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Hudson's Bay Company

Agreed. The only way you'd know about it is by walking through the mens department, which is a several escalator rides above the concourse level, which is still full of blousy office shirts and wide-ass ties, which provides zero incentive to explore the rest of the store. Are they trying to keep it a secret?

No, they are just focussed on the women's section (where the money is). Men's depts in all department stores have always been treated like an after thought. The frustrating thing is it is not rocket science.
 
If you're talking about the Queen St. Bay, there is a substantial piece of the men's department on the main floor (one up from the lowest, or concourse, level), with the rest up on the second floor (which is where the walkway to the Eaton Centre connects). It's actually the women's clothing departments that are up a few escalator rides.

Yeah, sorry I was talking about the lame men's section on the ground floor.

No, they are just focussed on the women's section (where the money is). Men's depts in all department stores have always been treated like an after thought. The frustrating thing is it is not rocket science.
This is absolutely correct. Someone ran an article a few years ago (NY Times?) about the ascendancy of menwear over the past decade and how retailers who were failing to capitalize on it (i.e. kept a tiny department at the back corner of their stores) were getting left behind. They designed their stores to fit the '90s grunge era when dressing properly was not a popular concern for men -- a stark reversal from previous decades and the present.

Here's something along those lines... Articles like this pop up every economic cycle because menswear consistently ranks as a driver of growth, sometimes even outperforming the womens' department. And everyone acts like it's a groundbreaking surprise every time because Men Don't Like Shopping :rolleyes:
 
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There isn't much, in the current fashion cycle, that suits my personal aesthetic taste so I'll probably sit things out for a while. For the past five years or so we've seen the revival of velvet for men, and I've taken advantage of that to buy a few jackets. The present fashion for mens' suits, cut so small that they're comically Pee-wee Herman-ish in aspect, holds no appeal for me whatsoever.
 
There isn't much, in the current fashion cycle, that suits my personal aesthetic taste so I'll probably sit things out for a while. For the past five years or so we've seen the revival of velvet for men, and I've taken advantage of that to buy a few jackets. The present fashion for mens' suits, cut so small that they're comically Pee-wee Herman-ish in aspect, holds no appeal for me whatsoever.

I think you just ruined my love for slim fit anything and everything.
 
There isn't much, in the current fashion cycle, that suits my personal aesthetic taste so I'll probably sit things out for a while. For the past five years or so we've seen the revival of velvet for men, and I've taken advantage of that to buy a few jackets. The present fashion for mens' suits, cut so small that they're comically Pee-wee Herman-ish in aspect, holds no appeal for me whatsoever.

I love slim-cut blazers (size 34, please!) The slim-cut trousers on the other hand I cannot wear. You have to be tall and lean in order to wear them (which I am not).
 
Interesting article on a revamp to Montreal mall Galeries d’Anjou. The mall will be getting a new Target (replacing Zellers) and a new Simons (an additional department store). While in the past, the Bay probably would have chugged along with few changes to its store, hoping to skim some dollars from the increased crowds attracted by other retailers, it looks like they are using this opportunity to launch a new concept store. A sign of what we might expect at some suburban GTA stores?

Also interesting that there do not appear to be any changes forthcoming to the Sears store, except for a new exterior.

====

Galeries d’Anjou gets makeover

By Robert Gibbens, Special to The Gazette
July 18, 2011


MONTREAL - The landmark Galeries d’Anjou shopping centre in east-end Montreal is getting an $86-million expansion and remake that will include a new two-level Simons store, a completely redone Bay and a Target store to replace the existing Zellers.

The 50-50 joint owners, Toronto-based Cadillac Fairview Corp. Ltd. and Ivanhoe Cambridge, a property arm of pension fund manager the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, said Monday the Simons store with 100,000 square feet of selling space will open late in 2013 and the Target store slightly earlier in 2013.

The construction and finishing work will be done in phases starting this fall and extending over the next two years. The program will bring Galeries d’Anjou’s total floor space to 1.14 million square feet, or almost as big as Fairview Pointe Claire, and comparable with Les Promenades St. Bruno and Carrefour Laval – the four are known as the “Montreal Fashion Centres” and together they make up a network of 926 stores.

The Galeries d’Anjou, originally built in 1968 by Cadillac and investors later absorbed by the Caisse, is located at the intersection of Highways 40 and 25 and already has annual traffic of 8 million shoppers.

