Canadian Retail Thread

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by someone123

There's been a rumour for a while that Simons is going to open a store in Halifax soon. I think they'd do great there. Nordstrom doesn't seem like a good fit unless they plan to carry less expensive stuff than they do in Vancouver and Toronto.

I think a lot of the old department store places will be left empty or will be redeveloped into something else. There isn't as much demand for that type of space as there was 20 or 30 years ago.

Given the size of the market, I can't see Nordstroms opening anywhere in Atlantic Canada. I've been wondering how much more/how quickly Simons is planning to expand - in the absence of financial results, it's hard to get a read of how well there new stores outside Quebec are doing.

[WhipperSnapper]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

They have been in Vancouver for decades and are very popular, most of them are open 24 hours, I went last sunday at 12:30 am and every table was full and there was a lineup of about a dozen people

Church’s Chicken Embarks on Canada Expansion with Toronto Opening

Scarborough Restaurant Marks First of 25-Location Deal with Franchisee

Atlanta, GA (RestaurantNews.com) Church’s Chicken® has announced the opening of its newest restaurant in Toronto, Canada on June 19. The restaurant is the first in an eight-year deal that will eventually include 25 total restaurants in the Greater Toronto area under the same franchisee, Brothers Social Eatery, Inc. Church’s® is world-renowned for their freshly-prepared original and spicy fried chicken, made-from-scratch honey-butter biscuits, and classic home-style sides.

The first restaurant to open under the agreement is located at 3563 Lawrence Avenue East in Scarborough, Ontario, a suburb of Toronto. The restaurant will feature the company’s new STAR Initiative Design, which includes new interior seating options, new exterior design and color palettes, and contemporary lighting inside and out.

...

http://www.restaurantnews.com/church...ronto-opening/

They are everywhere. My drinking buddy was addicted to Harveys and I always order Church's chicken way back when they had a deal going with Harvey's

[WhipperSnapper]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

Nordstrom in Vancouver is so unaffordable it's ridiculous, nice to look around but can never afford anything, perhaps the occasional $20 bar of soap.

It's simply not for the average person as much as the average person wants it to be.

[Nouvellecosse]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Attracting high end department stores to replace Sears in Atlantic Canada would be next to impossible. The only real exception will be Halifax.

Following this latest set of closures, Sears full line department stores in the Maritimes will be down to Halifax, Moncton, Fredericton, Charlottetown & Sydney.
Full line stores in Bathurst, Saint John, Dartmouth are to close.

The HSC location in Halifax should be able to attract Nordstroms or Simons to replace Sears.
The CF Champlain location in Moncton will likely get HBC (possibly Simon's)
The Regent Mall in Fredericton might get HBC.
The Charlottetown and Sydney locations will likely be out of luck.
I also have no idea what would happen to Saint John - if they're really lucky, they might get HBC, but I'm not holding my breath.

There are many, many secondary malls in smaller cities and towns in the region which have been severely kicked in the nuts by all the retail closures. For example the Amherst Mall in Amherst NS has lost Sears and Zellers with no replacements. Virtually all the other retailers in the mall have vacated as a result. It is truly now a "Dead Mall of Canada". There is a WalMart, a Kent (similar to Home Depot), Superstore and Canadian Tire in the neighbourhood, drawing away customers. Being only a 40 minute drive from Moncton also hasn't helped........

Actually, Giant Tiger moved into the Zellers spot and although smaller (around 50% as big) still provides some alternative to Walmart. And the Sears was never a department store. It was only a catalogue pickup depot that didn't carry most products on site with the exception of some furniture and appliances.

[MolsonExport]

I don't fucking get why anyone would shop at Giant Tiger...well, at least in the bigger cites. Yet we have at least 6 in the London region. Giant tiger is like the square root of Walmart divided by Dollarama times Fields.

The whole is less than the sum of its parts. Shitty place.

[GeneralLea]

I like Giant Tiger for how cheap it can be....though the people that decide where another GT should open don't give a damn where they'll open a new location...a GT is coming to this run down and kind-of dead mall not terribly at from me...and I expect the GT employees will be less than great. For context this is likely one of twenty most rundown or just shady malls in the GTHA.

The one location I go to on occasion (maybe 4-8 times a year) is located a good ways away so I don't go there much..though the price is attractive if I just want to get a snack and check out the area around the store. Then again, that said location can have some really strange employees....they don't seem to want to talk to customers.

I find the GT locations in places like Peterborough or less major cities to be a bit more pleasant.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

I don't fucking get why anyone would shop at Giant Tiger...well, at least in the bigger cites. Yet we have at least 6 in the London region. Giant tiger is like the square root of Walmart divided by Dollarama times Fields.

The whole is less than the sum of its parts. Shitty place.

You seem not to have been paying attention to either economic or retail trends of recent years. Bottom end is where it's at! Safe to assume that all those London GTs are doing well?

