The Metro Vancouver Retail Thread

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by s211

?????

Scene seems pretty ultra-niche. There has to be a hundred Air Mile cards for each Scene card. What am I missing?

Sobeys became part (one third?) owner of the Scene program
- so they will probably expand and build on it like Loblaws PC Optimum.

By me today.
Lululemon has the whole Robson frontage and appears to be abandoning its men's line (?):

[FarmerHaight]

Originally Posted by officedweller

appears to be abandoning its men's line (?):

Why would you think that?

[jollyburger]

Hi, Lorraine. It's Calvin. As you alluded, we're very happy with the overall growth in our men's business two-year CAGR of 31%. I'm sure you remember last year when heading into COVID, our men's business was leading growth over women's.

And then with the shutting of our stores and other shifts that were happening as a result, we saw that business slow both in the industry as well as with ourselves, even though we are putting on market share. And at the time, I sort of indicated that it would just be a matter of time, we didn't see anything systemic in our men's business that raised any concerns for us. And those scenarios played out. The stores opened, he came back into the store, which stores still remain a wonderful acquisition vehicle for us to get new men into the business and into the brand.

And it has just continued to gain momentum through each quarter and then with Q2 being sort of back at that great growth where we're going to double our business at the end of this year, two years early from when we started at the beginning of 2019. And when I look at the growth, it is balanced across all the categories, which is very healthy. There are obviously between bottoms and tops and shorts and outerwear and some of the accessories. You see a slight variance in growth, but overall, they're all double-digit, all very strong.

And it's a reflection of building deeper relationships with our existing guys and spending more and continuing to acquire and bring in a new male guest into the business, and we will share the role men's plays in our future growth plans early next year when we sort of reset but it continues to be very strong across all markets around the globe, it's driven both by current spending more and our acquisition of new guests.

https://www.fool.com/earnings/call-trans...thletica-lulu-q2-2021-earnings-call-tra/

[Denscity]

Originally Posted by FarmerHaight

Why would you think that?

Maybe because their signage is all women?

[FarmerHaight]

Originally Posted by Denscity

Maybe because their signage is all women?

And if that logic applied to some of Nike's television commercials one would assume they only want to sell shoes to BIPOC women.

They're just signs.

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by Denscity

Maybe because their signage is all women?

Moreso the big slogan 'MADE FOR WOMEN FIRST' all over the hoarding.

That's pretty much tantamount to sidelining their men's line.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by officedweller

Moreso the big slogan 'MADE FOR WOMEN FIRST' all over the hoarding.

That's pretty much tantamount to sidelining their men's line.

That's just their new footwear line, 'Made For Women First'.

[jlousa]

Originally Posted by whatnext

There's definitely no Down escalator on the 6th floor.

It's getting replaced, think it's the last of the old ones still in service. They've opened up the stairwell between floors on the Seymour side in the meantime, the staircase is huge.

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by Changing City

That's just their new footwear line, 'Made For Women First'.

Hah!
You can't tell that from across the street.

Originally Posted by jlousa

It's getting replaced, think it's the last of the old ones still in service. They've opened up the stairwell between floors on the Seymour side in the meantime, the staircase is huge.

I seem to remember those stairs from when you access the washrooms.
I imagine that there was a time when they were the primary means of accessing the floors.

[zahav]

The Bay downtown will probably not do many upgrades until the new store is built, but they are moving full steam ahead with the plans for that, so look for the new store to be much more accessible. The reduction of floors, along with the huge atrium (based on the renderings) looks to make it a much more open and inviting shopping experience. I think it will definitely be a big improvement

[svlt]

Originally Posted by officedweller

Moreso the big slogan 'MADE FOR WOMEN FIRST' all over the hoarding.

That's pretty much tantamount to sidelining their men's line.

Their men's line makes bank, would be a ludicrous business decision. Pretty lame marketing slogan though, man or woman.

[FarmerHaight]

Originally Posted by officedweller

Moreso the big slogan 'MADE FOR WOMEN FIRST' all over the hoarding.

That's pretty much tantamount to sidelining their men's line.

