Winnipeg Retail - Page 431

vjose32 · #**8601** Posted **Feb 21, 2019, 6:12 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by esquire

For the bigger malls the space will probably fill up, but for Portage Place it probably means a permanent vacancy or new office space. That's kind of the way of downtown retail for the last 20 years... hardly anyone moves in or voluntarily closes their stores anymore... it's just a gradual loss to corporate bankruptcies and restructurings (CD Plus, HMV, Eaton's, Zellers, SAAN/Metropolitan, A&B Sound, now Payless).

You say that yet the former HMV in Garden City has been vacant how many years now and you would think that would be a desirable location for a shop.

esquire · #**8602** Posted **Feb 21, 2019, 6:17 PM**

^ Garden City is a marginal mall like Portage Place too. Perhaps a bit more attractive to retailers, but on the whole I'm not surprised to hear of long-term vacancies there either.

bomberjet · #**8603** Posted **Feb 21, 2019, 6:30 PM**

Didn't Garden City undergo extensive renos? I haven't been there in a long time. Grant Park did the reno thing and it's quite nice. Still a third tier mall or whatever you want to call it. But is nice and I actually go there.

esquire · #**8604** Posted **Feb 21, 2019, 7:11 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by bomberjet

Didn't Garden City undergo extensive renos? I haven't been there in a long time. Grant Park did the reno thing and it's quite nice. Still a third tier mall or whatever you want to call it. But is nice and I actually go there.

It seems to me that in Winnipeg, it's Polo Park, St. Vital and Kildonan Place that sit on the top tier. Maybe the outlet mall too, kind of-sort of. Others like GP, GC and PP are still doing OK but struggle to find new tenants whenever they happen to lose one.

cheswick · #**8605** Posted **Feb 21, 2019, 7:30 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by bomberjet

Didn't Garden City undergo extensive renos? I haven't been there in a long time. Grant Park did the reno thing and it's quite nice. Still a third tier mall or whatever you want to call it. But is nice and I actually go there.

The renovations turned out well imo. I don't go there often, but the times I have it seems relatively busy. It is not too unlike portage place though. A lot of cell shops, hairdressers and local retail. Interesting to see what affect seafood city has on it, if they'll even have a mall entrance.

trebor204 · #**8606** Posted **Feb 22, 2019, 2:03 AM**

HBC shutting down Home Outfitters (Hudson's Bay Home), while closing about 20 Sask Offs 5th in the States.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/hbc...ters-1.5028740

factis · #**8607** Posted **Feb 22, 2019, 12:14 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by trebor204

HBC shutting down Home Outfitters (Hudson's Bay Home), while closing about 20 Sask Offs 5th in the States.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/hbc...ters-1.5028740

Time to fire up the Paddlewheel!

Winegard said in an email to The Canadian Press that HBC needs to focus on having well-trained floor staff "who provide advice, guidance shoppers need and can't Google themselves," and on creating an experience for consumers that includes activities like eating.

cheswick · #**8608** Posted **Feb 22, 2019, 2:02 PM**

24 Hour Shoppers Drug Marts in Winnipeg are all moving to 8 to midnight. Not enough traffic to warrant them being open 24 hours.

esquire · #**8609** Posted **Feb 22, 2019, 2:29 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by trebor204

HBC shutting down Home Outfitters (Hudson's Bay Home), while closing about 20 Sask Offs 5th in the States.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/hbc...ters-1.5028740

Does the closure of Home Outfitters include the Hudson's Bay Home stores in Winnipeg? The reason I ask is because only the Polo Park HBC store has a full line of home merchandise... the selection at St. Vital and Downtown is basic to say the least. It would be surprising if HBC retreated that fully from the home goods market here.

I suppose closing the St. James St. location makes sense given that there is a HBC store across the street, but the other ones are more stand-alone.

Biff · #**8610** Posted **Feb 22, 2019, 2:54 PM**

The article I read said just Home Outfitters. It said Winnipeg had 3 but two were recently converted to Hudson's Bay Home and the other was already shuttered. I don't think there will be any effect in Winnipeg.

BuildUpWpg · #**8611** Posted **Feb 22, 2019, 5:48 PM**

Hoopers Mid-mod Furniture on Albert St closed. There are so many empty storefronts now on Albert...I wish it could be a pub filled street like most other cities have. But I guess first we need a lot more people living downtown.

Jeff · #**8612** Posted **Feb 22, 2019, 6:18 PM**

^^^ there was a FOR LEASE sign on the window to that place that has since disappeared and there seems to be work going on in at least part of the space from what i saw walking by yesterday! would make a good location for that rumoured downtown location of Leopold's tavern IMO.

esquire · #**8613** Posted **Feb 22, 2019, 7:05 PM**

I was never that impressed with Hoopers... but that said, if the space ends up sitting empty as so many others on Albert have in recent years, then it will be a loss.