[SpongeG]

Originally Posted by WhipperSnapper

It's simply not for the average person as much as the average person wants it to be.

yeah, they have brought the high end concept to Canada, I wonder if they will bring the more suburban format here. For example downtown seattle and bellevue square nordstrom stores carry the high end brands like gucci, fendi, burberry, moncler, chanel etc. Where as the more suburban Seattle stores like Lynnwood, southgate and north gate don't have the high end brands but more brands like dockers, levis, nike, kate spade, coach, average middle to low end brands with their usual mix of cosmetics and fragrance brands minus the expensive ones like byredo and armani etc. With the same great customer service.

If they brought that style I am sure they could take over, for example, sears stores in more places across Canada.

[Loco101]

I remember when some Harvey's locations in Southern Ontario served Church's Chicken back in the 1990s.

[Loco101]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

I don't fucking get why anyone would shop at Giant Tiger...well, at least in the bigger cites. Yet we have at least 6 in the London region. Giant tiger is like the square root of Walmart divided by Dollarama times Fields.

The whole is less than the sum of its parts. Shitty place.

I have to agree about Giant Tiger in markets where there are other choices. We have two GT locations in Timmins. One store has been around for almost 40 years while a larger location opened a few years ago across the road from Walmart. Both GT locations are now failing and really have nothing to attract shoppers. The franchise owner who had both locations has given up and moved to another place and the stores are now run and owned by the company. If GT is the only store in a town then it will likely do okay such as the one in Cochrane, ON.

I actually like Quebec-based Hart stores more. Not saying they are the greatest by any means but whoever decides what items they carry does a much better job than GT which I believed has its headquarters in Ottawa. Another Quebec-based discount chain that is similar to Hart is Rossy. I can honestly see Giant Tiger, Hart and Rossy merging at some point. I know that the latter two have had financial difficulties fairly recently and I'm not sure about GT.

[MolsonExport]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

You seem not to have been paying attention to either economic or retail trends of recent years. Bottom end is where it's at! Safe to assume that all those London GTs are doing well?

I cannot say. Giant Tiger is a dump. I have visited numerous times and never bought a single thing. I can't say this about Walfart and Dollarama. Heck, I have even purchased a thing or two at fields.

I even prefer Stedman's V&S:

heritagemeaford

[MolsonExport]

Originally Posted by Loco101

I remember when some Harvey's locations in Southern Ontario served Church's Chicken back in the 1990s.

I remember Harvey's "Vous sert le poulet Chalet Suisse" back in the 90s in Quebec. Fail.

[Acajack]

There is a dépanneur in an old part of Gatineau that has a crappy faded sign that advertises "Poulet Churchs".

[manny_santos]

Church's does seem to have a presence in Western Canada; I noticed several in BC when I was there last year.

[Proof Sheet]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

yeah, they have brought the high end concept to Canada, I wonder if they will bring the more suburban format here. For example downtown seattle and bellevue square nordstrom stores carry the high end brands like gucci, fendi, burberry, moncler, chanel etc. Where as the more suburban Seattle stores like Lynnwood, southgate and north gate don't have the high end brands but more brands like dockers, levis, nike, kate spade, coach, average middle to low end brands with their usual mix of cosmetics and fragrance brands minus the expensive ones like byredo and armani etc. With the same great customer service.

If they brought that style I am sure they could take over, for example, sears stores in more places across Canada.

Brand dilution is never a winning concept.

[SpongeG]

it's only recently that nordstrom turned itself upscale, in the 90's and 00's it was family friendly affordable american style clothing, only a handful of their US stores that I have been to are what we have in Canada. Most are more on par with Macys or a typical Hudsons Bay store.

I can't see the High end Vancouver and Toronto nordstroms going into places like Winiipeg or Halifax etc.

[Loco101]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

I remember Harvey's "Vous sert le poulet Chalet Suisse" back in the 90s in Quebec. Fail.

I remember seeing that back then in some of the Montreal suburbs. Swiss Chalet never stood a chance against St-Hubert in QC. The funny thing is that they are now owned by the same company, Cara Operations Ltd..

[Loco101]

Originally Posted by Acajack

There is a dépanneur in an old part of Gatineau that has a crappy faded sign that advertises "Poulet Churchs".

Are you sure it was that and not Poulet Chester? There still are a couple of dépanneurs in Abitibi-Témiscamingue that are selling Chester Chicken. We can still get it in Timmins.

[WhipperSnapper]

It was a sad day when St Hubert pulled out of Ontario and closed their Toronto locations. My grocery store occasionally teases me by stocking St Hubert's branded slaw.

[MonctonRad]

Happily St Huberts has a presence in NB (Moncton, Bathurst, Fredericton & Edmundston).

Moncton is blessed with two Swiss Chalets and one St Huberts. We also Have two Mary Browns (for all the ex-pat Newfoundlanders).

I guess that means we have the entire country covered for plucking palaces.....