Savings at the rink (CNW Group/Retail Council of Canada)
The Retail Council of Canada released information today that demonstrates tariff reductions are paying off for Canadian consumers. In Budget 2013, the Minister of Finance introduced an important pilot project on the reduction of customs tariffs, with the first step being the elimination of duties on baby clothes and most sports and athletic equipment. As we approach the first anniversary of that important decision (March 21, 2013), The Retail Council of Canada conducted a sampling of its members to assess the effectiveness of tariff reductions.
“The elimination of these tariffs, which ranged from 2.5 per cent to as high as 20 per cent, has made a real difference to the prices paid on products bought and used every day by Canadians.” said Diane J. Brisebois, President & CEO of the Retail Council of Canada.
Savings at the rink (CNW Group/Retail Council of Canada)
Highly-regarded Nielsen Canada has been contracted to conduct a study on the pass through of savings to Canadian consumers. Nielsen, which is expected to report in fall 2014, is looking at a large number of items, measuring prices both before and after tariff elimination.
“While the Nielsen study will be the definitive analysis of the effect of tariff reduction, the Retail Council of Canada can say conclusively that the savings to consumers are already clear. The Government made the right decision, for businesses and consumers alike,” Ms. Brisebois added.
Savings for families (CNW Group/Retail Council of Canada)
The Retail Council of Canada looks forward to working with the Government of Canada on future tariff reductions on a wide range of goods sold at retail. RCC will work to ensure that all players in the retail business, manufacturers, importers and wholesalers, join retailers in passing on savings leading to lower retail prices.
The Retail Council of Canada (www.retailcouncil.org) is the Voice of Canadian Retail. Founded in 1963, RCC is a not-for-profit association which represents more than 45,000 stores of all retail formats, including department, grocery, independent merchants, regional and national specialty chains, and online merchants.
Canada’s fourth Microsoft Store opens at 10:30am on Saturday, February 8th, 2014 at Mississauga’s Square One Shopping Centre. It will also be the second store location in the Toronto area. On Sunday, February 9th, American rock band Weezer will perform near the store, with gates opening for the performance at 12:00pm.
Upscale British-based fashion house Karen Millen will open its first Canadian store at Montreal’s Centre Rockland.
For those unfamiliar, Karen Millen is an upscale womenswear retailer with over 350 stores and concessions throughout the world. In North America it has over 20 stores and concessions. It is also featured within several Bloomingdale’s stores.
Montreal’s Karen Millen store is also hiring a store manager. If you are interested, we’re including a link to its job posting.
Sport Chek has opened what it considers to be its flagship store at West Edmonton Mall. Also featured is its outdoor sports concept Atmosphere, which occupies about 21,000 of the store’s 77,000 square feet of retail space.
Technology is prevalent throughout the store. In total, 800 screens populated by 220 channels display product images and deals, store-wide anthems, and local sports information. In total, the store boasts about 1,200 square feet of digital projection.
Photo: Sport Chek
According to Sport Chek, about 250 in-store staff will use digital installations, interactive technology and product displays which will feature top brands to provide detailed and personalized service to customers.
“Our new flagship store in West Edmonton Mall is the most digitally advanced and personalized retail experience in the world,” said Michael Medline, President of Canadian Tire Corporation (which owns Sport Chek). “We have created an energy filled experience for anyone who is passionate about a great customer experience and shopping for an unparalleled array of sporting goods.” (video above)
The store is located on the second floor of the mall’s ‘Phase III’, next to H&M.
According to several studies conducted on retail spending behaviour, customers arriving at street retail areas as pedestrians often spend more per week than drivers. In a recent article, we showed the results of one such study:
Research conducted by Transport for London illustrates transit users, cyclists, and pedestrians spend more per week on retail than car customers because they visit retail destinations and town centres more often. Similar findings have been seen in studies conducted in North America.
