BiWay is making a comeback

[AlbertC]

BiWay is set to be resurrected in 2019 with new store

CTVNews.ca Staff
Published Saturday, December 8, 2018 12:17PM EST

Retail veteran Mal Coven, 89, who helped build the brand, hopes to resurrect the name with a new 7,500 square feet "BiWay $10 Store" scheduled to open in August in Toronto.

“One of my rules was that I never bought anything that I would be ashamed to bring home to my family,” Coven said, The new chain concept will see everything in stock sold for $10 or under.

With tens of thousands of dollars worth of goods ready and the backing of investors, Coven aims to open four more stores by the end of 2020.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/biway-is-set-to-be-resurrected-in-2019-with-new-store-1.4210236

 

[Admiral Beez]

I always bought my socks and shorts at BiWay at Shoppers World, Victoria Park and Danforth.

 

[Johnny Au]

Too bad most BiWay locations became Dollarama.

 

[Admiral Beez]

Too bad most BiWay locations became Dollarama.

Dollarama is losing its way.

Why Dollarama Inc. (TSXOL) Stock Is Plunging Sharply
https://www.fool.ca/2018/09/17/why-dollarama-inc-tsxdol-stock-is-plunging-sharply/

Bi-Way is targeting the anything under $10 retail price point. Whereas Dollarama went from everything for a buck to almost everything for over $2. They should change their format from a dollar store to a tooney store.

 

[Richard White]

Dollarama is losing its way.

Why Dollarama Inc. (TSXOL) Stock Is Plunging Sharply
https://www.fool.ca/2018/09/17/why-dollarama-inc-tsxdol-stock-is-plunging-sharply/

Bi-Way is targeting the anything under $10 retail price point. Whereas Dollarama went from everything for a buck to almost everything for over $2. They should change their format from a dollar store to a tooney store.

There was a store like that called "A Buck or Two" I believe. It is no longer in existance. Really though Dollarama is more about the 3-4 dollar items now.. the minimum item price is $1.25

I remember going to Biway when it closed in the Pickering Town Centre. I got a pair of turkey lifters and clothes

 

[narduch]

Dollarama is losing its way.

Why Dollarama Inc. (TSXOL) Stock Is Plunging Sharply
https://www.fool.ca/2018/09/17/why-dollarama-inc-tsxdol-stock-is-plunging-sharply/

Bi-Way is targeting the anything under $10 retail price point. Whereas Dollarama went from everything for a buck to almost everything for over $2. They should change their format from a dollar store to a tooney store.

This just proves the stupidity of the stock market.

Their sales increased but there stock tanked. They are still a healthy business.

 

[AlbertC]

Looks like the resurrected BiWay may also be competing more against the likes of TJX chains (Winners, Marshalls).

Trying to remember the specific location of BiWay when they used to be at Dufferin Mall. From what I recall, it should be the current spot where Marshalls and Swiss Chalet is (?). Service Canada, Abrigo Centre and probably something else was there for some time too in the past.

 

[AlbertC]

The new $10 BiWay concept store will be opening its 15,000 square foot retail space at Dufflaw Rd & Orfus Rd in August 2020:

New BIWAY $10 STORE Concept to Launch August 2020 in a 15,000 sf Retail Space [EXCLUSIVE]

After an initial announcement for a store half the size in 2019, the new BiWay revival concept has taken a shift that includes a different location than was previously announced, as well as a broader product assortment.

www.retail-insider.com

 

[Richard White]

The new $10 BiWay concept store will be opening its 15,000 square foot retail space at Dufflaw Rd & Orfus Rd in August 2020:

View attachment 226467

New BIWAY $10 STORE Concept to Launch August 2020 in a 15,000 sf Retail Space [EXCLUSIVE]

After an initial announcement for a store half the size in 2019, the new BiWay revival concept has taken a shift that includes a different location than was previously announced, as well as a broader product assortment.

www.retail-insider.com

A nice idea but I foresee two problems..

Firstly, the store is in the boonies relatively speaking. I have been to Orfus Road and it is not exactly easy to get without a car. It is an area full of outlet stores and not a practical location for starting a new business.

