Canadian Retail Thread

[andyh]

I also am bewildered on why Tim Hortons is so popular! People apparently fall for those good feeling B.S. commercials exploiting (according to them) what Canada is about. How is it different from any large American chain? But I do agree that they do serve the best coffee.....for those that don't like the taste of coffee. I will support all the independent coffee shops as much as I can.

[SpongeG]

tims is popular cause it's cheap - a large coffee is what $1.63? or something?

you can get an edible sandwich for $2.99 or so

for me i like 7-11 donuts and hot chocolate - at least they are in abundance in vancouver

[brentwood]

Chinook Centre second downtown

Quote:

"No other major North American city I am aware of has its major indoor shopping mall within five kilometres of downtown. Imagine if the West Edmonton Mall was located on Whyte Avenue, or if Vancouver's Metro Town was located at South Granville or Commercial Drive."

Just to comment on the Chinook article further. White seems to have overlooked one of the cities closest to Calgary with this example...Vancouver. Oakridge Mall, pretty much the City of Vancouver's only large mall is at least as close to downtown as Chinook is, as well as being central to the city itself. Oh and by the way, Metro Town is in Burnaby, not Vancouver.

[waterloowarrior]

It's hard to be more central than Ottawa and Toronto's downtown malls... haha. Wouldn't Pacific Centre in Vancouver also count?

[MTLskyline]

I go to Tim's mostly out of convenience. They have an outlet inside practically every building at Concordia (all of which have long lines). Sure other chains are better (even McDonald's coffee isn't half bad...), but they tend to be a little less convenient and more pricey on average.

I find the same thing with Pizza Pizza. The Pizza is below average, but once again, it is convenient and inexpensive. What might cost you well over $10 for a personal sized pizza at Pizza Hut would cost only $6-7 at Pizza Pizza.

[andyh]

Yes it may be convenient and cheap but at what cost? Our country is turning into a generic waste dump of chains. People are getting fat eating two pieces of cheap pizza for the price of a quality "home" cooked meal from a mom a pop establishment.

[SpongeG]

CB2 Toronto

this is where they are opening...



image from their blog http://blog.cb2.com/page/3/

Most of us south of the border have never been but from the blogs and tweets we’ve read, boy did we miss out.

This past weekend, after more than 20 years of supporting Toronto’s goth, alternative, techno and heavy metal fans and local musicians with all-age shows, final acts performed then closed the legendary Big Bop.

....

rest at the blog...

[ErickMontreal]

Apple Store coming to Quebec City

Dee Zign
February 14, 2010




Rumored for a few months, two sources in the shopping center confirm Apple will soon announce the opening of a new Apple Store in Quebec, Canada at Place Ste-Foy.

Pierre Couture in "Le Soleil" newspaper (in French) said last month:

"(Quebec) Apple is seriously considering opening an Apple Store at Place Ste-Foy. At least two sources have confirmed to the Sun that intensive discussions had taken place in recent weeks between Apple and management of shopping boulevard Laurier. Thursday at Apple Canada lips were sealed. "We do not comment on rumors", said a spokesman for the company. In Place Ste-Foy, management would not comment on the content of discussions with Apple. "We are always looking to attract new renowned tenants," said the CEO of mall, Donald Larose. "

I went about investigating on my own and have been able to confirm from two persons working at Place Ste-Foy that Apple will indeed open a new store there, strengthening its position as a leader in Canada with this new store in Québec's capital.
_________________________________________________________________

Urban Outfitters will set up shop in downtown Québec



Avec une superficie de 10 000 pieds carrés, Urban Outfitters s'installera au 509, rue Saint-Joseph Est. Fondé en 1970 à Philadelphie, ce magasin a su se démarquer en offrant des vêtements originaux et avant-gardistes destinés à une clientèle au style urbain. On y retrouvera également des souliers, des bijoux et des accessoires pour la maison. La boutique sera inaugurée à l'été prochain.

_________________________________________________________________

Remodeling/expansion work on Simons flagship store is almost completed





With a vast expansion project underway until 2010, Place Ste-Foy is thinking big, to offer you an even more exceptional shopping experience.

With the addition of some 9,000 square feet in leased premises, as well as a new 600-space underground parking to open in 2008, Simons is expanding (its size will double) which will make it the flagship store of the chain in the province of Quebec.
_________________________________________________________________


Galerie de la Capitale is experiencing expansion



Galerie de la Capitale is now working on adding 160,000 sq feet, Best Buy, Sport Expert/Atmosphere and Toys "R" Us will be among the new tenants moving in. Once the expansion is complete next year it will grab the fifth spot of largest the center in Canada.

[SpongeG]

Lamborghini opens clothing boutique in B.C.

