Canadian Retail Thread

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by miketoronto

I think as city lovers we can appreciate that shopping does create a lot of vibrancy in our cities.
The truth is most of the iconic streets in our world cities would be nothing without the shops, restaurants, and entertainment that make them interesting places to visit.

That is the fun thing I found about my recent visit in Europe. Families just descend on the city centres on a Saturday and hang out. Does it include shopping, you bet.

This is true.

And I know this is heresy on here, but I find I have gotten less anti-mall recently - as I've observed them more.

I mean, I realize the whole public space vs. private space thing that distinguishes a main city street from a mall, but I can't help but notice (despite all my willingness to do the opposite) that a mall fairly reasonably serves the same societal function as a shopping street.

One of the criticisms about a mall is that certain members of society are excluded or at least unwelcome there, but this is true of most streets as well. Or at least streets where families would go for a stroll. Undesirable behaviour is not tolerated on the Champs-Élysées anymore than it is in a mall.

Busking? Well, in many cities you actually need a permit and have to audition in order to do this.

And as far as undesirables go, I doubt there are very many malls these days in North America where people with punk hairdos or anything of the sort would be forbidden from entering. You might get watched more by mall security, but then again the cops would do this on a street as well.

[MolsonExport]

Taco Bell is the fast-food equivalent of sMiley Sigh-rus: Gross.


chollywoodlife, middlechildsyndrome

[Xelebes]

Originally Posted by isaidso

They're exploiting emotionally empty people. That's why it's frowned upon. Wearing Prada shoes doesn't make one a high quality person, it just means you're wearing high quality shoes. That's a point lost on most people. People who obsessively drape themselves in luxury brands are just buying into a lie, others just view them as sad people chasing something that will never make them happy.

No, I would hope that anyone who buys Pradas or other similarly expensive shoes is doing so to meet the standard of formal dress for the occasions that they might need to dress such.

[miketoronto]

Originally Posted by Acajack

This is true.

And I know this is heresy on here, but I find I have gotten less anti-mall recently - as I've observed them more.

I don't think malls are totally bad either. I think they do however have to be allowed in ways that they don't take away from the city. Example, the Toronto Eaton Centre or Rideau Centre.

[eternallyme]

Why have downtown malls been extremely successful in some cities (i.e. Toronto, Ottawa) and absolute failures in others (i.e. Winnipeg)?

[MolsonExport]

Downtown malls stink in medium-sized cities. You need a critical mass of office workers + residents as well as a large enough attraction. Why on earth would suburbanites want to travel to a downtown mall and pay to park if only getting access to the same store assortment as they have at the nearby suburban mall with free parking?

And many suburban malls are now dying as a consequence of Dumbcentres and other big box collections, exacerbated by pro-sprawl city councils addicted to developers' fees and ribbon cutting ceremonies. See: London, Ontario as a Harvard Business School Case.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by eternallyme

Why have downtown malls been extremely successful in some cities (i.e. Toronto, Ottawa) and absolute failures in others (i.e. Winnipeg)?

In the case of Ottawa, the Rideau Centre is a major transit hub and you have to literally walk through it in order to transfer between two major "axes" of transit: the Transitway lines are at one end of the mall and the more urban downtown lines in addition to all the Gatineau lines are at the other.

Plus, it's located right in the middle of where lots of people go for other reasons: the Byward Market and Parliament Hill.

Montreal's downtown malls are for the most part quite successful as well.

[SteelTown]

Jackson Square has made a complete turn around within the last two years. Sheraton Hotel connected to Jackson Square got a complete makeover and will have downtown Hamilton's first Starbucks. Anchor Bar set up it's first Canadian location in Jackson Square, which lead to Yak Yak re-locating to Jackson Square as well. Nations Fresh Foods finished building a massive high end flagship grocery store also. A grocery store wouldn't happened if residential growth didn't occurred in downtown Hamilton.

Along with the construction of a new downtown McMaster campus it's adding more bodies to downtown Hamilton which is helping Jackson Square.

