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Insider Interview Re: Canada Post Site in Vancouver

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Retail Insider
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Canada Post Building in Vancouver BC
Canada Post Building in Vancouver BC. Image: citycaucus.com

Today we interviewed an insider regarding the Canada Post site in Vancouver, BC. The post office is owned by the Federal Government and sits on about three acres of land. Our interview was very interesting, to say the least.

We have agreed to keep our source anonymous, as he/she is a very prominent person involved directly/indirectly in business and politics.

We got so much information from the interview that we’re going to take the weekend to put it together. Next week we’ll post a series of articles about the interview, including text of the conversation itself. Some of the information will be shocking. We will reveal what retailers are interested in the site, what several developers want to do with the site, why they don’t want it designated as a heritage site, and why the City of Vancouver may have already made up their minds about what will be done with Canada Post.  These will certainly be some of our most interesting articles.

Stay tuned Monday, October 29th for the first part of our interview with ‘Insider X’ on the proposed redevelopment of Vancouver’s current Canada Post site.

Gotstyle Opening 6000 sq ft Men’s Store in Toronto’s Distillery District

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Retail Insider
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Image: Gotstyle

Next month Toronto’s Gotstyle men’s store opens a 6000 square foot location at Toronto’s Distillery District. The store carries an extensive selection of edgy clothing including our favourite tie designer/manufacturer, Knot Theory. The new Gotstyle will be a welcome addition to The Distillery District, which is becoming a an even better shopping destination.

Their website includes a video of the new store. Not to be outdone, they also produced an awesome video of a very hot, naked gentleman to be dressed by the store. WARNING: hot nude man in video, above 😉

We think it’s kinda cool that the music video for Marilyn Manson’s ‘The Beautiful People’ (song) was filmed at The Distillery District before it became a mainstream destination.

Watch for other interesting retail developments in Toronto’s up-and-coming Distillery District.

Gotstyle website: http://gotstylemenswear.com

Knot Theory website: http://www.knottheoryties.com

Vancouver’s Canada Post to Become Target or Walmart?

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Retail Insider
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Canada Post building in Vancouver. Image: changingcitybook.com

We’ve gotten word that now Vancouver’s large Downtown post office (Federally owned and used by Canada Post) is for sale, several larger-format retailers are interested in the space. Walmart and Target are searching for Downtown Vancouver space with no success. We’ve been informed that they are in talks with potential purchasers to occupy space either in a restored space or an entirely new, purpose-built complex including retail, offices and residences.

This is very new information and we’ve been informed that we will be provided more information tomorrow by a Vancouver-based commercial real estate broker. Please stay tuned for what may become a very controversial commercial real estate project in the heart of Downtown Vancouver.

More Details on the $350million Sherway Gardens Expansion

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Retail Insider
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Rendering of Sherway Gardens Expansion. Image: Cadillac Fairview

We are re-posting details of the Sherway Gardens mall expansion in Toronto. Yesterday we noted that this announcement would happen today, and will be a major project in a total $1.6billion to be spent by Cadillac Fairview in the next 3-5 years to update and expand its retail real estate holdings. 

From: http://www.sys-con.com/node/2413380

TORONTO, ONTARIO — (Marketwire) — 10/23/12 — The Cadillac Fairview Corporation Limited is pleased to announce today a $350 million revitalization and expansion of Sherway Gardens, an investment that will reinforce the 41-year-old shopping centre’s position as west-end Toronto’s most popular retail destination.

The redevelopment will provide for an additional 210,000 square feet of retail space and a remerchandising of 90,000 square feet of existing space. The project is scheduled to begin in January 2013 and will take approximately 45 months to complete.

“Sherway Gardens is one of our best-performing shopping centres, and this revitalization will amplify everything that has made it such a favourite with shoppers,” said Clive Baxter, Cadillac Fairview’s Senior Vice President, Ontario Portfolio. “By making room for new best-in-class retailers and enhancing our overall shopping and dining environments, we are extending the mall’s appeal to the increasingly affluent, discerning shopper that Sherway Gardens attracts.”

The full renovation will include new flooring, new ceilings throughout common areas, new lighting and a new set of public washrooms. A new three-level parkade will provide customers with 1,200 parking spaces in close proximity to the mall. In addition, the expansion will allow for a significant change to the merchandise mix, increasing the retail area to 1.3 million square feet, including the GTA’s first Nordstrom store and four new full-service restaurants.

