General Retail News

[kevinbottawa]

Originally Posted by c_speed3108

The mall action in the city seems to be heating up...

It'll be interesting to see what they build on that site on Nicholas between the Mackenzie Bridge and Daly. I think that's the land next to Sears across from the Arts Court. More development would be good for that area. I don't know if I'd prefer a high-end hotel like they mentioned or more retail. With St. Laurent Centre becoming the 10th largest mall in the country and probably the nicest in the capital region they have to do something spectacular.

[c_speed3108]

Big day for retail news!

First off Target has bought all of Zeller's 220 stores leases.

100-150 will become Target and the remainder will hit the auction block.

Target to buy Zellers for $1.8 billion


Postmedia News January 13, 2011 10:01 AM



Target Corp. said Thursday it is buying Zellers Inc., a subsidiary of the Hudson's Bay Company, for $1.8 billion.

U.S.-based Target said the purchase will allow it open its first stores in Canada beginning in 2013.

"This transaction provides an outstanding opportunity for us to extend our Target brand, Target stores and superior shopping experience beyond the United States for the first time in our company's history," Gregg Steinhafel, Target's chairman, president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.

Target expects to open 100 to 150 Target stores throughout Canada in 2013 and 2014.

Under the agreement, Target will acquire the leasehold interests of as many as 220 sites now operated by Zellers Inc.

"Zellers Inc. will sublease these sites from Target and continue to operate them under the Zellers banner for a period of time," Target said.

Hudson's Bay Company said in a statement Thursday that it was also anticipated that a number of Zellers locations will be assigned to other retail enterprises.

Fred Waks, chief operating officer at RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust, told the Financial Post in October that Target is looking for an urban strategy and will roll out first in the Greater Toronto Area.

Meanwhile, Steinhafel said Target's chief marketing officer, Michael Francis, will lead the company's move into the Canadian market.

"Under Michael's leadership, Target has emerged as one of the most recognizable brands in the world and I am pleased that he will guide our expansion into Canada," Steinhafel said in a separate statement.

Read more: http://www.canada.com/Target+Zellers...#ixzz1AvbrJ0aY

And for the next purchase....Shopper's drug mark has picked up the Glebe Apothecary. They expect it to be a nice compliment for the other shopper's store two blocks away.

Glebe Apothecary sold to Shoppers chain


By Tom Spears, Ottawa Citizen January 13, 2011 9:55 AM



OTTAWA — The Glebe Apothecary, a landmark independent drugstore for more than a quarter of a century, has been sold to the giant Shoppers Drug Mart chain.

A statement on the store’s website says simply: “To our friends and loyal customers:

“You may have noticed that we have become part of the Shoppers Drug Mart family, and you may be wondering what this means to you, our customer.

“We are and will continue to be The Glebe Apothecary, with the same people and the same commitment to customer service and our community. We will continue to offer the same mix of unique and unusual products, plus an extensive selection of Life Brand products that bring value and choice to our customers. And while Paul (Davies) will be running operations from now on, Claudia (McKeen) will remain on part time.

“Our commitment to you will not waiver, and our customers remain our number one priority.”

The website doesn’t say why the store was sold, but the business was one of a handful of independent drug stores remaining in the face of big chains.

The sale took effect Tuesday.

Paul Davies, who has worked in the store for 18 years, will now run the store as a Shoppers franchise.

“It’s the same people, it’s the same sign out front, so other than a very few cosmetic changes and some signs it really is completely identical to what you saw last week,” he said.

“The business is operated in this case by me and my company, on behalf of Shoppers Drug Mart. And ultimately they own things like the negotiated lease and all that stuff.”

The store will also stock Life brand products, the Shoppers brand.

There’s a traditional Shoppers store two blocks away, but Davies said the two stores complement each other.

The Apothecary has offered services not commonly available, including making prescription drugs in the store. It plans to continue this service.

This is called “compounding,” Davies explained, and it generally involves putting a commercial drug into a format that is not available from manufacturers.

“That’s a big part of our pharmacy. Always has been,” he said.

For instance, they turn medicine that is normally available only in adult formats into a form for infants. “You can’t give a six-month-old a pill in every case so we might make a liquid out of that.”

They also produce veterinary medicine out of drugs designed for humans.

“There’s not quite the array of drugs for pets that there is for humans.”

Former owner Claudia McKeen couldn’t be reached. Davies said only she could say why the store was sold.
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

Read more: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Glebe+A...#ixzz1AvcFxcNb

[c_speed3108]

...and Dalhousie street is having a rough go...

Dalhousie Street businesses closing
Some stores see hope in the building of the new convention centre
Last Updated: Thursday, January 13, 2011 | 10:06 AM ET Comments0Recommend0
CBC News

It's been a bad year for some businesses on Dalhousie Street in the ByWard Market, with six of them recently closed or about to close.

For instance, the windows of the Book Market, just north of Rideau Street, stand empty after 35 years in busines. People just stopped coming to the store, said owner Diane Sawyer Wednesday.

"My girls used to call me in the afternoon and say, 'Diane, there's not a person moving on the streets down here, nobody moving around here,' and it used to be constant traffic," Sawyer said.

