Canadian Retail Thread

[manny_santos]

Originally Posted by yaletown_fella

Starbucks used to have a lot more exclusivity 10-20 years ago. It used to be frequented by Oakville venture capital types and a couple of reserved introverted students on their laptops. Nowadays, it's more downmarket hipsters, hobos, and pickup trucks lined up in the drive thru.

Starbucks was already heading in that direction over 10 years ago. I remember the one at Dundas & Richmond in London was already sketchy AF in 2009. Not as bad as the McDonald’s across the street, but it had characters. I also went to one in Manhattan around that time, it was even worse with the restroom being used by a homeless person sponge bathing himself.

[Djeffery]

Originally Posted by Doady

I found a record store near my house a few years ago, a Sunrise Records. I thought they were all gone. Square One used to have Music World, Sunrise, Sam the Record Man, HMV, but now it has none. Sunrise is in a different mall. CDs I bought there so far are Love Junk deluxe, a couple of Stereolab deluxe editions, and a few ECM, maybe more.

Up until then, I had been buying CDs from Amazon, except for some out of print on Discogs or direct from artists on Bandcamp. Annoying thing about Sunrise is they don't do special orders. Some box sets I want are in their database, but my only option is to import them from overseas.

The owner of Sunrise is the guy that rescued Toys R Us from it's most recent pile of ashes, and is also opening up Rooms and Spaces stores in many former Bed Bath and Beyond locations. He also expanded Sunrise into many former HMV locations several years ago.

[niwell]

I have no idea how Sunrise records makes a go of it. My only guess is securing cheap leases and primarily selling overstock including lots of merch. Which would track for their locations - there used to be a couple on Yonge but now it's all suburban. Also that they don't do special orders.

Still plenty of actual record stores in central Toronto (and other cities) that seem to do decent business. Having friends in the music industry I can confirm that vinyl is the primary physical medium for most smaller (and some larger) bands, though not cheap even post-vinyl scarcity. Most money is made from digital sales, merch and touring. Some bands still do small runs of cds - which is cheap, though actually less-so than previously due to the fact jewel cases aren't mass-manufactured anymore. Also a niche market for cassette tapes, which again, no longer cheap and mostly sold for the aesthetic.

[cslusarc]

ZELLERS TO EXPAND STORE FOOTPRINT ACROSS CANADA (Press release: 23 May, 2023, 06:00 ET)

TORONTO, May 23, 2023 /CNW/ - Hudson's Bay today announces the expansion of its iconic Zellers brand across Canada, increasing the store's footprint in cities across the country. The expansion is also marked by further investment in the operating business at large via significant liquidity to enhance the company's offerings.

With the launch of its first e-commerce site and select stores within Hudson's Bay earlier this year, Zellers is now setting its sights on its next locations. Initially through a series of pop-up boutiques within Hudson's Bay stores, Zellers intends to open larger footprint stores in some or all of those same locations. The first pop-up will launch at Hudson's Bay's flagship Queen Street store in June, with up to an additional 20 pop-ups expected to open in August. These pop-ups will effectively measure customer response in each market to determine the best fits for the Zellers store experience.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by yaletown_fella

Starbucks used to have a lot more exclusivity 10-20 years ago. It used to be frequented by Oakville venture capital types and a couple of reserved introverted students on their laptops. Nowadays, it's more downmarket hipsters, hobos, and pickup trucks lined up in the drive thru.

The fact that they have a lot of drive throughs says it all really. They aren't down market in terms of cost.

[Wigs]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

The fact that they have a lot of drive throughs says it all really. They aren't down market in terms of cost.

Tell me about it. When my cousin is hanging out with me she requests a Starbucks pickup and orders some "white girl" concoction that ends up costing around $8

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by Wigs

Tell me about it. When my cousin is hanging out with me she requests a Starbucks pickup and orders some "white girl" concoction that ends up costing around $8

Don't worry though it has enough calories to satisfy your daily intake. Good value.

[cslusarc]

Retail Insider reports that RONA will begin to rebrand 10 Lowe's stores in Ontario to the new RONA+ banner in July.

