The combination of more office people and students working from home, store closures and a decline in tourism took its toll last year on the downtown Montreal retail market as the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the province.
But there were some positive signs in the sector and now with vaccinations rising and COVID cases falling there is hope a buzz of activity will return to the core of the city.
Manon Larose, Senior Vice President, Retail with JLL, said an important element of the retail industry in the Quebec city during the pandemic was the collaboration that took place between the landlords and their retailers.
MONTREAL SHOPPING STRIP. PHOTO: DEPARTURES
“Everybody was in the same boat. Some landlords really jumped in to help and to help the retailers to go through that period. I also have a lot of sympathy for the landlords because nobody gave them some free mortgage period. It was pretty challenging,” said Larose.
“What I see is a lot of dynamism and a lot of people who are interested to come back to business. Whenever there is a disaster there are opportunities as well. But downtown Montreal suffered the most because of the lack of the office workers, the tourists, the students. We had the strictest measures in Montreal. So everybody really suffered.
“But now one thing I’m really seeing talking to a lot of people is that the honeymoon of working from home is over and people want to come back to a real life as quickly as possible.”
She said annual retail sales in 2020 fell by five per cent.
According to a JLL retail market report, the Montreal retail market environment remains challenging, as Quebec has now experienced several lockdowns. Although Toronto implemented one of the longest lockdowns in the country, Montreal has implemented probably the strictest lockdown measures, it said.
“Effective rents for occupied space fell by three per cent in the second half of 2020 as the result of rent concessions and discounts by landlords. In addition, lower retail sales in Q4 reduced rents in sales-based lease agreements,” said JLL.
“A recent report showed that 28 per cent of downtown Montreal stores were vacant or temporarily closed in Q4. The same study also revealed that the retail vacancy/temporary closure rate on Sainte Catherine Street increased from 18 per cent in Q2 to 23 per cent in Q4, and in shopping malls from 18 to 20 per cent.
“The redesign of Sainte Catherine Street continues to progress, and work is currently taking place in Phillips Square and the section between Robert-Bourassa and Mansfield.”
Larose said retail categories that were on the rise during the pandemic included cannabis, wine and beer, building materials, everything related to groceries, electronics and appliances, sports and fitness.
“The top performing brands in 2020 were Amazon, Apple, Wayfair, lululemon, Peloton and Restoration Hardware as well as Shopify,” she said.
The WANT Apothecary Montreal. Photo by THE WANT Apothecary.
The JLL report said Montreal-born fashion boutique WANT Apothecary surprised everyone in March when it announced that it was closing all brick-and-mortar locations to focus on its online brand WANT Les Essentiels. The retailer closed its flagship store on Sherbrooke Street West in Westmount, adding another empty storefront to the noticeable vacancy on the street.
“As in several Canadian cities, retailers in Montreal have been concerned that downtown could become a permanent ghost town. Office workers, tourists, and students haven’t traveled to the area since COVID broke out. Montreal downtown workers have adapted well to working from home, which raised the question of whether most of these 300,000 employees will ever go back to the office. In Q4, more than half of businesses based in office towers were vacant or temporarily closed,” added the report.
“Famous for a tourism market that helps propel retail, and especially luxury, downtown Montreal’s hotels have suffered. While 2019 occupancy rates were an average 74 per cent, in 2020 occupancy rates never rose above the 20 per cent mark set in April of 2020.”
The report said Montreal City Hall is lining up a series of summer initiatives in partnership with local organizations, setting aside more than $30 million in investments. These include support for bars and restaurants to reopen, greater flexibility for patios, and free-street parking on weekends.
“Robust pre-COVID fundamentals are indicative that downtown Montreal can recoup its daytime population quickly once tourists return and students shift back to in-person classes, which includes 120,000 students from local universities,” said the report.
Image: Ivanhoé Cambridge
Larose said the impact on downtown Montreal in the past year “was terrible in a way.”
But there were positive notes, she added.
For example, Japanese fashion brand Uniqlo opened its largest store in Canada at the Eaton Centre. The two-storey downtown store is streetfront and carries a selection of home goods, which other locations don’t.
The Montreal Eaton Centre has seen several notable openings, including Time Out food hall, Decathlon, and Sephora. Samsung Canada, and Pandora also opened locations. The Samsung store was its first in Quebec and sixth Samsung Canada Experience Store.
French fashion brand ba&sh, whose global expansion is backed by LVMH, opened its second standalone Canadian store in Montreal’s affluent Westmount area last summer. The retailer opened its first store in Toronto’s Yorkville in early 2020.
“There were some openings and some good stories,” said Larose. “And from what I hear Uniqlo’s sales are extremely good. So you can just imagine what it will be when the students and everybody will be back downtown.
“I think creativity is the word of today and that goes for everybody. For the landlords as well as for the retailers. You have to reinvent yourself. I see a bright future. I know the physical stores are there to remain especially when you see an Amazon of this world opening some physical point of sales. I think it says it all.”
Hudson’s Bay Flagship Store – Downtown Montreal Ste Catherine Street. Rendering: Hudson’s Bay Company
Larose said the pandemic accelerated some of the trends the retail world was already experiencing such as ecommerce and online shopping.
The JLL report said HBC and RioCan will pursue the redevelopment of HBC’s downtown Montreal property into a 25-storey office tower and the downsizing of the existing Hudson’s Bay retail space. The Sainte-Catherine Street store will continue to operate throughout the construction process.
