General Retail News

[Acajack]

Now this is a bit of a surprise:

http://www.lapresse.ca/le-droit/economie...-sinstallera-aux-promenades-gatineau.php

[S-Man]

Good place for it - lower rents, close to downtown and several bus routes...and dare I say it, the Queensway.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by S-Man

Good place for it - lower rents, close to downtown and several bus routes...and dare I say it, the Queensway.

You mean Autoroute 50, right?

[Acajack]

Also interesting is that Simons Gatineau will open about one year before Simons Rideau.

[kevinbottawa]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Also interesting is that Simons Gatineau will open about one year before Simons Rideau.

And if the rumors in the article are true, they'll be getting an H&M before the Rideau Centre too.

[J.OT13]

La Maison Simon and Promenade de Gatineau along with Retail Insider Article (our friend Acajack named as source for the article);

LA MAISON SIMONS TO OPEN 2ND OTTAWA-AREA STORE


La Maison Simons will open an 80,000 square foot store at Les Promenades Gatineau in suburban Ottawa. It's expected to open in the Spring of 2015, following the recently announced Simons at Ottawa's Rideau Centre. The Gatineau Simons will be part of a $110 million renovation/expansion of Les Promenades Gatineau that will see the mall modernized and improved.

According to La Presse, Peter Simons will be present at the mall to make an official announcement of the store's opening at about 10:00am on Monday, December 2nd. The mall's landlord, Oxford Properties, is also expected to provide further details on the mall's expansion. Rumour has it the mall will feature new H&M and Forever 21 stores.

We first reported on a possible Simons store location for Les Promenades Gatineau just over a year ago. After interviewing Peter Simons in September, we thought the deal was over. We can now say that this isn't the case and that Ottawa will eventually have two Simons store locations.

La Maison Simons is on an unprecedented nation-wide expansion that saw its first store outside of Quebec open at West Edmonton Mall in October 2012. It has subsequently announced future store locations in West Vancouver, and Downtown Ottawa. Further locations may open in Toronto and in Winnipeg, though nothing is confirmed for either cities.

http://www.retail-insider.com/2013/11/la-maison-simons-to-open-2nd-ottawa.html

[Acajack]

Articles en français about the Promenades Gatineau project announced yesterday. (Second one has some video that shows what the Maloney side will look like.)

To sum up:

Maison Simons
Forever 21
H&M
30 million dollars added to the existing 80 million refurbish budget
Demolition of stand-alone buildings along Maloney
20,000 more square feet of retail space
Government offices gone

http://www.lapresse.ca/le-droit/economie...-et-forever-21-debarquent-a-gatineau.php

http://www.journallarevue.com/Actualites...0/Des-Promenades-du-21e-siecle-en-2015/1

[YOWetal]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Articles en français about the Promenades Gatineau project announced yesterday. (Second one has some video that shows what the Maloney side will look like.)

To sum up:

Maison Simons
Forever 21
H&M
30 million dollars added to the existing 80 million refurbish budget
Demolition of stand-alone buildings along Maloney
20,000 more square feet of retail space
Government offices gone

http://www.lapresse.ca/le-droit/economie...-et-forever-21-debarquent-a-gatineau.php

http://www.journallarevue.com/Actualites...0/Des-Promenades-du-21e-siecle-en-2015/1

When all this is done it will end up as a decent mall. Interesting that all this is happening as Quebec has a higher sales tax than Ontario. From my house the this Costco and nearby Futureshop are closer than their Ottawa counterparts, but when making major purchases I now avoid Quebec and shop more in Ontario than I used to.

[bikegypsy]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Articles en français about the Promenades Gatineau project announced yesterday. (Second one has some video that shows what the Maloney side will look like.)

