[Moncton] Retail Thread

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by DyAm00394

Don’t see it going in Granite Center since Taco Boyz is there. The other suggestion may be possible.

I saw the sign today. It is located exactly where the new plaza is going where Mary Brown's is listed as a tenant.

There are two possibilities:

Fat Bastard is owned by Mary Brown's. Could they have decided to colocate these two franchises side by side?

or

Could Mary Brown's have decided to use the space they are leasing in this future building for Fat Bastard instead of a 2nd Mary Brown's location in the metro area?





Given the layout of this small plaza, I think these two scenarios are equally possible.

Fat Bastard is a popular Toronto based chain. They were recently bought out by Mary Brown's. All their current locations are in southern Ontario, save for one in St. John's (NL). This would appear to be their 2nd Atlantic Canadian location.

https://www.fatbastardburrito.ca/

[b2dam]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

I saw the sign today. It is located exactly where the new plaza is going where Mary Brown's is listed as a tenant.

There are two possibilities:

Fat Bastard is owned by Mary Brown's. Could they have decided to colocate these two franchises side by side?

or

Could Mary Brown's have decided to use the space they are leasing in this future building for Fat Bastard instead of a 2nd Mary Brown's location in the metro area?





Given the layout of this small plaza, I think these two scenarios are equally possible.

Fat Bastard is a popular Toronto based chain. They were recently bought out by Mary Brown's. All their current locations are in southern Ontario, save for one in St. John's (NL). This would appear to be their 2nd Atlantic Canadian location.

https://www.fatbastardburrito.ca/

I'd be surprised if people didn't complain about that name around here. Personally, I don't think Moncton needs another Chipotle clone.

[MonctonRad]

Lot's of activity at the old Cabela's store this morning. At least a half dozen contractors trucks, and you could see work carrying on in the inside of the building. They've also punched through one of the exterior walls, presumably to allow access to the inside of the building for construction equipment (lift trucks etc.).

We still aren't entirely sure who the new tenant will be. The leading contender is Rona (or a Rona affiliated banner).

[josh_cat_eyes]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Lot's of activity at the old Cabela's store this morning. At least a half dozen contractors trucks, and you could see work carrying on in the inside of the building. They've also punched through one of the exterior walls, presumably to allow access to the inside of the building for construction equipment (lift trucks etc.).

We still aren't entirely sure who the new tenant will be. The leading contender is Rona (or a Rona affiliated banner).

I was still hoping it was going to be a Grocery Store. I wonder how Rona will do in a crowded market. Kent, Home Depot and Home Hardware all have good support.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by josh_cat_eyes

I was still hoping it was going to be a Grocery Store. I wonder how Rona will do in a crowded market. Kent, Home Depot and Home Hardware all have good support.

I agree. Metro would have been ideal, and with so many Jean Coutu pharmacies in southeastern NB, there is already a supply chain (of sorts) that could have supplied the store.

[jonny golden]

Originally Posted by josh_cat_eyes

I was still hoping it was going to be a Grocery Store. I wonder how Rona will do in a crowded market. Kent, Home Depot and Home Hardware all have good support.

I was thinking the exact same thing. In fact, unless they differentiate themselves in some tangible way, I think they'll wind up like Target. Gone after their losses are too much to bear.

[Sunnybrae]

Originally Posted by jonny golden

I was thinking the exact same thing. In fact, unless they differentiate themselves in some tangible way, I think they'll wind up like Target. Gone after their losses are too much to bear.

Maybe they are looking more at the booming construction industry and building materials rather than the guy fixing his toilet or painting the new baby room. I see Kent and Home Hardware boom trucks full of lumber and drywall all the time. I don't know the business so I'm not sure what the mix is of contractors vs DIY people.

[Taeolas]

Originally Posted by Sunnybrae

Maybe they are looking more at the booming construction industry and building materials rather than the guy fixing his toilet or painting the new baby room. I see Kent and Home Hardware boom trucks full of lumber and drywall all the time. I don't know the business so I'm not sure what the mix is of contractors vs DIY people.

That's a good point. DIY is just gravy for the Home Improvement chains; it's the bigger construction projects where the money's at, and goodness knows, Moncton's industry is booming. There's probably room for another player in the area in that respect.

Plus Rona is Canadian, so they know the national market at least and should have at least a passing knowledge of the Maritime markets, so it shouldn't be a Target situation at least.

[jonny golden]

If it is Rona, I hope they're successful in Moncton. I hate to see new to market businesses fail and close up shop.

But coming into Moncton and competing with Kent and Home Depot would be a challenge, given the long standing relationships they've established.

