Winnipeg Retail

[optimusREIM]

Originally Posted by LilZebra

Tis there now.

Any word on whether these other very logical stores are considering the oc

[laumag]

Originally Posted by optimusREIM

Any word on whether these other very logical stores are considering the oc

I had a conversation with the Outlet Collection Guest Services folks and expressed my thoughts on Winnipeg's version of an Outlet Mall. The response was that there is a waiting list of retailers for available spots. I was told that the first retailer on this list is COACH. Of course, I could have been told anything.

My first visit to the OCW during opening week was lukewarm. I was totally disappointed since I too had expected the retailers that were initially listed as tenants. There are too many shoe stores in my humble opinion. Every second store is a shoe store and most of them are not true outlets. There are about 15 stores that reflect outlet prices. Off 5th is disappointing when one compares it to the Off 5th in Eagan MN. I liked that one. It was packed with merchandise. Ours is packed with leftover Hudson's Bay stuff. Winners is Winners and we have enough of them.

Perhaps some of the current stores will suffer the "slings and arrows of outrageous fortune" and make way for REAL Outlet retailers.

[pegcity]

I bet you if the outlet had 2 shoe stores, people would complain why it only has 2 shoe stores.

[jmt18325]

Originally Posted by pegcity

I bet you if the outlet had 2 shoe stores, people would complain why it only has 2 shoe stores.

Well this IS Winnipeg, after all.

[Kronos]

Originally Posted by laumag

I had a conversation with the Outlet Collection Guest Services folks and expressed my thoughts on Winnipeg's version of an Outlet Mall. The response was that there is a waiting list of retailers for available spots. I was told that the first retailer on this list is COACH. Of course, I could have been told anything.

My first visit to the OCW during opening week was lukewarm. I was totally disappointed since I too had expected the retailers that were initially listed as tenants. There are too many shoe stores in my humble opinion. Every second store is a shoe store and most of them are not true outlets. There are about 15 stores that reflect outlet prices. Off 5th is disappointing when one compares it to the Off 5th in Eagan MN. I liked that one. It was packed with merchandise. Ours is packed with leftover Hudson's Bay stuff. Winners is Winners and we have enough of them.

Perhaps some of the current stores will suffer the "slings and arrows of outrageous fortune" and make way for REAL Outlet retailers.

When I walked into Saks Off 5th, I swore I walked into one of those temporary spaces that was hosting a liquidation sale

[Svenn]

I just went to the Outlet Collection yesterday and it was better than I expected. I know most stores aren't true outlets but neither are the ones at the Eagan outlet mall. It's just a matter of watching for the good sales. Once the rest of the units fill up it'll be great. Just need a J. Crew Factory!

[LilZebra]

Originally Posted by pegcity

I bet you if the outlet had 2 shoe stores, people would complain why it only has 2 shoe stores.

I'd be fine with 2, but 6 is "overkill"... Like "too much mulch".

[LilZebra]

Originally Posted by Svenn

I just went to the Outlet Collection yesterday and it was better than I expected. I know most stores aren't true outlets but neither are the ones at the Eagan outlet mall. It's just a matter of watching for the good sales. Once the rest of the units fill up it'll be great. Just need a J. Crew Factory!

I checked the prices at the stores I visited. Nothing below "$79.99"...That's NOT "Outlet" that's "on top of" regular prices...

Of course they were advertising "30%", "40%" even "60%" "off", but from an "outlet" mall I expect to see some clothing items for at little as "$19.99 Final Sale".

[Brizzy82]

Originally Posted by LilZebra

I checked the prices at the stores I visited. Nothing below "$79.99"...That's NOT "Outlet" that's "on top of" regular prices...

Of course they were advertising "30%", "40%" even "60%" "off", but from an "outlet" mall I expect to see some clothing items for at little as "$19.99 Final Sale".

I know I said this before, but in the clearance section at Lucky Brand I was able to find jeans for as little as $17 and shirts for $8. Picked up a bunch of clothes for less than $100.

The prices up front weren't good, but the deals in the back were great.

[SpongeG]

i was at a gap factory store last weekend and they had some pants for $3.97 plus I had an email for 30% more off. I didn't buy them but i got a belt and some socks for under $5 each.

as for saks what do people expect it to look like? its an outlet store and is styled nicely. have you stepped inside a nordstrom rack? its even worse. they look like a fields store

[LilZebra]

Thing is that in the Men's dep't at Winners, at Saks, the "in the back" part WAS the Men's dep't.

In other words, if you were a Woman shopping at these retailers, you might get a bargain...However, if you're a guy, it might be better to shop at Elsewear.

[SpongeG]

Lucky brand has a room at the back where they put the clearance. Depending on the day they can be up to an extra 50% off the lowest tag, most of the time its just 30% extra off. A lot of people don't bother to walk to the back of the store as there is always a huge selection to choose from. Sometimes the items are exactly the same, like t-shirts, the new ones might be blue so they put the red ones on clearance. Even though the graphics are exactly the same. Weird. but ka-ching lol

With outlets every long weekend is usually their best sales. And always get the emails you can get quite a good deal with them.

[esquire]

I'm not going to say that the outlet mall is the greatest one that I've ever seen, but they do have a few outlet stores that I like so the fact that I no longer have to waste time while travelling to go stock up is a huge plus in my books. I walked out of Banana Republic Outlet on Saturday with a stuffed bag of clothing for $125, no complaints here.

