Canadian Retail Thread

[SSLL]

Armani Exchange is the lower-end line of Armani, similar to Banana Republic or Club Monaco. Vancouver's is the only store in Canada. There was an Emporio Armani store next to where HMV has been for ages. It was then a Danier Leather, and now an RW&Co.

[SSLL]

Versace and Versus were also in Toronto (now Guess? and their sister-store Marciano). The only store in Canada: Vancouver!

[SSLL]

Simons would be great, but I don't think HBC Centre is the right space. Maybe it could be the new lead tenant in 1BE? Maybe take the former Caban space (instead of the dreadful Urban Planet) on Queen West?

[Taller Better]

Originally Posted by SSLL

Simons would be great, but I don't think HBC Centre is the right space. Maybe it could be the new lead tenant in 1BE? Maybe take the former Caban space (instead of the dreadful Urban Planet) on Queen West?

From what malek says, they are gunning for a bigger space, more like the downtown Montreal store, and that is just fine by me. Sears is hideous.
Is there not an Armani shop in Holts? I guess it is only women's clothing. I am truly no fashion expert, but Versace seems like such an "80's"/ early "90's" thing. I know Donatella is carrying on the design work, but it does seem a bit passé. I remember meeting Gianni Versace once in Bloomingdales in NYC, around 1980. He was a super hot designer at the time and was introducing a line of clothing. I remember how short he was! I remember all the New Yorkers saying his name like "Johnny"! LOL!

[SSLL]

From: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servl.../Business/home
___________

What would Linda buy? Wal-Mart needs to know
MARINA STRAUSS
From Wednesday's Globe and Mail
At the new Wal-Mart Supercentre, it's all about Linda.

She's the prototypical Canadian customer for whom the massive stores are being designed, right down to where the bras are displayed.

“Linda” is 30 to 45 years old, has two or three children, a husband and a career. She's a soccer mom who multitasks, and she's time-starved.

So when she heads to Wal-Mart for the family shopping, she'd like to pick up some cosmetics for herself, a prescription for her son, diapers for the baby and dog food for the pet. All in that order. Then she'd like to get some grocery shopping done at the same time.

She might even have noticed a parka or a pair of pants at the nearby fashion section. Or spotted a cellphone across the way that looked appealing.

But at her regular Wal-Mart, she's not completely comfortable in the lingerie section. It's next to a busy aisle, and across from electronics. Men often frequent that department, and that may mean that she spends less time there than she otherwise would.

Wal-Mart Canada Corp.'s research on “Linda,” who represents its core customer, has played a big role in the planning of its new Supercentres, which open today.

The object is to get customers in and out of the stores as quickly as possible, while ensuring that they buy as much as possible.

“When we put together a new service or product, we say, ‘Let's check with Linda,'” Wal-Mart Canada chief executive officer Mario Pilozzi said in an interview as he toured the new Supercentre in Stouffville, Ont., which opens Wednesday. “She's very real.... Our whole organization has to understand that customer. So we give the customer an identity.”

The identity is a quintessentially Canadian one. “Linda” is a home-grown creation, initiated a couple of years ago at Wal-Mart Canada in Mississauga, said Jim Thompson, senior vice-president of merchandising. She is the personification of the company's target customer, and she's the focus of what most of its Supercentre work has been built around.

Her picture is a familiar one at head office. She generally wears jeans and a smart sweater, and there are even cardboard cutouts of her that executives take to meetings when they talk strategy.

Wal-Mart is launching the new Supercentre concept in Canada starting with three in Ontario, with plans for about 14 more next year and what analysts expect to be dozens across the country. The new Supercentres are roughly the size of four football fields, and 30 per cent bigger than existing Wal-Marts. They include a full supermarket along with more fashions, home goods and electronics than the traditional stores. They stock about 120,000 products, compared with 80,000 at the standard outlets. That's a bigger selection under one roof than in any other store in Canada, company officials say.

In the Supercentre in Stouffville, north of Toronto, the retailer has placed cosmetics at the front, and to the right, on the supermarket side of the store (rather than by the general merchandise entrance). Shoppers tend to automatically turn to the right when they enter a store, research has found.

Cosmetics sales also provide Wal-Mart with higher profit margins than many of its other products.

The cosmetics is part of a big pharmacy section which has been moved from the right side of a standard Wal-Mart, to the front near the grocery entrance. That makes it convenient for to get prescriptions and then move on to the infant and toddler section, and then to the pet department, Mr. Thompson said. At traditional Wal-Marts, the pet department is at the other end of the store.