The opening of the Royalmount complex near the intersection of highways 15 and 40 has been postponed to the summer of 2023 due to the pandemic. In February of 2020, developer Carbonleo unveiled a second version of the project with less retail, entertainment and office space and more residential and green space, added JLL.
If you’ve spent a day in Toronto, it’s more than likely that you’ve seen his name. Dominating the city’s urban retail real estate market, it appears on just about three quarters of the ‘For Lease’ and ‘For Sale’ signs that pop up on vacant storefronts throughout the ‘416’ and is the name behind the successful brokering of many of Toronto’s more exciting and lucrative deals. It’s a name that’s held in high regard within the realms of both commercial leasing and retail alike and is often attached to and credited for some of the most amazing streetfront transformations that the city has ever seen. But who is Arlin Markowitz – the man behind the name – and what makes him so damn good at what he does?
“Before I got into brokerage, I grew up in my family’s shoe business – David’s Footwear,” he explains. “I spent most of my childhood, including weekends, summers, holidays, and every other minute that I wasn’t in school, within the retail industry, working at the shoe store as a shoe salesman. Because of this, the vast majority of the time, I was working at the corner of Bay and Bloor in Yorkville, one of the most exciting and fast-paced retail presences in the city. During that time, I developed a thorough understanding of the neighbourhood and of the commercial activity that took place there. So, when I decided, for a plethora of reasons, that the retail business wasn’t for me and that I wanted to get into real estate, it was obvious that I should focus on what I knew best, which was retail in the Bloor-Yorkville node.”
Sharp rise to success
Image: Arlin Markowitz
Image: Arlin Markowitz
Receiving this type of unconventional education, he says, particularly as it pertains to the luxury side of retail, allowed him to amass a knowledge and acumen for his profession that could not be learned anywhere else. It also enabled him to hit the ground running when he started at Cushman & Wakefield in 2007 where he became one of the global commercial real estate giants’ top brokers before eventually assuming the role of Vice President. Following eight successful years with the company, Markowitz moved on to join commercial real estate services and investments firm CBRE, where he currently serves as Executive Vice President, leading the Urban Retail Team which he founded when joining in March of 2015.
Today, he is widely recognized as Toronto’s foremost urban retail specialist and advisor, and has been responsible for introducing a host of international brands to the Canadian market, representing both tenants and landlords to facilitate the placement of prestigious brands including Hermès, Salvatore Ferragamo, Zegna, Equinox, Valentino, MCM, COS, Brooks Brothers and Lululemon in some of the country’s most coveted addresses. In addition, he’s also personally executed over three quarters of a billion dollars worth of investment sales in the city. So, the question begs to be asked: how can one man be responsible for such an impressive portfolio of deals?
“I don’t think that there’s any kind of secret behind my success as a broker,” he admits. “It’s really just about work ethic and sacrifice. I don’t think I’m smarter than the next person doing this. I just think I work harder and longer hours. When my competitors are taking a Thursday afternoon off in the summer to play golf or go to the cottage, I’m still sitting in my office. When they extend their Christmas holidays into two-and-a-half or three weeks, I’m taking six nights and then rushing back to my work. I’m regularly working from seven in the morning to seven in the evening, come home to have dinner with my wife and put my kids to bed, and then I’m in my home office at nine and will stay there, working, until just before midnight. It’s about putting in the hours and being comfortable with a certain degree of sacrifice in order to get the results.”
It’s a work ethic and approach that he says was influenced early in his life by his grandparents, who were survivors of The Holocaust, and by the many other survivors of their generation who had no choice but to work in order to build a life for themselves. Their stories, and the way many succeeded in the aftermath of the war, engrained in him a sense of duty and obligation, one that drives him forward every day.
“I have always been incredibly inspired by my grandparents and all of the other Holocaust survivors,” he says. “Many of them came to Canada as refugees with absolutely nothing and through nothing else but hard work and determination managed to build their lives and businesses here. My grandparents always reminded me to make the most of my time here and to always remember how lucky I am to be Canadian and living in this great country. I do my best to honour them by working as hard as I can and to continue contributing to the amazing city of Toronto.”
A strong Urban Retail Team
Image: Urban Retail Team
Hard work and a dedicated focus. It’s a simple recipe, and one that has served the proficient commercial leasing leader well through the years. However, he points to the team around him as the most critical component lending toward his remarkable achievements. Consisting of seven members, including five brokers and two marketing professionals, along with the support of stellar administration and financial analysts, Markowitz and CBRE’s Urban Retail Team have long carved out a dominant market position in Toronto, delivering maximum value to the clients they work with.
“What I’ve been able to achieve throughout my career to this point could never have been done on my own,” he says. “I have the privilege of working with my phenomenal partners that I have on the team today – Alex Edmison, Jackson Turner and Teddy Taggart. We all approach every day and each deal that we execute for our clients with the same dedication and commitment toward delivering results. Combining our expertise and experience with our desire to dominate the urban commercial leasing market, we’re responsible for somewhere in excess of 75 percent of the retail listings in Toronto and about 90 to 95 percent of the listings in the Bloor-Yorkville neighbourhood.”
What’s to come?
