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Toronto non-mall retail (Odds & Ends)

  • Thread starter marksimpson7843
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Hi everyone. I recently discovered this site and think it's quite interesting. Since I just discovered this site, I thought I'd respond to several posts in this thread.

I don't know. I don't like Indigo as much because the levels are so strange to get around. And plus, its entrance is on Bay, or through Manulife Centre.

If your concern is that because the entrance is not on Bloor St., and you don't think the store will do well because of this, I wouldn't be worried. The few times I've been there it's been very busy. I think people know where that store is by now.

You know what should have gone there on Bloor? Simons (which I think Toronto should have). Their Montreal (Ste-Catharine especially, the old Simpson's) and Quebec City (downtown and Place Ste-Foy) stores are great.

I'd be shocked if Toronto got another dept. store. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if one of the existing ones closed. The marketshare of traditional (ie., non-discount) dept. stores has been sliding for about 15 years now. People would rather shop at specialty stores, or at discount stores for everyday goods. Stores like The Bay have the reputation of having neither the service of specialty stores, nor the prices of discount stores.

Personally I boycott chain stores and stores which provide free parking

That's interesting, I know of lots of people who boycott stores that DON'T have free parking, but I've never heard of someone boycotting a store because it DOES have free parking. What's your reason? Would you rather pay for parking, or do you think it's because it's using up too much space. I haven't seen this new store at Queen and Parliament to comment on it, but I can't imagine the parking lot is too large at that location. Personally, I hate paying for parking out of principle alone, though I know it sometimes can't be avoided. I begrudgingly pay $130 a month to park near my work, and have every cent of it :lol
 
Welcome Ontarian1976. I agree with you. I think it's doubtful we would see another department store downtown (of any stripe), but I don't think it's likely we'd lose one.
 
^I think I've read that before...Is this the ezboard people messing up? Interesting article Ontarian1976, is that from the city website? I really like Sports Authority and Sportsmart (much more than having just the Forzani Group's hidden monopoly of Sportchek, Sport Mart, Sports Experts, Coast Mountain Sports and National Sports).
 
^^That's true. I think 1BE can handle more screens though, being a destination node. How's the project coming along, and how many screens was it to hold? With Uptown, York, Cumberland, and all the other cinemas that used to be there (can't remember all the names), it totalled 12 or so not including Varsity. I think the area could handle more screens, but Cineplex might not.
 
wonder if we will see a hallowing out of the 400/7 disaster area? then what do we build?
 
I didn't know that Vancouver's Virgin Megastore is closing. As it's their only Canadian store, it might mean that they don't think the market's worthwhile? Do you know why it closed, and how long it was there for?

I don't know Bretton's, did they have other branches (in Toronto or Canada)? I think (Anglo-)Canada just has a really limited amount of upscale department stores it can handle: One (Holt Renfrew).

What's happening at Chapters on Bloor now? Are there signs that say Winners is going in?
 
Though I haven't purchased from Le Château in quite a few years, it's nice to see a homegrown success story. Could this be a Canadian H&M that will go be seen throughout the world?
_______________________________
Clothier Le Chateau wants to expand outside Canada, says president
ALLAN SWIFT
MONTREAL (CP) - Clothing retailer Le Chateau Inc. has ambitious plans to expand its store space, put more emphasis on shoes and men's clothing and even open stores offshore, the company's annual meeting was told Wednesday.

President Emilia Di Raddo told the meeting Le Chateau intends to spend $23 million this year to open 12 to 15 new stores and renovate 20 to 25.

The company currently has 174 stores in Canada and four in the New York City area.

Di Raddo said store sizes are also increasing, as Le Chateau expands its product line to cater to older women than it used to, reflecting the aging population.

On the basis of floor space, Le Chateau expects to have 760,000 square feet in Canada by the end of 2005 and within four years, primarily through enlarging existing stores, one million square feet.

Di Raddo said Le Chateau is also going after more menswear sales, which currently account for only 18 per cent of its sales to adults. The president wants to drive that up to 37 per cent, by standalone stores and with more space inside women's stores.

These measures should compensate for a plunge in sales aimed at girls eight to 14, as industry sales declined and Le Chateau lost market share to big department stores like Wal-Mart.

Herschel Segal, founder, chairman and chief executive, said the company is negotiating with a major retailer to try three Le Chateau stores in another country, on a franchise basis.