As for the bras, they've been moved away from the electronics, to a quieter aisle next to the shoes. The placement is strategic and could prompt women to buy more shoes, he said. That's because while lingerie is often a have-to purchase, shoes tend to be bought on impulse. When they're looking at the bras and underpants, they may just notice a pair of high heels that catches their fancy.

There have been other subtle adjustments in a bid to cater to the core customer. She is looking for healthier foods, so a nutritional honey almond crisp cereal has been placed next to the bananas — with the thinking that cereal and bananas are a natural fit.

Jams and juices have been added to the cereal aisles so that shoppers' breakfast needs are all in one place. And for a quick, simple Sunday morning family breakfast, the frozen sausages — which are typically carried in the meat department — are displayed by the frozen pancakes and other breakfast items. It's also an attempt to make it easier to find everything in the same aisle.

In the home section, bed, bath and kitchen wares have been organized in sections of contemporary, traditional and ultra-traditional styles, so that the customer can differentiate them quickly. And taking a page from IKEA and other home furnishing retailers, the Supercentres have set up small “vignettes,” such a fully made-up bed and fully set dining table, to show how products look together.

Toys have been moved next to electronics, because so many toys now have a technological twist and are becoming electronic gadgets.

“Linda” has a hectic life, and anything that Wal-Mart can do to make it easier is a feather in its cap. “Linda is like the CEO and the CFO [chief financial officer] of the family,” Mr. Thompson said. “We've got a lot of respect for this lady. She is balancing her kids, her husband, her career ... We look after her and we become her one-stop shop, her destination for all her needs. Linda wins, we win and our shareholders win.

[SSLL]

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

Wal-Mart goes supersize
Grocers brace for `battle of the brands'
Nov. 8, 2006. 07:06 AM
DANA FLAVELLE
BUSINESS REPORTER

Wal-Mart Canada Corp. says it could have as many as 17 supercentres open by the end of next year, kick-starting a potential price war that could shake up Canada's $72.5 billion-a-year grocery industry.
The retailer, which officially opens its first three supercentres today, said it could add up to 14 more next year, depending on municipal approvals.
The massive stores are nearly a third larger than a typical Wal-Mart and are the first in Canada to carry fresh produce, meat and baked goods, along with an expanded assortment of household furnishings, clothing and consumer electronics, the retailer said.
"We hope Wal-Mart supercentres will become a real one-stop shop that Canadians have been waiting for," Mario Pilozzi, president and chief executive officer of Wal-Mart Canada Corp., told reporters during a media preview of the Stouffville supercentre yesterday.
Wal-Mart's long-expected entry into the grocery business has already taken the shine off some supermarket-industry stocks, particularly Loblaw Cos. Ltd., which is struggling to lower prices and add more general merchandise to compete with Wal-Mart.
"It's going to be a battle of the brands," retail consultant John Torella, of the J.C. Williams Group in Toronto, predicted after touring the Stouffville supercentre yesterday.
The store in Stouffville, 48 kilometres northeast of Toronto, is one of three that officially open today. The other two are in London, Ont., and the Hamilton suburb Ancaster.
Four more are scheduled to open early next year, the retailer has said previously: one each in Scarborough, Brampton, Sarnia and Vaughan. Pilozzi declined to say where the additional five to 10 supercentres announced yesterday might be located, though observers expect it will be southern Ontario.
Not every new store will be a supercentre, Pilozzi said, noting the retailer plans a total of 15 to 20 projects next year as usual, including a mix of additions, relocations and new stores. In fact, a regular Wal-Mart opened yesterday in Guelph, he noted.
Wal-Mart said its new supercentres have up to 200,000 square feet, and carry 120,000 items, 50 per cent more than normal and most in the new grocery section. Each store represents an investment of up to $15 million and employs 500 people, the retailer said.
The supercentres contain more of everything, and are housed in more spacious, upscale buildings, with hardwood floors, pastel paint colours, more high-end electronics and more department-store-like displays in the home-furnishings area.
But the biggest difference is in the grocery department. Where a typical Wal-Mart might carry up to 5,000 different canned, dry and frozen foods, the supercentres will sport full-fledged grocery stores, with fresh produce, baked goods and meats.
At up to 40,000 square feet, Wal-Mart's new grocery departments rival conventional supermarkets in size and quality, but aim to beat them on price.
Three other major supermarket chains have stores within a few kilometres of the new Wal-Mart, including A&P, Sobeys and No Frills (a Loblaw brand). None would comment on the supercentre.
Analysts, however, have predicted the supercentres will give the incumbents a run for their money. "It's a conventional grocery-store offering at discount prices," said a financial analyst on the Stouffville store tour, who asked his name not be used.
But others have said Wal-Mart will have a tough time cracking Canada's grocery market because it's already well served by discounters, such as No Frills, Price Chopper and Food Basics.
Pilozzi was careful to avoid the mistake he made when Wal-Mart launched its Sam's Club warehouse-style stores in Canada three years ago. At the time, he predicted 100 such stores could be built across the country. But only six have gone up so far, and no indication has surfaced on when more will open. The Stouffville supercentre, considered the prototype, contains many of the new features the retailer plans to add to all new stores, not just supercentres. For example, 100 of the company's 272 existing Wal-Marts got a makeover in consumer electronics and clothing, starting last July, and another 100 will be retrofitted next year.
The newer consumer-electronics departments contain more high-end and brand-name items, such as the one-gigabyte iPod released last Friday, and high-definition televisions by Panasonic and RCA. The newer clothing sections are organized by brand in miniature stores within a store.
In the home-furnishing section, the discounter has adopted a department-store concept, using floor models to show how a table might be set for the holidays or a bed made up with co-ordinating linens.
For Stouffville, the retailer's arrival signals a new phase in a transition from small town to fast-growing suburban centre. Major subdivisions are under construction and more in the approval stage, so the town of 25,000 is set to explode.
Eric Button, who chairs Stouffville's downtown business improvement area, said he is hoping the chain will bring back dollars Stouffville was losing to other high-growth communities.

