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Originally Posted by Hali87
2 reasons I don't think this is a very big deal:
Of the 29 Apple store locations in Canada listed on their website, it only looks like 2 of them are not in malls (and both are in Quebec). Even the stores in Toronto and Vancouver all seem to be in malls. So it's not really "very Halifax", it's just the business model that that company is used to. I'm fairly sure that most of their US stores are in malls too. Particularly in Halifax's case, this makes sense; if I'm going to buy expensive electronics (that are notoriously easy to damage) then I'd rather step out of the store into a climate controlled environment than somewhere where I could immediately get rained on (such as Spring Garden). For the record there were (possibly still are?) indie computer stores in the south end that specialized in Apple products before the actual Apple store moved into HSC, not sure if they're still around.
Other thing is that while HSC is a mall (not sure exactly how you'd define "commuter mall") it's not like it's way out in the suburbs or that no one lives around there or that it's hard to get to. It's basically at the edge of the inner city and is very accessible by transit (particularly from the peninsula/Clayton Park, which I would imagine is where the majority of its customers are from). If HSC was way out in Bedford or Fall River (which, in terms of proportionate distance, is where a lot of large NA malls are located relative to their city centres) then I'd see a reason to complain, but it's located in a location that's arguably more accessible to more people than SGR (in terms of total
travel time).
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I define a commuter mall as a mall that the vast majority of customers drive to, rather than walk or take public transit to. By Halifax standards, HSC is in the suburbs, and the vast majority of people drive there and park. This is radically different from Eaton Centre, for example. Nobody drives to Eaton Centre. You either walk to it, or kike most, take the TTC there.
Certainly, it could be worse. HSC is, at least, not far out in the middle of nowhere like Dartmouth Crossing or deep in the burbs like MicMacMall or Bedford, and it is very well connected to major transit routes. Yes.
By contrast, the Apple Toronto and Vancouver stores are in shopping centres, yes, but most importantly those malls are located right in the core of downtown. Vancouver's main Apple store is in the Pacific Centre and Toronto's at the Eaton Centre. In Ottawa, the flagship location is on Rideau, about 10 min walk from the Peace Tower. In Montreal, the flagship is located on Ste-Catherine, in the core. True, other places have Apple stores are not entirely in the city core, like Edmonton or Calgary or even London, ON.
My point, is that there is no "rule" about precise location. Suburban mall locations are certainly not the default norm. Sometimes Apple locates in the core, and sometimes in more suburban mall locations. And that Halifax would probably have to make the case, and maybe even provide incentives, for a more downtown location to be pursued. I just wonder if anyone tried. It's entirely possible Apple kept its plans entirely secret so that there would not have been any chance to make that case. But I find it hard to believe there would not have been any kind of outreach to different locations, including downtown, by Apple, to explore options.
So its not just about malls. If Apple had located at Park Lane, I'd be jumping for joy.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hali87
I'm also not really the type to care much about clothing labels so I don't really care which brands set up shop downtown. Although I do have a few friends who are very label-conscious, I would argue that it's actually a local cultural trait to reject major labels/designers in favour of owning something "different" - which is likely a contributing factor to the lack of things like J Crew downtown. I'd rather see independent retailers, local designers, and brands not really seen elsewhere in Canada (like Cintamani) than the semi-luxe brands that you could find in any American state.
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I hear this a lot, and I don't think it's true at all. Halifax doesn't have an inherent cultural bias against "labels", though hipsters and grumpy Boomers might want us to think so. In fact, head out to any of the many suburban malls, and those national/international labels are doing just fine. At HSC, they've been bringing in new major retailers all the time, because HSC has done a good job of investing/improving their shopping centre and aggressively courting major retailers.
The reason those retailers are not downtown, is because those retailers go where the young people and economic growth is located. We've had zero residential development downtown for 20+ years, leading to an extreme paucity of population and economic growth in the core too: with approx 80%+ or more growth in the burbs/exurbs and rural areas. We've let that happen. People are fighting back more now, pressing HRM on the RP, but there is still a lot more work to be done. And some of those retailers are popping up downtown too, but it's sparse.
A truly successful downtown will have mix of local/national/international options and businesses. H&M, for example, is not a "luxury" label. It's actually hugely popular for the very reason that it has made nicer designs more affordable for a wider segment of the population. You may prefer local options, which actually are often more costly, and that is fine. But that's not going to lead to a successful retail sector downtown, because most don't share that preference.