton for some reason

[SSLL]

I think West Ed being such a destination helps, as well as the high wealth and education.