[SSLL]

From: http://www.ottawabusinessjournal.com...4702601451.php
______________

Big-box stores in Orleans will compliment, not hurt mall biz
By Ottawa Business Journal Staff
Wed, Nov 8, 2006 1:00 PM EST

Although it might seem like the exploding Innes Road business strip of stores and businesses is sounding the death knell for Place d'Orléans, an Ottawa retail sales expert says development is good news for the regional mall.

Barry Nabatian, general manager of Market Research Corp., says the two business areas work together to complete the needs of area shoppers and combine to keep shopping dollars in Orléans.

"Initially, Place d'Orléans will lose some minor market share, depending on what kind of stores there are on Innes Road, but in the longer term everyone will benefit, including Place d'Orléans, because people will no longer decide to leave Orléans to shop somewhere else," says Nabatian, who has studied the area in the past for the City of Ottawa and other clients.

"What happens is that when people leave Orléans to shop for one item the chances are that they will shop for at least two other items. When one client is lost three purchases are lost," he says.

Merchants will also be more interested in setting up shop in the east end now that they have more options, Nabatian adds.

Some merchants want to set up on the "main street" type of outdoor situation found on Innes Road, whereas others need the indoor environment offered by Place d'Orléans.

Nabatian says the commercial development on Innes Road has likely had a huge impact on insulating the local economy.

"I think the leakage of shopping dollars has been reduced by at least 50 per cent," he explains.

There are still problems to overcome, however, including a more diversified offering of services along Innes Road. Nabatian says a study done about a year ago showed the strip needs bakeries, butcher shops, health food stores, more large supermarkets as well as a furniture store, high end fashion store and a high end "table service" restaurant.

"There are some of things but not enough for the residents. As a result there are lots of opportunities there for people to start businesses in these areas, there is no question in my mind."

Nabatian notes that the same study showed Orléans on the whole has too many pizza shops and places which sell X-rated films.

Nabatian says merchants, landlords, the community, and local government all have to work together to make a business area grow.

He cites the Westboro Business Improvement Area as a good example of this. Commercial rents in Westboro have tripled in recent years, and business is so good that renters don't have a problem keeping up with the increases.

Nabatian says the pending development of the Orléans Town Centre - a $220-million project announced a few weeks ago - will help strengthen the foundation of the local economy.

He adds the weakness in the economy of Orlèans exists because so many people leave the area to work elsewhere during the day and then leave again at night for entertainment. He says the Orlèans Town Centre will counteract that.

"There aren't enough jobs, not enough daytime jobs in Orléans. More jobs have to be created," Nabatian says. "But on the whole, the Orléans Town Centre is going to be very positive by adding to the momentum and make Orléans a far more self-sufficient community. These things are going to happen."