Corner of Cumberland St & Avenue in Yorkville – Photo by Dustin Fuhs
It’s easy when speaking with Markowitz to notice the enthusiasm with which he speaks of his profession and the impact that he and his team have on Toronto’s commercial leasing scene. In fact, it’s almost infectious when listening to him speak of the deals he’s brokered, those he’s currently working on and the opportunities that are soon going to be available for retailers and landlords alike as a post-pandemic world steadily approaches which, to Markowitz, translates simply into a boom-in-waiting for the retail industry.
“It’s been a really wild ride for retail in general over the course of the past 16 months,” he says. “But, throughout the challenges faced by the sector, pharmacy, grocery, banking, cannabis, fast food and small coffee shops have all been fine. In fact, for those types of products, rent hasn’t even really gone down. And there have also been brands like Peloton, which we just helped to place a flagship on Robson Street in Vancouver and to extend their lease on Bloor in Toronto where we placed them a couple years ago, that have managed to evolve and perform even better as a result of the pandemic. The hardest hit segment of the retail leasing market is fashion. Streets like Bloor Street and malls like Yorkdale have faced challenges. But, having said that, we’ve noticed an uptick in the last 30 to 60 days, with a lot of calls coming in from U.S. retailers and my partners in New York and London. They’re all letting me know that as soon as they can book a flight and visit without having to quarantine, they’re coming and want to look at spaces on Bloor Street West.”
And, it seems, Markowitz is just as excited for travel restrictions to lift, expressing anticipation and excitement to return to his regular routine of bi-monthly visits to New York City where he canvasses retailers, promoting the attractiveness of Toronto and the Canadian market. As an active member of the International Council of Shopping Centers, he’s also in attendance each year at the association’s big Las Vegas and Whistler conventions, in addition to making his annual trip to the south of France for MAPIC – the international retail property market event – where he takes the opportunity to meet directly with the world’s top luxury brands and present the value of Bloor Street.
“Those trips, when I have the chance to visit Paris, New York and London, and meet with our great network of CBRE brokers, are immensely valuable,” he says. “It’s what we’ve been missing over the course of the past 16 months, and I can’t wait to get back to our travels and start meeting with brands again. It’s going to be a good next 6 to 18 months for retail. We’re looking forward to getting back to full swing with respect to tours and in-person meetings.”
Increased rental prices?
Image: Urban Retail Team
He goes on to explain that as a result of the mini retail renaissance that he expects to take place in the months ahead, the rental prices that have gone down during the pandemic will rise again “shockingly” fast, citing revenge shopping as a very real phenomenon that will help retailers across the country start to make up for at least some of the shortfall that the industry has collectively experienced of late, driving lease prices up. He says that it’s a trend in consumer behaviour that won’t take long to develop, referencing the recent performance of some retailers in the United States as an example of what’s to come for retailers in Canada.
“The retail markets, including restaurants, movie theatres, sporting events, indoor shopping and outdoor shopping is all going to explode as soon as restrictions lift across the country,” he predicts. “I was speaking to a retailer in New York last week who told me that their sales during the first week that they were able to open in Manhattan beat the sales of the week before Christmas in both 2018 and 2019. I anticipate retail sales to be incredibly strong over the coming months. And, as a result, a definite shift will happen in the market back toward the landlord’s side. If you’re a retail tenant looking to be opportunistic and get a really great deal on Fifth Avenue, Maddison, Bloor or Rodeo, the time has come and gone. Rent will remain down for a brief period of time. But retailers are going to need to pay to play in the hottest urban spots again pretty soon.”
Excitement in store
With respect to some of the developments and deals currently happening in the city, he says that there’s “a lot going on” and that people living in and visiting Toronto can “expect some cool and exciting things to happen around retail in the city”.
“There are rumours that Lululemon is looking for a new flagship location in Toronto,” he shares. “Their current store on Cumberland is very small and their lease is coming up soon. So, I think everyone can expect them to do something new and exciting. Apple is, of course, coming to the corner of Yonge and Bloor and is a project that’s coming along beautifully. It’ll be a huge boost for the Bloor Street scene, generating traffic to the area. Nike is in the market looking for an experiential flagship store of at least 20,000 square-feet in the Bloor-Yorkville neighbourhood, which is another project that should be really exciting. These are just a few examples of the great things that are happening at the moment, and there’s so much more to come.”
Markowitz speaks glowingly of the city’s leasing prospects and opportunities. But he reserves most of his zeal, ardour and intensity for discussions about the endeavours that he and his team at CBRE are working on. One of which is a project called ‘The Well’ at the corner of Spadina and Front – a mammoth development comprising over three million square feet of retail, office and residential space. Markowitz and his team are handling the retail leasing for the project. And it’s a responsibility that the leading broker says gets him up in the morning.
“We’re working on ‘The Well’ with our clients RioCan and Allied REIT,” he explains. “And I think it’s going to be something really special for the residents of Toronto and visitors to the city. Working on this project is really exciting. It’s the location of the old Globe and Mail lands. And the opportunity to be involved in this, to help deliver something as bold and impressive as this project, is incredibly energizing. I’m already looking forward to the day when I can take my wife and kids there to go shopping, out for dinner or to an event. It’ll be very satisfying and will be a point of pride for me to know that I had something to do with its creation and development. From an architectural and tenant mix perspective, it’s going to be one of the most exciting new places in the city when it comes to retail and experiential dining.”