Only three stores in the world

By Steve Mertl, THE CANADIAN PRESS

RICHMOND, B.C. — They say when you’ve got it, flaunt it, and it’s hard to flaunt any harder than tooling down your street in a Lamborghini, the cheapest of which retails for around $200,000.

But what if you don’t have it and you still want to flaunt it?

Well, you can drive your Toyota Corolla to the Automobili Lamborghini Boutique in Richmond, B.C., and buy yourself a Lamborghini jacket, or a hoodie, or maybe just a coffee mug.

The purveyor of ultra-exclusive, outrageously styled exotic cars has opened only its third retail shop in the world in this Vancouver suburb — the others are in Beijing and Los Angeles.

The store in Richmond’s upscale Aberdeen Centre has its grand opening Saturday night, highlighted by a parade of Lamborghinis to the mall and then a fashion show displaying its “collezione” of Italian-designed sporty clothes carrying Lambo’s trademark Spanish fighting bull logo.

In the last three years company officials have discovered what other ultra-luxury automakers such as arch-rival Ferrari have known for some time: a lot of people want to identify themselves, even in a small way, with la dolce vita.

“If you’re a luxury brand there is always the opportunity to sell even outside the core business,” says Stephan Winkelmann, president of Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A., in town for the store’s grand opening.

“As long as this is giving additional profit and it’s not diluting the brand, it’s a must-do because a luxury brand always has a limited opportunity to grow, because a luxury business is always to produce less than demand.”

Lamborghini, headquartered in Sant’Agata Bolognese, sells on average about 2,000 cars a year. Last year it was down to just over 1,200, 38 of which were sold in Canada.

In a good year the company sells about 70 cars in Canada, according to Winkelmann, who moved to Lamborghini five years ago from FIAT, the Italian auto giant that owns Ferrari.

The doorstop-shaped Lamborghini Gallardo, whose 560-horsepower V-10 engine rockets the two-seater to 100 kilometres an hour in 3.7 seconds, starts at around $198,000. The Murcielago — 12 cylinders, up to 670 hp, half a second faster to 100 km/h — starts at around $350,000.

Dream cars, to be sure. That’s what the clothes and trinkets are about, too, says Winkelmann.

“It’s all about emotions; it’s about fulfilling dreams and we have even the duty to do something to let the people feel part of this world of Lamborghini,” he says. “There’s at most a few brands that have this opportunity and we are among them.”

Store owner Asgar Virji, who holds the franchise for Lamborghini cars in Western Canada, calls the clothing line edgy and extreme.

Really, it’s somewhere to the right of skateboarder couture, more Euro-sleek than in your face.

But the context is really the cars. In the world of Italian exotics, Lamborghini was always the brash upstart.

...


http://www.torontosun.com/news/canad.../13878526.html

[MolsonExport]

Originally Posted by kirjtc2

I don't get it either. It's bland crap people get almost out of blind patriotism. McDonald's has them beat by far on both the breakfast sandwich and coffee front. Even Dunkin has better donuts, but Tim's put the one here right out of business.

If you want to support a decent Canadian coffee chain....go to Second Cup.

People love the lineups. Must be. The lineups at Rim Whoreton's are legendary. Yet, the food is truly crap. Wow, look now the sandwich bread is no longer hard as a tin can!


Fuck, as deNiro says in Raging Bull (to his first wife, about the lousy cooking and why does he eat it then?) : "I've got no choice!"

• Video Link

Seriously, aside from Fourbucks, where the hell can you get coffee in Ontario? Yes, I know about independents, but Christ, I can't always drive 10 km's out of my way when I need a cup.

[SteelTown]

Williams, Van Houtte, Second Cup and independents.

Williams have been popping all over this City lately. There's now more of Williams compared to Tim Hortons at McMaster University. Five Williams, three Tim Horons and one Van Houttee on campus.

[Calgarian]

I actually like Timmys food, their coffee is shite, but the soup and sandwiches are pretty decent and are very reasonable priced.

For coffee, I like the local chain Good Earth, they have pretty good coffee and it's priced about the same as starbucks. Second Cup is also pretty good, though there aren't too many of them around downtown Calgary, we have a starbucks on almost every block, but only 3 or 4 Second Cups that I can think of.

[Coldrsx]

^so so many better places for sandwiches though... and yes their coffee is shiet.

[Calgarian]

Originally Posted by Coldrsx

^so so many better places for sandwiches though... and yes their coffee is shiet.

Pretty much any deli has Timmys in their back pocket, but like I said, it's still decent.

[SteelTown]

For a salad at Williams it's like $5.00 for a little plastic tray. Pricey.

