Canadian Retail Thread

[Taller Better]

[QUOTE=miketoronto;2544662]
To be honest I don't get all the hype with some of these chains. I never shop at H&M as I find their stuff not really that great in terms of quality, and the prices are not that cheap. [QUOTE]

It is quite simple, Mike. All about price points. H&M carries current knock-off styles (stock is completely rotated every month or so and styles are copied from original designers on the runway, and put out for sale within a month and a half, all over the world.) at the cheapest price point possible. Cheaper and MUCH more current/stylish than Le Chateau for the same low-end market. So why is there so much difficulty understanding the hype behind H&M? Cheap and cheerful knock-off European design. Makes perfect sense to me why it is being "hyped". Quality has nothing to do with it when you are paying $9 for a hat. You don't really want to wear that cowboy hat for four seasons, anyhow. It is a form of disposable accessories, not investing a lot of money in good clothing that will last a lifetime.
H&M and Zara stores are pretty much the same the world over.

[Claeren]

Originally Posted by mersar

I'm trying to figure out where at Market Mall the H&M is going? While I don't go into the mall that often, I can't think of either a space thats large enough for what I'd imagine they would need, nor any of stores that may leave to make way for them.

I think it is taking up some combination of space from the former women's clothier 'Dynamite' and their neighbour, Le Chateau.

The Dynamite store is already closed down and under reno's as of this week.


Claeren.

[SSLL]

Apple Stores in Canada: Toronto (Yorkdale, Eaton Centre, Sherway Gardens) and Carrefour Laval.

Menswear is available in more than just the downtown H&M flagship stores. Pickering Town Centre, Yorkdale, Oakville Place, Vaughan Mills, Dufferin Mall, and Fairview Mall also have menswear.

[LordMandeep]

Bramlea city centre in Brampton has it as well.

[SpongeG]

CompuSmart Launches Canada's First Retail iPod Exchange Program
MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(CCNMatthews - Jan. 5, 2007) - CompuSmart, a major national full-service technology retailer, announced today that it will launch an iPod exchange program in its Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa stores in partnership with U.S.-based NextWorth Solutions.

The new program, the first of its kind in Canada, enables iPod owners to exchange their older models for newer ones. "This is a great way for people to upgrade their iPods without losing their original investment," said CompuSmart president Jeffrey Hart. "Even if you recently purchased a new iPod and also have an older model, you can trade in the older one for immediate credit toward any product sold by CompuSmart."

Customers can simply bring in their old iPod and any original iPod accessories to a participating CompuSmart store. A CompuSmart sales person will value their iPod on the spot with a real-time pricing calculator developed and successfully executed in the United States by NextWorth Solutions. The customer will then receive instant credit towards a new iPod or any other product offered by CompuSmart.

"NextWorth is known for its hassle-free iPod trade-in service," said Dave Chen, CEO of NextWorth. "We're extremely pleased to extend The Great iPod Exchange TM internationally to a premiere retailer like CompuSmart. With this launch, we are extending our reach into Canada and providing a valuable service for CompuSmart's customers."

CompuSmart will initially introduce the iPod exchange program at its stores in Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto, and expects to expand to its other stores across Canada throughout the year.

http://www.ccnmatthews.com/news/rele...tionFor=629588

[SpongeG]

Apple retail commitment, headcount surge over 55 percent
With its total store lease commitments fast approaching $1 billion, Apple Computer has no plans to slow development of its extremely successful retail segment and will utilize approximately $360 million in capital expenditures during the 2007 fiscal year to facilitate new store openings.

That represents an 80 percent increase over fiscal 2006, when it spent $200 million to open 41 new retail stores, including a total of 10 international stores in the U.K., Japan, and Canada. During that same time, the company's total retail lease commitments also rose from $609 million to $887 million.

Since its inception in 2001, Apple has spent over $729 million on its retail store strategy, including the construction of eight elaborate "high-profile" or flagship locations that function as vehicles for general corporate marketing, corporate events, and brand awareness.