It was a tough summer, she said, with construction on three sides of the ByWard Market causing traffic jams on Dalhousie Street.

That also contributed to the impending closing of the store Chinese Treasures.

"The people cannot stop. The parking is expensive and not available. The people say that it's the reason they don't come," said Andrée Vallières, who works behind the counter at Chinese Treasures.

But some other Dalhousie Street business owners say they're thriving.

Heinrich Stubbe owns Stubbe Chocolates across the street from the Book Market.

"I realized that we are a destination store, and people will come, and that's what they did," Stubbe said.

City Coun. Mathieu Fleury said that's the approach ByWard Market businesses need to take.

"The market should offer something very niche, very particular to what you cannot find elsewhere in the city," Fleury said.

The business owners who remain on Dalhousie Street are optimistic that the new Ottawa Convention Centre on the east side of the Rideau Canal will boost the downtown economy. Construction of the convention centre is expected to be finished by April.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/stor...#ixzz1Avkz1mcE

[Cre47]

Also, ads are already placed on buses for the upcoming opening of the Lowe's store on Hazeldean Road. Been awhile since there was an update about that store and didn't though it would be that imminent.

[Cre47]

Originally Posted by Cre47

Also, ads are already placed on buses for the upcoming opening of the Lowe's store on Hazeldean Road. Been awhile since there was an update about that store and didn't though it would be that imminent.

Now ads are saying that it is open.

[MichelKazan]

So WalMart is supposed to be open at Baseline and Clyde tomorrow the 28th.

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/busines...872/story.html

Exciting stuff, I guess. Still kind of sad how we closed and tore down a a school to build a Wal-Mart.

However, reading the article, here's a little something that struck me:


The company said it has three stores in Ottawa that will be open in the coming weeks. One on the corner of Merivale Road and Baseline Road, is due to open its doors any day, while one on Iber Road near Stittsville and another on Innes Road near Orléans will be opening in the coming months.

Anybody find anything wrong with this picture or know anything about this?
1) Isn't a Stittsville location on Iber Road a little too close to the store at Kanata Centrum?
2) There already is a Wal-Mart Supercentre on Innes Road in Orléans, which not to long ago was renovated and converted to a Supercentre and even that location only opened around 2005.

Any thoughts or something the rest of us should know?

[AuxTown]

Originally Posted by MichelKazan

1) Isn't a Stittsville location on Iber Road a little too close to the store at Kanata Centrum?

It's definately too close and apparently the Centrum Walmart is moving to the Bridlewood area off of Eagleson. That would make it even closer to Iber Road. That being said, there is no Walmart on Iber Road. I assume they were referring to the opening of Lowes this week.

[reidjr]

Originally Posted by O-Town Hockey

It's definately too close and apparently the Centrum Walmart is moving to the Bridlewood area off of Eagleson. That would make it even closer to Iber Road. That being said, there is no Walmart on Iber Road. I assume they were referring to the opening of Lowes this week.

Do you know is it 100% there moving to bridlewood.

[MichelKazan]

Any particular reason why they would move the Kanata Centrum Wal-Mart to Bridlewood? Do you think it's possible that the market has gotten so big in Kanata that it can sustain 2 Wal-Marts, like in Gatineau?

Can't be referring to Lowe's. The Lowe's in Orleans isn't opening soon; it's been open for at least a year now.

[reidjr]

Originally Posted by MichelKazan

Any particular reason why they would move the Kanata Centrum Wal-Mart to Bridlewood? Do you think it's possible that the market has gotten so big in Kanata that it can sustain 2 Wal-Marts, like in Gatineau?

Can't be referring to Lowe's. The Lowe's in Orleans isn't opening soon; it's been open for at least a year now.

The reason i could see them looking to move is the current walmrt is a dump beeing in the centrum does not help as the parking is a mess so if they have there on lot things would be alot better.

[AuxTown]

Originally Posted by MichelKazan

Can't be referring to Lowe's. The Lowe's in Orleans isn't opening soon; it's been open for at least a year now.

I was referring to the Lowes in Kanata/Stittsville (at the end of Iber) that opened last week.

Do you know is it 100% there moving to bridlewood.

Let's just say I heard from a very reliable source

Any particular reason why they would move the Kanata Centrum Wal-Mart to Bridlewood? Do you think it's possible that the market has gotten so big in Kanata that it can sustain 2 Wal-Marts, like in Gatineau?

They are moving it and turning it into a super Walmart (complete w fresh produce etc.). I heard from someone who is high up at the store in Kanata. That is the plan at the momment, but who knows what might change in the future. They will not keep this one open as far as I've heard.

[harls]

Actually, there are 3 Wal-marts in Gatineau - two in the old city of Gatineau, one in the Plateau area.

[c_speed3108]

More on Target...they are considering some of the small stores in Urban areas

U.S. retailer tips its plans — but not its Target locations


By Vito Pilieci, Ottawa Citizen February 4, 2011 6:07 PM


OTTAWA — A senior Target Corp. executive was in Ottawa this week to talk about what residents can expect when the first Target store opens in Canada.