A fifth store will be opened this fall in the United States, in New Jersey, even though its other four U.S. stores are not doing well.

"I think this (new store) will tell us what we can do and how far we can go in the States," Segal said.

"There's a lot more to do in Canada, but we're looking globally."

Shares in Le Chateau (TSX:CTU.SV.A) advanced $3.39 on Wednesday to $41.39, a gain of nine per cent.

Although there are no more restrictions on clothing imports from Asia as of Jan. 1, Le Chateau still makes half of its clothing in its own sewing plants in Montreal.

Di Raddo said this is a competitive advantage because domestic manufacturing provides a shorter delay in getting new clothes into stores from the factory. The company can also test the market with small batches, reducing the risk that goes with buying a large order from overseas that doesn't sell.

A cycle from design to store delivery typically takes four weeks in Canada, compared with four months for clothing sourced in China. De Raddo is working on achieving a turnaround time of only two weeks in Canada.

In its first quarter reported two weeks ago, Le Chateau earned $4.6 million, double the previous year, as sales increased 20 per cent to $60.6 million for the three months ended last April 30.
 
So the Dominion you once knew is changing hands. I hope they don't change much.
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Metro Inc. expands in Ontario market with $1.7B takeover of A&P Canada
05:12 PM EDT Jul 19

MONTREAL (CP) - Metro Inc. has jumped the queue to pay $1.7 billion for A&P Canada, expanding dramatically in Ontario - a stronghold of larger rivals Loblaw and Sobeys - and becoming the country's third-largest supermarket chain.

The Montreal-based company, Quebec's second-biggest grocery chain, said Tuesday its acquisition of 236 stores is expected to boost its market share in the most populous province to 25 per cent, and to 30 per cent in the key Toronto area.

The news sent Sobeys Inc. shares down eight per cent on the Toronto stock market as the Stellarton, N.S.-based firm (TSX:SBY) had been considered a possible buyer of A&P Canada, whose banners include Dominion, Food Basics, The Barn and Ultra Food & Drug.

"The transaction makes Metro, which was a very strong regional player, into a national player with a 25 per cent market share in Ontario," Metro president Pierre Lessard told a news conference.

"Ontario is the largest province in Canada, the fastest-growing province. Greater Toronto is very fast-growing and being able to expand into that market makes Metro a very different company with long-term growth prospects."

Metro (TSX:MRU.SV.A) struck a deal with The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. and its subsidiary, A&P Luxembourg, to pay $1.2 billion in cash and $500 million worth of Metro class-A shares.

The announcement sent Metro shares soaring more than 13 per cent as they gained as much as $4.75 to $32.25. Monday afternoon, they traded at $31.05.

Sobeys Inc. shares were down $3.27 at $37.80 while Loblaw Cos. Ltd. shares dropped just 24 cents to $72.56.

A&P Canada, which had been seeking a buyer for several months, operates 236 food stores in Ontario under its various banners, with annual sales of $4.4 billion and more than 32,000 employees.

The deal will give Metro a network of 579 food stores - 283 in Ontario - with annual sales of nearly $11 billion

With its Metro, Metro Plus, Super C, Loeb and Brunet banners, Metro has annual sales of $6.1 billion and more than 33,000 employees.

Metro said in January it could easily finance a $1-billion acquisition, with only $10.6 million in long-term debt and total assets of $1.65 billion.

Retail analyst John Winter said the deal is good news for consumers.

"I would argue this is an increase in competition because you're going to have a larger, stronger more dynamic development," said Winter, of John Winter Associates Ltd.

"Metro will be able to get even better deals from its suppliers because it's that much larger and, therefore, will be able to pass those on to consumers.

Lessard, who expects synergies of about $60 million from the deal, said the company has no plans for widespread closures because there is little overlap between Metro and A&P.

"The price may seem high, but we look at it as a very valuable asset," he said.

Winter agrees.

"A&P has some really good stores in really good locations," Winter noted. "It is a valuable asset because it's operating, running. It's got a number of well-known banners, and a good A&P store is as good as any of the other chains in the market."

Winter said Metro is paying an average of $7 million for each of the 236 stores, whereas it would cost $10 million or so to build a new store.

Metro chief operating officer Eric Richer La Fleche said the Greater Toronto Area was "key" to the acquisition, which will give Metro 16 per cent of the Canadian grocery market.

