Canadian Retail Thread

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by dreambrother808

None of what you ask here addresses the claim you originally made, that the anthem was somehow a “fact” pointing to criminality.

It’s pointing to tight links with a regime that had no qualms holding two Canadians against their will.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by whatnext

It's an event at a mall, not a sporting game where that would be traditional. Tell me why it needed to be played. Lunar New Year is not a CCP-state sponsored event, other nations celebrate it.

Counterpoint: Who cares?!

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Counterpoint: Who cares?!

Ask the two Michaels.

[whatnext]

Couldn't help myself. Made a last trip to the Bay Downtown yesterday. So sad.

[IMG]IMG_5958 by bcborn, on Flickr[/IMG]
[IMG]IMG_5959 by bcborn, on Flickr[/IMG]
[IMG]IMG_5961 by bcborn, on Flickr[/IMG]

Somebody beat me to these.
[IMG]IMG_5960 by bcborn, on Flickr[/IMG]
my photos

[Nouvellecosse]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Counterpoint: Who cares?!

I'm a bit confused by this exchange. The question wasn't whether or not the government of China is good. It was whether or not it's reasonable to assume the woman is a criminal. Her having different political views such as being a supporter of the Chinese admin doesn't suggest she's a criminal. Do we know if Chinese people associate the anthem with the government rather than with the country in general? If it is associated with the government, it suggests (but not proves) that she may be a supporter. But even then, it doesn't prove or suggest she has "tight links" to them anymore than seeing someone wear a MAGA hat suggests that they have tight links to the Trump admin. She could just be catering to customers who she rightly or wrongly believed wanted it played.

And the point about playing a national anthem not being traditional outside sporting events. Do we know for sure that such traditions and norms are the same across every culture? Lots of assumptions going on here.

[casper]

Originally Posted by Nouvellecosse

I'm a bit confused by this exchange. The question wasn't whether or not the government of China is good. It was whether or not it's reasonable to assume the woman is a criminal. Her having different political views such as being a supporter of the Chinese admin doesn't suggest she's a criminal. Do we know if Chinese people associate the anthem with the government rather than with the country in general? If it is associated with the government, it suggests (but not proves) that she may be a supporter. But even then, it doesn't prove or suggest she has "tight links" to them anymore than seeing someone wear a MAGA hat suggests that they have tight links to the Trump admin. She could just be catering to customers who she rightly or wrongly believed wanted it played.

And the point about playing a national anthem not being traditional outside sporting events. Do we know for sure that such traditions and norms are the same across every culture? Lots of assumptions going on here.

Well the google AI says......

The Chinese national anthem, "March of the Volunteers," is often played during Lunar New Year celebrations in China and by Chinese communities around the world. It's a common way to express national pride and unity, especially during a festival that is deeply rooted in Chinese cultural traditions.

While, I may find it a weird thing to play, I am also not of Chinese ethnicity. So who knows.

Playing a songs is not criminal.

[SpongeG]

went to the bay in Willowbrook mall in Langley, there was pretty much nothing left, last week they still had a lot of bedding and clothes. But it seemed whatever was left yesterday was 99c or less, they had some items at 96% off, some of things were only 40% from a specific brand or line.

This store had added signs in the past week that said the store fixtures are not for sale, they were on sale last week though, which makes me wonder if this is one of the store bought by Ruby Liu.

PXL_20250601_005141753 by snub_you, on Flickr

PXL_20250601_004918393 by snub_you, on Flickr

PXL_20250601_004904370 by snub_you, on Flickr

PXL_20250601_004921965 by snub_you, on Flickr

I was at a walmart on friday and had noticed this lamp and realized it was Anko as in the Anko from Zellers, it seems Walmart is going to carry the brand? I never saw any other products other than this lamp and a vase. The box says it's imported for Walmart

PXL_20250531_034649526 by snub_you, on Flickr

[casper]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

went to the bay in Willowbrook mall in Langley, there was pretty much nothing left, last week they still had a lot of bedding and clothes. But it seemed whatever was left yesterday was 99c or less, they had some items at 96% off, some of things were only 40% from a specific brand or line.

I was traveling and stayed near the St. Laurent Shopping Centre in Ottawa. Had a look at the Bay store there on the weekend.

Almost ever was gone. They had a good hundred or so copies of a Bay branded cook book. How to cook using your microwave. That was probably sitting in a warehouse for a few decades.

[le calmar]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

This store had added signs in the past week that said the store fixtures are not for sale, they were on sale last week though, which makes me wonder if this is one of the store bought by Ruby Liu.

I noticed the same thing at the Bayshore store in Ottawa. A sign saying "All fixtures are sold" whereas two weeks ago they were still for sale. That sure would make things convenient to buy them while they're still on-site.

[Taeolas]

Looks like ToysRUs's survival in Canada is in trouble.

Over in the Atlantic Canada retail threads, (and some of the regional facebook groups), we've seen how the TRU's in Dartmouth and Saint John are having Going out of Business sales.

In Moncton, there was some confusion about the state of that store, rumours it was closing and rumours something else was happening. Apparently they are packing up the store and shipping it out without even a Closing sale, as the lease is up June 30th.

That leaves just the TRU store in Fredericton as the only one left in the Maritimes.

It's survival in isolation is doubtful but so far it seems to be holding. The store seems fully stocked and just recently got the HMV upgrade. Thoguh I wonder if the Moncton stock is being sent up to it to bump its numbers. I haven't looked closely to see if it is getting "new" stock; but one of the things I do watch (Transformers toys), it doesn't seem to have any of the Age of Primes (the current line) in, while Walmart has them.


