Quote:
Originally Posted by CoryB
Pretty sure Birks fully exited mall locations in Winnipeg and had no presence here for a time then some years later opened the now closed Main St location.
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Birks had a steady presence in Winnipeg always.
At 1 time, Birks, besides downtown since 1903... & was in nearly every Major mall...Unicity, Kildonan Place, St Vital, Polo Park... Due to a near bankruptcy issue, it had been sold & many locations were axed in the 90's..
The Birks Building on Portage avenue from 1903 - 1987, then moved to Portage Place main floor neat the Fountains Kennedy seen by the Street entrance...after about 10 years, closed it, that's the company struggled... then for a few years only Polo Park remained as it had for many years, which they then decided to move back downtown to 191 Lombard Avenue.
Yes, some of what made Birks famous for, when they had more location like the 70's thru 90's, they have abandoned. But they still on a smaller scale do business elsewhere. Winnipeg is a tough market. People with money that want luxury goods can not only buy online, often fly to other cities where they know there is a better selection.
High end stores now struggle here. unless A dollar store, low end, last years stock, discontinued, perceived bargain stores..Costco, G Tiger, Wally world.
For stores like Holt-Renfrew, Birks ect.. They, in any other city attract the downtown shopper, often business people & workers. Luxury goods do no longer have a large crowd in Manitoba. That is their base. Since there exists an apathy to shop downtown, even by some of the well to do, sometimes due to lack of safety, Those upscale retailers abandon Winnipeg totally. The thought is, if you can not make a go downtown, then that is not the city to do business in even if in a large city they have a suburban presence.
Most major Canadian cities also have a Harry Rosen downtown for example.