But Williams coffee is the same price as Tim Hortons, $1.52 for a large coffee.

[SpongeG]

Canadian Tire revs up presence on race car circuit, renews focus on auto business

By Sunny Freeman, The Canadian Press

TORONTO - Canadian Tire Corp. says it is revving up its presence on the auto racing circuit as part of its renewed focus on driving growth in its core automotive business.

"Automotive is the cornerstone of our business and now we're going to act it," Canadian Tire's (TSX: CTC-A.TO) president and CEO Stephen Wetmore told the company's annual meeting Thursday in Toronto after it reported relatively flat first quarter earnings.

"Racing fans, you should also take notice as we return to prominence in Formula One, NASCAR, and Indy racing over the coming months," he added.

Wetmore said the affiliation with auto racing is key to showing customers that Canadian Tire is an authority in the automotive business.

"If you're in automotive, you're in automotive, and therefore you have to be in the racing game," Wetmore added.

The chain already sponsors a NASCAR race, but is interested in embarking on sponsorship or other partnerships in more types of racing in order to make the affiliation between Canadian Tire and autos top of mind to consumers.

The Toronto-based retailer said more details on its plan to increase its presence on the circuit will be revealed in the coming months.

"The more we look at automotive, the more opportunity we see," he said. "In 2011, we will fundamentally change the customer experience in our customer auto centre."

Canadian Tire is investing in one of its largest information technology upgrades in order to streamline how the company orders and moves auto parts and improve customer service. It has already embarked on reorganization, which has resulted in a doubling of the assortment of parts it offers.

"The goal is to always say Yes to a customer request," Wetmore added.

The company saw little change in its first-quarter profits as sales at its flagship hardware and auto parts stores merely edged ahead as an economic recovery slowly chugs into gear, though it is optimistic that consumer spending will pick up in the spring.

The iconic retailer reported Thursday net earnings or had $49.4 million or 61 cents per share, virtually unchanged from the same time last year. Operating revenue improved slightly, rising about four per cent to $1.8 billion.

Consolidated retail sales rose 5.7 per cent to $1.89 billion, with sales at its Canadian Tire retail outlets up 2.1 per cent, while sales at the Mark's brand clothing division were up 3.8 per cent and the company's gas bars increased sales by 19.5 per cent on higher oil prices.

"We saw positive trends return to all our businesses... however there are still several quarters to go until we see a top-line increase in sales that is satisfying to me," Wetmore said.

The chain's financial services business charged ahead with growth of 41.8 per cent over last year, a performance that stood out in the quarter because it is most tied to shifts in the economy and consumer spending, Wetmore said. The business is now looking at introducing new products, including extended payment plans, instant credit and warranties and insurance.

"Market conditions over the past 18 months have demonstrated that we cannot and should not primarily rely on financial services or Mark's to drive growth," he said, adding that the core retail chain was the core to ensuring growth.

He said the chain plans to focus on "customer-centric" retailing to transform the way the company does business.

"The opportunities are there for us to capture, now it's all about staying on course," Wetmore said, adding that he is confident the store can achieve it's goal of up to 10 per cent growth over the next five years.

Wetmore said the chain will introduce is much-anticipated loyalty program—that he promises won't do away with the popular Canadian Tire money— in early 2011.

Canadian Tire said its adjusted earnings before taxes were up 13 per cent in the quarter at $74.7 million or 63 cents per share, factoring out the impact of a tax gain in the first quarter of 2009 related to capital gains resulting from the sale of its shares in MasterCard in 2006 and 2007.

...

http://ca.news.finance.yahoo.com/s/1...it-renews.html

[SpongeG]

Tim Hortons coffee prices could hold steady on good crop, says CEO

By David Friend, The Canadian Press

TORONTO - Tim Hortons Inc. (TSX: THI.TO) chief executive Don Schroeder is optimistic that a good year for Columbian coffee crops could mean the price of your morning cup of joe will hold steady for the foreseeable future.

While the head of Canada's iconic coffee and doughnut chain didn't make any promises about holding back from price increases, he did provide a glimpse of a brighter future for coffee lovers who were burned last year when a smaller crop and bad weather helped raise the price of a cup of coffee.

"We see this year there should be some relief by the time we get into the third and certainly the fourth quarter of this year," Schroeder said in an interview Thursday.

"Brazil has just started harvesting what is likely to be a record size crop. As that starts to hit the market, it's going to ease the pressure... on the overall price of coffee."

He added: "Our hope is that the price of coffee to our store owners will be able to keep stable."

Schroeder noted that other factors also influence the price of a cup of coffee, such as operating costs at its franchised locations. However, he noted, the industry has reached a calmer period compared with a year ago when the economy was particularly shaky.