A friend of mine works at HD and told me the Moncton store is #1 in Canada in sales volume!

As MonctonRad said, Rona isn't 100% confirmed yet.

[MonctonRad]

Best Buy Express Opens 1st Store in Canada, Plans 167 Small-Format Locations
By Mario Toneguzzi
Date: June 26, 2024
https://retail-insider.com/retail-in...mat-locations/

This is what customers can expect at the new stores, according to Best Buy:

• Curated assortment of tech – In-store customers will have the opportunity to interact with some of the latest and greatest tech with the help of Blue Shirts. Over 100,000 products will also be available to customers even if they’re not found in store, thanks to Best Buy’s world class fulfillment network;
• Quick and easy pick up – Customers will be able to shop Best Buy’s full assortment online from small appliances to headphones and have the convenience of picking up and returning products at these locations;
• Exclusive telecom services – Customers will be able to shop Bell, Virgin Plus and Lucky Mobile telecommunications services, all backed by knowledgeable sales and support they’ve come to expect from Best Buy and Bell; and
• Geek Squad services – Best Buy Express stores will offer Geek Squad services including Protection and services for all consumer electronics products.

The Source at CF Champlain will be rebranded as a Best Buy Express by Christmas time, and, likely sooner.

[MonctonRad]

Thai Express is finally officially open at the Granite Centre.

[MonctonRad]

A couple of CF Champlain tidbits:

1) - Villa Madina is expected to open in about two weeks. They are still waiting on some needed equipment.
2) - Thai Express possibly may reopen. The lease is still in effect, and, apparently, there may be a new franchisee in the mix.

[MonctonRad]

Rona is confirmed for the former Cabela's building in Mapleton Crossing (worker on site).

[josh_cat_eyes]

I’ve heard from a reliable source that Atlantic Superstore is going to be no more. They’re going to be rebranding to Real Canadian Superstore. I’m sure that will go over well with the public in the maritimes as they already have an unfavourable view of Loblaws.

[sailor734]

I heard that as well from someone within Loblaws.. Also heard the new Loblaws CEO is very big on growing the discount side of the business. I assume that means more emphasis on No Name and PC products and stocking fewer traditional brand names. Perhaps expanding the No Frills chain as well. Superstores recent heavy marketing of ungraded Mexican beef would certainly seem to support that idea.

Also explains them putting the idea of smaller urban stores (like they were in talks about for the ground floor of 91 King in SJ a couple of years ago) on the back burner.

[DyAm00394]

Their name and logo on DoorDash has been updated to "Real Atlantic Superstore" with the same color scheme as the Real Canadian Superstore branding.

https://www.doordash.com/en-CA/busin...tore-11128230/

[Taeolas]

I have to wonder why they are keeping the Atlantic chain distinct from the rest of Canada? I would assume there are some reasons for that, and not just for the name legacies.

Sobeys certainly has a number of chains under their banner too, but you can find Sobeys stores across the country.

Why is Loblaws keeping the Atlantic Canadian subchain (Whether it is "Atlantic Superstore" or "Real Atlantic Superstore") distinct from the rest of the country?

[MonctonRad]

It will be interesting to see if the new Superstore on Dieppe Blvd will be branded as Real Atlantic Superstore. I presume it will.

[josh_cat_eyes]

I do know that their senior VP (Mike Doucette) that oversaw the banners in the Atlantic region was recently let go. The story I’ve heard was that it was his idea to switch the 50% off stickers to 30% stickers. The backlash from that was so bad, they had to hold somebody accountable. He was probably close to retirement anyway, so they gave him a package.

I wonder if they’ve wanted to integrate the Atlantic region for a while, but with him at the helm, he fought to keep it separate. Now that he’s gone, they don’t have someone fighting to maintain the status quo.

Just a theory, but the timeline seems to fit.

[sailor734]

Originally Posted by josh_cat_eyes

I do know that their senior VP (Mike Doucette) that oversaw the banners in the Atlantic region was recently let go. The story I’ve heard was that it was his idea to switch the 50% off stickers to 30% stickers. The backlash from that was so bad, they had to hold somebody accountable. He was probably close to retirement anyway, so they gave him a package.

I wonder if they’ve wanted to integrate the Atlantic region for a while, but with him at the helm, he fought to keep it separate. Now that he’s gone, they don’t have someone fighting to maintain the status quo.

Just a theory, but the timeline seems to fit.

I'm told by someone in Loblaws that this is being driven by Per Bank the new CEO they hired out of Denmark. Apparently he is very focused on the discount end of the market (growing No Frills and and streamlining the Superstore brand among other things)

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/per-b...49788928-pejz/