Canadian Retail Thread

[hipster duck]

Originally Posted by ue

Even the cities that do are underserved vis-a-vis Canada. Dallas and Houston have only one store, Chicago only has two, Boston only one, San Francisco only two, Seattle only one, and New York only four.

Compared with Canada where Vancouver has two, Montreal two, Toronto three (or four, depending how you look at it), with metros under a million served with a location.

If Canadian, New York would likely have at least ten stores, Boston two or three, Houston and Dallas two or three, Seattle two, Chicago four, San Francisco four, etc.

I think that IKEA's aesthetic appeals less to Americans. In my experience, Americans spend more on decor - both inside and out - than Canadians, all else being equal. I also think that modernism is less of a default style choice than it is here - particularly when it comes to household objects like shower curtains, bathmats, plates, etc.

Finally - and this is related to Americans spending more on decor - Americans tend to live in bigger houses and are used to larger furniture pieces. With some exceptions, IKEA furniture is generally on the smaller side. At the very least, they offer small options. For example, most Americans couples would consider twin beds too small (this is not a veiled statement about obesity), but many Canadian couples - especially millennials - would have no problem with sharing a twin bed.

The fact that IKEA has more penetration in Canada than the US - and all across Canada, too, not isolated in certain pockets - points to the fact that we are very different countries leading very different lifestyles.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by hipster duck

I think that IKEA's aesthetic appeals less to Americans. In my experience, Americans spend more on decor - both inside and out - than Canadians, all else being equal. I also think that modernism is less of a default style choice than it is here - particularly when it comes to household objects like shower curtains, bathmats, plates, etc.

Finally - and this is related to Americans spending more on decor - Americans tend to live in bigger houses and are used to larger furniture pieces. With some exceptions, IKEA furniture is generally on the smaller side. At the very least, they offer small options. For example, most Americans couples would consider twin beds too small (this is not a veiled statement about obesity), but many Canadian couples - especially millennials - would have no problem with sharing a twin bed.

The fact that IKEA has more penetration in Canada than the US - and all across Canada, too, not isolated in certain pockets - points to the fact that we are very different countries leading very different lifestyles.

Based on my travels, I'd say there is a lot of truth to this. If you want to see the archetypal aspirational American furniture store, go no further than your local Ashley Home Furniture. It's as though their pieces are designed to take up as much as space as possible... the style sold by that store is a pretty big deal in the US.

As with so many things, Canada isn't in the same headspace as Asia or Europe when it comes to favouring modern, somewhat compact design, but we're somewhere between them and the US. IKEA seems far more mainstream a choice here than it does south of the border.

[ue]

^ I notice that IKEA popularity seems to be higher in the coastal big US cities like SF, LA, NY, DC, Philly.

Originally Posted by hipster duck

I think that IKEA's aesthetic appeals less to Americans. In my experience, Americans spend more on decor - both inside and out - than Canadians, all else being equal. I also think that modernism is less of a default style choice than it is here - particularly when it comes to household objects like shower curtains, bathmats, plates, etc.

Finally - and this is related to Americans spending more on decor - Americans tend to live in bigger houses and are used to larger furniture pieces. With some exceptions, IKEA furniture is generally on the smaller side. At the very least, they offer small options. For example, most Americans couples would consider twin beds too small (this is not a veiled statement about obesity), but many Canadian couples - especially millennials - would have no problem with sharing a twin bed.

The fact that IKEA has more penetration in Canada than the US - and all across Canada, too, not isolated in certain pockets - points to the fact that we are very different countries leading very different lifestyles.

This is all very true, despite what people say about BC being more like Washington or Alberta more like Texas than other provinces.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by Taeolas

I've heard (but not sure how true it is) that one of the main factors that kicked IKEA out of Halifax originally, was Nova Scotia's sunday shopping laws.

I have heard this too but it seems shaky as an economic argument. Would IKEA really have made more money had they been allowed to open on Sundays along with every other similar store? Alternatively, do we accept that IKEA made decisions based on some kind of grudge with an uncooperative but no less profitable province?

I can think of a couple of things relating to banning Sunday shopping that might have helped but they both seem minor:

- The province might become a bit more consumerist in general, with people spending more time and more of their money shopping, and with a few people getting paid a bit more to work on Sundays.
- There were some quasi-competitors that operated on Sundays, like flea markets (which operated on a huge scale before Sunday shopping was legal in NS, and sold some nicer and new goods along with junk).

[esquire]

Originally Posted by ue

^ I notice that IKEA popularity seems to be higher in the coastal big US cities like SF, LA, NY, DC, Philly.

This reminds me, I recall reading a news article that quoted a retail analyst who said that Canadians generally live in smaller spaces than Americans do which has some effect on IKEA's relative popularity here.

I can tell you, I have some relatives who live in what are essentially McMansions, and they love Ashley Home Furniture and its huge pieces. No IKEA in their homes at all. Those types of homes are a lot less common here, though.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by someone123

I have heard this too but it seems shaky as an economic argument. Would IKEA really have made more money had they been allowed to open on Sundays along with every other similar store? Alternatively, do we accept that IKEA made decisions based on some kind of grudge with an uncooperative but no less profitable province?