By David Gonzcol

[SSLL]

From: http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Con...l=969048867839
_________________

Suburban smorg
Nov. 8, 2006. 06:24 AM
KIM HONEY

The heart of the Oakville Entertainment Centrum resembles a contrived village, like Whistler without mountains or Disneyland without rides.
Instead of stores or houses, there are restaurants painted various shades of pastel and primary colours, with contrasting awnings.
The bright red posts of the street lamps line no boulevards or avenues. Rather they beat a path to the 24-screen AMC theatre, a 95,000-square-foot behemoth that breaches from the concrete and dwarfs everything in its shadow. It is a place of such excess that not only is the Becel topping free, but you can pump it onto your popcorn yourself.
The neon AMC logo is the most prominent part of the centrum visible from the nearby Queen Elizabeth Way at Winston Churchill Blvd., where 125,000 cars whiz by each day. A Family Fitness centre occupies one corner, while the Putting Edge — a popular, glow-in-the-dark mini-putt spot for birthday parties — is tucked away off the pedestrian walkway.
There's a rare spot of green space smack dab in the centre, complete with mature trees and a small stream, volleyball courts and picnic tables. You can't see it from the vast parking lot, mainly because it's sunken, so far below street level it is positively subterranean. The four access gates are locked.
Neither shopping malls nor power centres, centrums — which have been popping up in suburban spaces from Kanata to Oakville in the past decade — are a strange hybrid of food and entertainment. They're like a plaza for the perpetually hungry and a smorgasbord for those starving for celluloid.
"It's sort of like a streetscape turned inside out in terms of the pedestrianization," says University of Toronto sociologist Joe Hermer, who has studied a movement called town centre management in British urban areas. "They're trying to co-opt the feeling of walking down a lively downtown street. The irony of it is you have to drive to it."
Hermer, a Toronto resident, has never heard of the centrum before, and neither have some of the students and colleagues he asks. "It sounds like an Oxford quad gone crazy," he quips, referring to the square of green space commonly found at the heart of university campuses.
Even after a recent lunch hour visit, he can't quite get a bead on it, saying it has a transient feel.
"These are spaces in which you don't do anything, but you travel through," he explains, pointing to the lack of benches or any common space where people could congregate. "They're sort of conduits for transportation."
In 2000, when the Town of Oakville conferred an urban design award on the centrum, the jury described it as "totally unusual and extraordinary," and noted the architects and developers were being recognized for using the pedestrian space as an organizing feature. The jury did feel the centrum could benefit from more trees "to reinforce the urban street character" and a more "animated" architectural design.
The outdoor entertainment complex is a modified version of an American phenomenon that developer PenEquity Management Corp. calls an "open-air lifestyle centre." (PenEquity's next project is the Metropolis, an indoor mall across from Dundas Square that will house a 24-screen AMC theatre and four restaurants.)
PenEquity coined the word centrum as a branding device, choosing the word to convey its vision of the outdoor plaza as a focal point for the region.
The U.S. concept originated in Dallas in 1995 when AMC Theatres opened its first 24-screen megaplex. For years, big cinemas had been relegated to the basements and back lots of shopping malls. But the megaplex, with 4,700 seats, demanded bigger space and a bigger population to draw from. The theatres became anchor tenants for large outdoor developments.
When AMC decided to expand into Canada in 1996, the chairman of PenEquity Management (an asset manager of pension funds) struck up a personal relationship with the theatre chain. That's how it became its developer of choice, according to PenEquity president and CEO David Johnston.
The idea was to entice moviegoers into repeat visits. PenEquity studied the Block at Orange in Los Angeles, which employs retail, food and entertainment venues as bait, though the theatre is the main draw.