“Food is going to play a much more important role, helping to establish and extend the Sherway Gardens experience as an attractive dining destination, day or night,” said Andy Traynor, General Manager, Sherway Gardens. “We are making room for four new full-service restaurants, while literally elevating the prominence of our food court,” he said, referring to its relocation within the mall.

JOEY and P.F. Chang’s are among the new restaurant brands that will open in Sherway Gardens. The mall transformation will also encompass the expansion of both Harry Rosen and Sporting Life, and is designed to continue to attract popular brands, with the recent opening of Tiffany & Co., and Forever 21 slated to open in November.

About Cadillac Fairview

The Cadillac Fairview Corporation Limited is one of North America’s largest investors, owners and managers of commercial real estate. For more than 50 years Cadillac Fairview has been leading the way in commercial real estate with innovative design, development and management.

Cadillac Fairview focuses on developing and managing high quality office properties and regional shopping centres in Canada and the United States, as well as international investments in real estate companies and investment funds. With a portfolio valued at more than $20 billion, Cadillac Fairview and its affiliates own and manage nearly 47 million square feet of leasable space at 83 properties across North America, including some of Canada’s landmark developments, such as Toronto-Dominion Centre, Toronto Eaton Centre, Pacific Centre and Chinook Centre.

Contacts:
Media contact: MAVERICK Public Relations
Kelly Olive
(416) 640-5525 x230
kellyo@maverickpr.com

Sherway Gardens website: http://www.sherwaygardens.ca
Cadillac Fairview website: www.cadillacfairview.com

Nordstrom in Talks With West Edmonton Mall

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Retail Insider
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Floorplan: West Edmonton Mall, red editing: Retail Insider

We received confirmation that Nordstrom is in talks to open a store at West Edmonton Mall in (none other than) Edmonton, Alberta.  Triple Five’s Ghermezian family is in talks with numerous other prominent retailers and the family has already secured Canada’s first non-Quebec-location for La Maisons Simons, opening October 31st as we previously reported.

We don’t have word as to if Tripple Five will try to secure Sears’ lease at the North end of West Edmonton Mall’s ‘Phase One’. We visited West Edmonton Mall this August and were surprised at the lack of shoppers in Phase One. This no doubt would change with Nordstrom’s arrival, not to mention Target’s opening at the South end of Phase One.

We previously reported that West Edmonton Mall could be home to Nordstrom. We had also previously reported that Edmonton’s Southgate Shopping Centre could get Nordstrom, though we have no related leads at press time.

West Edmonton Mall is investing millions to upgrade its premises and is looking to increase sales-per-square-foot from about $700 to about $1000/sq ft by 2016, according to an Edmonton-based retail insider.

We will keep you updated on this interesting development, especially as it could become a nail in the coffin of Edmonton’s downtown Holt Renfrew store.

West Edmonton Mall website: www.wem.ca

Nordstrom website: www.nordstrom.com

Retail Insider on twitter: @retailinsider_

Retail Insider on Facebook: www.facebook.com/RetailInsider 

Got any retail insider info? insider@retail-insider.com

$350million Expansion/Renovation for Toronto’s Sherway Gardens

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Retail Insider
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Image: Sherway Gardens (Cadillac Fairview)

Tomorrow morning (Tuesday, October 23rd) Cadillac Fairview will announce a $350million expansion and renovation of its Sherway Gardens mall in West Toronto.

We previously reported on this renovation/expansion, which will include a vastly expanded Holt Renfrew store, new Harry Rosen and Sporting Life Stores, and boutiques for Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Kate Spade and others. 

We don’t have much else to report on this expansion except we appear to have beat Cadillac Fairview’s announcement by a few weeks.

We’ll continue to update you on commercial real estate news from retail insiders. 

Sherway Gardens website: http://www.sherwaygardens.ca
Cadillac Fairview website: www.cadillacfairview.com

Will Buying Hudson’s Bay Stock Be a Bad Investment?

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Retail Insider
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Hudson's Bay store, Winnipeg. Image: jefpit, Flickr

Buying Hudson’s Bay (“HBC”) stock might not be a good investment, according to one Toronto-based journalist and business expert.

Sean Silcoff of The Globe and Mail notes that HBC’s revenues per square foot may appear to have progressed from 2009-2011 (from an average of $122 to $133 per square foot) but that this increase may have been a result of Canada coming out of the ‘Great Recession’ rather than good business.

That, and HBC had per square foot average revenues of $165 in 2005, the last time per square foot stats were made public before HBC became privately owned.

