Canadian Retail Thread

[cslusarc]

Retail-Insiders.com reports:
La Maison Simons To Open Stores At CF Toronto Eaton Centre And Yorkdale In Former Nordstrom Spaces

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by cslusarc

Retail-Insiders.com reports:
La Maison Simons To Open Stores At CF Toronto Eaton Centre And Yorkdale In Former Nordstrom Spaces

Simons has been doing well in new Markets outside Quebec the last 10 years. Their slow and steady approach to expansion has been paying off.

[urbanight93]

Having visited the Well recently, i have to commend them on a fantastic development. Love the materials and design and the open air concept.

The Wellington market was bustling and had available such a diverse array of foods that i could see myself be a recurring visitor. A lot of novelty that make it a unique draw.

Restaurants from Montreal (Mandy's and L'avenue), Calgary (Bridgette's bar) and NYC (Prince's Street Pizza) are great touches and truly make it a destination worth visiting.

[Wigs]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Simons has been doing well in new Markets outside Quebec the last 10 years. Their slow and steady approach to expansion has been paying off.

I really wish they'd open a Hamilton location.
Between Burlington-Hamilton plus Niagara is over 1.3 million people.
Hamilton (city) alone is 615,000 with another 525,000 in Niagara region, or 1.14 million combined.

[whatnext]

Good article on Simons from CBC:

Canadian retailer Simons is expanding. Can it succeed where its peers couldn't?
Retail analysts say Simons doesn't have problems that plagued Nordstrom, Sears
Jenna Benchetrit · CBC News · Posted: Jun 07, 2024

Standing between the racks at a Simons store in Mississauga, Ont., Luke Gillet was on a mission to buy his dream wedding suit.

"They have a crazy colour that I want to wear," Gillet explained. "There's a pink suit here that I was really hoping to find and it matches my fiancée's dress, which has sort of a blush pink."

Gillet is happy to support a Canadian-owned business, but that's only one part of the retailer's appeal, he said: "The selection is great. The fashions are current, the prices are really good."

The Canadian fashion and homeware retailer is betting on happy customers like Gillet as it continues its gradual expansion. With a 10-store presence in Quebec, and a handful of others sprinkled between Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary and Halifax, the brand is opening two locations in Toronto next year at Yorkdale Shopping Mall and the Eaton Centre — in addition to its Mississauga and Ottawa stores...

...Liza Amlani, the principal and co-founder of Retail Strategy Group, said that Simons does well in tailoring its products to suit customer tastes and sizes, understanding their shopping habits in-store and online, and having salespeople who know the product well.

U.S. retailers like Nordstrom made a fatal mistake in assuming that Canadians shop the way that Americans do, she said.

"We are different. We are not another state out of the U.S., we are another country. And across Canada, we're very different: The Vancouver customer is very different from the Toronto customer," noted Amlani.....

... But she says she expects Simons to succeed in its expansion because it "has the trifecta down — the trifecta being product, customers and marketing. And what they're doing is they are connecting all the dots," Amlani said.

"Unless there is another department store that's going to serve the needs of gen X and gen Z, we are going to see Simons thrive and succeed."


https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/sim...nues-1.7196907

[SteelTown]

Originally Posted by SteelTown

Hamilton green-lights Tesla takeover of vacant CF Lime Ridge Mall space

https://www.insauga.com/hamilton-gre...AgJJvdcay2mEoE

Hamilton will officially be home to Tesla’s largest Canadian retail and service location.

The city’s adjustment committee voted unanimously on Thursday in favour of a by-law variance, allowing for a 60,000-square-foot Tesla Centre at CF Lime Ridge Mall, in the space previously occupied by The Bay’s Home Outfitters.

Tesla had already signed a non-binding letter of intent with Cadillac Fairview, Lime Ridge Mall’s parent company.

Tesla Canada’s Sr. Real Estate Manager, Kyle Mazzone, sent a letter to Michael Peiser, Cadillac Fairview’s Senior Director of Development, on Dec. 2, 2022, stating that the company was willing to invest in Hamilton, but that it required the variance sooner rather than later.