By situating the Oakville development next to major highways, it allowed the theatre to cater to a region, rather than any one city. And so the Oakville Entertainment Centrum, which opened in 1998, attracts patrons from Burlington to the west, Mississauga to the east and Milton to the north.
The Kanata Centrum outside Ottawa, the largest in PenEquity's stable at 92 acres, looks the most like the American version, with a mix of retail and restaurants. The AMC theatre opened there in 1999. The Whitby Centrum opened the same year. And the Mississauga Centrum opened in 2001 at Hurontario St. and Courtney Park Dr.
But the locations in Canada, designed to draw in that regional crowd, weren't typically in areas zoned for retail. And so the Canadian version was born.
"You want to create a sense of place for the pedestrian," says Johnston. "You want to walk through the centre without feeling threatened by cars."
Indeed, it's something that is not lost on Oakville parent Christine Rzepecki. "Parents can drop their kids off and arrange to pick them up, and they've got so much money to spend. They can go to the movie and then get something to eat. What can they get into around here?"
Her family of five doesn't eat out often because it's expensive. But the kids love East Side Mario's, and she and her husband sometimes visit Tasty Thai.
The 32-acre Oakville site was further constrained by the "green space," otherwise known as a 100-year storm pond, so named because, once in a 100 years, there is a storm of such magnitude that it floods.
That's one of the reasons the site was available for development.
"It was something people couldn't work out," says Leger Xavier, PenEquity's vice-president of leasing and marketing. "We tried to use it as a feature." It's typically open in the summer, but it's locked off-season to prevent loitering.
Hermer describes the mix of uses as "a bit of a dog's breakfast ... trying to figure out what people want," but to PenEquity, it all makes perfect sense.
"The idea is not about working out and going to eat and then going to a movie," says Xavier. " ... It's about repeat visitation."
There are nine restaurants now, and only four — Tasty Thai, Crazy Sushi, Rosie McGee's Irish Pub and the Souvlaki Hut — are not chains. Boston Pizza, East Side Mario's and Alice Fazooli's have Italian food covered off, while Subway Sandwiches and Caffé Demetre, which offer lunch and brunch, round out the card.
Another big chain restaurant, the steak-and-rib joint Baton Rouge, is now under construction, and the Oakville institution Trattoria Timone is renovating the old Wolfgang Puck space right now.
PenEquity says it is trying to offer variety at different prices. And so you have the soccer teams trooping in to Boston Pizza on Sunday at lunch for pitchers of pop and slabs of pie, and office workers celebrating a colleague's birthday at the mid-range Italian eatery, Alice Fazooli's. The latter even offers Italian lessons over the speakers in the restrooms, while the waiter may recommend a glass of Australian shiraz or a Coor's Light in the same breath.
The same principle behind the multiplex theatre is at work. In other words, says Johnston, it's about choice: "If I go there with my family and I can't get into East Side Mario's, I can walk to Alice Fazooli's."After open-air entertainment complexes were built in the late '80s and early '90s, Johnston says they proved that offering more choice actually helps individual restaurants to bump up their sales.
That's what the upscale Trattoria Timone is banking on. Mike Fronteddu is moving his restaurant from Lakeshore Rd. E. to the centrum space and expects to open Feb. 1.
"I'm really pumped up about it," says Fronteddu.
His seating space will almost double, from 84 to 154, but a third of that will be devoted to a lounge, where he plans to cater to the pre- and post-theatre crowd with a smaller menu and wines by the glass. He's mulling over a children's menu, and is encouraged by feedback from regulars who work near the centrum and say they'd definitely go there for business lunches.
"There's a lot of restaurants there, but not high-end restaurants," the restaurateur says. As for the fact that Puck, Gordon Biersch and Café Tu Tu Tango all failed in the centrum, Fronteddu notes all three were owned by the same company. "There shouldn't be a reason why we don't succeed here. Unless we're not good and, in that case, that's what happens."

