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Shoppers Drug Mart

Northern Light said:
I can't like this enough! But by replying, I'm making sure to get an extra 'like' for it!

***

Hasten to add, I wonder if there's anything in the planning act or the City of Toronto act that would allow the City to enact a by-law prohibiting or limiting the use of window wrap?
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I think they require a Sign Permit
 
narduch said:
I could be wrong, but I believe they may have slightly raised their bread, milk and eggs prices since the Loblaws take-over.
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Yup, you're not the first person to notice this. My dad - a thriftaholic - has also said that their 'blow out' loss leader promotions have noticeably declined since the Loblaws takeover.

Northern Light said:
While this is not my preferred way of shopping, I do 'get it'.

If, as an example, you live on the Danforth, near Greenwood. Your nearest grocery going west is the Foodland the other side of Pape (more 2.5km west); or the Valumart @ Woodbine (2km + to the east); nothing to the north, unless you're looking at Food Basics by Pape and Cosburn, that's further still; while to the south, you're closest (when it reopens) would be the No Frills on Coxwell near Gerrard.
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There are two small Italian grocers not too far away - one at Dewhurst to the west and one at Monarch Park to the east. Certainly at a higher price point though.
 
These suburban big box stores seem to do very well downtown, even with the sky high rents. A lot of condo owners are from the burbs, and are used to shopping at these big box chains. I bet we will see a Walmart downtown within the next 5 to 10 years or less.
 
As I think about this further, there may be more to this story.

This location is definitely going to be a loss leader. No way can they justify the $2M rent at this location with eyes on a profit. It'll be the highest rent of any Shoppers Drugmart in the entire country.

However, Shoppers has been very agresssive with experimenting new concepts. I wonder if they have plans to try a restaurant or cafe concept here. Loblaws already does interior cafes in some of their stores and with plenty of experience with bakery, they have the pieces in place to mount an attempt at challenging Tim Horton's. Given how there's already a Shopper's at nearly every major intersection in the city, they certainly have the numbers to pull it off.
 
JasonParis said:
I'll try to be a dissenting voice, although it's a wee bit hard, and suggest that this location will likely be 24-hours and will perhaps in its own way, provide some sense of urbanity.
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If this is a 24 hour location and stocks a full variety of groceries and other essentials, it could generate a lot more foot traffic than the Hardrock, and at all hours.
 
MetroMan said:
As I think about this further, there may be more to this story.

This location is definitely going to be a loss leader. No way can they justify the $2M rent at this location with eyes on a profit. It'll be the highest rent of any Shoppers Drugmart in the entire country.

However, Shoppers has been very agresssive with experimenting new concepts. I wonder if they have plans to try a restaurant or cafe concept here. Loblaws already does interior cafes in some of their stores and with plenty of experience with bakery, they have the pieces in place to mount an attempt at challenging Tim Horton's. Given how there's already a Shopper's at nearly every major intersection in the city, they certainly have the numbers to pull it off.
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I share your thoughts. It wouldn't be hard for Shoppers to piggyback on something from Loblaws now that they are together. The Nutella Café concept for example, would be a good tourist draw at Dundas Square.
 
Tuscani01 said:
I share your thoughts. It wouldn't be hard for Shoppers to piggyback on something from Loblaws now that they are together. The Nutella Café concept for example, would be a good tourist draw at Dundas Square.
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That may be true but I'd be surprised if it's Nutella, given that the concept isn't exclusive to Loblaws.

But along the same lines, I don't suppose they might squeeze in a Joe Fresh there...?
 
DowntownCoder said:
That may be true but I'd be surprised if it's Nutella, given that the concept isn't exclusive to Loblaws.

But along the same lines, I don't suppose they might squeeze in a Joe Fresh there...?
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As I understand things....the margins from prescriptions/cosmetics/convenience food shopping all are higher than clothing.....so would it make any sense to give up floor space to a lower margin product in a high rent space?
 
DowntownCoder said:
That may be true but I'd be surprised if it's Nutella, given that the concept isn't exclusive to Loblaws.

But along the same lines, I don't suppose they might squeeze in a Joe Fresh there...?
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Doesn't need to be exclusive. It's something to entice people to come in, and a good chance to get a patio set up during the summer. There's already one at the Loblaws in Maple Leaf Gardens, so it wouldn't be new for them.
 
In regards to those who are shocked that some people may pick up comestibles at Shoppers, well, it's not where I would normally head…

I live near the Humber, in an area where the local plaza was torn down a few years ago. Vandyk's Backyard condos is being built there now, and we'll get new retailers as part of that, including a food co-op. (That should be pretty cool.) In the meantime, my area has become a food desert. It's a 1.4 km distance to my closest supermarket, which is a Sobey's. Down at the plaza there's also a Shoppers. That's my closest source to (a limited range of) President's Choice products, and there are a few of them I am partial too. In the summer, I bike to a Loblaws which is quite a bit farther away, but in the winter, convenience wins out.

Convenience may win out sometimes in Yonge-Dundas Square too.

42
 
Same here. I live within a 20 min walk of Chinatown and Kensington Market but I have a Shoppers Drugmart literally downstairs. Where do you think I go? The food is competitively priced and the Optimum Points program is fantastic.
 
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