Gentrification through retail
Markowitz explains that he and his team are also working with El-Ad Group to help give life to another mixed-use project involving millions of square feet of retail, residential and office space at the corner of Dupont and Dufferin as part of a gentrification that the area will be undergoing over the next number of years.
“These projects are really fun to work on because of the objective that everyone is working toward,” he says. “At every level of the project, you’re really trying to help create a curated experience for residents of the area and visitors from outside. It’s really all in an effort to give people a reason to get excited and to drive traffic to these neighbourhoods. To do this, you’ve got to make sure that the right mix is arrived at and that you’re truly delivering value through every deal that you make.”
A legacy that continues
Image: Arlin Markowitz
Image: Arlin Markowitz
It’s clear when speaking with Markowitz that he’s extremely proud of the work that he does for clients and of his accomplishments to date. It’s this pride, combined with his work ethic and commitment to delivering value, that goes a long way toward defining the man whose name is on all of those signs posted across the city. It also starts to explain his prolific performance as a broker and his team’s dominance in Toronto. And, if it’s up to him, that dominance will likely continue well into the future.
“It’s really satisfying to see neighbourhoods transition and change over time. Take Ossington as an example. I’ve been leasing and selling on the street for the past 15 years. Before I became involved in the area it was filled with hookers and mechanics shops. When you walk down Ossington today, you’ll see beautiful organic grocery stores, fashionable sneaker shops and some of the best restaurants in the city. It’s turned into one of the hottest parts of town. I love seeing this evolution and recognizing my signature on it and really enjoy knowing that what I’m working on today will continue to have an impact on a given area well into the future. On that note, my team and I plan to continue focusing on developing Canada’s urban high streets, condo retail, and the best-performing malls in the country and delivering value to the clients and partners that we work with.”
Rabba Fine Foods at Yonge & Rich Condo - Photo by Dustin Fuhs
Toronto-based Rabba Fine Foods will be opening a new location in the podium of the Yonge & Rich Condo, a 46-storey development which is nearing completion at the corner of Richmond St and Victoria St in downtown Toronto.
Retail Insider covered the announcement of the 35th Rabba Fine Foods back in December 2020, which will be opening in Regent Park this year. That location is unique as it is a partnership between Paramount Fine Foods and Rabba.
We’ll be following the expansion of this Toronto grocer as they continue to expand throughout the GTA.
Click for Interactive MapRabba Fine Foods at Yonge & Rich Condo – Photo by Dustin Fuhs
Intersection of Robson and Burrard (June 2021). Photo: Lee Rivett.
Retail Insider continues its Photo Tour series to provide a window into retail hotspots across the country that may be continuing to grow and expand while dealing with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This edition takes us to well-known Robson Street in Vancouver, British Columbia, beginning at Hornby Street and continuing west to Jervis Street. Stay tuned for the Alberni Street ‘Luxury Zone’ Retail Profile which will be published in the upcoming days as well.
Robson Street (Between Bute Street and Burrard Street) in Vancouver. Photo: Google Map and overlay by Retail Insider.
History of Robson Street
Robson Street was one of the first streets in Vancouver and was named in honour of John Robson, Premier of British Columbia from 1889-1892. Its commercial traditions date from 1895 when street car tracks were laid along Robson Street to Jervis Street. The 1940’s saw businesses begin to move west towards the 900 block of Robson, which became the market center, and very quickly they crossed Burrard Street to the buildings in the 1000 block. In the 1950’s and 60’s, Robson Street became known as Robsonstrasse, as the area became populated by European shopkeepers, most notably Germans, who arrived in Vancouver post World War II. Many European delicatessens, markets, bakeries and high fashion boutiques lined the street. Robson was bustling and becoming international in character, with the inexpensive housing attracting many new Canadians. In the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, Robson Street’s unique retail character became threatened by redevelopment. Many of the older buildings were redeveloped, rents started to increase and several small merchants were forced to close their doors. In the 80’s and especially after Expo 86, international recognition of Robson Street continued to increase. The street was still home to smaller independent retailers, including Welch’s Candy, Murchie’s Coffee and Tea and a Busy Bee grocery store, to name a few while a few national and international chains began to appear like London Drugs and Starbucks, the latter of which infamously occupied the two corner properties kitty corner to one another at Robson and Thurlow.
Historical Photos of Robson Street
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Historical Photo of Robson and Burrard Street in 1981 including the former Vancouver Public Library that is now a Victoria's Secret store. Photo: BC Archives # CVA 779-W06.05.
Historical Photo of Thurlow at Robson Street in 1976. Photo: BC Archives # CVA 780-406
Historical Photo of Thurlow at Robson Street in 1981. Photo: BC Archives # CVA 779-W09.36
Historical Photo a bus stop at Burrard & Robson in 1974. Photo: BC Archives # CVA 69-19.19
Breaking Up Robson Street
The Photo Tour of Robson Street starts next to the Vancouver Art Gallery at the intersection of Hornby Street. We will continue westward along Robson Street until we reach Jervis Street where retail becomes sparser. For the purpose of this retail tour, we separated the street into six ‘tour zones’ based on the density of retailers in each area.
Retail Profile ‘Tour Zones’ for Robson Street. Photo: Google Map.