“The new project will boost this with more shoppers coming in from fast-growth towns such as Mascouche, Repentigny and Terrebonne, besides east-end Montreal, and transportation access is rapidly improving,” said Normand Blouin, senior vice-president of Cadillac’s Eastern Canada Portfolio and the centre’s manager. “The $86 million is evidence of our confidence in Quebec’s future growth.”

Blouin said studies confirmed an expanded shopping centre with a new Simons store and other major improvements would significantly boost traffic.

“When Les Galeries d’Anjou opened, he recalled, east-end Montreal had five or six oil refineries and the Vickers shipyard and new industry was only just moving in.

“We’ve seen a tremendous transformation with the massive growth of Repentigny. Saputo brought in its head office and several big firms chose the area near Les Galeries for their provincial headquarters.

“Les Galeries will continue as a regular-price, full-service shopping centre offering a host of amenities that can’t be found in power centres,” he said. “We welcome competition ... Les Galeries is fashion-oriented and the expansion will enable us to redo our tenant mix.”

The Target store, one of several being built by U.S. retail giant Target Corp. across Canada, will replace the existing Zellers. A new food court will be located nearby.

The existing Sears store will have a new exterior facing geared to the centre’s overall redevelopment plan.

“We’re excited about bringing a big Simons store to Les Galeries and our success in Montreal shows how people buy into our unique value offerings,” said Peter Simons, president of Quebec City-based Maison Simons. “We provide the hottest fashions combined with our legendary service.”

CEO Bonnie Brooks said The Bay will work with a leading design firm to build a new store concept that will showcase top international brands from contemporary to high fashion.

Cadillac Fairview is one of North America’s biggest investors, owners and managers of commercial real estate from office properties to shopping malls, with a combined value of $19 billion U.S. It has been fully owned by the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board since 2000.

Ivanhoe Cambridge is part of the Caisse’s Ivanhoe Cambridge Group, one the world’s ten largest property companies with assets of $30 billion as of Dec. 31.

© Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette
 
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I am not sure what the future holds for the 2nd floor men's section at The Bay - Queen St. (formerly known as the West End)... Last week I bought two shirts and a pair of jeans on sale. At full price they would have set me back $750, but I took advantage of a second round of reductions. I noticed a lot of merchandise that just didn't sell. Their switch to higher-end clothes will fail unless they advertise it better.
 
Dropped by the Eglinton Square store.....they're not dropping it, it is in full renovation mode.

Spoke to staff, disappointingly, they were mostly in the dark about what's happening

Quick Rant ....

(this is how so many retailers get into trouble, neither involving their staff and engendering loyalty, along with the ability to keep customers informed, but also failing to take advantage of employee knowledge.)

....Rant Over.


Anyways, here's what little I could gather, new carpets and shelving, no more central cash, back to cash registers in each dept.

Bringing in Men's Suits.....(been along time since I saw those in that store)

Increased focus on fashion and higher-end brands (but staff didn't know which)
 
The Bay's flagship Queen Street store will be getting a new Burberry accessories boutique this fall, according to its Twitter: "We are very excited to welcome the @burberry accessories store at @thehudsonsbayco Queen Street. Coming this fall. http://twitpic.com/5vrn9f"
 
Apparently Topman has opened at the Queen St store. I saw Topshop in the women's dept last Saturday and it was pretty lame. Hopefully this is just a preview. I think it may be as wasn't it not supposed to be ready until the autumn?
 
There isn't much, in the current fashion cycle, that suits my personal aesthetic taste so I'll probably sit things out for a while. For the past five years or so we've seen the revival of velvet for men, and I've taken advantage of that to buy a few jackets. The present fashion for mens' suits, cut so small that they're comically Pee-wee Herman-ish in aspect, holds no appeal for me whatsoever.

I like the slim cut for most thing these days, but I get what you are refering to with the Pee-wee Herman reference. I think slim is good, but the new style of getting your suit pants shortened where it shows your socks is just dumb to me..
 
I like the slim cut for most thing these days, but I get what you are refering to with the Pee-wee Herman reference. I think slim is good, but the new style of getting your suit pants shortened where it shows your socks is just dumb to me..

That's a style??? Insane!!!
 
^ hah yes, it is.. pick up a recent GQ or men's fashion mag.

Better yet, walk around the West end and you'll see hipsters that even roll up their jeans/khakis at the bottom
 

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