By the end of its 2006 fiscal year on September 30, the Cupertino, Calif.-based company operated 165 locations comprised of more than 1.2 million square feet of retail space. Included in that mix are 147 stores in the U.S. and a total of 18 additional stores spread across Canada, Japan, and the U.K. That compares to 124 open stores as of September 24, 2005 and 86 open stores as of September 25, 2004.

The fastest chain in the history of retail to reach the $1 billion mark for sales, Apple's retail segment continued to reflect phenomenal growth during fiscal 2006. Net sales increased by 43 percent to $3.4 billion compared to 2005, including an increase in Macintosh unit sales of 45 percent to nearly 900,000 units.

With an average of 142 stores open during fiscal 2006, average revenue per store also increased to $23.6 million compared to $22.4 million during 2005 and $15.6 million in 2004. Apple attributed the increase in sales to "strong sales of Macintosh portable and desktop products, iPods, and other music related products and services."

"Sales of iPods increased primarily due to the introduction of the updated iPod with video-playing capabilities in October 2005 and the iPod nano during September 2005," Apple said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. "Macintosh portable and desktop sales increased due to strong sales of the Intel-based MacBook, MacBook Pro, and iMac."

The increased traffic at company stores also sparked a more than 57 percent rise in retail employee headcount, as Apple added 2,114 to its store staff during fiscal 2006, bringing the total to approximately 5,787. That's more than a quarter of the company's employee base, which as of September 30, 2006 was estimated at 17,787 full-time equivalent employees and an additional 2,399 temporary equivalent employees and contractors.

Among the many forthcoming Apple retail outfits slated for 2007 are the first two retail stores in Scotland, and new flagship locations in both Paris and New York City.

http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=2347

so there are 4 in canada now - and 1 planned for Calgary and 10 more for the next year - i wonder how many Canada will get of those 10 - 1 for Vancouver? 1 for edmonton?

[SpongeG]

Foreign firms on Canadian soil outdo homegrown companies
OTTAWA - Foreign-owned firms in Canada outpaced domestic companies by a wide margin last year in pumping money into productivity-enhancing investments, Statistics Canada reported Thursday.

That's a reversal of earlier this decade, when domestic-owned firms were increasing their investments in new machinery, equipment, and buildings at twice the pace of foreign-owned firms.

It's too early to say whether the reversal is the start of a trend, said Statistics Canada analyst Irfan Hashmi.

However, if it were, it would not bode well for the relative future productivity performance of domestically owned firms.

Such investments are seen as the key to boosting productivity, and the productivity growth of domestic firms already trails that of their foreign-owned competitors here.

The former federal Liberal government blamed Canada's lagging productivity on a lack of private-sector investment in new machinery and equipment, which businesses in turn have blamed on Canada's relatively high tax burden.

Business groups have called for faster tax write-offs in the upcoming budget to encourage them to boost such investment.

And the Conservative government has promised to cut taxes on new business investment to the lowest of the major Group of Seven industrial nations.

Last year, foreign-controlled firms in Canada recorded double-digit investment growth of 10.7 per cent to $53.87 billion, propelled by investment in mining and oil and gas extraction, retail trade, and manufacturing. Meanwhile, investment by domestic firms rose 7.4 per cent to $153.2 billion.

American-controlled establishments accounted for nearly 70 per cent of the foreign investment, while German-owned firms were a distant second, accounting for just 6.6 per cent, and then Japanese firms at 5.6 per cent.

American-controlled investment amounted to nearly $37.5 billion in 2006, up 7.9 per cent from 2005.

Foreign firms accounted for 43.4 per cent of total investment in the Northwest Territories, the highest proportion in the nation, followed by 39.1 per cent in Newfoundland and Labrador, 31.8 in Nova Scotia, and 28.2 in Ontario.

Two provinces, Ontario and Alberta, and three industries - mining and oil and gas extraction, finance and insurance, and manufacturing - accounted for nearly two-thirds of all the foreign capital investment.


In the struggling manufacturing sector, robust investment growth among foreign-controlled firms continued, in sharp contrast with the lacklustre investment by domestic firms, whose investment growth has been flat.

Earlier research has shown that foreign-owned manufacturing firms operating in Canada, especially American ones, are more productive on balance than domestic companies, and over the past two decades have accounted for most of the productivity growth in the Canadian economy.