The above six encircled ‘tour zones’ along Robson Street include:
Zone 1: 900 Block of Robson Street (Hornby Street to Burrard Street)
Zone 2: Eastern-1000 Block of Robson Street
Zone 3: Mid-1000 Block of Robson Street
Zone 4: Intersection of Robson Street and Thurlow Street
Zone 5: 1100 Block of Robson Street (Bute Street to Thurlow Street)
Zone 6: 1200 Block of Robson Street (Jervis Street to Bute Street)
Retail Tour Zone 1: 900 Block of Robson Street (Hornby Street to Burrard Street)
To make it easier for our readers, we selected a prominent downtown landmark to begin the first tour zone. The Vancouver Art Gallery originally opened as a provincial courthouse and was re-purposed for museum use in the early 1980s. This landmark borders Hornby Street and Robson Street which provides a main source of foot traffic for the Robson Street zone.
Vancouver Art Gallery at Robson Street. Photo: City of Vancouver
900 Block of Robson Street (Between Hornby Street and Burrard Street) in Vancouver. Photo: Google Map and overlay by Retail Insider.
While Robson Street is pedestrian-only along the Vancouver Art Gallery, vehicular traffic resumes on the 900 block of Robson Street heading westward from Hornby Street toward Burrard Street. The retailers mentioned in Retail Insider for this block include:
Peloton on Robson Street in Vancouver (June 2021). Photo: Lee Rivett.
Victoria's Secret on Robson Street in Vancouver (June 2021). Photo: Lee Rivett.
Victoria's Secret on Robson Street in Vancouver (June 2021). Photo: Lee Rivett.
Lululemon on Robson Street in Vancouver (June 2021). Photo: Lee Rivett.
Salvatore Ferragamo on Robson Street in Vancouver (June 2021). Photo: Lee Rivett.
Clearly on Robson Street in Vancouver (June 2021). Photo: Lee Rivett.
Other retailers on the 900 block of Robson street include Ollie Quinn and MAC Cosmetics, and the block was also home to Tesla Motor’s second Canadian store which recently closed.
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Ollie Quinn on Robson Street (June 2021). Photo: Lee Rivett.
MAC Cosmetics on Robson Street (June 2021). Photo: Lee Rivett.
Former Tesla Motors on Robson Street (June 2021). Photo: Lee Rivett.
Retail Tour Zone 2: Eastern-1000 Block of Robson Street
Retailer density increases as the retail tour crosses Burrard Street to the 1000 block of Robson Street. As a result, we broke the 1000 block into three sections to give the block a little extra detail. As we left the previous tour zone on the 900 block of Robson Street, we crossed Burrard Street bringing us to the first of three sections of the 1000 block.
Eastern side of 1000 Block of Robson Street (starting at Burrard Street) in Vancouver. Photo: Google Map and overlay by Retail Insider.
L’Occitane, Swarovski and Ecco Shoes on Robson Street in Vancouver (June 2021). Photo: Lee Rivett.
There are several retailers featured in Retail Insider over the years, including:
Foot Locker: American sportswear and footwear retailer opened its first Canadian Community Power Store on Robson Street in December 2020. The new 15,000-square-foot store in Vancouver offers a three-storey retail experience, including a second-floor activation space where events may be hosted with key brand partners and influencers for the local community (pending COVID-19 restrictions).
OVO on Robson Street (June 2021). Photo: Lee Rivett.
Sephora on Robson Street (June 2021). Photo: Lee Rivett.
Foot Locker on Robson Street (June 2021). Photo: Lee Rivett.
Indigo on Robson Street (June 2021). Photo: Lee Rivett.
Sephora on Robson Street (June 2021). Photo: Lee Rivett.
COS on Robson Street (June 2021). Photo: Lee Rivett.
Browns Shoes on Robson Street (June 2021). Photo: Lee Rivett.
Foot Locker and Sephora on Robson Street (June 2021). Photo: Lee Rivett.
Other select retailers on the middle portion of the 1000 block of Robson Street include Zara, Kiehl’s, Rocky Mountain Chocolate, Club Monaco, Miniso, Little Burgundy, Canadian Crafts and Aldo.
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Aldo on Robson Street (June 2021). Photo: Lee Rivett.
Club Monaco on Robson Street (June 2021). Photo: Lee Rivett.
Miniso and Little Burgundy on Robson Street (June 2021). Photo: Lee Rivett.
Canadian Crafts on Robson Street (June 2021). Photo: Lee Rivett.
Rocky Mountain Chocolate on Robson Street (June 2021). Photo: Lee Rivett.
Kiehl's on Robson Street (June 2021). Photo: Lee Rivett.
The building housing Indigo and other retailers at 1025 Robson Street was once a shopping centre called ‘Robson Galleria’. Image from the Vancouver Sun from November 27, 1980 via Newspapers.com
Retail Tour Zone 4: Intersection of Robson Street and Thurlow Street
Banana Republic on Robson Street and Thurlow Street intersection in Vancouver (June 2021). Photo: Lee Rivett.
Robson Street and Thurlow Street intersection in Vancouver. Photo: Google Map and overlay by Retail Insider.
Robson Street at Aritzia (June 2021). Photo: Lee Rivett
The intersection of Thurlow Street and Robson Street has always been a notable retail hub for the Robson community. Until the monolith Aritzia store opened on the corner, its prominent location was a Starbucks location which was across the street from another Starbucks location that still is open in 2021. The Vancouver-based women’s fashion Aritzia retailer has expanded several times at this location over the years. Artizia’s original 1,597 square foot Robson Street location grew by annexing the adjacent 3,565 square foot 1110 Robson Street retail space. In fall 2014, Aritzia annexed an adjacent 3,028 square foot storefront to open Vancouver’s first free-standing location for its house brand, Wilfred. Aritzia will take a further 4,837 square feet in the corner Deecorp Properties Ltd building, according to Artizia. As a result, Aritzia gained a prominent retail presence at the southwest corner of Robson Street and Thurlow Street.