Although these figures are great for illustrating why pedestrian access should be taken seriously, there is an important qualifier that needs to be added. We know that drivers, on average, have higher per capita incomes than non-drivers. If this is the case, then why do pedestrians keep outranking drivers in spending in these studies? This discrepancy is a result of the geographic dispersion of retail spending, a factor which varies by mode of travel. By this I mean that households with access to vehicles will travel further to shop, spending money in more targeted clusters over a broader geographic region. Those on foot, however, tend to spend money closer to home due to their higher friction of distance. This variable is referred to as “distance decay”, or the probability that an individual will travel for a certain purpose by increasing distance. For more on this, check out: Access to Destinations: How Close is Close Enough? Estimating Accurate Distance Decay Functions for Multiple Modes and Different Purposes.
In planning retail and mixed use environments, it is important that we accommodate for all modes of travel. Studies have shown that there is a tendency among retailers to overestimate the volume of customers arriving by vehicle, and underestimate the numbers arriving by other modes. Combined with the significant infrastructure costs required to accommodate cars, this perception has historically led to strategically poor investments in road improvements and municipally subsidized parking garages.
On the flip side, urban planners often do not appreciate just how important vehicle drivers are to retailers. I am often told that parking isn’t necessary on good retail streets, or that vehicle traffic should be removed outright in favour of pedestrianization. Robert Gibbs, a recognized urban retail specialist, has written about the failed experiment of pedestrian malls across North America, highlighting that approximately 90% of attempts have been subsequently removed. Customer surveys show that even the most successful of retail streets still rely on vehicle drivers for sales, with examples including; 10% of customers in Toronto’s Annex and 21% in Bloor West Village, 53% of customers at Toronto’s St. Lawrence Market, 15% of customer’s at San Francisco’s Polk Street, and 20% of customers in downtown Vancouver. The recent addition of bike lanes into downtown Vancouver has been associated with a loss in sales of 4% to 10% among adjacent businesses, a decline described in this consultant study as “moderate based on industry standards and, in general, insufficient to create persistent vacancies“. I find this statement inconsistent with the realities of running a small business where that last 5% of sales can make all the difference in profitability.
At the end of the day, it is not about which customer segment is more important, so much as it is figuring out how to attract sufficient spending inflow in the most cost effective way possible. I believe that there is a very strong case to make for giving pedestrian movement more investment and focus than is typically the case in standard planning and development practice across North America. Parking is expensive, a relatively inefficient use of land resources, and can negatively impact the customer’s shopping experience. At the same time, be weary of anyone who claims that retail does not require vehicle access to thrive and offers seemingly simplistic solutions to a very complex issue.
David Fitzpatrick is a registered urban planner and currently manages special projects within the Chief Planner’s Office at the City of Toronto. David has a passion for urban retail development, and has consulted on over a hundred projects around the world ranging from downtown revitalization strategies to new super-regional centres. On reurbanist.com, he combines his interests in urban planning and retail development, writing about how the intersection of these two fields can lead to positive outcomes for both people and cities. In addition to his professional work, David is the Chair of SALEA, a charity he founded with a friend in Tanzania to support legal aid in East Africa. LinkedIn Profile
Montreal’s Ogilvy and Holt Renfrew stores will merge, forming one of the largest department stores in North America, slated for completion in late 2017. The Holt Renfrew store on Sherbrooke Street will close and the Ogilvy store located on the trendy Sainte-Catherine Street West will be revamped and expanded northward on the site of the former Hotel de La Montagne. It is the only Ogilvy/Holt Renfrew-merged store planned so far in Canada.
Ogilvy and Holt Renfrew are heritage brands founded in Quebec: Ogilvy in 1866 in Montreal, and Holt Renfrew in 1837 in Quebec City. Both now belong to Selfridges Group Ltd., owned by the Weston family of Toronto which also controls Selfridges in the United Kingdom, Brown Thomas in Ireland and
de Bijenkorf in the Netherlands (and grocer Loblaw Companies Ltd. in Canada). The new department store will take the (long) name in French of Ogilvy, membre de la collection Holt Renfrew & Co.
The purpose of this merger is to boost sales in Montreal by combining and developing the strengths of both stores. As the Vice-President of Holt Renfrew, Joanne Nemeroff, pointed out in an interview with La Presse Affaires, the decision to merge both stores was made after a market study (confidential sources) showed that the Holt Renfrew customers wanted a larger range of products with a new assortment of brands while the Ogilvy customers were asking for a new dynamism. Moreover, according to Mark Derbyshire, President of Holt Renfrew, the strategy of targeting the customers of both stores the same way remains consistent since these customers have a lot in common. “We think we can offer them something bigger in one place instead of two,” as M. Derbyshire stated in his interview with La Presse Affaires.
