Canadian Retail Thread

[Wigs]

Originally Posted by manny_santos

Nonetheless I think they will close locations in smaller cities, for example Abbotsford, Red Deer, or Kingston. And I suspect they’ll reduce the number of locations in larger cities, for example Calgary currently has 5 locations.

Niagara region is now 540,000 people and we only have one Hudson's Bay location at the Pen Centre (~1 million sq ft) in St. Catharines. I really hope they keep The Pen location open. It's been there for at least 5 decades. The Niagara Falls location at the now demolished Niagara Square closed over 20 years ago.

If the Pen Centre location closed, Niagara residents would have to drive to Limeridge Mall in Hamilton (35-60 minutes) and that's a smaller, but newer store.

At this point maybe I should just be content if The Bay doesn't go under entirely.

[MolsonExport]

I recall shopping at The Bay in Penticton, BC, which has to be one of the smallest stand-alone cities that has a Bay.

[SpongeG]

Prince George has a Hudsons Bay store, its not even in the city's big mall but a weird secondary mall.


ckpgtoday.ca/

[theman23]

Originally Posted by Wigs

The newer Canadian Tire stores are probably stealing more of Walmart's market share (as are the newer, larger Dollarama stores on the low end).

I showed my American friend one of the newer CTs “Remarkable Retail” ones and he was like: "What DOESN'T this store carry?" (besides groceries). He briefly chatted with a staff member and commented on how she was in a good mood and joking with us and that interaction left him with a more positive impression of the store.
He was super impressed by how large the kitchen and housewares section was and how there seemed to be a lot more display models of most products than a US store would have.

Example: Canadian Tire Carlingwood (Image: Canadian Tire)

He was also impressed by how many electric lawnmowers, lawn equipment there was for purchase.
https://retail-insider.com/retail-in...ars-interview/

Is there any other Canadian Tire store like this other than the Carlingwood mall location? I thought it was the only one.

[Changing City]

It doesn't seem likely that The Bay will survive at all in its present form. Total debt is nearly a billion dollars, and cash on hand was three million dollars.

[jamincan]

Originally Posted by theman23

Is there any other Canadian Tire store like this other than the Carlingwood mall location? I thought it was the only one.

It seems to be the general model for the newer ones I've been in.

[Wigs]

Originally Posted by theman23

Is there any other Canadian Tire store like this other than the Carlingwood mall location? I thought it was the only one.

Carlingwood, Welland are both Remarkable Retail concept stores. Calgary at Deerfoot Meadows should be next. Carlingwood is the only 2 storey CT that I'm aware of

Kelowna is getting a new ~186,000 sq ft store, Winnipeg a 33,000 sq ft expansion, and Lloydminster getting a 65,000 sq ft store

Retail Insider has the details:
https://retail-insider.com/retail-in...or-59-million/

[MolsonExport]

Selling more merchandise breadth and depth, while selling fewer tires. Not a bad thing for CT.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by Wigs

Carlingwood, Welland are both Remarkable Retail concept stores. Calgary at Deerfoot Meadows should be next. Carlingwood is the only 2 storey CT that I'm aware of

Canadian Tire Corp redeveloped their Vancouver Cambie store in the early 2000s. It was finished in 2005, and was, at the time, the biggest store in Canada. There's a partial second floor of Canadian Tire retail above the main floor, and some rooftop parking. There's also a Best Buy store underneath, below grade, above a parkade underneath.


[source in link above]

[Proof Sheet]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

It would be a real shame if it went under, nevertheless. I appreciate department stores for what they offer (straddling the middle ground between boutiques with their obnoxiously loud music and often, high prices, and the banality of discount retailers like Walmart, where I have never bought a single clothing item in my entire life).

The beginning of the end is when they allowed retail in the suburbs. The only way to have retail is in 6 or 7 storey buildings downtown and you need to make it a full day excursion.

[theman23]

Originally Posted by Changing City

Canadian Tire Corp redeveloped their Vancouver Cambie store in the early 2000s. It was finished in 2005, and was, at the time, the biggest store in Canada. There's a partial second floor of Canadian Tire retail above the main floor, and some rooftop parking. There's also a Best Buy store underneath, below grade, above a parkade underneath.


[source in link above]

I'm pretty sure the CT on Marine Drive in Vancouver and the CT on Lakeshore East in Toronto are double storeys too, although I could be misremembering. But the Carlingwood one is a monster compared to either of these.

[Doady]

Death of the department store is sad, and it also means the death of the mall. No more anchor tenants for the mall. Without anchors, the mall dies.

From department stores to big box. From malls to power centres. I don't know about you guys, but I think power centres are just horrible places.