[SSLL]

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

U.S. stores eye Web sales in Canada
Growing online market appeals
J.C. Penney sending catalogues
Nov. 9, 2006. 07:39 AM
DANA FLAVELLE
BUSINESS REPORTER

American department store giant J.C. Penney is ramping up its marketing efforts in Canada with more catalogue deliveries to promote its Canadian website, according to Canada Post.
Meanwhile, U.S.-based online shoe retailers are reporting sharply higher sales in Canada, the post office also said yesterday.
And a U.S. firm that has been testing the Canadian market with an online site is planning to open its first physical store in Canada, said officials at Borderfree, the post office's cross-border shopping service.
"What we are seeing, partly because of the strength of the Canadian dollar, is very, very strong growth among American retailers online," Borderfree president Patrick Bartlett said in a telephone interview.
While Canadian consumers make more purchases on Canadian websites than on foreign-owned services, according to Statistics Canada, Bartlett said a growing number of U.S. retailers are eyeing the Canadian online market.
The postal service, which helps foreign retailers set up seamless cross-border sites, is actively soliciting new U.S. clients.
Borderfree's message is simple but appealing in the United States where slumping house sales threaten to dampen consumer spending this Christmas. In contrast, Canadian consumers are feeling confident and ready to spend, said Borderfree marketing manager Paulina Sazon.
The post office says American retailers like what they're hearing.
J.C. Penney, which quietly opened its website to Canadians late last year, plans to drop half a million catalogues on Canadian doorsteps this holiday season to promote the business, Sazon said. The department store operator is one of 135 cataloguers now delivering in Canada, she said, up from 35 two years ago. Research has shown catalogues help drive online sales.
Three U.S. shoe retailers that use Borderfree's service, puma.com, naturalizer.com and shoebuy.com, are all reporting sharply higher sales in Canada this year, Bartlett said.
As well, American outfitting firm Cabela's has announced plans to open its first Canadian store, in Montreal, after testing the market electronically, the post office noted. Cosmetics giant Sephora followed a similar formula, starting with an online store and then opening a chain of mall-based stores across Canada.
And it's not just the Borderfree effect, he said. The service provides shoppers with a landed price in Canadian dollars, making it easier to order from U.S. sites.
Other established U.S. retailers, like Lands' End, which has its own Canadian infrastructure, is enjoying stronger Canadian sales this year as well, Bartlett said.
"Clearly, Canadian retailers, like Chapters (Indigo), Future Shop and Sears dominate the space," Bartlett acknowledged, referring to some of the biggest Canadian owned online retail sites in the market.
Indeed, research by Statistics Canada shows consumers prefer to shop Canadian sites. Last year, consumers made 57 per cent of their online purchases at Canadian sites and spent 63 per cent of their online dollars there, the federal agency said.
As well, two Canadian Web operators, Sears Canada and Canadian Tire Corp., score in the top 10 most visited retail sites in Canada, according to ComScore Media Metrix Canada, which tracks online traffic.
However, many other Canadian retailers have yet to open fully interactive sites, especially in the clothing category, Borderfree's Bartlett said. Canadian consumers still buy fewer items online than Americans and have just started adding more than travel, tickets and books to their online shopping lists, he noted.
"We believe one of the critical reasons Canadians don't buy more online is lack of supply," Bartlett said.
Despite this, Canadians are spending more online as time goes by, according to Statistics Canada. In five years, online spending jumped from $1.1 billion in 2000 to $7.9 billion last year, the federal agency reported last week — a 618 per cent increase. Still, online spending represents just over 1 per cent of the $729 billion Canadians spent on all goods and services last year, the agency noted.

[SSLL]

From: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servl.../Business/home
____________

Baskin-Robbins targets a melting market share
Ice cream maker retools to win over younger generation

MARINA STRAUSS
From Tuesday's Globe and Mail
It's a brand that's deliciously familiar to baby boomers. Too bad their kids don't seem to care.

Baskin-Robbins, a long-time synonym for takeout ice cream, has watched its U.S. market share melt as a generation picked up a taste for café lattes. Now, the company is retooling itself to win a younger generation with new drinks and other ice cream concoctions. It's redesigning its stores to add a shot of entertainment, with a server preparing customized sundaes and milkshakes at a counter bar as customers watch the show.

"We are trying to bring in the younger kids as well, because they are going to be the future clientele for us 10 to 20 years from now," says Michael Gooding, the chain's Canadian franchise manager. "We need to start attracting them. We're trying to make Baskin-Robbins more of a hangout."

It was time for an update. The chain has continued to trumpet 31 ice cream flavours, even when touting a wide array of options no longer gave it an edge. While Baskin-Robbins was an innovator in introducing multiple flavours when it was founded more than 60 years ago, it's now old hat in the industry.

The numbers point to strains. The company's share of the $2.8-billion (U.S.) ice cream food service market in the U.S. fell 1.1 percentage points to 19.8 per cent in 2005 from 20.9 per cent in 2003, according to market researcher Euromonitor International. The chain's revenue rose 10 per cent to $561-million over that period.

In Canada, Baskin-Robbins' share remained at about 10.7 per cent of the $446-million ice cream parlour market, while revenue dropped 4 per cent to $47.9-million, the figures show.

Baskin-Robbins has been shedding market share to fledgling U.S. players such as Cold Stone Creamery, which has become a magnet for a new generation, Euromonitor analyst Rob Tullock says. Now Cold Stone is looking to make a splash in Canada, putting the heat on Baskin-Robbins to woo younger customers. "You need to have young people, otherwise you really don't have any future," Mr. Tullock says.

