An interesting article in regards to why more large-scale retailers having trouble opening in Canada. Judging by the figures provided a few posts back it seems Vancouver will have the most problems with this issue judging by our pathetic power centre square footage per capita numbers posted a few posts back.
Canada lacks room for new U.S. box stores
ATSUKO KITAYAMA, REUTERS
“Finding space is really difficult, but even if they can find it, it’s expensive,” said Maureen Atkinson, senior partner at J.C. Williams Group, a Toronto-based retail consulting firm.
Nordstrom Inc, a high-end department store chain with locations throughout the states, is on record as saying it wants to move north.
“We’ve been looking at Canada for over a year now,” Erik Nordstrom, president of the Seattle-based company that bears his family’s name, said in February. “The challenge ... is the real estate. It’s a tough real estate market.”
As a result,
demand for space in the existing centers - especially premium locations such as the Yorkdale Mall and Eaton Center in Toronto, and
Pacific Center in Vancouver - has skyrocketed, Crombie said.
“A lot of locations are running out of space,” he said. “They can’t accommodate newcomers.”
“So there is an absolute frenzy as retailers try to get into these malls,” Crombie said.
The high cost of retail space presents a conundrum of sorts. Only the biggest chains, such as Target, can contemplate the expense, but at the same time, the size of such chains makes it difficult for them to find enough suitable locations.
“The larger the space, there are not that many opportunities,” warns Crombie. “The premium malls can’t accommodate them.”
http://www.torontosun.com/2012/04/05...space-shortage
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Sorry. I had to.
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