I can think of a couple of things relating to banning Sunday shopping that might have helped but they both seem minor:

- The province might become a bit more consumerist in general, with people spending more time and more of their money shopping, and with a few people getting paid a bit more to work on Sundays.
- There were some quasi-competitors that operated on Sundays, like flea markets (which operated on a huge scale before Sunday shopping was legal in NS, and sold some nicer and new goods along with junk).

The fact that IKEA also pulled out of a totally different market in Quebec City around the same period probably means it had little to do with Halifax or Nova Scotia.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by someone123

I have heard this too but it seems shaky as an economic argument. Would IKEA really have made more money had they been allowed to open on Sundays along with every other similar store? Alternatively, do we accept that IKEA made decisions based on some kind of grudge with an uncooperative but no less profitable province?

I was living in Halifax in the 1980s, and I can absolutely verify that the Sunday shopping laws were a major pain in the ass for IKEA. They were constantly petitioning the provincial government to have them changed, but there was significant pushback from the NS populace (and the provincial unions). I believe it was a Conservative government at the time (John Buchanan as Premier I believe), and their strong rural base didn't want to have anything to do with Sunday shopping. Sundays were meant for church going, quiet reflections on one's sinful lifestyle, drives in the country and quality family time. It was a day of rest, and no foreign owned heathen company was going to change that!!!!

It was only a matter of a couple of months after IKEA got a firm final "no" to their request that they announced they were going to close their Halifax location. They didn't outright state that the Sunday shopping laws were the cause for their decision, but it was pretty obvious to those of us living in the city at the time that 2+2 does indeed equal 4..............

[WhipperSnapper]

I'm not sure it needs in depth analysis. IKEA entered Canada in the 1970s. It didn't push into the US until the 1990s. Maybe there was concerns with entering the US market but, it's been pretty successful since all things considered. Like I said previously, it's more style and affordability than scale with IKEA. Back in the day their furniture wasn't particular of a smaller scale than other more traditional, suburban outlets. Now everybody sells small.

[SignalHillHiker]

IKEA is establishing a "collection point" in St. John's, presumably a result of the Halifax store. Basically it's a third party location where people here can pick up IKEA orders with a flat discount on shipping.

There are others being added in New Glasgow, Sydney, Charlottetown, and Fredericton.

Really seems like their market info may not be ideal. Wouldn't Moncton be the better choice for NB's? It's like they went to both ends of Nova Scotia plus neighboring capitals. Corner Brook would probably be a good addition.

*****

Gap is leaving St. John's. Its last store in the Avalon Mall will close in a few weeks.

[q12]

There are now 8 IKEA Collection Points in Atlantic Canada.

http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/

IKEA Stores
Burlington, ON
Boucherville, QC
Coquitlam, BC
Calgary, AB
Edmonton, AB
Etobicoke, ON
Montreal, QC
North York, ON
Ottawa, ON
Richmond, BC
Vaughan, ON
Winnipeg, MB
Halifax, NS 2017
Quebec City, QC 2018

Pick-up and order points - Delivery Fee $20
Kitchener, ON
St. Catharines, ON
London, ON
Quebec City, QC
Whitby, ON
Windsor, ON

Collection Points - Delivery Fee $59. (The delivery fee is $79 for St. John's and Saskatoon)
Charlottetown, PE
Fredericton, NB
Halifax, NS
Moncton, NB
New Glasgow, NS
Saint John, NB
Saskatoon, SK
Sydney, NS
St. John's, NL

[SignalHillHiker]

Oh I understand! So three other AC ones already existed?

[q12]

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

Oh I understand! So three other AC ones already existed?

Yeah Halifax, Moncton and Saint John were launched earlier.

Of course Halifax will close once the store opens this year. I noticed Truro, the Annapolis Valley and the South Shore of Nova Scotia were left out as they will be within an hours drive of the new IKEA store.

http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/about_ikea...s_Announcement

[J.OT13]

Rideau Centre expansion with replicated 1908 Charles Ogilvy Limited Department Store Façade (using 1916 bricks, mix of 1908 and 1916 spandrel panels and straps above third floor windows. Everything else replicated from scratch using historic photographs).

Before demolition

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...200908&page=74

1916

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/demolit...922/story.html

New







http://www.entuitive.com/ottawas-rid...icially-opens/

Only thing left to complete within the Rideau Centre rehabilitation project are the subway station entrances around the former food court. Expected to open Spring 2018.

[ue]

^ Phenomenal! Well done, O-Town! Are the outside entrances to stores like H&M accessible or permanently closed? One of my biggest gripes with Edmonton's City Centre is that it was remodeled to have a bunch of stores with outside access doors, which were later sealed and can now only be used by employees. You have to go inside to get to the store.

[Hardhatdan]

Now that is a reno.

[WhipperSnapper]

What exactly are people seeing?!? The heritage facade is well executed but the rest is the typical hodgepodge found in retail design. The interior looks like every other mall reno in the last 10 years.

[matthew6]

Originally Posted by WhipperSnapper

The interior looks like every other mall reno in the last 10 years.

It looks sterile. Like a pharmacy.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by matthew6

It looks sterile. Like a pharmacy.

Clearly meant to impart a posh look, like what you'd see walking into a luxury car dealership.

CF did a great job, Rideau Centre looks very fresh now.

[SpongeG]

it looks really good.

[SignalHillHiker]

The interior is nice - reminds me of Gulf countries. The heritage restoration is perfect. And the rest is fine. There's nothing not to like for me.