What Michael Francis, Target’s chief marketing officer, wouldn’t discuss, however, was Target’s preferred locations among the leaseholds it is taking over from 220 Zellers store locations across Canada. The $1.8 billion deal announced in January will see Target open between 100 and 150 stores across the country.

Francis would simply say that all Zellers locations are being considered — but then added that too much speculation is being heaped on Target by critics trying to guess its next move. He said Target was well aware of Zellers’s smaller average store size when it bought the locations. The average Zellers is around 100,000 square feet; the average Target in the U.S. covers 130,000 square feet.

Target, however, has been experimenting with different layouts south of the border, including smaller locations, multi-level outlets and downtown stores with no parking, designed for urban dwellers.

“Part of performing a site-by-site evaluation is understanding the nuances that each site presents,” said Francis, who inspected a number of the Ottawa area’s 11 Zellers outlets.

“We operate a variety of unique formats all across the United States. We have a major store in New York City that has no parking. We have smaller stores over two floors. We have a variety of different configurations that allow us to take advantage of both urban opportunities as well as suburban opportunities.”

At least until he finishes his cross-Canada tour, it’s premature to rule out any location of becoming a Target store, he said.

The company hopes to have its preferred locations picked within six months. After that it will launch massive remodelling projects to turn them into the type of Target stores consumers have become accustomed to seeing in the U.S.

Given the high brand awareness of Target in Canada, the company can’t come into the country in name only, Francis noted. Thus, Target will bring to Canada all of the brands and products consumers would find on its American store shelves. And in keeping with the chain’s reputation for hip, chic clothing, Target will look to partner with Canadian designers eager to get their clothes on to store shelves.

“We expect that there will be opportunities to customize our product assortment. But the intention is the full brand experience,” he said. “We would not be well served by having a different version of our brand.”

The Target executive reiterated that the agreement to take over Zellers’s store locations was a real estate deal. Target has not acquired Zellers, its assets or any of its employees. As a result, when those 220 Zellers stores are closed to either be sold or turned into Targets, the employees will need to submit their resumes and compete for jobs at Target. Zellers now operates 276 stores in Canada with around 22,000 employees, including as many as 2,300 in Ottawa.

“Zellers remains a stand-alone operation. They will remain Zellers employees. Our goal is to capitalize on the vast amount of talent in the Canadian workplace and of course that includes the Zellers team members,” he said. “But we believe through this we will create tens of thousands of jobs throughout Canada.”

Francis said the giant American discount retailer has been eyeing an expansion into Canada for some time. He said, the strength of the Canadian economy and the deal the company was able to make with Zellers provided the push it needed.
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

Read more: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/retaile...#ixzz1D2SPyyxf

[Cre47]

Originally Posted by O-Town Hockey

It's definately too close and apparently the Centrum Walmart is moving to the Bridlewood area off of Eagleson. That would make it even closer to Iber Road. That being said, there is no Walmart on Iber Road. I assume they were referring to the opening of Lowes this week.

There is an article on this week's Kanata Kourier that might suggest a Wal-Mart at Terry Fox and Fernbank with additionnal retail space planned at 700 Eagleson (page 4)

[harls]

I heard on the news this morning that a Farm Boy is opening in Stittsville.

[MountainView]

I've been reading the forums on Skyscraper for a while now but I finally decided to join so I could take part in all these fun discussions!

I'm wondering if anyone knows what is being built at the corner of Berrigan and Greenbank in Barrhaven. All the information I can find on it is this document

http://webcast.ottawa.ca/plan/All_Im...12-10-0153.PDF

I know the larger building is going to be a medical clinic which is to be part of the Kemptville Hospital but not sure what the retail and the restaurant will be. Anyone have any idea?

Thanks!

[rde84]

Does anyone know what the status of the Bayshore Mall expansion is? The last I heard they were having problems getting city approval because the city felt the site was built out.

[eternallyme]

Originally Posted by rde84

Does anyone know what the status of the Bayshore Mall expansion is? The last I heard they were having problems getting city approval because the city felt the site was built out.

Would it be possible for them to add a 4th (or even 5th) level to the mall instead in order to expand?

[reidjr]

Originally Posted by eternallyme

Would it be possible for them to add a 4th (or even 5th) level to the mall instead in order to expand?

The issue is they would have to do away with the skylight which i don't think would go overwell.

[blackjagger]

Originally Posted by eternallyme

Would it be possible for them to add a 4th (or even 5th) level to the mall instead in order to expand?

Probably a cost issue. Expanding out and demolition existing ageing parking structures would be much more cost effective then adding 1 or 2 floors to the existing structure. And that is assuming it is even structural possible to build up. To mean this mall is much better designed than the sprawling parking lots of St. Laurent or Place de Orleans. Letting them build up with more parking levels and a three storey addition is a good use of space.

An interesting element I have seen in renderings is a glass wind break along the bottom floors of the parking structures at the street. It’s a shame small shops couldn't be included to bring the mall to the street but at least some pedestrian thought is put into the design.

Cheers,
Josh