[cranes]

https://www.therecord.com/news/water...dc19fe54c.html

Primaris Real Estate Investment Trust acquires interest in Conestoga Mall for $270 million
Group says property holds potential for future infill development
Paige Desmond Record Reporter June 30, 2023

Primaris Real Estate Investment Firm has acquired interest in Waterloo’s Conestoga Mall for $270 million in a deal announced earlier this month.
...
“Conestoga Mall is among the top 15 most productive malls in Canada and will be highly accretive to Primaris’ overall portfolio quality,” says Primaris president and chief operating officer, Patrick Sullivan.
...
The mall currently occupies almost 50 acres of land in North Waterloo. The 45-year-old mall is 94 per cent occupied and covers about 31 per cent of the total property. That leaves the potential for future infill development, Primaris said...

[WhipperSnapper]

so Mark's is called L'eqiupeur in Quebec

[SpongeG]

are Walmarts across Canada changing their hours?
recently many of the Lower Mainland Walmart stores have changed their hours and now close at 10 pm, pre-covid most were open until 12, then covid happened and they closed up 8 or 9 and finally went back to 11 pm, and now they have reduced back to 10.

[casper]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

are Walmarts across Canada changing their hours?
recently many of the Lower Mainland Walmart stores have changed their hours and now close at 10 pm, pre-covid most were open until 12, then covid happened and they closed up 8 or 9 and finally went back to 11 pm, and now they have reduced back to 10.

A lot of the retailers on the island are doing the same. Everyone is running into problem of not being able to hire enough staff. Joys of staff shortages.

There use to be some Thrifty foods that 24hour stores. They have all cutback hours.

[casper]

Originally Posted by cslusarc

ZELLERS TO EXPAND STORE FOOTPRINT ACROSS CANADA (Press release: 23 May, 2023, 06:00 ET)

We are finally getting Zellers back on Vancouver Island on Aug 11st.

What is interesting is they are saying the "store in a store" concept is to test the market and see what makes sense for the next step.

There is a former site of Home Outfitters in Victoria that is vacant and would be the idea site for a standalone Zellers. Lets hope the concept pans out.

https://www.timescolonist.com/busine...stores-7294644

[Loco101]

Originally Posted by WhipperSnapper

so Mark's is called L'eqiupeur in Quebec

That is correct.

[Loco101]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

are Walmarts across Canada changing their hours?
recently many of the Lower Mainland Walmart stores have changed their hours and now close at 10 pm, pre-covid most were open until 12, then covid happened and they closed up 8 or 9 and finally went back to 11 pm, and now they have reduced back to 10.

Most if not all Walmart stores across Canada and the U.S. are closing earlier than they used to.

Our Timmins location used to be open until 11pm every day but now it is 10pm.

I was at a few locations in a few states that now close at 11pm but used to close at midnight.

I am not aware of any 24 hour locations today in either country like there used to be pre-pandemic. Are there any 24 hour grocery stores today anywhere in North America anymore?

[theman23]

Winco is 24 hours and QFC closes at 1am.

[Ozabald]

Originally Posted by Loco101

Most if not all Walmart stores across Canada and the U.S. are closing earlier than they used to.

Our Timmins location used to be open until 11pm every day but now it is 10pm.

I was at a few locations in a few states that now close at 11pm but used to close at midnight.

I am not aware of any 24 hour locations today in either country like there used to be pre-pandemic. Are there any 24 hour grocery stores today anywhere in North America anymore?

I believe Sobeys (Ropewalk Lane) in St. John's is 24hr.

[Loco101]

Thanks for the responses. I looked up Winco and most of their locations are 24 hours but not all. I've never been to one and see that they are mainly in Western states.

And the St John's NL Sobeys location does appear to be 24 hours. That is interesting and strange that it seems to be the only one in Canada. With all of the labour shortages and increased shoplifting in so many places it really stands out.

[urbandreamer]

There's a Rabba 5 minutes from my apartment that's 24 hours.

Walmart in Waterloo closes at 11pm.

[esquire]

I find that big box store hours are constantly changing with the labour market. At one point many were staying open later and even tinkered with 24 hours, then scaled it back. COVID really did a number on store hours and for the longest time stores were closing early. Hell, even last summer the Best Buy around me was closing at 6 pm, I'm not sure if they've stretched it out since then. But it has become unpredictable in recent years, I find I'm always having to google store hours before going anywhere.