"Of the 236 stores, 100 are located in the GTA, with very high-quality real estate, prime locations, unreplicable locations, so it was very much a coveted asset," he said.

The United Food and Commercial Workers union, representing almost 19,000 Ontario employees at A&P Canada, issued a release saying it expects very few changes in A&P operations.

Metro will issue about 18.1 million shares to the U.S.-based A&P parent firm, based on a price per share of $27.66, giving it about 15.8 per cent of Metro and 14.1 per cent of the total voting rights.

The deal also gives provides A&P the right to designate two representatives to the board of directors at Metro.

Metro said it has secured necessary financing from a syndicate of banks.

Standard & Poor's Rating Services, meanwhile, lowered its ratings on Metro to BBB from A-after the announcement.

"The ratings revision reflects a much higher financial-risk profile due the significant incremental debt assumed by the company to fund the acquisition, and the integration risk associated with operating new banners in the very competitive Ontario market," said Standard & Poor's analyst Don Povilaitis.

"These financial weaknesses are partially mitigated by a business profile that continues to be above average on a combined basis, the acquisition of a very high-quality, prime real-estate footprint in Ontario, and the strong productivity of the A&P stores that will be immediately accretive to Metro."

The transaction, scheduled to close in August, is expected to add to Metro's earnings per share in 2006 and is subject to customary conditions, including approval by the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Metro said it will keep the A&P head office in Toronto.

"We are delighted to enter into this historic agreement with Metro and to participate in its future growth and success with a significant investment position," Christian Haub, chairman and CEO of A&P's parent company, said in a statement.
 
Whats going into the Eaton Centre south end by the Galleria connection to the Bay?
Is it Abercrombie?
 
Re: Eaton Centre

Does anyone know what's opening on the third level of the Eaton Centre near the connection to the Bay?
 
Level 3's getting a Lululemon Athletica, and Level 1's getting a Hollister & Co., sister company to Abercrombie & Fitch
 
Toronto losing out to Calgary?

Sep. 14, 2005. 01:00 AM
Retailers may create a Calgary stampede
DANA FLAVELLE
BUSINESS REPORTER

Watch out Toronto. Some U.S. retailers looking to open stores in Canada are seriously considering making Calgary their first stop.
Call it oil-patch economics. The Alberta city draws on a population of 1 million people who enjoy the lowest unemployment rate, highest household income and top retail sales per person in the country.
"We're talking to a lot of U.S. retailers ... who are looking at making Calgary their first stop," said David Pidgeon, asset manager for Deerfoot Meadows, a sprawling mall, whose construction is scheduled to begin next year in Calgary.
It's not as if new retailers are flocking en masse to western Canada. Coincidentally, Swedish cheap chic fashion retailer H&M, which chose Toronto as its first stop last year, announced yesterday it's continuing to invest in the city, opening three more stores in Greater Toronto Area malls this fall.
In fact, most major international retail chains that have come to Canada in the last few years have started out in Toronto. Think Zara, the Spanish fashion retailer, Best Buy, the leading U.S. consumer electronics chain, or Sephora, the European cosmetics company.
The opening of U.S.-based companies' stores in Calgary "is not going to be a tidal wave," said John Torella, a senior consultant with Toronto-based J.C. Williams Group. "I think there are going to be some because the market is so buoyant and Deerfoot is offering some pretty attractive (leasing) deals.
"But Toronto has so many other benefits," said Torella. "Just the sheer size of the market, the diversity of the market, the vibrancy of the market. That's all pretty attractive,"
Still, Calgary is undeniably attractive and there are signs the market is shifting.
"The city is really hot right now," Pidgeon said during the International Council of Shopping Centres conference in Toronto yesterday.
"We've got three or four international tenants who are looking at this and saying, `Wow,'" added John Marino, a leasing consultant for Deerfoot.
The Calgary project is the size of four Yorkdale shopping centres and will be one of Canada's first "lifestyle destination centres," the next generation of shopping mall development, Marino explained.
This new style of mall combines big-box stores with a stylish boardwalk featuring mid- to high-fashion outlets and better restaurants, and some condo or hotel development. They're aimed at affluent, older adults, who have time to stroll and shop and are willing to pay for more ambience, Marino said. About 70 such malls have been built in the U.S.
And now, one's coming to Calgary, the heart of a province with $100 billion in new investment committed over the next decade to develop the oil sands.
Toronto, and more broadly, Ontario, meanwhile is lagging the national average in retail sales growth and shopping mall performance, the conference heard. Retail sales in Alberta rose 11.4 per cent in the first half of the year, while Ontario lagged the national average with 5.4 per cent growth, Statistics Canada has said.
Among malls, fashion-forward Montreal enjoyed the strongest growth, up 5.9 per cent, followed by Calgary, at 5.4 per cent, and then Toronto, at 1.6 per cent, according to mall industry data.
For the country as a whole, economic conditions remain favourable with retail sales running ahead of last year's pace, up 6.8 per cent, said the mall group.
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Outside retailers flocking to Canada, ICSC meeting told