Current Holt Renfrew store on Sherbrooke St. W
Holt Renfrew opened its store in Montreal on Sherbrooke Street in 1937; historically it has been the go-to place for fashion addicts in search of unique contemporary designer clothing and modern luxury accessories. On the other hand, Ogilvy has the reputation of offering a range of much more classic brands. We will see in the future if the regular Holt Renfrew customers will accept to change their shopping habits and leave the luxury Sherbrooke Street district to make their purchases on the less fashionable Sainte-Catherine Street.
What is more, this merger of the two stores in Montreal should allow the group to arm itself for the coming luxury battle with the arrival of its next big competitor, the New York-based luxury department store Saks Fifth Avenue. Saks was acquired by the Hudson’s Bay Co. (HBC) last November and 7 or 8 Saks Fifth Avenue stores are likely to open in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and possibly Calgary in the next few years. Two Saks Fifth Avenue stores should open in Montreal, one free-standing downtown store and one suburban store, possibly at Le Carrefour Laval.
Saks will be the main competitor of Holt Renfrew in Canada as it has the same luxury positioning, carrying the same prestigious brands, from Chanel to Prada to Gucci, including the same trendy designer labels such as Christian Louboutin, Manolo Blahnik, Jimmy Choo
etc. Differentiation will therefore be difficult for both companies in Canada. We have reason to believe this Ogilvy/Holt Renfrew merger in Montreal is likely to facilitate the differentiation process as this new luxury megastore will add the classic, respected and well-established image of Ogilvy to the avant-garde spirit of Holt Renfrew.
Fortunately for the Selfridges Group, Seattle-based Nordstrom does not plan to open any high-end department store in Montreal so far.
Besides the Saks issue, the other question raised with this Ogilvy/Holt Renfrew merger in Montreal is whether or not the market can support such a luxury megastore given Quebec’s market. With 220,000 square feet, the new Ogilvy/Holt Renfrew department store will be the largest luxury department store in Canada. Yet, according to EnvironicsAnalytics, only 4.1% of the population in Montreal had an income of $200,000 or more, compared to more than the double in Toronto, with 8.4%, and 5.6% in Vancouver in 2013. Moreover, 16.8% of the households earning more than $200,000 a year in Canada were living in Montreal against 44.8% in Toronto and 13.3% in Vancouver in 2013. Therefore one can wonder whether or not there is enough demand for luxury products in the area to warrant such a huge department store in Montreal.
The point is many Montrealers are used to shopping outside the city, whether it be in Toronto, the rest of Canada, or the United States. According to Alecsandra Hancas, Fashion Industry Analyst at the NPD Group, cross-border shopping is a serious issue in Canada overall since it represented an estimated $1-billion loss for Canadian retailers in the year to May 2013
1. Thus Ogilvy and Holt Renfrew’s executives expect that upscaling the luxury offering in Montreal will dissuade these customers from doing cross-border shopping and encourage them to make their purchases in this new Ogilvy/Holt Renfrew megastore instead.
In conclusion, this new Ogilvy/Holt Renfrew megastore will definitely change the luxury landscape in Montreal, and will probably contribute to the retention of the local customers who used to shop outside Montreal. The arrival of Saks in the next years will also upscale the retail market in the biggest city of the province of Quebec. In the meantime, this increasingly fierce competition in the luxury market will affect not only the department stores and their customers but also the suppliers, which will have to figure out how to distribute their collections without compromising past allegiances with Holt Renfrew or Ogilvy and without cannibalizing their current sales.
Mounia Ayoub is a luxury retail, fashion lover and a contributing editor for Retail Insider. Born in Paris and raised in Marseille, in the South of France, she is strongly attached to her Mediterranean roots. With a business background, she has worked for Marc Jacobs in Paris and contributed to consulting services at the French Trade Commission in Toronto for French luxury and cosmetic companies expanding their activities in North America. After living in Japan, New York City, Toronto and Paris, she has found in the multicultural city of Toronto the perfect pied-à-terre for now.