And generally power centres are located in industrial areas rather than residential areas too. We get lower prices, but at what cost?

[Wigs]

Originally Posted by Changing City

Canadian Tire Corp redeveloped their Vancouver Cambie store in the early 2000s. It was finished in 2005, and was, at the time, the biggest store in Canada. There's a partial second floor of Canadian Tire retail above the main floor, and some rooftop parking. There's also a Best Buy store underneath, below grade, above a parkade underneath.


[source in link above]

I stand corrected. Thanks for the info.
It seems like CT has ambitious plans to continue opening new, larger format stores or expand and refresh existing ones in the coming years.

[Djeffery]

Originally Posted by GreatTallNorth2

My wife and I went to The Bay at White Oaks Mall in London about a month ago. The store is on two floors and their escalator has been broken for months. They have a large selection of homewares and furniture on the 2nd level. The only way we could get to the 2nd level was for a staff member to take us to their warehouse and go up the stairs there. They said they have been unable to get someone to fix the escalator. If they are to shut one of the two Bay stores in London, I would say White Oaks is the one to shut. Although it is far bigger, Masonville is in a better area.

I don't know if owned vs leased matters but I'm pretty sure HBC owns the White Oaks store, which predates the mall itself when it was Sayvettes and then Simpsons when the mall was built. I'm not sure if they own the Masonville store, which was an Eatons, or if it's leased. I was last in the White Oaks store last summer when I was looking for something to wear on a cruise and wandered through. It was a pretty sad looking store, had "clearance centre" vibes to the left of mall entrance over to the Wellington entrance.

[Nouvellecosse]

Originally Posted by Doady

Death of the department store is sad, and it also means the death of the mall. No more anchor tenants for the mall. Without anchors, the mall dies.

From department stores to big box. From malls to power centres. I don't know about you guys, but I think power centres are just horrible places.

And generally power centres are located in industrial areas rather than residential areas too. We get lower prices, but at what cost?

Yes it's not great to keep losing these anchor stores. But at the same time, i never shopped at the Bay, just like I was upset about Eatons closing when I didn't shop there either.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by theman23

I'm pretty sure the CT on Marine Drive in Vancouver and the CT on Lakeshore East in Toronto are double storeys too, although I could be misremembering. But the Carlingwood one is a monster compared to either of these.

Marine is yes for sure. The Cambie one is big though. In contrast to the Home Depot one block up, which is an "urban" version, and often has a lot less selection than CT.

[Taeolas]

The CT in Edmonton (formerly the biggest until Carlingwood) also has 2 levels; the second level only goes over about 1/2 the store I think.

CT in general seems to amaze people when they hear about it. A non-clothing based department store seems inconceivable to non-Canadians for some reason. And aside from Marks, that's basically what CT is now. (well the lack of a grocery department too; but grocery in department stores is a fairly recent thing)

[Changing City]

For those following 'the end is nigh' HBC saga, Storey's published a comprehensive list of all 96 stores. They only co-own seven of them, with over $700m in mortgages on those properties.

They calculate the total debts at over $1.1bn. The financial details revealed in the court filings show 'for the 12-month period ending January 31, 2025, Hudsons' Bay Canada generated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of negative $67.9 million and a net loss of approximately $329.7 million.'

[Wigs]

Originally Posted by Taeolas

The CT in Edmonton (formerly the biggest until Carlingwood) also has 2 levels; the second level only goes over about 1/2 the store I think.

AFAIK, these are the current largest CT stores
Carlingwood/Ottawa - 135,000 sq ft
Edmonton South - 133,000 sq ft
Welland - 120,000 sq ft
https://retail-insider.com/retail-in...ars-interview/

Jason Kane, Vice-President of Store Planning and Design for Canadian Tire and Party City, said Canadian Tire stores today range in size from about 5,000 square feet to the three major ones. An average store is about 60,000 square feet.

The retailer has just over 500 stores across the country.

It seems like 120k-135k sq ft is the new larger format store size. Smaller stores across the country seem to be expanding to near the 60k sq ft avg size.

Edit: Did you guys know if you use the in store tablet or even the phone app (with location services enabled) you can search for the item you're looking for and then tap "Help me find it" on the product page and then tap "Flash label" and go to the aisle and look for a flashing LED price tag on the shelf.


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[MolsonExport]

Originally Posted by Doady

Death of the department store is sad, and it also means the death of the mall. No more anchor tenants for the mall. Without anchors, the mall dies.

From department stores to big box. From malls to power centres. I don't know about you guys, but I think power centres are just horrible places.

And generally power centres are located in industrial areas rather than residential areas too. We get lower prices, but at what cost?

full agreement.