Ice cream parlours have moved well beyond the 31-flavour universe; they have become something like entertainment centres, with employees mixing custom-made treats with loads of extras. The process has become more interactive to cater to a younger demographic. The customer participates by picking ingredients, which adds to the price and the company's revenue.

Not to be left out, Baskin-Robbins began testing its own version of ice-cream-tainment last year. It opened more jazzy looking, colourful parlours with a focal bar area where customers can sit at the counter and watch their sundaes, shakes and other creations being made, says Ken Kimmel, brand officer at the Glendale, Calif.-based parent. So far the revamped stores are generating more sales, he says, without disclosing numbers.

Last month, Baskin-Robbins launched its first refurbished ice cream parlour in Canada, and the chain plans to double its 133 stores here over the next four years, using the new model, Mr. Gooding says.

Industry observers say the changes can't come too soon. "Baskin-Robins has been tired for years," says Douglas Fisher, president of food services consultancy FHG International. "We grew up with it as baby boomers. I would think a lot of younger people are going to Starbucks now."

Mr. Tullock, a Canadian, agrees that Baskin-Robins faces a demographic challenge. "I'm 27 and I've got a peripheral awareness of them. They're certainly not a destination that would occur to me under most circumstances."

In Canada, ice cream retailers are further challenged with cold winters that put a chill on sales, he says. And the burgeoning popularity of coffee shops has stolen business from ice cream parlours. Dairy Queen fought back by putting more emphasis on burgers and fries and has experienced a healthy growth in its business, Mr. Tullock says.

Baskin-Robbins has also faced internal pressures. It was owned by Britain's Allied Domecq PLC until late last year, when U.S. equity firms scooped it up. Allied had been looking for a while to shed its non-core assets, including Baskin-Robbins. The situation caused some turmoil in management, Mr. Tullock says. With the new owners, "hopefully that should give them a little bit more management focus on building the business," he adds.

For Baskin-Robbins, a key to success is the introduction of new products, Mr. Kimmel adds.

Cold cash

Baskin-Robbins has been shedding market share to other players, such as Cold Stone Creamery.

Revenue ($U.S.-millions) Market share Growth
CANADA 2003 2004 2005 2005 2005
Dairy Queen $254.30 $274.80 $283.60 63.50% 3%
Yogen Früz 51.4 45.8 29.9 6.70% -35%
Baskin-Robbins 50 45.9 47.9 10.70% 4%
Others 59.5 67.9 84.8 19% 25%
U.S.
Cold Stone Creamery $152.30 $283 $420.50 14.80% 49%
TCBY 155 145 144.5 5.10% 0%
Baskin-Robbins 510.3 535 561 19.80% 5%
SOURCE: EUROMONITOR INTERNATIONAL 2006

[Rusty van Reddick]

So is the Baskin Robins on 17th Ave in Calgary undergoing this transformation, or did it simply close?

I think the problem with traditional ice cream chains is not just competition (and a much better product) from Cold Stone and Marble Slab, but also from the explosion in gelato places. It was hard enough for the B-R to compete with Philip's Forbidden Flavours across the street; when Fiasco Gelato opened their glam new place two blocks east, who bothered to go to sad old B-R?

[BlackRedGold]

Originally Posted by furrycanuck

I think the problem with traditional ice cream chains is not just competition (and a much better product) from Cold Stone and Marble Slab, but also from the explosion in gelato places. It was hard enough for the B-R to compete with Philip's Forbidden Flavours across the street; when Fiasco Gelato opened their glam new place two blocks east, who bothered to go to sad old B-R?

I don't think that's it at all. I think the problem with B-R is the increase in choice of ice cream at the supermarket. Back in the day, if you wanted something reallly different then Chocolate, Vanilla or Strawberry you had to go to a place like B-R. Now you can get a Haagen-Daaz or Ben & Jerry's from the grocery store that has is just as good and unique as any of the 31 flavours.

[Rusty van Reddick]

Originally Posted by BlackRedGold

I don't think that's it at all. I think the problem with B-R is the increase in choice of ice cream at the supermarket. Back in the day, if you wanted something reallly different then Chocolate, Vanilla or Strawberry you had to go to a place like B-R. Now you can get a Haagen-Daaz or Ben & Jerry's from the grocery store that has is just as good and unique as any of the 31 flavours.

Then why are gelaterias so popular? Why is Pure Gelato doing so well in your own city whereas the traditional Cow's is closed? You have been able to get Gelato Fresco for the last 15 years (at least) in Ontario supermarkets.