I wonder if TRU trying to hold on to its status as an "Anchor" store might have hurt it in the end. They are big store footprints to maintain, and the Toy market (especially with Electronic Games gone now) may not be able to support that. They might have been better shrinking their footprint size down to a "Large Mall Store" footprint instead of an anchor; something like Aeropostale or AEO or Old Navy seem to hold in malls.

[MolsonExport]

the Kelowna TRU is also closing: https://www.kelownanow.com/watercool...e_permanently/

and the Kamloops TRU: https://cfjctoday.com/2025/06/14/kam...ter-reopening/

And the Belleville TRU: https://www.quintenews.com/2025/06/1...mall-to-close/

London is down to one location, after another (Argyle "Mall") closed.

[MonctonRad]

There will only be one TRU left in the Maritimes when the dust settles - Regent Mall in Fredericton.

This makes no strategic sense. Freddy is only the 4th largest CMA, and most definitely not a destination retail centre (that honour goes to Halifax and Moncton).

I think Regent is only hanging on because of the fact that the lease is not expiring. Once the lease is up, they will be gone too.

[SpongeG]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

the Kelowna TRU is also closing: https://www.kelownanow.com/watercool...e_permanently/

and the Kamloops TRU: https://cfjctoday.com/2025/06/14/kam...ter-reopening/

And the Belleville TRU: https://www.quintenews.com/2025/06/1...mall-to-close/

London is down to one location, after another (Argyle "Mall") closed.

the Vancouver Broadway store recently closed, The Metrotown store closed and the Richmond store in Lansdowne Closed. I think there is one left in Langley.

[MolsonExport]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

the Vancouver Broadway store recently closed, The Metrotown store closed and the Richmond store in Lansdowne Closed. I think there is one left in Langley.

Shit, Broadway closed? I opened that store, from the ground up, many years ago...(we called it 'Toys R Us Bowmac' back then)

[MonctonRad]

Retail Talk & Share

Toys R Us at Champlain Place in Dieppe (Moncton) is now closed.

I am very angry over how this was handled. No press release. No official acknowledgment that closure was imminent. Just a flurry of furious speculation on social media over the last several weeks. There was in fact deliberate misdirection and deceit on the part of TRU. Some staff seemed to know the jig was up. Other staff seemed to think the store was being reorganized for their Play Lab concept. There was generalized mayhem and confusion. In the end, they simply told customers in the store "no comment" regarding the anticipated closure. They stopped avswering the phone. There was absolutely no respect shown by management and ownership to staff or to loyal customers.

Shame on Toys R Us!!!!!

[Taeolas]

Would have been good if this could have been another Canadian success story (like A&W), but ultimately the chain's lasted a solid 7-8 years longer than its US counterpart (ignoring the attempts to restart it recently), which is still pretty good. Would be better if we had a clearer picture of what was going on; feels like they're scrambling. But as I said, I also think they really need to be downsizing their store footprints too.

Maybe they'll be able to recover with what's left and continue, like Mastermind's been able to do.

[KnoxfordGuy]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

This makes no strategic sense. Freddy is only the 4th largest CMA, and most definitely not a destination retail centre (that honour goes to Halifax and Moncton).

Fredericton is the shopping destination for shoppers from Grand Falls to Gagetown. That's a huge catchment area.

[Taeolas]

Originally Posted by KnoxfordGuy

Fredericton is the shopping destination for shoppers from Grand Falls to Gagetown. That's a huge catchment area.

Not compared to what Moncton and Halifax can pull in. Plus Halifax and Moncton both are Destination Shopping Cities; people will go out of their way to go shopping there, or will be there for other reasons (Shows, Concerts, etc...) and spend time shopping. Champlain Place, MicMac Mall and Halifax Shopping Centers are all considered Destination Malls, places you can just go to kill time if needed.

Freddy, while it has the western half of hte province as its catchment area, is none of those. Hell, Freddy doesn't even put on shows any more to serve to pull people in (aside from the Harvest festival in September)

Now, that pull is certainly not something to scoff at, and is certainly a draw for new businesses to set up in the city. But compared to Moncton and Halifax, Freddy is always 3rd (and often 4th after Saint John).

So it just doesn't make much sense for Freddy to be the sole surviving TRU store, while Halifax and Moncton (and Saint John) are all dropping theirs.

[MolsonExport]

Toys R Us Richmond has also closed (Landsdowne Mall). And Burnaby. And Coquitlam. The Surrey location closed a few years ago. I also heard that only the Langley location will remain open (in the entire Vancouver region).

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/toys...sure-locations

The Pointe Claire (Quebec) location has also closed.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by KnoxfordGuy

Fredericton is the shopping destination for shoppers from Grand Falls to Gagetown. That's a huge catchment area.

Perhaps, but also lightly populated. Perhaps 175,000 souls.

Meanwhile, Dartmouth Crossing TRU is closed. The central NS catchment area is at least 750,000. Moncton's catchment is around 350,000.

If Dartmouth Crossing and Champlain Place TRUs are closing, then there is no hope for Regent Mall.



It's only a matter of time (unless Regent gave them free rent).

But truthfully, TRU is closing dozens of stores all across the country. I think the entire chain is in grave trouble. I can hear the agonal respirations from the patient's room from the nursing station (medical reference). Whoops. now I hear Cheyne-Stokes respirations. The end is near..............