``This is because foreign-controlled plants and firms are also more innovative, more technologically advanced, and more likely to perform research and development,'' Statistics Canada said in a report earlier this decade.

Meanwhile, last year there was a 36.4 per cent surge in foreign retail investment, much of which was in the construction or expansion of stores, while domestic retailers increased their investment by just four per cent. In the mining and oil and gas extraction industry, investment by domestic firms slowed, while investment by foreign firms accelerated.

http://www.canada.com/topics/finance...28ffd4&k=81358

[Straight_Six]

Originally Posted by malek

they'll have to find a big enough location first downtown before opening.

Athlete's world in Place Montreal Trust just closed down and that place was
originally 2 or 3 huge floors perfect location, but Zara is in the same mall so it probably won't happen lol

[malek]

Originally Posted by Straight_Six

Athlete's world in Place Montreal Trust just closed down and that place was
originally 2 or 3 huge floors perfect location, but Zara is in the same mall so probably won't happen lol

why not??

another spot but won't be ready for a couple of years is thew new commercial spot between La Baie and Complexe Desjardins...

They'll bulldoze that shithole and build commercial locations and office tower, Best Buy is the first tenant.

[SpongeG]

u have dunkin donuts in montreal

[malek]

this one was closed a long time ago, its an old pic!

Dunkin has almost completely disappeared.

Depan Escompte bought the franchise for the Quebec territory and is slowly rolling it in its new depanneurs.

[Kilgore Trout]

the first time i came to montreal there were dunkin' donuts everywhere, but only two years later, when i actually moved here, they had pretty much all disappeared. the tim horton's empire marches on...

[SSLL]

From: http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/f...e-0c38366fd061
_____________

Le Chateau picks growth over sale
Hollie Shaw, Financial Post
Published: Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Montreal-based Le Chateau Inc. has wrapped up a strategic review and decided to expand further rather than sell the company, the fashion retailer confirmed yesterday. Late Friday, Le Chateau released record- setting holiday results for the period from Nov. 26, 2006 to Jan. 3, 2007, with sales jumping 17% compared with the same period last year. Sales at stores open for more than a year rose a robust 13% compared with a year earlier. For the fourth quarter to date, sales were up 15.1% and same-store sales rose 10.9%. Le Chateau, which will release full-year results in April, said it plans to increase its average store size to 5,000 square feet from an average of 3,500 square feet. Chain wide, the retailer wants to increase to 1.3-million square feet of selling space from 850,000 square feet. Le Chateau has 195 stores across Canada and five in New York City.

[SpongeG]

Originally Posted by malek

this one was closed a long time ago, its an old pic!

Dunkin has almost completely disappeared.

Depan Escompte bought the franchise for the Quebec territory and is slowly rolling it in its new depanneurs.

ah

I think Burnaby used to have one next to metrotown - it was a combo of Dunkin Donuts and TOGO subs - the subs were good. but the shop didn't last that long - not even a year.

i remember going there while waiting for the star wars movie i think it was around 1997?

[SSLL]

From: http://www.insidetoronto.ca/to/scarb...oc=scarborough
_______________

Fusion shopping sees East meet West on McNicoll Avenue
Ethnic diversity important in retail plan: developer

LISA QUEEN
Jan. 16, 2007

Over the years, Canadian shoppers have spent their cash at strip plazas, shopping malls with national chains and, this decade's latest trend, big box stores.
But customers of Asian backgrounds often look for a different shopping experience. It's not surprising, then, that retail developers are building alternative shopping centres in Scarborough, with its large Asian population.

The latest development, announced at a press conference last Friday, is Maxum on the northwest corner of Midland and McNicoll avenues.

The location is "the axis of one of the most densely populated Asian communities in Canada," the promotional material says. About 65,000 residents live within a two-kilometre radius and a good number of them are Asian, although developers don't pinpoint a specific number.

The centre will be anchored by a RONA home improvement store. It will also feature two strip plazas with about 50 restaurants and mom and pop stores, plus a three-storey professional building.

Promoters bill the centre as "fusion shopping."