In its prospectus, HBC’s stated per square foot ‘goal’ for the next 3-5 years is $170-180  per square foot. That’s not much more than the 2005 average. It’s food for thought… we see amazing progress in Hudson’s Bay’s store renovations, yet we now question if the chain’s performance is investment worthy or just a result of a better economy.

We’ll defer that answer to financial experts, and keep watching changes in store.

Hudson’s Bay (Company) website: www.thebay.com

Nordstrom, Simons,Target or Walmart in New Downtown Toronto Mall?

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Retail Insider
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Proposed Oxford Place. Image: Oxford Properties

We have received word that Oxford Properties’ proposed new Downtown Toronto shopping centre is already being eyed by retailers such as Nordstrom, La Maison Simons, Target and Walmart. A new 1million square foot shopping centre is being proposed by Oxford (along with convention/office/residential/hotel space and possibly a casino) which may rival The Toronto Eaton Centre for patrons and possibly exceed its size. The mall would be located on a mult-use, 11 acre site beside the Rogers Centre and the CN Tower.

Nordstrom, Simons, Walmart and Target are actively seeking downtown Toronto space and have expressed frustations at lack of retail availability. The Toronto Eaton Centre is space-limited, and Sears doesn’t seem willing to give-in to Cadillac Fairview’s offer to buy-out its lease for a new flagship Nordstrom store (or for Simons, also eying a chunk of Sears’ space). We reported earlier that Nordstrom is seeking 225-270,000 square feet, while Simons wants 100,000+ square feet in Downtown Toronto.

The Toronto Eaton Centre’s non-anchor square footage is 582,000 square feet (Sears, Canadian Tire and Best Buy add another 1.035million square feet). The proposed Oxford Place would be around 1 million square feet, making it possibly ‘grander’ than Toronto’s Eaton Centre’s non-anchor retail portion. More importantly Oxford Place could become home to substantial anchor-tenants, ranging from lower-end big box retailers to large luxury retailers, depending on what the landlord deems marketable.

Oxford is in the preliminary planning stages of its new project, and we’ve been told that it is being pressured to bring forward its planning application to Toronto City Hall ‘asap’ by potential tenants desperately seeking large downtown retail spaces. We will keep you updated on what might become a very exciting Canadian retail development.

Oxford Properties website: www.oxfordproperties.com

Toronto Eaton Centre website:  www.torontoeatoncentre.com

La Maison Simons website: www.simons.ca

Maison Simons Opens New Edmonton Store on October 31

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Retail Insider
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Image: Simons

Maison Simons opens its $30million, 115,000 square foot West Edmonton Mall store on October 31st 2012. The opening has been delayed twice already (it was supposed to open late summer 2012) and we’ve been told the store will look fabulous.

The store will include changing stalls that descend from the ceiling and photo studios allowing customers to photograph themselves in outfits to send to friends for opinions. 

The store will be located at the West-end of the mall. We have provided a floorplan of the mall, below. 

Image: Simons

The store will also include some interesting art work, differentiating the interior from competitors Holt Renfrew and Hudson’s Bay (Formerly known as The Hudson’s Bay Company). 

For those unfamiliar with Simons, its owner Peter Simons describes it as: “a junior department store with a full range of price points in apparel, accessories and home decor. It combines affordable chic with designer fashions and private label brands for men and women.”

Art exhibit within Edmonton’s new Simons. Image: Simons

Check out their website to see their private label and designer merchandise. The website also includes excellent photos of the beautiful interiors of other Simons stores. 

Stay tuned for more info on the grand opening, as well as an analysis of this unique store strategy. 

Maison Simons website: www.simons.ca
West Edmonton Mall website: www.wem.ca

The Hudson’s Bay Company Drops ‘Company’ From Its Name

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Retail Insider
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New 'Hudson's Bay' sign at Downtown Vancouver store

We found out today that Canada’s 342 year-old Hudson’s Bay Company will drop the word ‘Company’ from its name, now to be known simply as ‘Hudson’s Bay’. The store will also deviate away from calling itself ‘The Bay’ as it has for an eternity.

The name change will coincide with a mid-November initial stock offering of Hudson’s Bay. 
The decision to amend the company’s name responds to The Bay’s somewhat unfashionable brand image. Recent store upgrades will continue to upscale the store to make it more competitive with Holt Renfrew and the entry of Nordstrom into Canada. 

Hudson’s Bay (Company) website: www.thebay.com

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