U.S. and European retailers are entering the Canadian market drawn by the strength of its economy, forcing local retailers to become more competitive, panelists at the 2005 Canadian Convention in Toronto said today.
“The margins of Canadian retailers are being squeezed by competition from big discounters like Wal-Mart,†said Ed Sonshine, president and CEO of Toronto-based RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust. “For a long time, the Canadian market seemed very protected. But it's good for us as landlords, because we have more choices for tenants.â€

The arrival of new international retailers is “one of the most exciting†developments in the Canadian retailing scene, said René Tremblay, president and CEO of Toronto-based developer Ivanhoe Cambridge. “They are bringing a lot of great concepts.â€

Observers say about 50 U.S. retailers have entered Canada in the past five years. The influx signifies that the Canadian economy is in good health, most panelists agreed. So far the economy has shrugged off high oil prices, Sonshine said, and Tremblay predicts retail sales growth of 3 percent to 4 percent in coming years.

To take advantage of this economic vigor, some Canadian developers are considering formats more common in the U.S., such as lifestyle centers. But lifestyle centers are likely to have only a “limited market,†in Canada, said L. Peter Sharpe, president and CEO of the Toronto-based Cadillac Fairview Corp. Only a few areas in Canada have the household income to support the high retail price points that such centers demand, he said.

Developers looking to build in Canada would do well to consider the province of Alberta, said Doug Porter, deputy chief economist and managing director of BMO Nesbitt Burns, a Toronto-based bank. Alberta's retail sales make the province look like “an area on steroids,†he said. The province's booming economy is also drawing immigrants from other parts of Canada, with about 13,000 arriving last year.

But there may be economic storm clouds ahead, others said. Rising energy prices will “be the biggest risk for Canadian consumers,†said Porter. “Growth will remain solid, but it is slowing.â€

Developers agreed that there are challenges on the way. A rise in inflation could cause “a downturn, and then we will see a massive correction,†said K. Sahi, chairman and CEO of Morguard Corp., a Toronto-based real estate and financial services firm. The current economic expansion “will run out of steam,†said Sharpe, which will hurt “the electronics and home improvement industries that have een the mainstay of our sales.â€
 
Re: Toronto losing out to Calgary?

