Canadian Retail Thread

[SSLL]

Grocer in no fear of Wal-Mart plans
Jan. 25, 2006. 01:00 AM
ALLAN SWIFT
CANADIAN PRESS

MONTREAL— Metro Inc., the third-largest Canadian supermarket chain, is expressing confidence in the face of coming Wal-Mart superstores that will carry a full range of grocery products.
Chief executive Pierre Lessard said after Metro's annual meeting yesterday that the grocer's network of 573 stores in Quebec and Ontario already has discount outlets that can meet the competition, noting that regular Wal-Mart stores already carry dry groceries such as cereals.
He said Metro's Food Basics and Super C banners "are competitive with any type of discounter."
Wal-Mart Canada Corp. said late last year it will build two or three superstores in the next year or so that will combine general merchandise with a full range of groceries, including fresh food.
Wal-Mart Supercentres have made a big impact in the United States, but analysts say Canadian grocers are in a better position because they already run discount divisions.
Eric Richer La Fleche, Metro's chief operating officer, added that many of its stores are in urban settings, which don't have room for massive Wal-Marts.
"We don't take it (Wal-Mart) lightly; we just think we are competitive in Ontario and Quebec."
Lessard said Metro has no intention to add more non-food products.
Metro reported yesterday that earnings were $32 million in its first quarter ended Dec. 17, down from a year-ago $38.6 million as it booked $18.3 million in costs on the integration of A&P Canada stores.
The Montreal-based company, which bought the Canadian A&P stores from Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. last July for $1.2 billion in cash and $500 million worth of Metro shares, said earnings amounted to 28 cents per share versus 40 cents per share the year before.
Excluding integration and rationalization costs and an additional tax expense of $5.3 million, net earnings were $49.6 million, or 43 cents per share. Analysts had called for 41 cents.

[canucklehead2]

Either way it looks like a dark day for Canadian owned retailers.

[malek]

Originally Posted by MTL-514

What newspaper was this from? The Toronto Globe and Mail?

Their research skills are questionable...

Abercrombie & Fitch had a large store here in Montreal for at least a couple of years when the Place Montreal Trust shopping mall opened on Ste-Catherine Street and McGill College Avenue at the end of the 1980s.

Nothing exists outside of the center of the universe.

[neilson]

HELL YEA!

TARGET WILL BE IN CANADA WITHIN 2 YEARS BECAUSE OF THIS, MARK MY WORDS!

Bay agrees to U.S. takeover
Jan. 26, 2006. 02:07 PM
CANADIAN PRESS


Hudson’s Bay Co.,(TSX: HBC), Canada’s oldest company whose fur-trading roots culminated in the birth of the country, has struck a friendly takeover deal that will see the iconic retailer fall into American hands after more than 335 years in business.
American businessman Jerry Zucker’s revised offer, which values the storied retailer at about $1.5 billion, including debt, comes just days before his original offer was set to expire and is now “unanimously endorsed” by HBC’s board of directors.

The friendly deal also comes in the wake of speculation that conglomerate Onex Corp. (TSX: OCX.SV) and mall developer First Pro Shopping Centres had launched an informal counter offer with an eye to helping discount giant Wal-Mart set up its highly-anticipated supercentres in this country.

“On behalf of the management of HBC, we are pleased with the outcome of the auction process and fully support Mr. Zucker’s enhanced offer,” said president and CEO George Heller.

“We are anxious to get to work with Mr. Zucker on realizing the value that we know is inherent in this great company.”

Zucker’s Maple Leaf Heritage Investments Acquisition Corp. has boosted the U.S.-based firm’s previous all-cash takeover offer to $15.25 a share, or more than $1.06 billion, plus assumed debt.

Hudson’s Bay shares (TSX: HBC ) were up $1.10, about eight per cent, in afternoon trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

The new deal raises Zucker’s previous offer by about $35 million and HBC said it is satisfied that the amended offer “constitutes full and fair value for the company.”

Hudson’s Bay had previously rejected as inadequate Zucker’s initial offer of $14.75 per share plus debt, after the American businessman put the historic retailer in play last October.

Established in 1670, Hudson’s Bay has more than retail 500 outlets, led by The Bay and Zellers chains. Now in its fourth century, the retailer is considered a cultural icon by Canadians because of its early wilderness exploration and colonization that predates Confederation.

But industry watchers say Canadians’ nostalgia for the historic retailer has waned in recent years and the company has struggled with poor financial results as bargain-hungry shoppers eagerly flock to U.S.-based retailers seeking more bang for their buck.

That has prompted newspaper columnists and industry watchers to complain bitterly that while Canadians publicly fret about the demise of Canadian-owned department stores, like Eaton’s, they don’t hesitate to shop American if the price is right.

Robert Johnston, Zucker’s spokesman and vice-president of strategy at South Carolina-based Maple Leaf Heritage, said Canadians’ concerns over HBC’s pending American ownership are “poorly placed.”