"Last year, because there was so much uncertainty, we were reviewing the (pricing) situation almost on a monthly basis," he said.

"Normally we would do it once a year. Last year we were looking at it on a regular basis just to keep up with the changes that were happening out there. The hope is that we won't have to look at it again until later this year."

The outlook came as Tim Hortons served up a $78.9-million first-quarter profit for its investors in the first three months of this year — up 18.7 per cent from last year from $66.4 million. On a per-share basis, diluted earnings rose to 45 cents from 37 cents.

The company said its revenue was up 4.8 per cent, rising to $582.6 million including franchise fees, rents and royalties.

Schroeder told investors in a conference call that new products on its menu and stronger promotions contributed to the higher results.

Same-store sales growth, sales at locations that have been open for at least a year, were up 5.2 per cent for the quarter in Canada, which he said was the best quarterly growth in the country since the second quarter of 2008.

In the U.S., same store sales were up three per cent.

...

http://ca.news.finance.yahoo.com/s/1...good-crop.html

[Locked In]

Luxury storefronts at rock-bottom prices

Compared to Paris, New York, even Athens, Canada’s best retail spaces come cheap


Pedestrians walk past the Versace store on Fifth Avenue in New York.

Steve Ladurantaye
Globe and Mail Update Published on Monday, Jun. 07, 2010 10:43AM EDT Last updated on Monday, Jun. 07, 2010 10:49AM EDT

Rents for prime retail space in Canada’s swankiest fashion districts may seem high by Canadian standards, but the most expensive storefronts in the country are still being rented at bargain-basement prices compared to other global centres.

Montreal’s Saint Catherine Street and Toronto’s Bloor Street districts were the priciest in the country, with average lease rates at $294.12 (U.S.) a square foot. The cost of space placed the cities in a tie for 32nd place in the world, sandwiched between Honolulu and Amsterdam.

Globally, space along the Champs Élysées in Paris was the most expensive at $1,255.90 a square foot. New York’s Fifth Avenue, Hong Kong’s Russell Street and London’s Bond Street all saw rents higher than $1,100 a square foot.

“Regardless of what is happening in suburban shopping malls and on secondary streets, there’ll be strong demand for the number one retail street in most markets,” said Jim Smerdon, director of retail and strategic planning with Colliers International, which did the survey.

“When you look at who the retailers are on these streets in Canada, for the most part they’re many of the same stores we see in regional shopping centers, but with a higher volume of sales and in high street locations, they are willing to pay significantly more rent to be there.”

Vancouver’s Robson Street sat in 51st place, at $196.08. Other Canadian sites included Calgary’s 17th Avenue SW ($73.53), Edmonton’ downtown ($44.12), Halifax’s Spring Garden Road ($49.02), Ottawa’s Byward Market ($49.02), Saskatoon’s 21st Street E. ($27.45) and Victoria’s Government Street ($10.77).

Toronto and Halifax were the only Canadian markets to see prices rise in Canadian dollar terms, 7.14 per cent 5.26 per cent respectively. Calgary’s rents dropped 25 per cent, Vancouver pulled back 16.67 per cent and Victoria’s rents fell 10.77 per cent.

The other cities saw no change.

Source: Globe and Mail

[CondoKing]

Originally Posted by miketoronto

Why did Calgary allow such a large regional mall so close to it's downtown core? Did they not know it would suck the life right out of Stephen Ave?

While downtown Calgary still has a healthy retail area, with something like 1,000 shops and services(one of the largest downtown retail areas in North America), there is no doubt that Chinook Centre has really hurt the downtown core. And the fact aht high profile stores like Tiffany's opened in Chinook Centre instead of downtown, really shows the damage Chinook Centre has done to downtown.
Although downtown does have holts

But it really is a shame that a mall has become the centre of Calgary.
According to this author I guese the legendary retail/hanging out places in Canadian cities will look like this

Toronto: Bloor Street
Montreal: St. Catharine Street
Vancouver: Robison Street
Calgary: Chinook Centre

I agree with the article, that the best thing Toronto ever did was build its largest mall downtown. That really helped draw in everyone, and help leep the central core a shopping mecca.

Does downtown Calgary even get crowds of people on Stephen Ave on weekends, where it feels like you are strolling in a big city? Because even one of my professors was just saying how he found downtown Calgary very dead on weekends.

It gets cold during the winter months. Lets face it we would most likely choose shoping indoors while its like -35C. There is a good mixture of street shoping; Stephen Aveune, 17th, and Kensignton village? Its really up to the us the consumers to pick our shopping desentations.

[Coldrsx]

"Lets face it we would most likely choose shoping indoors while its like -1C"

Corrected