Are your man-feelings hurt? Your argument reminds me of those terrible conservatives who hear "black lives matter" and answer with "what about whites?"

lululemon will always prioritize their women's line no matter how many ABC pants or metaltech hoodies they sell to dudes. Women buy a lot more leggings and sports bras which, although far from lululemon's only products, will always be their bread and butter. There is nothing wrong with having a narrow primary market.

[osirisboy]

Omg can you relax bike lane. Lol

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by FarmerHaight

Are your man-feelings hurt? Your argument reminds me of those terrible conservatives who hear "black lives matter" and answer with "what about whites?"

lululemon will always prioritize their women's line no matter how many ABC pants or metaltech hoodies they sell to dudes. Women buy a lot more leggings and sports bras which, although far from lululemon's only products, will always be their bread and butter. There is nothing wrong with having a narrow primary market.

Nah, I don't shop there, but I thought it was counter to what everyone else raised - that they are trying to develop their men's line.

[FarmerHaight]

Originally Posted by officedweller

Nah, I don't shop there, but I thought it was counter to what everyone else raised - that they are trying to develop their men's line.

Despite their focus on growing their men's line their marketing has always remained women-centric.

And there are a few signs that they are happy with the growth of the men's line and will allow it to grow organically from here on out. For example, they cancelled the "I love you, man" discount which gave 40 percent off any purchase to the male family and friends of any store member, and the foothold the men's line has established in the market was cited as the reason why.

[memememe76]

As a running enthusiast, I have heard and read comments about the running industry being primarily male-driven, with women more as an afterthought. A footwear line devoted to women seems pretty innovative especially for a major retail brand? I don't know.

[LeftCoaster]

Originally Posted by officedweller

Nah, I don't shop there, but I thought it was counter to what everyone else raised - that they are trying to develop their men's line.

I thought it was odd too, they have been trying so hard to grow their men's line this ad campaign seems a bit contradictory... but a bit farcical for me to question their strategy, they clearly know what they're doing.

[teriyaki]

Originally Posted by memememe76

As a running enthusiast, I have heard and read comments about the running industry being primarily male-driven, with women more as an afterthought. A footwear line devoted to women seems pretty innovative especially for a major retail brand? I don't know.

Agreed. The sneakers industry in general has been pretty male-dominated. Think the usual suspects like Nike, Adidas, Underarmour. They primarily market to the male audience, with big sponsorships for make sports superstars etc and custom lines for Jordan, Curry, etc etc. Think Lululemon saw an opportunity in a very crowded market and took their shot.

[zahav]

The Canadian Retail thread was talking about Costco, and it got me wondering if Metro Van will get another Costco? It's had the same amount for a long time, despite increased population. I know the same is true for most cities, and Costco doesn't open new locations all the time, but I was thinking they might open one in South Surrey/Grandview area. I know there's one further up at King George and 74th Ave., but South Surrey is growing so much, and it's the most relatively isolated area, so would make sense there I think. Just not sure what Costco's criteria is for a new opening, there'd be a minimum catchment area population, and demographic make-up that their management sees as favourable. South Surrey to me would tick a lot of boxes, and could even deter shoppers from the Bellingham one. Anyways, just thought of it, and I wouldn't be surprised if it does. It could be in between that giant warehouse industrial district and the residential areas to the west, would seem a perfect spot

[hollywoodnorth]

Originally Posted by zahav

The Canadian Retail thread was talking about Costco, and it got me wondering if Metro Van will get another Costco? It's had the same amount for a long time, despite increased population. I know the same is true for most cities, and Costco doesn't open new locations all the time, but I was thinking they might open one in South Surrey/Grandview area. I know there's one further up at King George and 74th Ave., but South Surrey is growing so much, and it's the most relatively isolated area, so would make sense there I think. Just not sure what Costco's criteria is for a new opening, there'd be a minimum catchment area population, and demographic make-up that their management sees as favourable. South Surrey to me would tick a lot of boxes, and could even deter shoppers from the Bellingham one. Anyways, just thought of it, and I wouldn't be surprised if it does. It could be in between that giant warehouse industrial district and the residential areas to the west, would seem a perfect spot

they had land in South Surrey but never pulled the trigger. more here >>
https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/showthread.php?t=246159

and

https://www.reddit.com/r/SurreyBC/comments/ne0wyc/new_costco_in_south_surrey/