“This company has been a Canadian icon into its fourth century now. By having a foreign owner of this company will no way change or diminish that,” he said. “You have to recognize that this company was owned by foreigners up until three decades ago. It was, in fact, headquartered in the United Kingdom.”

Zucker, who already owns almost 19 per cent of HBC’s stock, has also made an all-cash offer for all of the outstanding 7.5 per cent convertible unsecured subordinated debentures due Dec. 1, 2008.

He’s offering $1,010 for each $1,000 principal amount of debentures, plus accrued and unpaid interest to the date that the debentures are taken up under the offer.

The new deal also comes with fewer conditions, HBC said. Zucker’s previous offer required the deal to be endorsed by about 90 per cent of HBC shares but that threshold has now been lowered to 66 2/3 per cent.

Maple Leaf will mail the amended offer by Feb. 10, and HBC’s board will issue an amended directors’ circular recommending that shareholders accept the new offer, which expires Feb. 24.

“We are pleased to have reached this agreement with HBC today and to be associated with a company with such a long and proud history. As the company’s largest shareholder for more than two years, we are aware of the tremendous opportunities available to HBC,” said Zucker.

“We are committed to enhancing our customers’ shopping experience through a substantially greater focus on service and revitalizing the spirit of the organization.”

[harls]

hooray.

[MikeTTG]

And yet strangely no mikescarbourough "the-sky-is-falling" post.

[MikeTTG]

Originally Posted by MTL-514

What newspaper was this from? The Toronto Globe and Mail?

Their research skills are questionable...

Abercrombie & Fitch had a large store here in Montreal for at least a couple of years when the Place Montreal Trust shopping mall opened on Ste-Catherine Street and McGill College Avenue at the end of the 1980s.

Yep, there was one in Toronto too. On two floors of the Exchange Tower, were the Starbucks and the food court are. That was back in the day when Abercrombie & Fitch was still the store where Teddy Roosevelt had bought his gear for the Spanish American War. It was the land of the $400.00 croquet set.

That A&F didn't survive the early '90s recession. The name was bought by (the Limited?) and turned into what you see today before it was spun off into a separate company. The original Abercrombie store in New York was across Madison from where Brooks Brothers flagship was and still is. Their Toronto location was empty well into the mid nineties, possibly until the time when the TSE closed its trading floor and that part of the building was gutted and rebuilt as it is now.

[SSLL]

And what a beautiful Starbucks it is now!

With the sale of HBC, I wonder if Zucker will stick to his word in standing by the brands that partly buit Canada (more Hudson's Bay Co. than Zellers, mind you).

[MTL-514]

Originally Posted by MikeTTG

Yep, there was one in Toronto too. On two floors of the Exchange Tower, were the Starbucks and the food court are. That was back in the day when Abercrombie & Fitch was still the store where Teddy Roosevelt had bought his gear for the Spanish American War. It was the land of the $400.00 croquet set.

That A&F didn't survive the early '90s recession. The name was bought by (the Limited?) and turned into what you see today before it was spun off into a separate company. The original Abercrombie store in New York was across Madison from where Brooks Brothers flagship was and still is. Their Toronto location was empty well into the mid nineties, possibly until the time when the TSE closed its trading floor and that part of the building was gutted and rebuilt as it is now.

interesting, thanks MikeTTG

[MikeTTG]

Originally Posted by SSLL

And what a beautiful Starbucks it is now!

With the sale of HBC, I wonder if Zucker will stick to his word in standing by the brands that partly buit Canada (more Hudson's Bay Co. than Zellers, mind you).

And it's always packed, at least when I take that route to the office and am jonesing for a venti caramel macciatto fix!

[Rusty van Reddick]

Neilson, why in the hell does this matter to you?

[neilson]

because i've been waiting for years and years to see Target come to Canada. It's a beautiful thing, just like the election earlier this week!

[MTL-514]

Originally Posted by neilson

because i've been waiting for years and years to see Target come to Canada. It's a beautiful thing, just like the election earlier this week!

come to Canada?

aren't you from the deep south?

[canucklehead2]

Thats what I keep wondering. Someone who posts about Alberta alot yet is listed as being from Alabama. Either its a joke we don't get, or he is just obsessed with Canada. Either way I find it interesting..

[Rusty van Reddick]

He's some sort of wannabe but even that can't explain being thrilled about Target coming to Canada...

I'd be thrilled to see Target here tho.

[big W]

Originally Posted by MikeTTG

And yet strangely no mikescarbourough "the-sky-is-falling" post.

Thats becasuse the sky fell on Monday for him.

[big W]

Originally Posted by canucklehead2

Thats what I keep wondering. Someone who posts about Alberta alot yet is listed as being from Alabama. Either its a joke we don't get, or he is just obsessed with Canada. Either way I find it interesting..

I thought he was from the GTA and moved to the US south? I don't get the Alberta connection except that if he is a Canadian then he is a promoter of parts of Canada that are doing well.