“Time is of the essence, which is why CF Lime Ridge is strategically positioned, given that it already has ‘Motor Vehicle Show Room as a permitted use,” added Mazzon. “As we will be servicing and repairing electric vehicles, in addition to the sale of electric vehicles, we want to ensure that this is a permitted use.”

“The timing of the minor variance will be a major deciding factor of Tesla investment in Hamilton.”

The famous Hamilton Mountain mall is already home to a 20-stall Supercharger on its west side — opposite the impending Tesla Centre. The nearest existing centre is in Oakville.



According to Tesla, the new centre will employ 50 people and operate Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Source: KingJames @ https://urbantoronto.ca/forum/thread...h.34065/page-2

[Wigs]

Seems like a positive for Lime Ridge mall and Hamilton

[Edmonton_Ian]

Originally Posted by SteelTown

Source: KingJames @ https://urbantoronto.ca/forum/thread...h.34065/page-2

Finally an anchor tenant not likely to collapse any time soon... I think more malls around the nation should probably consider taking them or similar OEMs on... Even WEM has replaced its Sears store with a Toyota dealership and mega-service centre that actually expanded beyond the stores OG footprint.

[SlicePizza]

[URL="https://www.castanet.net/content/2024/7/screenshot_2024-07-02_at_3.51.07pm_p3834951.jpg"]

https://www.castanet.net/news/West-K...-Kelowna-store

Fabricland is closing its last store in Kelowna. The other Kelowna location closed a decade ago.

[Coldrsx]

An interesting article on Downtown Edmonton's retail scene, highlighted by the new addition of a 'jewelry, crystals and spiritual tools' store.

While there is some positive momentum, people returning and safety improving, there is absolutely nothing groovy about its retail scene and outlook given how pathetic the offerings are in the area.

It's going to take a significant redo of the existing mall to reposition it and maybe attract 2-3 key brands.

Here's hoping, but this article distresses me more than anything.

---

Downtown Edmonton Retail Getting Groove

https://nz.news.yahoo.com/downtown-e...l?guccounter=1

[SpongeG]

HBC to buy Neiman Marcus for US$2.65 billion, combine it with Saks Fifth Avenue


https://financialpost.com/news/retai...s-fifth-avenue

[Coldrsx]

Holy crap.

[Innsertnamehere]

What is HBC doing? They seem to be teetering on Bankruptcy themselves but can go buy Nieman Marcus?

[Coldrsx]

NRDC Equity Partners - nuff said.

[casper]

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

What is HBC doing? They seem to be teetering on Bankruptcy themselves but can go buy Nieman Marcus?

I have been in both the Victoria and Saskatoon HBC stores over the past few months. Escalators out of order. Doors that don't work and are broken. More staff than shoppers.

The few other shoppers around were like me, it was path to get to the mall, not the destination.

If that is what is happening in the smaller centers, it must the major cities that are keeping them in business.

[Coldrsx]

Given that it is now owned by an equity group, I suspect sales are not the main driver.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by casper

I have been in both the Victoria and Saskatoon HBC stores over the past few months. Escalators out of order. Doors that don't work and are broken. More staff than shoppers.

The few other shoppers around were like me, it was path to get to the mall, not the destination.

If that is what is happening in the smaller centers, it must the major cities that are keeping them in business.

They finally repaired the escalators and elevators at the downtown Vancouver store so you may be right. I cannot figure out why the want to saddle themselves with Neiman Marcus.

[TorontoDrew]

Well Fed looks awesome! And another massive food hall opened a few blocks north just south of Queen West.

The Food Hall at the Waterworks.

Images courtesy of urbantoronto.ca

[kwoldtimer]

Excellent! On the other hand, $6 for a scoop of icecream? Bloody 'ell, as tiktok would have it.

[savevp]

We're twelve hours away from the potential LCBO strike in Ontario and the lasting consequences it may have for the province's rapidly changing alcohol sector. Memories of Alberta ditching its monopoly system under similar circumstances...

https://winesinniagara.com/2024/06/w...for-vqa-wines/