Gelato and Marble Slab (et al) are new things that can account for the recent demise (or decline) of Baskin Robins. Supermarkets have had "choice" in ice cream since Haagen Dasz and Frusen Gladje (anybody remember that?) broke in the early 1980s.

[BlackRedGold]

Originally Posted by furrycanuck

Then why are gelaterias so popular? Why is Pure Gelato doing so well in your own city whereas the traditional Cow's is closed?

Then what about Lois & Frima's or Rocky Mountain in the market? I don't know why Cow's closed but I know that Piccolo Grande used to have multiple locations around the city and now they have one. For the most part the gelaterias are located downtown. In the suburbs there's DQ.

You have been able to get Gelato Fresco for the last 15 years (at least) in Ontario supermarkets.

And how many people even realise it? It's never been marketed, many supermarkets don't carry it and the packaging does a poor job of attracting attention.

[Rusty van Reddick]

Originally Posted by BlackRedGold

And how many people even realise it? It's never been marketed, many supermarkets don't carry it and the packaging does a poor job of attracting attention.

OK, maybe Fresco is more of a niche product than I realised (we always had it in our freezer in Toronto), but still, haagen dazs has been around for 25 years or so.

And I have to add- I love to talk ice cream!

[IntotheWest]

Originally Posted by furrycanuck

Gelato and Marble Slab (et al) are new things that can account for the recent demise (or decline) of Baskin Robins.

Mmmmm....Marble Slab. Good stuff. I was surprised to see a new one opened way down in the big box shops of Shawnessy, beside an M&M. Are they that popular that they think they can survive in such an area??

They are good, but are pricier than BR.

I still prefer the trip to Cochrane for MacKays though..

[Boris2k7]

Originally Posted by IntotheWest

I still prefer the trip to Cochrane for MacKays though..

I would take commuter rail to Cochrane (had we any such thing) just to get ice cream!

[Rusty van Reddick]

Originally Posted by IntotheWest

Mmmmm....Marble Slab. Good stuff. I was surprised to see a new one opened way down in the big box shops of Shawnessy, beside an M&M. Are they that popular that they think they can survive in such an area??

They are good, but are pricier than BR.

I still prefer the trip to Cochrane for MacKays though..

You can get Mackay's at My Favourite Ice Cream south of Marda Loop if that's more convenient for you- I love to go to that place in winter because there's never a lineup (unlike summer), they don't have their freezers screwed up like Philip's where the ice cream is ruined by ice crystals, and the prices are great (versus, say, Amato Gelato on Kensington Rd- now THAT is some expensive shit).

Marble Slab is good, and with that one in Shawnessy that means 4 location in Calgary (w/ Chinook, Market Mall, and Crowfoot). Thing is- have you ever tried Coldstone Creamery in the US? It is better, to my taste. And when you get ice cream with fruit (eg sweet cream mixed w/ black cherries), unlike at Marble Slab, the fruit isn't frozen solid so you cannot even taste it- I hate that about Marble Slab, everything is too damn cold. Ice cream is not supposed to be painfully cold like that.

[Boris2k7]

Originally Posted by furrycanuck

You can get Mackay's at My Favourite Ice Cream south of Marda Loop if that's more convenient for you- I love to go to that place in winter because there's never a lineup (unlike summer), they don't have their freezers screwed up like Philip's where the ice cream is ruined by ice crystals, and the prices are great (versus, say, Amato Gelato on Kensington Rd- now THAT is some expensive shit).

That place (MFIC) is great too!

I swear that I saw a little shrine to Ralph Klein last time I was there though...

Could be wrong, it's been a few years.

[SpongeG]

how close are the big American stores to other Canadian cities?

for Vancouver - there is Bellis Fair Mall - basically set up to Canadians - its only 15 minutes from the border so getting there is easy - it is probably much easier - distance wise - to get from most of surrey/langley than it would be to get to Metrotown or downtown Van. and bellis fair has all the big US stores Canadians want like - Hollister, Abercrombie & Fitch, Victorias Secret, Target, Suncoast, Bath & Body Works, Express, Kohls, Macys, Old Navy, Gap, Hot Topic, Aeropostale etc.

and than the seattle outlet mall is about 90 minutes from the border - you can see in the parking lot that there are a ton of Canadians who go down

and just north of the outlet mall - new Kohls, Costco and Target stores have opened in the last few months

so how easy is it for people in Toronto or Calgary to get to big US malls/shops?