Walmart will invest close to $500 million to build 35 Canadian supercentres in 2014, as well as expand its distribution network and e-commerce projects. These projects will create more than 7,500 new store, distribution network, construction, and e-commerce jobs. The 35 supercentre projects will add about one million square feet of retail space to the Canadian market.
The following is from Walmart Canada’s press release:
Walmart Canada announced today that it plans to complete 35 supercentre projects in the company’s fiscal year which runs from February 1, 2014 to January 31, 2015. The company also announced it will expand its distribution network to support its growth and will continue to expand its e-commerce operation, walmart.ca.
The projects will represent a combined investment of close to $500 million in the Canadian economy over the next year and will include the construction of new stores as well as the expansion, remodeling and relocation of existing stores. The investments will include more than $376 million for store projects, $91 million for distribution network projects to grow Walmart Canada’s fresh food capability, and $31 million for e-commerce projects. The combined expansion is expected to generate more than 7,500 jobs over the next year, including construction jobs.
“Customers in every region of Canada are looking to save money on their entire list of shopping needs,” said Shelley Broader, Walmart Canada’s president and CEO. “Delivering on our commitment to help lower the cost of living is our top priority, and our growing network of supercentres and our expanding walmart.ca offering enable us to do just that.”
Walmart Canada’s supercentres provide an unparalleled one-stop shopping experience. Each store carries more than 100,000 products ranging from groceries to apparel, home decor and electronics as well as specialty services such as pharmacies, garden centres and vision centres.
Walmart Canada’s online store — walmart.ca — is growing rapidly and offers more than 150,000 products including everyday needs such as toothpaste, shampoo, dry grocery items including gluten-free products, electronics, furniture, fitness equipment, barbecues, patio sets, and toys for children of all ages. The site offers a growing range of services including free shipping throughout most of Canada and easy Canada Post pick up.
The locations for specific store and distribution centre projects will be announced as specific projects become finalized. Today’s announcement will bring Walmart Canada’s store count to 395 by the end of January, 2015, including 282 supercentres and 113 discount stores.
About Walmart Canada: Walmart Canada operates a growing chain of 389 stores nationwide, including 247 supercentres, serving more than 1.2 million customers each day. In addition, Walmart Canada’s flagship online store, walmart.ca, is visited by 300,000 customers daily.
With more than 95,000 associates, Walmart Canada is one of Canada’s largest employers and is ranked one of Canada’s top 10 most influential brands. Walmart Canada’s extensive philanthropy program is focused on helping Canadian families in need, and since 1994 Walmart has donated and raised more than $200 million to Canadian charities. Additional company information can be found at walmartcanada.ca, facebook.com/walmartcanada and at twitter.com/@walmartcanada.
The following article was written byLouis Ramirez on behalf of our friends at Deal News:
Though it’s not an official holiday, Valentine’s Day is still a big day for many retailers. And while we’ll see discounts on everything from roses to jewelry, not every promotion is worth your time or money. To separate Cupid’s hits from his misses, we researched past Valentine’s Day sales to help you purchase your significant other the right gift at the right price.
Search for Coupons and Watch for Sales Before Buying Jewelry
Nothing says “I love you” like diamonds and gold. At least that’s what retailers want you to believe. Last year, jewelry was among the first items discounted in the weeks leading up to February. Naturally, this year you can expect more jewelry deals with the first Valentine’s Day sales appearing this week. Amazon kicked things off last year with a sale that took up to 87% off select jewelry.
In the two weeks leading up to the big day, you can also expect to see sales from ICE.com, Blue Nile, and Szul, with discounts ranging from 20% to 85% off. Some stores like Tiffany will offer free or expedited shipping. But for maximum savings, we recommend using stackable coupons (where available) to further increase your savings. Limoges Jewelry, for instance, has traditionally taken off between 20% to 25% off marked down jewelry via a stackable coupon. So while you’ll see plenty of standalone Valentine’s Day sales from the majority of jewelers, it’s the sales with stackable coupons that offer the best value.
