In only a few moments, you can send a pre-drafted email to your local federal election candidates telling them about the importance of retail to Canada’s economy. Retail employs over 2.2 million Canadians, making it our largest private sector employer. With annual sales in excess of $350 billion (excluding vehicle and gasoline sales), retail also drives Canadian growth and jobs. 

You can send a pre-drafted letter by clicking this link —-> VOTERETAIL.CA

Retail Council of Canada has developed four policies to help retailers of all sizes in the industry to remain competitive in light of global competition, as well as to provide meaningful and stable jobs. These policies include: 

• Lowering merchant credit card fees (which are among the highest in the world),
• Eliminating import taxes on consumer goods that drive retail prices higher,
• Maintaining the $20 maximum duty exemption for goods purchased online from abroad, and
• Recognizing the importance of retail by supporting Canada’s merchants by developing an industry strategy that supports small, mid-size and large retailers.

The initiative’s goal is to ensure local candidates understand the impact of retail on their community and how, if elected, they can support Canada’s retail sector. At the moment, federal parties receive a ‘D’ grade based on their retail policy and strategy submissions to the Retail Council of Canada. These responses are on the Voteretail.ca website. 

“We are disappointed and troubled by what we’ve heard from the parties so far,” said Diane J. Brisebois, President and CEO of Retail Council of Canada. “While there is some support for selected issues, as a whole the parties just don’t get it. Canada’s retail industry is a key economic driver, responsible for 2.2 million jobs in malls and main streets in every community across the country. But it is also an industry that is going through a period of unprecedented change with the rise of e-commerce, mobile shopping and regulatory policies that continue to challenge our competitiveness.”

David Wilkes, Senior Vice-President of Government Relations for Retail Council of Canada adds: “Whoever forms the next government must have a comprehensive agenda in place to foster a strong and buoyant retail industry.” Wilkes went on to say that “As always a key focus for Retail Council of Canada is ensuring that government policies do not have the effect of driving Canadian prices higher. Higher prices often result in fewer products being available to consumers and ultimately drive consumers to retail options that do not benefit the Canadian economy”.

When it opens early next year, American luxury retailer Saks Fifth Avenue‘s second Canadian location will be Canada’s largest suburban luxury department store. Located at CF Sherway Gardens in Toronto, Saks will surpass the size of Holt Renfrew‘s suburban stores, which have grown in size over the past several years.

According to Sherway’s landlord Cadillac Fairview, the mall’s three-level Saks will measure an impressive 132,256 square feet. The new store, scheduled to open on Feburary 25, 2016, will occupy the southern portion of the mall’s former 225,000 Sears location. Sport Chek will occupy most of the remainder of Sears, measuring about 70,000 square feet. Remarkably, Sherway’s Saks will be only marginally smaller than the mall’s new Nordstrom, scheduled to open spring/summer of 2017. When completed, Sherway’s Nordstrom will be about 138,000 square feet.

Saks Sherway “will feature an open format so customers can easily navigate their way through as they shop”, according to Saks. The store will feature a basement-level food hall operated by Toronto-based Pusateri’s Fine Foods, estimated to be about 19,000 square feet. Sherway’s Saks will also feature a restaurant operated by Oliver & Bonacini, a salon/spa operated by New York City-based John Barrett, and concessions for cosmetics brands Aesop, Kiehl’s, and others. 

Saks Sherway will be about 10,000 square feet larger than Holt Renfrew’s 122,000 square foot Mississauga Square One location, currently under construction. That Holt Renfrew location is scheduled to open in the spring of 2016 and when completed, will be Canada’s second-largest suburban luxury store. Holt Renfrew’s Toronto Yorkdale Shopping Centre store is almost as large, measuring about 121,000 square feet. Holt Renfrew stores have grown substantially over the past several years. It’s Yorkdale store, for example, measured just over 65,000 square feet before it expanded in early 2014, while its current CF Sherway Gardens store measures only 33,600 square feet. Earlier this year, Holt’s closed its 36,000 square foot Ottawa and 33,000 square foot Quebec City units, as the retailer continues its $300 million expansion which will focus on operating larger stores. For now, the company’s Sherway and Edmonton stores are its only remaining units measuring less than 40,000 square feet, while its 83,000 square foot Montreal store will close in 2017 to be merged into a 220,000 square foot Ogilvy/Holt’s flagship. 