To sum up:

Maison Simons
Forever 21
H&M
30 million dollars added to the existing 80 million refurbish budget
Demolition of stand-alone buildings along Maloney
20,000 more square feet of retail space
Government offices gone

http://www.lapresse.ca/le-droit/economie...-et-forever-21-debarquent-a-gatineau.php

http://www.journallarevue.com/Actualites...0/Des-Promenades-du-21e-siecle-en-2015/1

Bravo! Voici ce qui va dramatiquement changer l'allure de ce centre commercial.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by YOWetal

When all this is done it will end up as a decent mall. Interesting that all this is happening as Quebec has a higher sales tax than Ontario. From my house the this Costco and nearby Futureshop are closer than their Ottawa counterparts, but when making major purchases I now avoid Quebec and shop more in Ontario than I used to.

You're right. The difference is now just under 2% but I never hear anyone mention it, regardless of which side of the river they are on.

It's also true that when buying big ticket items stores in either province may not charge you the provincial tax if delivered to the other side of the river. Of course you are supposed to pay your PST yourself to your province. Officially anyway.

[harls]

Originally Posted by YOWetal

When all this is done it will end up as a decent mall. Interesting that all this is happening as Quebec has a higher sales tax than Ontario. From my house the this Costco and nearby Futureshop are closer than their Ottawa counterparts, but when making major purchases I now avoid Quebec and shop more in Ontario than I used to.

I've bought my last two cars in Ontario for this reason... but for smaller purchases, it isn't worth it. There are many factors that come into play when Gatineau people shop at home.. language probably being the number one factor, followed by proximity. My wife loves Farm Boy, but will only go if we're already in the area for some other reason.. we won't make a special trip.

The Costco in Gatineau is a special place for many Ontarians. the answer starts with 'b' and ends in 'eer'.

[vanatox]

Originally Posted by YOWetal

When all this is done it will end up as a decent mall. Interesting that all this is happening as Quebec has a higher sales tax than Ontario. From my house the this Costco and nearby Futureshop are closer than their Ottawa counterparts, but when making major purchases I now avoid Quebec and shop more in Ontario than I used to.

Many people in Gatineau prefer shop on this side of the river than going to Ottawa. The difference in sale taxes is not enough to justify crossing the river.

Personnaly, I do most of my shopping in Laval, Montréal and in Gatineau. The shopping really sucks at the moment in the region. However, in a few years, I will probably shop more in Gatineau with the occasional visit at the Rideau Center since the shopping will be improved.

[vanatox]

Originally Posted by harls

I've bought my last two cars in Ontario for this reason... .

Car dealers in Gatineau are more open to reduce their price a bit than losing a potential client...

[eternallyme]

For electronics and similar purchases, there is an advantage in Quebec: no eco taxes (at least I believe there aren't any). Such is a big deal on TVs especially.

[waterloowarrior]

Originally Posted by eternallyme

For electronics and similar purchases, there is an advantage in Quebec: no eco taxes (at least I believe there aren't any). Such is a big deal on TVs especially.

every province but PEI and New Brunswick has this type of fee. The difference in Quebec is that it is included in the price. I wish a law was passed so all taxes are included in the price like in Europe and Asia.

http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/help/why-am-i-charged-an-environmental-handling-fee/hc8134.aspx

http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/help/how-is-...mental-fee-handled-in-quebec/hc8230.aspx

[Schattenjager]

Originally Posted by waterloowarrior

I wish a law was passed so all taxes are included in the price like in Europe and Asia.

I second that.

[harls]

Originally Posted by waterloowarrior

every province but PEI and New Brunswick has this type of fee. The difference in Quebec is that it is included in the price. I wish a law was passed so all taxes are included in the price like in Europe and Asia.

http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/help/why-am-i-charged-an-environmental-handling-fee/hc8134.aspx

http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/help/how-is-...mental-fee-handled-in-quebec/hc8230.aspx

Is it included in the price in Quebec? I got this flyer from Target just yesterday and they add the eco-fee.

edit - nm.. looks like they want to separate it to show you the amazing lower price you get..

