Home Blog Page 1398

LOUIS VUITTON’S CANADIAN ONLINE STORE LAUNCHES WITH LOWER-THAN-AMERICAN PRICES

By
Retail Insider
-

Louis Vuitton has just launched a Canadian version of its online store.  It appears that many Canadian prices are lower than those on the American website. We’ve done price comparisons and we’ve noticed consistently lower Canadian prices, made even lower with our weaker Canadian dollar.

Louis Vuitton products are generally not discounted, though prices may vary country-to-country. Higher prices for Louis Vuitton goods in China, for example, have led to Chinese shoppers buying overseas. Louis Vuitton bags are priced about 35% higher in Shanghai than in Paris, for example. 

Will lower Canadian prices encourage Canadians to shop online on Louis Vuitton’s website? Tourists already make up substantial sales at Canadian Vuitton shops, and time will tell if lower online Canadian pricing will affect volume sales of Vuitton in Canada. 

Thank you to Retail Insider Jal Baltz for being the source for this article. 

Image: Screenshot from Louis Vuitton Canadian website. 

[Louis Vuitton Canadian website]

(This image was added to this article on July 25th 2013, after it was emailed to us by Louis Vuitton)

BROWNS SHOES OPENS ON VANCOUVER’S ROBSON ST, WHILE CLOSING SISTER STORE B2

By
Retail Insider
-
Photo: Retail-Insider.com

Browns Shoes has just opened a flagship location at 1068 Robson Street in Downtown Vancouver. At the end of this week, however, it will close its sister store, B2, located a block away at 1112 Robson Street. 

The new Browns includes one level of retail space and a massive second-floor shoe storage area. Shoes are brought down to the retail floor from the second-level via dumbwaiter. 

Browns replaces a former Levi’s store. We first reported on Browns’ Robson Street opening last April.


B2’s closing on Robson Street is another setback to the street’s 1100 block. A substantial portion of the south side of Robson Street’s 1100 block is currently for lease. 


A replacement B2 store is expected to open in Downtown Vancouver some time in late 2014-early 2015. We’ll announce its location when we can confirm its exact location.


Browns Shoes continues to expand throughout Canada. Keep reading for updates. 

[Browns Shoes website]


HBC’S BID ON SAKS FIFTH AVENUE COULD FAIL: NEW BIDDER EMERGES

By
Retail Insider
-
[Image Source]



The Hudson’s Bay Company‘s (HBC) bid for Saks Fifth Avenue could fail now that a new bidder has stepped forward. Starwood Hotels owner Barry Sternlicht has submitted a bid for Saks, and his bid could beat that of HBC and another bid speculated to be from the Middle East.


Sternlicht’s bid for Saks could win partly because he would keep Saks management ‘as is’, whereas HBC would hire new Saks management as well as possibly expand Saks into Canada. Saks’ CEO Stephen Sadove wants to keep his job. 


The third bidder for Saks is speculated to be a Middle Eastern sovereign wealth fund. Few details on its identity or bidding price are known.

Barry Sternlicht [Image Source]



A source tells the New York Post that Sternlicht has offered roughly $2.5 billion for Saks, about the same as the offer made by HBC. That works out to a Saks price-per-share of between $17 and $18. 


Saks owns about two thirds of its stores, including its 650,000 square foot Fifth Avenue flagship which has been valued at over $1 billion. In total, Saks’ real estate holdings are valued at over $1.5 billion. 


Last month we first reported on HBC’s potential purchase of Saks. We subsequently discussed possible Canadian Saks locations that could either be located within existing Hudson’s Bay stores, or be free-standing. We’ll keep you updated with any new developments. 


Thank you to a source who wishes not to be named for forwarding us this article source from the New York Post. 


[Hudson’s Bay Company website]


[Saks Fifth Avenue website]

EXPECT APPLE STORE FLAGSHIPS IN CANADA

By
Retail Insider
-
Image: Apple

We’ve been asked countless times: Why doesn’t [Canadian City] have a flagship Apple Store? Many cities worldwide already have massive Apple flagships that are both roomy and architecturally interesting (not to mention massively productive). A source tells us that Canada is on the map, especially Downtown Toronto and Vancouver. 