Woo Them with Wine, Save the Chocolate for Later
No Valentine’s Day is complete without a little chocolate and wine, but you may want to save the former for after Valentine’s Day. Retailers know chocolate will be in high demand in February, so many pre-Valentine’s Day chocolate sales will be anything but rich. It’s not until the day after Valentine’s day when you’ll see the killer chocolate deals from names like Godiva, which in 2013 took 20% off chocolates before Valentine’s Day, and 50% off chocolates and gifts after Valentine’s Day. Instead of chocolate, you may want to toast your significant other with Wine.com’s Valentine’s Day sale, which last year took up to 33% off Valentine’s Day gifts with an extra 10% off via a stackable coupon. While that sale wrapped up by end of January, procrastinators were able to take advantage of the site’s 1-cent shipping offer (applicable to all orders) which ended just days before the 14th.
Keep Them Warm with Discounted Winter Apparel
Much of the country has experienced a colder-than-average winter, so come February retailers will start shedding their overcoats for lighter, spring apparel. If you play your cards rights, you may be able to snag some stellar deals on winter apparel. Lands’ End had end-of-winter sales in early February last year taking up to 70% off select winter apparel. It then took an additional 25% via a stackable coupon. Other merchants to keep an eye on include Fossil, Juicy Couture, Columbia Sportswear, and Brooks Brothers, all of which had winter apparel discounted between 50% to 86% off just days before Valentine’s Day.
If your ideal Valentine’s Day apparel includes lace and bows, we have semi-bad news. Lingerie stores like Victoria’s Secret didn’t offer much in terms of sales last year. Victoria’s Secret offered 20% off bras early in February and later offered free 2-day shipping (on orders of $100 or more).
Beauty Sales to the Rescue
Procrastinators will be glad to know that based on last year’s sales, beauty deals are abundant in the days leading up to Valentine’s Day. The Body Shop, FragranceX, and Elizabeth Arden are just a few retailers that took up to 80% off beauty items. And these sales were spread through the first two weeks of February, with deals coming in as last as two days before the big day.
If planned right, you can have a successful Valentine’s Day without going over budget. Just avoid some of the stereotypical items like chocolates and lingerie, and look for coupons that can be stacked onto existing sales. And while you may see some last-minute deals, we still suggest shopping early and adding some extra days for your gifts to arrive on time. Even better, set up an email alert now for the category of your choosing, to make your shopping even easier.
Holt Renfrew is now accepting the China Unionpay card at four of its stores. Chinese tourism is on the rise in Canada, as are luxury purchases by Chinese in Canadian stores. Given that shopping is the number one activity for travellers visiting Canada, accepting China Unionpay is a trend we expect to see continue.
The China Unionpay card is the only domestic bank card in China and the leading card that visitors from China and other Asia-Pacific countries use while travelling abroad.
The four Holt Renfrew stores accepting the card are the flagship Toronto Bloor Street, Yorkdale (Toronto), Calgary and Vancouver stores.
Holt Renfrew’s Yorkdale store originally started accepting the card in September when the mall became the first in Canada to accept China Unionpay cards. Various other mall retailers also began accepting the card as part of the mall’s push to attract international shoppers.
China represents one of the fastest growing tourist markets for Canada. Between 2008 and 2012, the number of Chinese visitors to Canada almost doubled from about 165,000 to nearly 300,000. Most of these tourists visited Vancouver and Toronto. By the end of this year, for example, it is expected that the number of mainland Chinese visitors to Vancouver will be almost 180,000, up from just 57,000 in 2001. Some Vancouver luxury retailers reportedly see about 40% of their sales coming from mainland Chinese.
In 2012, Chinese tourists spent an estimated $481 million in Canada with an average expenditure of about $1,670 per person. These numbers are about 20% higher than those in 2011. In total, it’s estimated that Chinese tourists spent US$102 billion worldwide in 2012.
We expect the number of Canadian retailers accepting the China Unionpay card to increase as Chinese tourism continues its boom.
Lululemon founder Chip Wilson has confirmed that Lululemon will open a 4,400 square foot flagship Vancouver store at the southeast corner of Robson and Burrard Streets. It is expected to open this summer. Wilson made the announcement during his talk at the International Council of Shopping Centres conference in Whistler on January 27th, 2014.