Saks’ Sherway store will by no means be the retailer’s largest suburban store, however. In the United States, where flagship retailers are more common in suburban malls than downtown, Saks boasts several units substantially larger than Sherway. Its new Houston Galleria store location, set to open in the spring of 2016, will measure about 198,000 square feet. Its Bal Harbour Shops (Florida) unit will also relocate next year to a 180,000 square foot space, which some say could also include a food hall like in Saks’ Canadian stores. Saks also operates large suburban locations in Las Vegas (Fashion Show Mall, 166,000 square feet), Boca Raton, Florida (Town Center at Boca Raton, 148,000 square feet), Atlanta (Phipps Plaza, 150,000 square feet) and Troy, Michigan (Detroit metro, Somerset Collection, 160,000 square feet).

Saks’ largest confirmed Canadian location will be its 170,000 square foot CF Toronto Eaton Centre flagship, scheduled to open February 18, 2016. This Saks location will be one of Canada’s largest luxury retailers, surpassed only by Holt Renfrew’s 185,000 square foot Toronto Bloor Street flagship, Holt’s expanded 187,000 square foot Vancouver CF Pacific Centre unit, and Montreal’s 220,000 square foot combined Ogilvy/Holt’s flagship. The Vancouver store’s expansion is expected to be completed before the end of 2016, while the expanded Montreal store is expected to be finished about a year later. 

Saks Fifth Avenue has confirmed intentions to open stores in Vancouver and Montreal and as well, possibly in Calgary. Saks hasn’t indicated how large these locations will be, nor where they will be located.

Opportunities continue to present in one of Canada’s wealthiest regions, with retailers and developers clamouring to invest in the County of Grande Prairie, Alberta. Despite recent press about low oil prices negatively affecting the province, the County of Grande Prairie is booming due to economic diversification that includes commerce, forestry, agriculture, and energy (exploration, services and production). The County’s master-planned community, Clairmont Heights, is seeing tremendous interest from investors, and there’s still opportunity for retailers and investors to become involved in the building of an entirely new community.

The County of Grande Prairie is at a considerable advantage when compared to surrounding areas. Residential property taxes are lower than neighbouring jurisdictions, primarily due to the County’s substantial commercial tax base. Recognizing this benefit, demand for housing is fierce and developers are addressing demand by investing millions into new housing starts. Remarkably the County of Grand Prairie, with a population of just 28,000, has a third of the number of housing starts of booming Saskatchewan with a population of over one million.

The ability to create a master-planned community is a huge benefit to the County. Called Clairmont Heights, the County’s new village centre will feature a commercial high street featuring at-grade retailers, with residences above. Population projections could see an additional 6,000 residences housing an anticipated 15,000 people. Density will dissipate from the core to feature subdivisions of attached and detached homes, while substantial commercial centres will be developed along busy Highway 2, which sees substantial vehicle traffic accessing various parts of the region. Schools, recreation and other amenities will be optimally placed within the master-planned region, with further benefit gained from being located on Clairmont Lake.

In June, the County held a highly successful economic summit, where it highlighted considerable demand for new retailers in a recent market gap analysis (PDF). Potential investors, retailers, landlords and other interested parties were presented with immediate retail opportunities for grocers, liquor stores, banks, coffee shops, as well as a variety of other categories. Despite its relatively small population, the County of Grande Prairie’s purchasing power is exceptional. It boasts an average household income of $109,000 annually and with a lower-than-average cost of living, residents have exceptionally high discretionary incomes. As a result, demand for new retail is substantially higher than in similar-sized communities lacking exceptional growth and affluence.

Several major retailers are showing interest in the master-planned community, and there is still considerable opportunity for retailers and investors. County of Grande Prairie’s Economic Development Manager, Chris King, will be at ICSC Toronto on October 5 to 7 with Dale Bellavance, CEO of Bell Group International and Brooks Hoffos, CEO of Fuse Realty. Interested parties are encouraged to contact Chris King at: 780-513-3956 or by email: cking@countygp.ab.ca.