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Nordstrom

Target's big failure was higher prices and less selection

Target Canada's selection was actually closer to their US operations than most international retailers, certainly more so than Walmart. I was very surprised that they brought over a lot of their private and exclusive brands.

Expecting a Canadian store to offer the same prices as an American operation is entirely unrealistic, and yes, unrealistic expectations by Canadian consumers certainly contributed to the problem. They did lower their prices a few months before they announced it was over. There would have been quite a few good deals, but they never had the stuff in stock. And that was the biggest issue: a completely non-functional inventory control system, with management having no idea what was on the shelves or in the warehouses, and store staff unable to do anything about it. A POS system which would sometimes reject payments after customers had been given their receipts and left the store was another. Having no merchandise to sell, or not getting revenue when you do manage to sell something, would be a fatal blow to any retail operation.
 
It was likely the one in Canadian Business to which you are referring - it was discussed at length in the Target thread. It was an excellent, lengthy analysis of what went wrong at Target Canada. The focus of the article was primarily on the IT (there were so many other massive cock-ups, it would've required another series of articles to cover them all in the same level of detail).

That sounds like the one.
 
So, I finally checked out the TEC Nordstrom.

First, it was quite crowded. It was a Saturday, if they have a good conversion rate on traffic to sales, they should be doing quite well.

Second, I'm not expert on women's wear, so I don't have commentary on that, did check out men's wear......seemed fine, but I didn't think the selection was all that deep.

Third thought, the store looked quite attractive, like the wood ceilings..........

I did, however, think the whole store came off as quite small for this type of location.

It also seemed smaller than I know it is.

Perhaps it's an optical illusion.....but I could swear they lowered the height of the main floor ceiling.

While pretty the space seems less 'grand' than one might expect.
 
A little bit late (but better than never I guess), but here's a slight update on the company's newest store.

Nordstrom's Yorkdale location made close to $4 million in the first three days of the store opening its doors (back on October 21). This by far exceeded expectations, and it outperformed the Eaton Centre location's opening weekend. The gala was also a big hit with close to 2000 people attending, and once again it outperformed the gala that was done at the Eaton Centre location.

The Yorkdale location has been earning significantly more compared to the Eaton location- which continues to struggles to meet targets. As I noted in my earlier post, the problem with the downtown location is evident and it will be interesting to see whether the company adjusts product offerings to target the appropriate clientele.
 
A little bit late (but better than never I guess), but here's a slight update on the company's newest store.

Nordstrom's Yorkdale location made close to $4 million in the first three days of the store opening its doors (back on October 21). This by far exceeded expectations, and it outperformed the Eaton Centre location's opening weekend. The gala was also a big hit with close to 2000 people attending, and once again it outperformed the gala that was done at the Eaton Centre location.

The Yorkdale location has been earning significantly more compared to the Eaton location- which continues to struggles to meet targets. As I noted in my earlier post, the problem with the downtown location is evident and it will be interesting to see whether the company adjusts product offerings to target the appropriate clientele.

Yorkdale just seems to have more upscale stores so it would attract more "high end" shoppers. I could be wrong. Yordale is just a better shopping experience than Eaton's Center.
 
A little bit late (but better than never I guess), but here's a slight update on the company's newest store.

Nordstrom's Yorkdale location made close to $4 million in the first three days of the store opening its doors (back on October 21). This by far exceeded expectations, and it outperformed the Eaton Centre location's opening weekend. The gala was also a big hit with close to 2000 people attending, and once again it outperformed the gala that was done at the Eaton Centre location.

The Yorkdale location has been earning significantly more compared to the Eaton location- which continues to struggles to meet targets. As I noted in my earlier post, the problem with the downtown location is evident and it will be interesting to see whether the company adjusts product offerings to target the appropriate clientele.

How is Saks downtown doing btw, based I this I would assume not that well either ?
 
Yorkdale Mall is the best mall in the city with its mix of mainstream and upmarket retailers, free parking and good transit access. It's no surprise that its store is outperforming the Eaton Centre, which does not seem like a high-end mall.
 
Expecting a Canadian store to offer the same prices as an American operation is entirely unrealistic, and yes, unrealistic expectations by Canadian consumers certainly contributed to the problem.
I've never considered customer demands to be unrealistic expectations, unless those expectations are absolutely impossible to meet. Canadians wanted US Target's prices and selection, and they achieved exactly what they wanted.
 
Well Yorkdale is 100x easier to get to if your from outside toronto. Free parking!!!

I'm from london Ontario. So if I wanna visit Nordstrom. I would drive up to Yorkdale mall for the day. I would never fight to get downtown and pay for parking. Not worth it.

(well until the Sherway location opens, that mall is way quicker to get to from London ontario vs Yorkdale)
 
Well Yorkdale is 100x easier to get to if your from outside toronto. Free parking!!!

I'm from london Ontario. So if I wanna visit Nordstrom. I would drive up to Yorkdale mall for the day. I would never fight to get downtown and pay for parking. Not worth it.

(well until the Sherway location opens, that mall is way quicker to get to from London ontario vs Yorkdale)

Have fun finding a parking space.
 
Everyone who complains about yorkdales parking is used to going to malls with half the people and ample parking. It shouldn't be a surprise that it is busier since it has the best stores and is one of the biggest in Canada. Yorkdale has added a ton of underground parking. But unless people see a sea of empty parking spots as they enter the off ramp they assume there is none to be found. Using that same logic would be someone going downtown and trying to find street parking versus using the garage. almost no one would do it and almost everyone would mock them for that attempt.
 
I've never had trouble finding a parking spot at Yorkdale. You get there early, there is plenty of spots!
 
Yup.. I park by the hudsons bay/old sears corner... like far as I can get. It's also the closest area to get out of the mall and back on the 401 back to London!
 

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