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

Downtown malls stink in medium-sized cities. You need a critical mass of office workers + residents as well as a large enough attraction. Why on earth would suburbanites want to travel to a downtown mall and pay to park if only getting access to the same store assortment as they have at the nearby suburban mall with free parking?

Completely agree with this. A downtown mall today needs to serve its downtown market. While we're stuck with some that should never have been built, or should have been re-purposed in the past, those that will survive and flourish will cater mainly to the needs of their local trade areas.

[Chadillaccc]

A very interesting article about the centenary of Calgary's Hudson's Bay store. It turned 100 years old on August 18.


Hudson's Bay opened 100 years ago, launching a new era in Calgary (with gallery)
By Eva Ferguson, Calgary Herald

Brimming with the excitement and optimism that permeated their burgeoning city at the turn of the century, nearly 8,000 Calgarians lined Stephen Avenue that summer's day, gloved ladies spinning parasols, top-hatted gentlemen checking pocket watches.

The Hudson's Bay downtown opened to great fanfare on Aug. 18, 1913 - marching bands, horses and more than 30 police officers standing by to keep the peace. The Marx Brothers would show at the Empress Theatre later that night.

Full story: http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/ca...113/story.html

[SpongeG]

Originally Posted by Xelebes

No, I would hope that anyone who buys Pradas or other similarly expensive shoes is doing so to meet the standard of formal dress for the occasions that they might need to dress such.

most of the prada shoes at holt renfrew are too casual for formal plus prada shoes are so knocked off they are far too many fakes out there - i would avoid prada shoes myself

anyway how about these guccis



about $600 or so at HR

[Ramako]

Man, I must not understand or appreciate fashion, because to me that looks like some typical running shoe spray-painted orange.

[SpongeG]

they also come in green, pink, black, yellow, grey and white

i love the monotone effect

[kwoldtimer]

Subtle. Understated. Classy.

[Chadillaccc]

Here's a pretty sweet pic I took of The Core not too long ago.



IMG_20130905_125325 by Chadillaccc, on Flickr

[SpongeG]

nice

[eternallyme]

One thought on the other end of the retail spectrum:

Has the number of extreme low-end stores (i.e. dollar store types) increased recently as well? I know in the US, they have exploded lately, partially due to depressed incomes in the economic recession. In some cases, they are literally on every street corner.

[Chadillaccc]

I don't think there's a single dollar store or "value store" such as Ardene, etc. in the entire mall. There is one dollar store in Scotia Centre right next door though. The mall is fairly high end; Harry Rosens, Guess, Holt Renfrew, Louis Vuitton, etc. The cheapest clothing store in the mall is probably H&M. There's also a high-end car dealership in the mall for some reason. My favorite part of the mall is the fourth floor food court attached to the tropical gardens (called the Devonian Gardens), you get a beautiful view of the surrounding office towers from there, and a view down into the mall too. Very nice.

[Taeolas]

Originally Posted by eternallyme

One thought on the other end of the retail spectrum:

Has the number of extreme low-end stores (i.e. dollar store types) increased recently as well? I know in the US, they have exploded lately, partially due to depressed incomes in the economic recession. In some cases, they are literally on every street corner.

Here in Fredericton, not that I've noticed. Granted, we already have 4 Dollerama's in the city, 1 down the hill from another which is around the corner from the third. (The fourth is across the river at least), and 2 Great Canadian Dollar Stores that I can think of off hand, along with 2 Giant Tigers. But they've all been here for years and pretty stable. (Strangely enough). We did have a stand alone dollar store open up briefly, but it closed after a year, and the slot's still empty (recently used for Target hiring)

[vid]

Thunder Bay has 6 or 7 Dollaramas now, the two that are set to open in a few weeks are occupying spaces that have been vacant for 5 or 6 years. One is part of the revitalization of a dead mall, the other is in a lower income part of downtown. It's a pretty useful store once you get past that fact that it's owned by Bain Capital.