A source with the company (a personal friend of this author, since relocated to California) tells us that Apple is actively seeking space in Downtown Toronto for at least one if not two large Apple Store flagships. Ideal locations for Toronto would include the Yonge/Bloor area of Toronto (1 Bloor Street East has been hinted at) and around the Toronto Eaton Centre/Yonge Dundas Square area. Downtown Vancouver is also potential Apple Store flagship territory, though our source wasn’t clear if either Robson Street or the Granville Street/Pacific Centre areas are currently being investigated.

Image: Apple

Some existing Apple Store flagship locations are stunning, with more interesting ones on the way. San Francisco will get a large glass block Apple store on a prominent site in the popular Union Square shopping area (top picture in this article). And, interestingly, construction of an Apple Store in Madrid (Spain) unearthed a 15th century ruin. 

Image: Apple

We’ll prod our source periodically in the hopes that we’ll be the first to report on new flagship Apple Stores in these and possibly other Canadian cities. 

WHICH BRAND BEST REPRESENTS YOUR CANADIAN PROVINCE?

By
Retail Insider
-

Which brand/corporation best represents each Canadian province? We came across this American map (above) highlighting one author’s opinion on what corporation or brand best represents each American state. If we were to create a similar map for Canada, what corporation or brand would you choose? Please feel free to comment below or on our Facebook link to this image. 

Map creator Steve Lovelace describes his map as follows: 

“For each of the fifty states (and the District of Columbia), I selected a corporation or brand that best represented the states. My criteria are subjective, but in each case, I picked a brand that a) has ties to that state and b) is still in business (as of 2013).
I encountered several challenges while making this map. Major corporations are not evenly distributed across the country. Some states, such New Mexico, Alaska, Montana and West Virginia, simply do not host many big corporations. Others host so many that choosing one was difficult. In these cases, I went with the company that I though best represented the state, rather than the biggest or most notorious. Hence, I used Dr Pepper for Texas instead of ExxonMobil. I used Apple for California instead of Google or Facebook…”



[Steve Lovelace’s ‘The Corporate States of America’]

YANKEE CANDLE TO OPEN 50+ CANADIAN STORES, HIRES CANADIAN GM

By
Retail Insider
-
[Image Source]
Yankee Candle, America’s largest manufacturer of scented candles, will open over 50 Canadian stores in the next 5 years. It has just appointed a general manager who will oversee Canadian operations. 

Yankee Candle currently has 6 southern Ontario stores, and it is also carried in selected gift and speciality stores. It has over 550 American store locations. 

Thank you retail insider Samson Yuen for directing us to this article’s source. 

HONEST ED’S COULD CLOSE

By
Craig Patterson
-
Honest Ed's

Honest Ed’s is up for sale and could close its iconic Toronto store. The store’s owner could sell the building and adjacent properties for redevelopment, which could include a substantial residential component.

Honest Ed’s is probably best known for its exterior signage, including one with about 23,000 light bulbs. The 160,000 square foot store has discounted items and its interiors could be considered garish. At the same time, the retailer has become a true fixture at the corner of Bloor Street West and Bathurst Street.

Honest Ed’s opened in 1948 and expanded numerous times over the years. Founder Ed Mirvish died in 2007. It became well known for promotions including free Christmas turkeys.

If the store is sold for redevelopment, the store’s exterior signage could be at least partially preserved or incorporated into a new project not unlike what could be done with the former location of iconic music retailer Sam The Record Man on Yonge Street.

Our tip for this article was from this National Post article.

[Honest Ed’s website]

WALGREENS COULD HAVE BOUGHT SHOPPERS DRUG MART. COULD WALGREEN’S STILL COME TO CANADA?

By
Retail Insider
-
[Image Source]



American drugstore retailer Walgreens was considering buying Shoppers Drug Mart prior to Loblaw’s decision to purchase the Shoppers chain. We mentioned Walgreens’ interest in Canadian retail space last month and The National Post confirms that our sources were correct regarding Walgreens’ interest in Canada. 