On Saks Off 5th, it is very weak compared to other ones I've visited. Not only in terms of appearance and layout, but also when it comes to selection. Unlike the ones in the US, the one here basically feels like The Bay... Bay brands, Bay labels, it's pretty weak. Might as well just rename it Hudson Bay Outlet and call it a day.

[Chrisforpm]

Originally Posted by esquire

I'm not going to say that the outlet mall is the greatest one that I've ever seen, but they do have a few outlet stores that I like so the fact that I no longer have to waste time while travelling to go stock up is a huge plus in my books. I walked out of Banana Republic Outlet on Saturday with a stuffed bag of clothing for $125, no complaints here.

On Saks Off 5th, it is very weak compared to other ones I've visited. Not only in terms of appearance and layout, but also when it comes to selection. Unlike the ones in the US, the one here basically feels like The Bay... Bay brands, Bay labels, it's pretty weak. Might as well just rename it Hudson Bay Outlet and call it a day.

It seems to be a Canada wide complaint - that it's old HBC stock. Apparently they are listening and said they would rectify the situation by bringing in more brands from Saks.

In general I don't mind the outlet mall, I'm happy we have Calvin Klein here. Found some amazing deals and the quality of clothing is great.

[esquire]

^ The first Saks Off 5th that I got to know was the one downtown, on Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis, starting in the mid-2000s. It was formerly a full-line Saks store so it looked pretty nice, and there was a wide array of recognizable brands on sale. Sometimes if you got lucky you could find deals like a Versace shirt for $60, or a Zegna necktie for $30, great deals on Boss suits, that kind of thing. By contrast, there is very little at Winnipeg's Saks Off 5th that isn't a Bay brand or a Saks Off 5th "house brand"... I mean, you could probably do worse than the $249 Saks Off 5th "house brand" suits that they carry but it's probably no better than what you can find at The Bay any day of the week. It's a bit of a letdown.

[buzzg]

I wouldn't be surprised to see the Adidas Outlet move over to OC soon.

[SpongeG]

Originally Posted by esquire

^ The first Saks Off 5th that I got to know was the one downtown, on Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis, starting in the mid-2000s. It was formerly a full-line Saks store so it looked pretty nice, and there was a wide array of recognizable brands on sale. Sometimes if you got lucky you could find deals like a Versace shirt for $60, or a Zegna necktie for $30, great deals on Boss suits, that kind of thing. By contrast, there is very little at Winnipeg's Saks Off 5th that isn't a Bay brand or a Saks Off 5th "house brand"... I mean, you could probably do worse than the $249 Saks Off 5th "house brand" suits that they carry but it's probably no better than what you can find at The Bay any day of the week. It's a bit of a letdown.

I can't find the article but the bay admitted sales were down and partly blamed on their changing of brands at saks off 5th and were working to bring back brands people expect from them in 2018. They really did a blunder with that acquisition.

[esquire]

^ It's dumb... if they had just called it Hudson's Bay Outlet everyone would have been fine with it. But if you call it Saks Off 5th, the name creates certain expectations. When 80% of your inventory is Bay-calibre stuff, of course people will be disappointed. It's ridiculous. Did they think people would just be totally seduced by the Saks name and fail to notice exactly what is on offer?

[buzzg]

The Urban Bakery on Graham is closing, the first location of Livestock outside Toronto/Vancouver will be taking its place. Sad to see an iconic local store close after many years, but this is a huge image boost that a store like this wants to set up here. With Winnipeg being La Carnita's first non-GTA location as well, it's great to see some of Canada's top "image" or culture brands taking note of Winnipeg. Good sign of things to come.

[CoryB]

Originally Posted by laumag

I had a conversation with the Outlet Collection Guest Services folks and expressed my thoughts on Winnipeg's version of an Outlet Mall. The response was that there is a waiting list of retailers for available spots. I was told that the first retailer on this list is COACH. Of course, I could have been told anything.

First I find the notion that OC Winnipeg has a "waiting list of retailers" to be laughable. There are a number of clear space fillers just there so the place doesn't look empty, hello Calendar Club and Audi. Like either of those places sell much of anything, especially calendars in the middle of summer...

The reason Coach and Kate Spade, two outlet mall staples, are missing in Winnipeg likely had to do with the market conditions in the near luxury leathergoods market around the time the tenant list was being finalized. Those two and Michael Kors have been underperforming v market expectations and actually been adjusting their market positioning. Coach was notable is calling out its desire to focus less on sales from its Factory (aka outlet) stores. Further, around the time OC Winnipeg opened Coach actually bought out Kate Spade and Michael Kors bought out Jimmy Choo (which had been in talks with Coach). Winnipeg being a relatively small market for all those brands likely was just a causality of everything else happening with that section of the market. I seriously doubt OC Winnipeg gets a Coach start within five years as Coach is trying to push back up market and Winnipeg doesn't really support that.

In terms of other "outlet" stores located in Kennaston Commons area moving to OC Winnipeg, it likely depends on their specific lease terms. I would imagine most of the ones that normally are in an outlet mall will move when they can exit their existing lease if space is available and the lease rates are not noticible different from Kennaston Commons at the time.

Originally Posted by esquire

On Saks Off 5th, it is very weak compared to other ones I've visited. Not only in terms of appearance and layout, but also when it comes to selection. Unlike the ones in the US, the one here basically feels like The Bay... Bay brands, Bay labels, it's pretty weak. Might as well just rename it Hudson Bay Outlet and call it a day.

Strange you should suggest that since the opposite happened with HBC bought out Saks.