Winnipeg | Retail

[vjose32]

Originally Posted by drakehead

wow. Really? do you have image? I cant find it. I'd be surprised that Fit4Less would be leaving but i guess it's a big space and you only charge $ 15 per month per membership.

It's on their E-edition page 12

http://winnipeg.can.newsmemory.com/?special=The+Times

[drakehead]

Originally Posted by vjose32

It's on their E-edition page 12

http://winnipeg.can.newsmemory.com/?special=The+Times

thanks!

it def looks like fit4less is gone as well as is the movie theatre and car wash.

The original (i assume current-ish) layout for northgate is here.
https://cwstevenson.ca/wp-content/uploads/WPL/259/att_Northgate-Shopping-Centre.pdf

[cheswick]

Originally Posted by vjose32

It's on their E-edition page 12

http://winnipeg.can.newsmemory.com/?special=The+Times

Thanks for this. I think the units closest to the park are residential. Weird that they would get rid of fit4less so soon after building it. Although the back of that mall was always away from public view and hidden away awkwardly.

They are rebuilding the GC movie theatre so it could be cinema city is relocating there.

[bomberjet]

I will say the entrance to northgate of McPhillips is sure awkward. They put those new buildings right in the drive lane. The right lane coming in just dead ends to nowhere. The left lane needs to shimmy over.

[DonaldSmith]

HBC Downtown Closing in Feb

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/business/downtown-bay-572613951.html

[Biff]

Sad, but definitely not unexpected. More surprised that it lasted as long as it did these last few years.

[esquire]

Yeah, it feels like they gave up on the place about 10 years ago and it's been a steady slide to this day ever since. If downtown retail wasn't dead before, it is now.

[cheswick]

Disappointing. I assume with the exodus of the office crowd to work from home it was the final nail. I would shop there regularly when at the office but the writing was on the wall. They put no money into it. The escalator was broken for years without being repaired.

[CoryB]

Apparently Staples in Portage Place is also closing permanently this week. Said it before when you can meet the need the supply needs of downtown offices (pre-pandemic) from a warehouse or suburban store with same day or next day delivery having a large retail location with high theft risk no longer makes sense, especially if a new building owner is not willing to give you a new long term lease on favorable terms.

--
Re Fit4Less Northgate, it could be a causality of the pandemic. Keep in mind it is the same parent as GoodLife who might have wanted to concentrate the remaining business into their core brand instead of wanting to continue offering a value alternative.

--

Originally Posted by cheswick

They are rebuilding the GC movie theatre so it could be cinema city is relocating there.

I thought it was a local, independent group that was taking over the former Garden City movie theater with plans to mostly show non-English content there such as Bollywood films.

[CoryB]

Originally Posted by cheswick

Disappointing. I assume with the exodus of the office crowd to work from home it was the final nail.

Let's see:

- poorly thought out purchase of nearly bankrupt American department chain Saks 5th Avenue

- bizarre idea that 2017 was a "good time" to launch an expansion to Europe

- global chilling of retailer across all sectors

But yes, the exodus of the downtown Winnipeg office crowd who worked from home for six months is definitely what killed the Hudson's Bay store in downtown Winnipeg.

Sarcasm aside, the whole Hudson's Bay retail group is on the verge of complete bankruptcy right now and they are closing stores nationally. At this point I think its reasonable to assume that none of their stores are considered "safe" although Polo Park is slightly less at risk than St Vital.

[buzzg]

While I can't say everything I know I am very close to what's been going on at HBC and can say that this is 99% a casualty of COVID. There were other plans in the works for a building repositioning as recently as last week. Month-end numbers showed that with the complete disappearance of office workers (and no sign of their return anytime soon) there was no way to make this work anymore, they really did try. The store did what most here would probably find a shocking amount of sales in 2019.

[Kris22]

All we can hope for is the building to be developed into something great within the next ten years. Five would be great because a whole decade of a giant abandoned building at one of our major intersections is utterly depressing. I would love to see a residential conversion like the Victoria Bay someone posted a few days ago, with main floor retail.

I actually worked one training shift at the Bay downtown when I was a teenager! But they wanted me to sell fridges and stoves which I thought was too boring, and the computer system was so outdated I couldn't bear it (like MSdos or something! I swear!). However I frequented as a customer for about ten years when I lived downtown. Including groceries and malts from the basement.

The staples was also super convenient and I thought maybe regular downtown residents + students might've been enough to keep it afloat but I suppose not. Bummer.

[cslusarc]

Does anyone else think that Staples Portage Place would be a great location for a supermarket now that Staples is closing?

[esquire]

Two of the biggest retailers downtown pulling the plug. What a depressing day.

[buzzg]

A Downtown BIZ survey done a couple weeks ago pegs the downtown workforce at 20% of pre-Covid levels. That was before the code orange, and it’s likely not going up anytime soon. While I think lots of the unique or destination stores will be fine, ones with multiple locations might not be so lucky. This is a trend being seen across the country. Only thriving, suburban surviving, downtown dying.

[WinCitySparky]

Originally Posted by esquire

Two of the biggest retailers downtown pulling the plug. What a depressing day.

Relax guy! Change is good!

[BAKGUY]

Originally Posted by WinCitySparky

Relax guy! Change is good!

Biggest embarrassment.
Most Winnipeggers should feel proud.
Every major Canadian city has a Bay store downtown and we lose a once flagship, once head office location?
Even Regina,Saskatoon.
So we are approaching a million in a few years?
Guess time to lure more Dollar stores to Portage?

Uh, no. It is disgraceful.
Who then in the next major retailer Downtown on Portage?
Hakim Optical? Dollarama? ? Dollar Tree? Timmie's?

[GarryEllice]

Originally Posted by WinCitySparky

Relax guy! Change is good!

Joke? As a downtown resident, the closure of the Bay and Staples, together with the axing of the Spirit bus service, equates to a noticeable drop in quality of life. I've been trying hard to love this city since I moved here seven years ago, but it's not easy.

[BAKGUY]

Originally Posted by GarryEllice

Joke? As a downtown resident, the closure of the Bay and Staples, together with the axing of the Spirit bus service, equates to a noticeable drop in quality of life. I've been trying hard to love this city since I moved here seven years ago, but it's not easy.

Since you live right downtown, You are exactly the kind of respond re that needs to be vocal about these sad changes. I live very close to but not right in downtown. This is not a good day for downtown.

[biguc]

Originally Posted by GarryEllice

Joke? As a downtown resident, the closure of the Bay and Staples, together with the axing of the Spirit bus service, equates to a noticeable drop in quality of life. I've been trying hard to love this city since I moved here seven years ago, but it's not easy.

She'll never love you back.