Sources told Retail Insider that Aritzia for a time had leased the then-under construction 1067 Robson Street building where Foot Locker now operates, and that Aritzia eventually decided to stay at its current corner location.
Aritzia on Robson Street at Thurlow Street in Vancouver (June 2021). Photo: Lee Rivett
Camper on Robson Street in Vancouver (June 2021). Photo: Lee Rivett.
The other anchors at the intersection include Camper shoes and Banana Republic and the northeast corner is home to a brick building which has the remaining Starbucks location, Saje Natural Wellness, Blue Ruby Jewelery and Couturist.
Northwest corner of 1000 block of Robson Street
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Saje Natural Wellness on Robson Street (June 2021). Photo: Lee Rivett.
Blue Ruby Jewellery on Robson Street (June 2021). Photo: Lee Rivett.
Couturist on Robson Street (June 2021). Photo: Lee Rivett.
Former RYU location on Thurlow Street (off Robson Street) in Vancouver. Photo: Lee Rivett
Retail Tour Zone 5: 1100 Block of Robson Street (Thurlow Street to Bute Street)
Beyond the intersection of Thurlow Street and Robson Street is the remainder of the 1100 block of Robson Street which is home to athletic, home furnishing and bakery retailers.
1100 block of Robson Street in Vancouver. Photo: Google Map and overlay by Retail Insider.
This highly retailer-dense section of Robson Street has been featured by Retail insider over the years including:
Retailers featured in Retail Insider on 1100 block of Robson Street in Vancouver
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Former Eddie Bauer on Robson Street in Vancouver (June 2021). Photo: Lee Rivett
Baily Nelson and Steve Madden on Robson Street (June 2021). Photo: Lee Rivett
Reigning Champ on Robson Street in Vancouver (June 2021). Photo: Lee Rivett
Muji on Robson Street in Vancouver (June 2021). Photo: Lee Rivett
Muji on Robson Street in Vancouver (June 2021). Photo: Lee Rivett
Muji on Robson Street in Vancouver (June 2021). Photo: Lee Rivett
French food concept bakery ‘Paul’ opened its first Canadian location in June 2021 and is owned by the Holder Group. The 1164 Robson Street space was formerly home to Joe Fresh and RW&CO in years past. The space spans 3,120 square feet and the property also features a 1,185-square-foot mezzanine level.
Holder Group Bakeries on Robson Street in Vancouver
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PAUL Bakery at 1164 Robson St. - Photo by Lee Rivett
Laduree on Robson Street in Vancouver. Photo: Lee Rivett
1100 block of Robson Street in Vancouver (June 2021). Photo: Lee Rivett.
Other select retailers on the middle section of this block of Robson Street included Oomomoo, GNC, Mountain Warehouse, Plenty, Nike and Steve Madden.
Other select retailers on the 1100 block of Robson Street in Vancouver
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Plenty on Robson Street in Vancouver (June 2021). Photo: Lee Rivett.
Nike on Robson Street in Vancouver (June 2021). Photo: Lee Rivett.
Camper on Robson Street in Vancouver (June 2021). Photo: Lee Rivett.
Oomomo on Robson Street in Vancouver (June 2021). Photo: Lee Rivett.
GNC on Robson Street in Vancouver (June 2021). Photo: Lee Rivett.
Mountain Warehouse on Robson Street in Vancouver (June 2021). Photo: Lee Rivett.
Unfortunately, heading eastward on Robson Street has numerous retail locations vacant with the prominent retail tenant being London Drugs.
London Drugs on Robson Street in Vancouver (June 2021). Photo: Lee Rivett
Empty restaurant and retailer space on south-western end of Robson Street at Bute (June 2021). Photo: Lee Rivett.
The complex housing Muji and other retailers at 1125 Robson Street was once an upscale enclosed shopping centre called the ‘Robson Fashion Park’. The shopping centre housed a large Polo Ralph Lauren store as well as names such as Laurel, Alfred Sung and Benetton. Image from the Vancouver Province, May 29, 1986 via Newspapers.com
Retail Tour Zone 6: 1200 Block of Robson Street (Bute Street to Jervis Street)
1200 block of Robson Street in Vancouver. Photo: Google Map and overlay by Retail Insider.
Southern Bute Street at Robson was pedestrian only at the Vancouver Luggage House (with the big Samsonite sign) with seating at Breka Bakery & Cafe.
Bute Street closed to vehicular traffic at Robson Street in Vancouver. Photo: Lee Rivett
To wrap up the Robson Street tour, the last tour zone along Robson Street is home to several restaurants as well as the home furnishings retailer CB2, which is Crate & Barrel’s sister brand geared towards young adults, has a retail location on the city block preceding our starting point.
CB2 on Robson Street in downtown Vancouver (June 2021). Photo: Lee Rivett.
We hope you enjoyed this update of Robson Street in downtown Vancouver, B.C. and are always excited to see the changes at Canadian shopping centres. Don’t forget to check out our other retail photo tours over the past few months. Thank you for taking this tour with us.