Sep. 25, 2005. 08:51 AM
STUART NIMMO/TORONTO STAR
BUSINESS REPORTER

The laces between the Brownsteins and some Italian shoemakers have been intertwined for almost half a century. Families such as the Ferragamos have supplied the Brownsteins' Montreal-based shoe retail chain with upscale, fashionable footwear for generations.
A few months ago, Michael Brownstein proudly presented his son, David — the fourth generation to join his family's Browns Shoe Shops — to one of the company's long-time Italian suppliers. The man seemed downright distraught, prompting Michael to ask why.
"Your father I worked with, and he was nice. You were a lot tougher," the supplier explained. "I don't want to meet your son."
Of course, suppliers know the Brownsteins may be tough, but they're true.
Browns Shoe Shops was started by Michael's grandfather, Benjamin Brownstein, in 1940. Morton Brownstein, Michael's father, took over the business, and in 1959 became (as far as the company knows) the first Canadian retailer to import shoes from Italy and carry designer labels such as Salvatore Ferragamo and Bruno Magli.
Parallel generations in Italy and Canada — from Morton's to Michael's to David's — have worked together since, even as Browns grew from a single store in Montreal to more than 40 locations across the country.
"We'll never let them down and they know that, because of our relationship," Michael explains, noting he buys from those suppliers every year, even if a season's line is weaker than usual. "Even if you're buying less than you bought (in previous years), you have to buy something because they're counting on us. ... We've been in business with them for so many years."
That kind of familial give and take is one of the things that made Browns a shoe-in for the Micam award, a prestigious industry accolade that had never before been given to a retailer outside Italy.
"The whole ambiance, the atmosphere of our company is very family-oriented," Michael explains. "Our staff is very important to us and are very close and we treat them like family."
If a relative of a staff member has health problems, for example, the Brownsteins, who are involved with Montreal hospitals, may help them get appointments with doctors, he says.
The focus on relationships spills over into the family's interaction with customers.
"Even our buyers and our executives try to spend as much time in the stores as they can, meeting customers and meeting our staff," Michael explains.
In fact, David's job right now is spending some time at each of the stores in Toronto, where the company now does the bulk of its business, and getting to know the staff and customers.
"Each of our stores has different merchandise, different customers that we're targeting," explains David, 25, who joined the company in recent months. For example, the downtown stores are faster-paced than the more service-oriented Yorkville flagship, he says.
The stores that David is getting to know in intimate detail are a big step up from the single family shoe store started by his great-grandfather, Benjamin, 65 years ago.
"In those days," Michael explained, "shoe stores were boxes on the floor and a few chairs."
After the original store burned down in 1954, Morton had a grander vision for the next version, so he hired a store interior designer. The designer asked what kind of store he was designing, and Morton's decision took Browns upscale, catering to customers most conscious of the latest fashions. With a vision to give those clients something special, he began importing Italian shoes in 1959.
"He figured that the latest fashion was coming from Europe and so he went to Europe to bring the fashion to North America," said Michael. It's been a family tradition ever since.
"We go to Europe six times a year."
Almost right off the bat, Morton, who still chairs the company at age 77, began persuading big names to design exclusive lines for his company.
Morton soon realized that expanding Browns would strengthen relationships with suppliers. As shopping centres sprouted all over Montreal and Toronto in the 1960s and 1970s, Browns followed.
"Every time a major centre would open, we'd open a store there," explains Michael, 56, who joined the company full-time in 1973 and is now its president. His sister, Janet, also works for the family business, handling public relations.
In the next few decades, both the Bay and Holt Renfrew approached Browns and invited them to open boutiques within their department stores. Browns took that as an opportunity to branch out into new cities such as Vancouver.
The company's expansion has served it well in its negotiations with suppliers for exclusive lines, including many from designer brands such as Giancarlo Paoli and Manolo Blahnik.
"Don't forget — we have 40 stores," Michael points out. "We have a lot of power in Canada."
Many of the company's suppliers manufacture shoes exclusively for Browns's six private labels, which develop many of their own products.
In the 1990s, Michael realized that some of those shoes would benefit from a wider audience. "We had this product that was very young, very cool," he explained. "In order to attract a younger customer, we needed a younger atmosphere also."
And so Browns opened its first B2 store on a hip strip of Queen St., to better showcase trendy sneakers, backpacks and other street fashion. There are now five stores under the B2 banner, including one in the Eaton Centre whose coloured glass and curved metal décor contrasts sharply with the hardwood and brick of the flagship Browns store in Yorkville. Despite their cosmetic differences, both Browns and B2 stores share a similar philosophy.
"Our buyers are always on the lookout for whatever's new and whatever's hot," says Michael. The buyers include his 23-year-old daughter, Julia, who has just joined the company as an assistant buyer after graduating from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York.
Actually, the entire family is involved in the business now — Michael's wife, Thérèse, accompanies him on his trips to Europe and also acts as his consultant, particularly when it comes to women's fashions.
Stylishly dressed in autumn orange on a warm, late summer day, she's always looking to the next season. In Europe, she pays keen attention to what there is for sale in the stores, what fashion-conscious women are wearing and what kind of shoes would go well.
"Even on vacation, I was in Italy and I (saw) all these jeans, jeans, jeans," she says, her excitement and passion for fashion bubbling through her French-accented voice. "I said, `Michael, cowboy boots (are) just going to be right on.' "
And so, this season, the Yorkville Browns store has an extensive lineup of cowboy boots on display atop its curved glass shelves.
A collective family effort keeps Browns on the leading edge of fashion, and keeping that edge is crucial to their success, Thérèse explains.
"We go in trendy places," she says. "We don't go to four-star restaurants where the (average) age is 75. We go where everything's happening. That's the way it has to be."
 
Are Canadians ready for Carl's Jr.?

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