[rocketphish]

Rural-affairs committee overrules planning advice to permit new John Deere dealership

By David Reevely, Ottawa Citizen December 5, 2013



OTTAWA — A rural road near Hwy. 7 is the perfect spot for a new John Deere dealership that’ll serve most of Eastern Ontario and the Pontiac, city council’s rural-affairs committee decided Thursday, overruling the advice of city planners who say otherwise.

The property at 130 David Manchester Rd. is isolated and a heavy-equipment showroom and repair shop is wrong for land that’s supposed to be kept for “rural countryside” uses, planner Laurel McCreight told the committee. It backs onto the highway just west of where it meets Hwy. 417, but the actual road serving it gives way to gravel right where the dealership would be located. The city has a 100-year supply of land designated for things like this elsewhere and rezoning the property will just lead to scattered, strip-oriented development of exactly the type Ottawa doesn’t want in its rural areas, McCreight said.

This is a special case, countered lawyer Janet Bradley, working for John Deere’s sales subsidiary Nortrax. As rural countryside it’s a rocky wasteland with not much on it but scrub. You couldn’t build a house on it or farm it. But it’s close to the highway and close to a scrapyard and a quarry, which is fine for a business whose products mostly come in and go out on heavy flatbed trucks.

“We have a use that’s perfect for the site. We have a site that’s perfect for the use,” she said. It will mean keeping a business in Ottawa that’s outgrown its current premises near Carp Road, and which brings in money from miles around. “It’s very good for Ottawa’s economy.”

The committee — which takes over rezoning responsibilities from city council’s planning committee in rural Ottawa — unanimously went with Bradley, though chairman Doug Thompson bent over backwards to say they weren’t disagreeing with McCreight’s judgment as a planner, only deciding that “putting a business where it needs to be” was more important.

[email protected]

ottawacitizen.com/greaterottawa
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/business/Ru...lanning+advice+permit/9252604/story.html

[eternallyme]

Originally Posted by rocketphish

Rural-affairs committee overrules planning advice to permit new John Deere dealership

By David Reevely, Ottawa Citizen December 5, 2013



OTTAWA — A rural road near Hwy. 7 is the perfect spot for a new John Deere dealership that’ll serve most of Eastern Ontario and the Pontiac, city council’s rural-affairs committee decided Thursday, overruling the advice of city planners who say otherwise.

The property at 130 David Manchester Rd. is isolated and a heavy-equipment showroom and repair shop is wrong for land that’s supposed to be kept for “rural countryside” uses, planner Laurel McCreight told the committee. It backs onto the highway just west of where it meets Hwy. 417, but the actual road serving it gives way to gravel right where the dealership would be located. The city has a 100-year supply of land designated for things like this elsewhere and rezoning the property will just lead to scattered, strip-oriented development of exactly the type Ottawa doesn’t want in its rural areas, McCreight said.

This is a special case, countered lawyer Janet Bradley, working for John Deere’s sales subsidiary Nortrax. As rural countryside it’s a rocky wasteland with not much on it but scrub. You couldn’t build a house on it or farm it. But it’s close to the highway and close to a scrapyard and a quarry, which is fine for a business whose products mostly come in and go out on heavy flatbed trucks.

“We have a use that’s perfect for the site. We have a site that’s perfect for the use,” she said. It will mean keeping a business in Ottawa that’s outgrown its current premises near Carp Road, and which brings in money from miles around. “It’s very good for Ottawa’s economy.”

The committee — which takes over rezoning responsibilities from city council’s planning committee in rural Ottawa — unanimously went with Bradley, though chairman Doug Thompson bent over backwards to say they weren’t disagreeing with McCreight’s judgment as a planner, only deciding that “putting a business where it needs to be” was more important.

[email protected]

ottawacitizen.com/greaterottawa
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/business/Ru...lanning+advice+permit/9252604/story.html

If it weren't built there, it would more likely be built across the line closer to Carleton Place, somewhere like Appleton Road. That would be about 15-20 km farther away.

[waterloowarrior]

Giant Tiger no longer looking for an outside buyer
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/business/Giant+Tiger+drops+plan+sell+chain/9278791/story.html