Quote:
Originally Posted by esquire
I agree that things were better in 1997, but by then Portage Avenue retail was already in its death throes... Eaton's was down to 5 floors as I recall, and it would shut down for good by 1999. I can't remember if Holt's was still around as a mainline store but if it was, it wouldn't be long before it became an outlet store for its final years before closing. At least The Bay was still chugging along until the company got its hands on a Polo Park location at which point it slowly started its long demise.
The reason I mentioned 1997 is that because for many years, that was considered the year in the recent past when downtown had bottomed out. But since the pandemic, it has been much worse than 1997 ever was. The only real positive difference since then has been the construction of the arena.
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First of saying the Bay was still chugging along fine in downtown Winnipeg in the late 90s is being heavily disingenuous. They were already gasping for air at that point and the signs were as clear as day they were already in a slow death spiral. Basic maintenance on the interior had long stopped already and the building was being left to rot from neglect. The building, not the retailer, was being fairly openly shopped already to anyone that might be willing to take over the space. And lots of the space still being used as a going retail concern was sparsely filled with cheap space filler in a futile attempt to look less empty.
As for thinking of the late 90s as the last great boom on downtown retail, that itself is heavily looking past all the signs of trouble that were already on the horizon. Even if we gloss over online shopping CF has already gone bankrupt and walked away from Portage Place and more than half of Eaton's place is sitting empty with plans to convert the northern part of the mall (since demolished) until something other than retail. Sure Portage Place opening in 87 turned the tide for a short time but it was just that very short and fleeting.
The reality is more niche brands like Holts would quickly learn that online sales could easily reach customers in Winnipeg for lower costs than running a story. We need to face the hard reality that the decline in downtown Winnipeg traces as far back as the 60s and further that it follows a fairly global trend of consolidation in retail. You can see fully abandoned shopping developments in lots of other cities that are the size of Polo Park or even larger. If this retreat from traditional retail is just a Winnipeg thing how come I see the same signs everywhere I travel?
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