This leads us to ask the question: Will Walgreens still look to open Canadian stores?


Walgreens has about 8,400 American locations with yearly sales of almost $72 billion. Being such an enormous retailer, it could still obtain Canadian retail space by purchasing existing drug store chains or by securing its own real estate. An entirely new fleet of Walgreens stores would be both complicated to coordinate as well as very expensive. Much of Canada already has sufficient drug store coverage, and Canada has limited available retail space.

This Chicago Walgreens includes an eyebrow beautician, 24-hour café and sushi bar. Not to mention, a stunning interior [Image Source]



Walgreens has some extremely innovative retail spaces, and Shoppers management could consider similar store treatments for Canadian Shoppers Drug Mart locations. Our favourite Walgreens is in Chicago, in a former bank building that has been renovated. It includes an in-house eyebrow beautician, a 24-hour café and a sushi bar. It is one of several stunning flagship Walgreens stores being rolled out across the US.

‘Vitamin vault’ in a converted bank vault at a Walgreens in Chicago [Image Source]



A commercial real estate broker informs us that Shoppers Drug Mart will be opening several large Canadian flagship locations. We’ll keep you updated, as we hear that they will be large and will include some innovations similar to larger American Walgreens stores. 


[Walgreens website]


[Shoppers Drug Mart website]

BREAKING: LOBLAWS BUYS SHOPPERS DRUG MART FOR $12.4 BILLION

By
Retail Insider
-
Image: Shoppers Drug Mart

Loblaw will buy Shoppers Drug Mart for $12.4 billion in cash and stock. Loblaw is Canada’s largest grocery retailer, while Shoppers is Canada’s largest pharmacy chain.Shoppers Drug Mart will keep its brand name and operate as a separate division of Loblaw. Store closings are not expected and the continued use of ‘associate owners’ (franchises, essentially) at Shoppers Drug Mart will continue. 

Loblaw anticipate a ‘cross marketing’ of each company’s products,  including Loblaw President Choice and Blue Menu brands and Shopper’s Life brands. Cross marketing would extend to their loyalty points programs as well.

The deal will require approval by at least 2/3 of the votes case by Shoppers Drug Mart shareholders at a special meeting expected to take place in September. A majority of Loblaw shareholders must also approve the deal because of the number of shares being issued.

If the combination had been completed last year, the business would have had about $42 billion of revenue and $1 billion of free cash flow. The companies expect to produce $300 million in cost savings after three years, without store closures.  

Last month we reported that Canada Safeway was bought by Sobeys for $5.8 billion. 2013 is proving to be a year of significant retail mergers and purchases by some of Canada’s largest companies. [Loblaw website]

[Shoppers Drug Mart website]

CORRECTION: J. CREW/BROOKS BROTHERS CONFIGURATION AT 110 BLOOR ST W, TORONTO

By
Retail Insider
-

Last month we reported that J. Crew and Brooks Brothers were moving into 110 Bloor Street West in Toronto. A source familiar with the deal has informed us that we were slightly incorrect in the way these retailers will configure space at 110 Bloor, so we are providing a corrected update. 

J. Crew will take the ground floor of the former Escada store, plus some of the ground floor of the Nike Store located directly behind. The new J. Crew will be about 6,300 square feet and for those who are wondering, 110 Bloor’s Nike Store will be closing.

Brooks Brothers will occupy almost 16,000 square feet with its entrance fronting the former Guerlain space. Brooks Brothers will occupy some ground floor space of the former Nike Store, northwards towards Cumberland Street. Brooks Brothers will also occupy considerable lower-level space at 110 Bloor – about 10,000 square feet of Nike’s basement according to pw20 of Urban Toronto. 

A vestibule area configured in the back of the Nike Store, facing onto Cumberland Street, will provide access to the remaining second floor of the former Escada store. We cannot confirm a retailer for this Cumberland Street-front retail at this time, though we have been told recent retail lease negotiations for the space have stalled. 

[J. Crew website]

[Brooks Brothers website]

1...1,3971,3981,399...1,430Page 1,398 of 1,430