Discover More Related Retail Photo Tours From Retail Insider:
Point Zero at 1119 Sainte-Catherine St. W (Photo: Maxime Frechette)
Montreal-based outerwear retailer Point Zero has shuttered its storefront at 1119 Sainte-Catherine St. W. in Montreal. Another storefront remains open nearby at 1395 Sainte-Catherine Street West. Another location also just shut at Quartier DIX30 according to Montreal correspondent Maxime Frechette.
We will be following this story, as the company was featured in Retail Insider back in December of 2020 to discuss their growth plans for a post-pandemic environment. Point Zero is seeing bullish growth and has ample funding under its owner.
This week Craig speaks with INDOCHINO CEO Drew Green about where the company is going, including a new partnership with Nordstrom.
The Weekly podcast by Retail Insider Canada is available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play, or through our dedicated RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.
**Podcast Sponsor (MSC): As one of the world’s leading container ship lines, MSC is promoting a sustainable business model that goes far beyond the ‘business as usual’ approach. [Read more on MSC’s Sustainability Program]
Discussed this episode:
Drew Green, Chief Executive Officer, President of INDOCHINO
Drop us a line at Craig@Retail-Insider.com. You can also rate us in Apple Podcasts or recommend us in Overcast to help more people discover the show!
Background Music Credit: Hard Boiled Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
The pandemic over the past year or so has caused a great disruption for the retail sector across the country, but for the Avalon Mall in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, it has been a year of new store openings.
Nikki Poole, Associate Vice President for commercial real estate brokerage CBRE Limited, said 2020 was a “slug” for retail in Newfoundland like it was for the rest of the country.
Nikki Poole
“There certainly were some delays in store openings and deals that weren’t in the works before really just went on the backburner. The positive note is that 2021 is shaping up to be a whole more optimistic. Last year, I think it was just more of a status quo, shorter renewals, no one really wanted to rock the boat and stores were just being creative in trying to keep the lights on truthfully, just like anywhere else in Canada,” said Poole.
“Our landscape now is we’ve all been stuck here so disposable income is being spent on retail and renovations and there’s still a lot of money being pumped into the retail market here.
“The Avalon Mall for instance they still opened up H&M, the Gap, Old Navy, Levi’s, Tommy Hilfiger. They’ve opened up all these stores during the pandemic which in any other market would never happen. But the Avalon Mall is just a unique property. As everyone knows across Canada, the sales are phenomenal there and they’re in the middle of a multi-million dollar renovation. So maybe that has helped bring in some interest and Five Guys is opening in the Avalon Mall. That will be our first to the province. That’s promising.”
Image: Avalon Mall
Poole said there is a lot of activity with smaller health and wellness based businesses.
“They seem to be eating up a lot of our smaller retail openings in the suburbs. And then we have some businesses, who have been online based and thrived during the pandemic, online shopping, and some of these businesses are now opening up storefronts which is very positive and exciting because they’re growing and eating into that warehouse distribution space and having these cute little storefronts that are pop-ups that are legit lease spaces,” she said.
Like many other retail experts across the country, Poole also agreed that the feared ‘retail apocalypse’ that would result with many closures due to the pandemic just did not materialize.
“The national closures were out of our control and a lot of times when the national stores closed down the Newfoundland stores were told they were exceeding sales expectations but we all know those decisions are made much broader than in Newfoundland,” said Poole.
“Yes it certainly was a time where the doors were shut in some of these spaces and there was concern that they wouldn’t reopen but I think from a fatality perspective we certainly have I would speculate nationally a smaller percentage of those who didn’t reopen.
“We’re a small market. So tenants know landlords. Landlords know their tenants. They shop at their stores. They don’t want to lock the doors on people knowing that there’s not 50 other businesses lining up to go in those spots. So relationships are really important and what we’re seeing now that we’re sort of out of this dark tunnel a bit is a bit of a relocation happening. I do think people are now calling other landlords and dancing with them to see about relocating their businesses, particularly if their leases are up for renewal right now. They’re shopping around.”
The EU permits businesses to transport personal data of European data subjects outside of Europe as long as a company receiving that personal information uses the EU-approved Standard Contractual Clauses (“SCCs”) in their service agreement contracts. The SCCs were revised on June 4, 2021. Any brand that collects their EU customers’ personal information needs to ensure that their service agreements have SCCs in place, or they will no longer be able process their EU clients’ information or do business in the EU.
How Will This Affect My Brand?
You will need to make sure that you comply with the EU regulations and use these new contractual clauses in the following situations, even if you’re based in Canada or any other country outside the EU:
If you have a large European clientele and need to transport their personal information back and forth between Canada and the EU
If you use IT services based in the EU and regularly transfer personal information back and forth
If you have an office in the EU and EU-based employees
If your brand does business in the EU, your company is subject to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and likely rely on the SCCs which were enacted as part of the GDPR to transfer personal data across borders in the course of your business. This ensures that even if the laws differ where you are and where your customer resides, that their personal data is sufficiently protected. SCCs are often included in service agreements or contracts where personal data is transferred from an EU country to non-EU nation, and are almost always used within the EU to transfer personal data across borders. This has ramifications on the data that you can share with your supply chain. Here are some of the changes to the new set of SCCs.