Ando · #**8614** Posted **Feb 22, 2019, 7:24 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by trebor204

HBC shutting down Home Outfitters (Hudson's Bay Home), while closing about 20 Sask Offs 5th in the States.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/hbc...ters-1.5028740

“Sasks offs 5th?” Is that for overalls and straw hats?

michelleb · #**8615** Posted **Feb 23, 2019, 2:43 AM**

Surprised at Saks Off 5th, since off-price retailers have been touted as the fastest growing retail segment for a while. Don't like 'em myself, but it's worrisome to see HBC shutting down these two divisions when the company was announcing plans to expand Off 5th in Canada less than a year ago.

As the CBC article mentions, this is the hollowing out of the middle class retail market. Soon there will be nothing but dollar variety store crap for 90% of the population to afford and ludicrously priced luxury goods for the ultra wealthy, with nothing durable or attractive in between

Chrisforpm · #**8616** Posted **Feb 23, 2019, 1:33 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by cheswick

24 Hour Shoppers Drug Marts in Winnipeg are all moving to 8 to midnight. Not enough traffic to warrant them being open 24 hours.

I was just reading that all Shoppers Drug Mart locations in Alberta are also doing the same. Must be a chain wide re-think of keeping stores open 24 hours in certain markets.

Pinus · #**8617** Posted **Feb 23, 2019, 2:48 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chrisforpm

I was just reading that all Shoppers Drug Mart locations in Alberta are also doing the same. Must be a chain wide re-think of keeping stores open 24 hours in certain markets.

Yes. We need to be careful about the "IT'S ONLY HAPPENING IN WINNIPEG OMG THE SKY IS FALLING HERE AAAGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!" posts because the vast majority of times other markets are affected as well yet people here seem to describe it as a local phenomenon only.

Sorry, but the whole "only in Winnipeg" self-depreciating mentality is one that I wish I could personally obliterate from every person's mind. I despise it so much.

WildCake · #**8618** Posted **Feb 24, 2019, 4:51 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Biff

The article I read said just Home Outfitters. It said Winnipeg had 3 but two were recently converted to Hudson's Bay Home and the other was already shuttered. I don't think there will be any effect in Winnipeg.

HBC piloted the conversion of Home Outfitters to The Bay Home stores in Winnipeg, so I believe Wpg is the only market with that rebranding. National news sites wouldn't distinguish the two, so my take on this is we are losing our 3 The Bay Home stores (Polo, Kenaston, & Regent)

CoryB · #**8619** Posted **Feb 25, 2019, 7:06 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by vjose32

You say that yet the former HMV in Garden City has been vacant how many years now and you would think that would be a desirable location for a shop.

Actually the GC HMV converted to Shoe Warehouse which ran for several years before shuttering themselves leaving the spot vacant.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cheswick

24 Hour Shoppers Drug Marts in Winnipeg are all moving to 8 to midnight. Not enough traffic to warrant them being open 24 hours.

More like staff safety issues and a high level of theft on the overnight hours leading to Shoppers changing their hours.

Quote:

Originally Posted by trebor204

HBC shutting down Home Outfitters (Hudson's Bay Home), while closing about 20 Sask Offs 5th in the States.

The writing on this wall should have been clear from the time Home Outfitters was rebranded in Winnipeg to Hudson's Bay Home and the product lineup changed slightly. Guess that experiment proved to not be enough to warrant saving the chain.

Quote:

Originally Posted by michelleb

Surprised at Saks Off 5th, since off-price retailers have been touted as the fastest growing retail segment for a while. Don't like 'em myself, but it's worrisome to see HBC shutting down these two divisions when the company was announcing plans to expand Off 5th in Canada less than a year ago.

You have to keep in mind the collective whole of Saks was highly distressed before Hudson's Bay became involved with them. They had actively been closing locations, including Off 5th, before the ownership change. Not really big news as US retail continues to be even harder hit that in Canada.

--

Re Payless Shoes, it seemed clear as soon as the US announcement hit that Canada would fall too. Part of the discount business side is order in volume. Dropping the main piece that makes up that volume meant that other pieces would fall too. There is a lot more reading to be done if you care but essentially Payless built themselves around being the only low priced bricks and mortar shoe store and that has long stopped being the case.

Riverman · #**8620** Posted **Feb 25, 2019, 8:05 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by CoryB

The writing on this wall should have been clear from the time Home Outfitters was rebranded in Winnipeg to Hudson's Bay Home and the product lineup changed slightly. Guess that experiment proved to not be enough to warrant saving the chain.

Home Outfitters was a terrific store and Hudson's Bay Home was not.