Neilson fill us in please or are you going to enjoy your time as the Man of Mystry.

[neilson]

Originally Posted by furrycanuck

He's some sort of wannabe but even that can't explain being thrilled about Target coming to Canada...

I'd be thrilled to see Target here tho.

I lived in the Malvern section of Scarborough in Toronto for a summer; and so I know a good bit about your nation and it's largest city.

I also take pride in being a rare breed of Americans that actually follows along and pays attention to Canada. There aren't enough of us out there, and I only hope my knowledge and following of your country shows that yes, there ARE Americans that took the time to learn about your nation and keep up with it.

[habsfan]

It's good to know that some americans actually pay attention to what's going on north of the border.

I can honestly say that Neilson does seem to know quite a bit about Canada.

[SSLL]

Does the columnist even know what Home Outfitters is? He compared it to American Eagle Outfitters!!!
___________________________
What's in store for Hudson's Bay?
Odds are against a Phoenix-like revival
Jan. 27, 2006. 05:32 AM
DAVID OLIVE
BUSINESS COLUMNIST

"We had to pass where no human being should venture."
— Simon Fraser, early 19th-century Hudson's Bay Co. explorer
For good or ill, yesterday marked a turning point in the fortunes of Canada's oldest company.
Jerry Zucker, the secretive South Carolina investor whose $1.5 billion takeover offer for Hudson's Bay Co. was accepted yesterday by the HBC board after a 17-month standoff, will either make good on his pledge to revive the 335-year-old retailing icon. Or, failing where three previous management teams have done, the career bargain-hunter eventually will make good on his investment by selling off chunks of HBC's commercial heritage.
As he has done consistently since first acquiring a sizeable stake in HBC in 2003, Zucker yesterday promised a retail renaissance at the HBC stable of the Bay, Zellers, Home Outfitters and Designer Depot stores — a compulsory reassurance to suppliers and creditors.
"We are committed to enhancing our customers' shopping experience through a substantially greater focus on service and revitalizing the spirit of the organization," said a statement issued by Zucker.
The Zucker strategy is to pump an annual $325 million over the next three years into modernizing HBC's operations — a decidedly modest sum for Canada's second-largest retailer after Wal-Mart Canada Corp.; upgrade store appearance; emphasize sales of furniture, appliances and other big-ticket items; step up HBC's recent emulation of rival Winners' "off-price" formula; close money-losing stores in the 294-unit Zellers chain; and dispose of HBC's Toronto head office, likely fetching more than $100 million.
Zucker also has plans for jazzing up merchandise display, a chronic weakness at Zellers in particular; introduce state-of-the-art inventory control systems and other behind-the-scenes technology to keep popular items in stock; and boost traffic and sales-per-square-metre by inviting third-party merchants to set up boutiques in the Bay's oversized emporia.
While usually diplomatic over the years in his stated satisfactory regard of CEO George Heller, Zucker would likely install a new management team — a set of fresh eyes at a firm that has a department-store mindset dating from an era when traditional department stores were still relevant — with a more innovative group perhaps headed by Winners founder David Margolis or Sears Canada Inc. turnaround CEO Paul Walters, who was ousted in a power struggle with the incoming CEO of Sears, Roebuck & Co.
Heller and his board forced Zucker's hand. Like Kirk Kerkorian and his so-far unhappy investment in General Motors Corp., Zucker finds himself with a wasting asset. In 2003, he seemed content to wait on the bountiful profits to flow from Heller's recently unveiled five-year plan to arrest market-share losses to nimble competitors.
By October of last year, Zucker had changed his tune, launching a takeover bid for the entire firm, but Heller had not changed his. Announcing calamitous financial results in November, Heller continued to insist that staying the course was preferable to a takeover. "The best way to maximize shareholder value is to execute the strategic plan."
Zucker would agree. But HBC has not followed through on that plan. Blaming everything from soaring gasoline prices that crimped mall traffic to a bulky new inventory system that has depressed big-ticket sales, HBC reported a sextupling of losses in its latest quarter in November, to $50.3 million. More important, same-store sales — revenue at stores open a year or more — continued to slide at the Bay (down 6 per cent) and Zellers (down 2 per cent).
"Two years into their five-year plan and they have failed completely to improve profitability, sales levels or margins," Zucker's Canadian-born spokesman Robert Johnston complained in November.
The odds are against a Phoenix-like revival of HBC, long a commercial anachronism in a field now dominated by highly focused merchants. Which is not to say nothing good will come of a Zucker-led regime.
On their own, freed of the weight of HBC's debt, overhead and sclerotic decision-making, the Bay, Zellers and Home Outfitters could yet thrive as northern versions of Nordstrom Inc., Target Corp. and American Eagle Outfitters Inc., respectively.
As experience shows, all-purpose general merchandising — with the singular exception of Wal-Mart — is an obsolete concept. And that HBC in its current form is a business that no entrepreneur would venture to create in this day and age.