Processing of Personal Data
The GDPR applies if you are “processing” – collecting, using, disclosing, and storing – personal data concerning identifiable individuals. In the words, any personal information you gather from your EU customers is subject to this law. Even if your European clientele does not comprise a large component of your customer base at this time, once your business expands into that market and beyond, you should be able to demonstrate compliance with the GDPR.
Any business that makes decisions on how personal data is to be processed is known as a “controller” for the purposes of the GDPR. Any sub-contractors who process personal data on the controller’s instructions are known as “processors”. The terminology is important, as the obligations differ according to a company’s role in any B2B arrangement where personal data is being transferred.
Transfer of Personal Data
Chances are, you are not only processing personal data from customers, but you are also using a number of contractors and third-party vendors to make your business run. The revised SCCs are intended to protect customer privacy in any B2B transfer of personal data. This may include, but is not limited to, the following:
Credit card payment processing
Market research data analysis
Customer profiling
Accounting, payroll, and other human resource-related functions (because GDPR also applies to your EU-based employees, too)
In other words, the GDPR applies not just to your business, but to your entire supply chain as well.
Territorial Scope
One of the growing pains in a business, particularly as the world has become increasingly virtual in terms of service delivery due to the Covid-19 pandemic, is that data privacy protection laws can vary amongst countries, and sometimes they even vary within the same country. For instance, in Canada, PIPEDA governs all privacy-sector entities, but provinces have their own versions of the same legislation that imposes stricter conditions on data transfer. But even with those laws in place, if a Canadian retailer processes personal data of EU customers, they must ensure that they and their service providers comply with the GDPR requirements. The challenge is in ensuring you comply with each applicable legislation.
Obligations: Module-based data transfers
The main change to the SCCs is that the new clauses are tailor-made and easily adaptable to B2B transfers of personal data. Although the previous version of the SCCs (which you may have right now with your third-party vendors) impose similar obligations, there are ambiguities in certain areas. The revised SCCs are intended to clarify these ambiguities and make the obligations easier for a business to understand and interpret.
The new module-based SCCs are actually more user-friendly and less ambiguous in terms of how data transfers take place and the safeguards for those transfers to take place. By using a scenario-based module, you and your privacy and legal teams can use the appropriate SCCs applicable to your business arrangement. Here are some examples of how the new scenarios apply to a company:
Module 1 – controller to controller transfer: you are a retailer transferring personal data on EU customers to another retailer, and both you and your retailing partner make decisions on how data is to be processed. An example is creating a customer database to whom you perform directed marketing in a joint effort with another business.
Module 2 – controller to processor transfer: you provide personal data to a third-party marketing firm to gather customer feedback and intel on an advertising campaign or a recent product launch. The marketing firm takes instructions from you on how to process the data.
Module 3 – processor to processor transfer: your third-party bookkeeping company provides your customer personal data to a third-party IT solution firm to crunch data.
Module 4 – processor to controller transfer: your third-party actuary has processed financial information relating to your workforce (on which you provided instructions) and provides you with a detailed financial report.
Because the revised SCCs are tailored specifically to outline the minimum legal requirements based on data transfer in a B2B relationship, they are intended to be more business-friendly than the original SCCs.
The revised SCCs also have considerable legal consequences. In the event of a privacy breach, a business characterized as a data controller may be held liable for any breaches caused by a processor, due to their position in the business relationship as a head contractor. The SCCs are intended to minimize risk by setting requirements for data protection to limit liability and to demonstrate due diligence. While the new SCCs have not yet been challenged in court, it is expected that they will more clearly outline contractual obligations in any transfer of personal data in a B2B relationship involving at least one EU-based party to that contract.
The Timeline: When do I have to be compliant?
The current set of SCCs already in place can be used in new contracts until September 27, 2021. The advent of the revised SCCs does not invalidate any agreements you currently have with a third-party vendor that processes personal data on your company’s behalf. However, with the implementation of the revised SCCs, it may not be worthwhile to use the soon-to-be-obsolete versions and to renegotiate the deal.
There is a transition period to align your current SCCs with the revised version. The EU has given a deadline of December 22, 2022, for all companies using the SCCs to renegotiate their contracts and include the revised SCCs into agreements where there is a transfer of personal data across borders.
The effects of non-compliance are unknown at this time. However, a cautionary tale can be gleaned by the demise of the US-EU Privacy Shield, a legal framework that at one time permitted the transfer of personal data between the US and the EU. The Privacy Shield was struck down in the European Court of Justice in July 2020, effectively ending the transfer of personal data, except in cases where a company had used SCCs in their agreements with their service providers. Companies that did not use the SCCs had to scramble to renegotiate all of their agreements with service providers to comply with the GDPR.
How can Kobalt help?
Kobalt is an IT security services firm serving small to medium sized businesses (SMBs) based in Vancouver, BC, with services to the retail sector. As part of their service module, Kobalt offers data privacy gap analysis and compliance services to SMBs, with a focus on complying with applicable privacy laws such as the GDPR Kobalt’s Privacy Practice Lead, Ritchie Po, is a Certified Information Privacy Officer with both Canadian and EU (GDPR) designations. In January 2021, Mr. Po presented on the topic of Bill C-11 and how changes to Canadian federal data privacy laws can affect retailers in the future.
If you are interested in discussing GDPR compliance and other IT security-related services, contact Ritchie Po at:Ritchie.po@kobalt.io.