Not only will the plaza combine retail outlets with offices for doctors, lawyers and accountants but it will feature both Asian and non-Asian retail outlets.

"Fusion shopping means East meets West," said Herrian Lee, an agent with Tradeworld Realty Inc., which is marketing the property.

"It's a mixed ethnic (shopping centre). Different cultures. We have mom and pop shops but we'll have chain restaurants. There will be a karaoke restaurant, Japanese, Greek, Italian restaurants."

Maxum is expected to be fully occupied by winter 2008.

Project manager Matthew Nutson, with developer Kreadar Enterprises Limited, said smart developers cater to the needs of their clients. And that means retail developers have to offer new approaches in Scarborough.

While Asian shoppers enjoy the big box experience for home improvement products, he said they often prefer smaller shops reminiscent of their homelands for other items.

While Canada has the land to build sprawling shopping centres, Asian countries have learned to accommodate retail outlets on much smaller tracts of land, Nutson pointed out.

"The ethnic community (wants) fusion retailing, which is blending retailers from different cultures," he said, adding a plaza his company developed at the southeast corner of Steeles and Markham Road appeals to residents of Indian and South Asian heritage.

"In the GTA, if you can't as a developer, if you don't diversify ethnically and include your community in the development, it's a very tough project to successfully complete."

Maxum comes on the heels of last month's announcement for two new condominium malls in Scarborough, each hoping to become significant regional shopping destinations.

In fact, they hope to outpace customer traffic at Pacific Mall, the decade-old shopping centre on the north side of Steeles at Kennedy Road. As the largest indoor Asian mall in North America, Pacific Mall has long attracted Scarborough shoppers.

Proponents say the new condo malls - The Landmark on Steeles near Middlefield Road and Splendid China in a converted Canadian Tire store on Steeles just east of Kennedy Road nearly across from Pacific Mall - will offer both customers and retailers a new shopping experience on the Scarborough side of Steeles.

With stores as tiny as a closet to a couple of hundred square feet, shoppers can enjoy lower prices while small entrepreneurs don't have to sink as much start-up money into their investment.

The condo malls are catering to Scarborough's prime market, according to Lawrence Wong, chief financial officer and a partner in The Landmark.

"The pattern of shopping has changed totally," he told The Mirror last month.

Condo store owners "don't need a big profit margin, so the shoppers can enjoy a unique product at a lower price."

[malek]

Originally Posted by Kilgore Trout

the first time i came to montreal there were dunkin' donuts everywhere, but only two years later, when i actually moved here, they had pretty much all disappeared. the tim horton's empire marches on...

you're right, its dunkins fault tho.

The company kind of "abandonned" its franchisee by not doing any marketing campaign and not refreshing its brand...

I remember some dunkin quebec franchisee wanted to sue them because of that. Others stopped paying their fees, transformed into "coffee time" or simply closed.

[Kilgore Trout]

yeah, there was a point when a lot of them broke off from the chain. a couple of them turned into "double donuts" before closing.

[Taller Better]

Originally Posted by SSLL

From: http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/f...e-0c38366fd061
_____________

Well, I don't know if I am the only one, but I am thinking this is do or die for
Chateau. Companies like H&M and Zara are whipping them because of their massive size. I can't help but wonder if expanding is a mistake. They have made several major planning mistakes in the past and paid dearly for them...


As for Dunkin' Donut's, good riddance. I got one of the worst cases of food poisoning from the old Dunkin Donut on Ste Catherines in the gay village. I was sick as a dog for days after eating their version of an Egg McMuffin when I was bleary-eyed drunk at 2am a few years ago. They didn't clean the bowl after each use of beating the eggs.

[habsfan]

never been a big fan of Le Chateau. Always thought their clothes were of cheap quality.

[SpongeG]

anyone know if Daiso is going to open in Ontario?

they have only store in Richmond - when it originally opened they had aggresive plans - they said they wanted 5 stores in Vancouver as well as Toronto etc.

so far nothing more here - its sad they are a great store

they are expanding in washington state though - they have 4 stores now all opend in the last year or so - but i am not sure if they are the same company as Canada - they have aggresive plans for the USA started out on the west coast though