The Metro Vancouver Retail Thread

[dreambrother808]

Is this move towards the higher end working out for the Bay?

Someone I know who works there said that these more expensive items aren't selling very well.

[whatnext]

Did I see a For Lease sign on the Edward Chapmans on Pender? If so, there goes another Vancouver institution.

[SpongeG]

Originally Posted by dreambrother808

Is this move towards the higher end working out for the Bay?

Someone I know who works there said that these more expensive items aren't selling very well.

it was pretty busy when i was down there during a weekday and i've noticed weekends are a lot busier than they used to be, the alexander mcqueen stuff they had seems to sell well - the rack is always thinning out when i see it which isn't too often and that stuff aint cheap

[Van23H]

reported on the canadian retail thread an article that syas we can expect an announcement of the Zellers stores that are to be converted to Targets! I wonder if they will let go of the Oakridge centre one in order to let the high end departments stores in? Nordstrom announced on May 12 they have been looking high and low for space in Vancouver and Toronto. THe oakridge zellers space at 80,000 sqft is almost the perfect size with a small two level expansion for nordstrom! Holt renfrew also could be a contender as they have been rumoured to be looking around and have looked at Oakridge in the past! Has anyone heard any rumours of late on high end stores opening in Vancouver? Prada? Miu Miu? Mont Blanc? Expansions?

[dreambrother808]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

it was pretty busy when i was down there during a weekday and i've noticed weekends are a lot busier than they used to be, the alexander mcqueen stuff they had seems to sell well - the rack is always thinning out when i see it which isn't too often and that stuff aint cheap

That's good to know. My friend isn't the smartest person in the world so I wanted another opinion.

[SpongeG]

Originally Posted by Van23H

reported on the canadian retail thread an article that syas we can expect an announcement of the Zellers stores that are to be converted to Targets! I wonder if they will let go of the Oakridge centre one in order to let the high end departments stores in? Nordstrom announced on May 12 they have been looking high and low for space in Vancouver and Toronto. THe oakridge zellers space at 80,000 sqft is almost the perfect size with a small two level expansion for nordstrom! Holt renfrew also could be a contender as they have been rumoured to be looking around and have looked at Oakridge in the past! Has anyone heard any rumours of late on high end stores opening in Vancouver? Prada? Miu Miu? Mont Blanc? Expansions?

yeah i don't think oakridge is a store target would want - metrotown is probably close enough and i wonder if they would make brentwood and metrotown into target or just choose one

[Van23H]

If target doesnt pick it then that would be great news for oakridge centre to get a high end department store would really help them. I dont like the fact that Richmond centre is starting to go higher end because Oakridge centre is meant to be the premier high end mall outside of the the downtown. oakridge should have gotten the zara.

[BCPhil]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

yeah i don't think oakridge is a store target would want - metrotown is probably close enough and i wonder if they would make brentwood and metrotown into target or just choose one

I think Target would ditch their Oakridge location. They could probably make more money off subleasing that space rather than moving in.

Metrotown could go either way. It is a big space, but it needs a lot of work, and never seems to do well except at Christmas, but would be a huge draw to a more upscale department store. The clientele in Metrotown is moving more and more upscale, and the Sear and Bay just haven't moved up with them, so a Nordstrums would probably clean up. I could even see Holt wanting to move in there (and Metrotown doing anything to make that happen).

For Target, my money is on the Zellers at Central City in Surrey becoming the first Target. The mall is pretty busy at times, without that much competition in the immediate area. There is no Bay or Sears in the mall, and the Winners crowd would shop at Target too. It is probably the safest location to move a Target to in BC. It will be competing with 2 Walmart stores, but the area already overcrowds those 2 stores so there is room for more competition in that sector, and you can't beat the proximity to Transit.

The other safe bet is Lansdowne. It too seems to be custom made for a Target (Lansdowne and Central City are almost mirror images in terms of stores IMO). In addition, the locations at Brentwood, Coquitlam Center, and Willowbrook have potential. There are enough opportunities for Target with those Zellers locations that I think it would be in their interests to unload the Oakridge and Metrotown locations for the cash they would get. The location on Scott Road could also be interesting if they put in a more home items focused Target.

[SpikePhanta]

The thing with the Zellers in metrotown is that nobody visits it because it's a dump, it still has a good chunk of people in the stores in any given time. And the old people around the area shops there lol. Remember the reason why Metrotown is successful is because they have a great verity for almost all demographics.

I think Target could do well in the Metrotown store because there would be no competition in South Burnaby and South Van(if they unload oakridge) except with possible Big bend big boxes and Marine Bigboxes in Van.

[Rusty Gull]

How about the Zellers in Lynn Valley? The demographic is right (middle class families) and the mall (Lynn Valley Centre) is either busy or an absolute gong show. Plus, that part of the North Shore is not served by a Wal-mart.

[SpongeG]

that store seems kinda small but i guess it is the only zellers on the north shore

I personally would rather see brentwood get the target and metrotwn one become something else like kohls, jc penny or even nordstrom - all said to enter Canada

and than have target construct a new store in the river bend area on marine way

[Spork]

The Zellers in Semiahmoo mall in White Rock has been confirmed to be becoming a Target. I know somebody who works there in some capacity and also says that they will be taking the space of a few more stores (who have expiring leases or have been persuaded to move) to add some additional square footage.

[GeeCee]

I think the Coquitlam Centre Zellers is a pretty safe bet. It's relatively newer, especially compared to the Brentwood Mall location which is quite small, plus it's two floors which is problematic for groceries.. but we've talked about that previously.

[vancityrox]

Got word that Pinkberry is opening in July at Park Royal, August at Metrotown and December for Richmond.

They are trying to find a place on Granville or Robson street for Pinkberry as well. Preferably Granville.

[Overground]

Separately, the company is stepping up its efforts to expand its footprint beyond the United States. Blake Nordstrom said it has been looking in Canada, including Toronto and Vancouver, for new store sites, but finding "the right locations is a challenge."

"There isn't the building or the space," he said. "Hopefully a year from now, we'll have something to announce."

from 11 May - http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/htm...rdstrom12.html

[trofirhen]

Originally Posted by Conrad Yablonski

My experience is that the smell of diesel limits one social options -YMMV.

What does YMMV mean?

[paradigm4]

Originally Posted by trofirhen

What does YMMV mean?

UrbanDictionary is your friend

Your mileage may vary

[SpongeG]

its weird to see the esprit store sitting empty on robson - usually when a store closes a new store has already leased it but its not leased yet

the new footlocker is open and the old foot locker further west looked open too last night at least all the signage was up still didn't look inside to see if it was empty or not

[SpongeG]

HMV in lougheed town centre is closing down - sale on now

adding to the empty spaces in that mall - its not too bad but its certainly not turning the empty spaces around

[SpongeG]

found this from the ottawa retail thread - target closings and openings - this is not the official list however but from an analyst of sorts

there will be a number of closures in smaller places like dawson creek and port alberni etc.

if this is anything to go by it seems like all greater vancouver zellers will become targets

http://www.salesisnotsimple.com/uploads/targetfinal.pdf