Secondly, this will disappoint those of us who are old enough to have shopped at Bi-Way in its heyday. I remember when Bi-Way was in every strip and shopping mall. You could buy cheap quality items at a reasonable price. You never got the best but you knew what you were getting into when you walked into the store. It was like Dollarama is now but nicer and somewhat more selection.

I think this is going to be a failed attempt at bringing back what was a good store. If they really wanted this to succeed they would have brought it back in Scarborough, Durham Region or East York... not an industrial area.

 

[AlbertC]

A nice idea but I foresee two problems..

Firstly, the store is in the boonies relatively speaking. I have been to Orfus Road and it is not exactly easy to get without a car. It is an area full of outlet stores and not a practical location for starting a new business.

Secondly, this will disappoint those of us who are old enough to have shopped at Bi-Way in its heyday. I remember when Bi-Way was in every strip and shopping mall. You could buy cheap quality items at a reasonable price. You never got the best but you knew what you were getting into when you walked into the store. It was like Dollarama is now but nicer and somewhat more selection.

I think this is going to be a failed attempt at bringing back what was a good store. If they really wanted this to succeed they would have brought it back in Scarborough, Durham Region or East York... not an industrial area.

The location alone almost sets this up already for an eventual failure. Orfus is pretty much backwaters territory and is very out of the way for anyone not in the immediate area. Maybe still some novelty and nostalgia value with the brand but it'll be difficult to break through with the newer generation of shoppers. I have a tough time imagining people would trek all the way there when they can easily get the same or better selection merchandise from more convenient Winners and Marshalls stores.

 

[Richard White]

The location alone almost sets this up already for an eventual failure. Orfus is pretty much backwaters territory and is very out of the way for anyone not in the immediate area. Maybe still some novelty and nostalgia value with the brand but it'll be difficult to break through with the newer generation of shoppers. I have a tough time imagining people would trek all the way there when they can easily get the same or better selection merchandise from more convenient Winners and Marshalls stores.

This is precisely what I was getting at. I live in Scarborough and I cannot be bothered to go to Orfus Road simply for nostalgia. It is not easy to get to and very much out of my way.

That being said, I would much rather go to Winners than I would Bi-Way

 

[ShonTron]

My father, in dismissing Honest Ed's after wanting to go inside on a family trip, called it "just a giant BiWay." He wasn't entirely wrong, though Honest Ed's had more going on and had that extra kitsch.

Though Orfus Road is known for bargains and outlet stores, it's not the place for a one-off trading on nostalgia. Somewhere on Bloor West around Dovercourt would have been ideal.

 

[Richard White]

Honest Eds was an oversized bi-way really.

 

[thettctransitfanatic]

The location alone almost sets this up already for an eventual failure. Orfus is pretty much backwaters territory and is very out of the way for anyone not in the immediate area. Maybe still some novelty and nostalgia value with the brand but it'll be difficult to break through with the newer generation of shoppers. I have a tough time imagining people would trek all the way there when they can easily get the same or better selection merchandise from more convenient Winners and Marshalls stores.

I would totally be willing to trek there to check it out, and judging by the amount of people online who say they'll do the same, I'm not alone. We should at least be glad one truly Canadian brand name is coming back.

 

[thettctransitfanatic]

A nice idea but I foresee two problems..

Firstly, the store is in the boonies relatively speaking. I have been to Orfus Road and it is not exactly easy to get without a car. It is an area full of outlet stores and not a practical location for starting a new business.

Secondly, this will disappoint those of us who are old enough to have shopped at Bi-Way in its heyday. I remember when Bi-Way was in every strip and shopping mall. You could buy cheap quality items at a reasonable price. You never got the best but you knew what you were getting into when you walked into the store. It was like Dollarama is now but nicer and somewhat more selection.

I think this is going to be a failed attempt at bringing back what was a good store. If they really wanted this to succeed they would have brought it back in Scarborough, Durham Region or East York... not an industrial area.

The location is somewhat bad, but I think they were looking to be an area with lots of outlets/discount stores considering that the new concept for this revamped BiWay is for everything to be under $10, which is already questionable. They might also be trying to attract older people who live outside the city and wanna drive there. They also said that if this new location does well, more will open.