Small and medium-sized businesses around the world impacted by COVID-19 will receive free resources from global POS leader
Leading cloud-based commerce platform Lightspeed POS Inc. has announced the implementation of several new initiatives to aid its local retail and restaurant customers who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Effective immediately, and for the next 3 months, Lightspeed is now offering the following free services to support its customers in the now necessary adaptations:
In addition to the above, Lightspeed has also implemented the #lightspeedlocal initiative, designed to encourage its company employees to shop locally and support small businesses in the Lightspeed network. The program reimburses employees in its 14 global offices up to $500 in local currency on purchases employees make from any Lightspeed retail or restaurant customer, whether through eCommerce shopping, meal takeout or delivery. “Our employees and customers are at the heart of everything we do, and during this time of social distancing and uncertainty, it is more important than ever that we support them in a tangible way,” said Dax Dasilva, Founder and CEO of Lightspeed. “I’m inspired by the spirit and innovation from some of our customers leveraging omni and creative home delivery options to make the best of an incredibly difficult time. Helping others do the same is at the heart of these incentives that we are putting in place.”
PHOTO: LIGHTSPEED
To further help SMBs protect their businesses during this turbulent time, Lightspeed has launched an online COVID-19 Retail and Restaurant Resource Guide. Outlining operational tasks and tools for new revenue streams to help businesses navigate changes in consumer behaviour, the guide aims to help small and medium-sized businesses remain agile in the current socio-economic climate and provide them with resources to safeguard a prosperous future.
Earlier in 2020 Retail Insider reported on Lightspeed’s outstanding 2019 success. Lightspeed announced in January that its Canadian retail customers sales growth of more than six times the industry average last year. The revelation comes after Lightspeed compiled data from more than 3,000 Lightspeed retail locations as part of a year-end review following tremendous growth for Lightspeed itself after a successful IPO in 2019.
Lightspeed — which now powers small and medium-sized businesses in over 100 countries — uses a smart, scalable, and dependable point of sale system that helps restaurants and retailers sell across channels, manage operations, engage with consumers, accept payments, and grow their business. Headquartered in Montréal, Lightspeed has offices in Canada, the USA, Europe, and Australia. For more information, please visit: www.lightspeedhq.com
AN EMPTY CUMBERLAND ST IN YORKVILLE, TORONTO. PHOTO: CRAIG PATTERSON
A group of prominent Canadian retailers are not satisfied with the measures brought in by the federal government to stop the bleeding in the industry as a result of the devastating impact of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.
The retailers say more needs to be done to help the multitude of staff that has either already been laid off or will be laid off in the near future.
And retailers who are in a crisis situation right now with limited cash flow are also hoping the federal government comes to their aid so they don’t have to close their doors permanently.
Sophie Boulanger, CEO of eyewear retailer BonLook with 34 stores across Canada in 11 cities, recently closed its locations as a result of the coronavirus outbreak meaning that all of its retail store employees, 330 of its overall 430 employees, have been temporarily laid off.
PHOTO: BONLOOK
When they will be able to return to work remains a big question mark.
“When we announced the store closures last Monday, our official communication was that we were closed for two weeks and that we would re-assess. Seeing how things are progressing we don’t know what will happen after that two-week period. It will take us to March 30. Seeing how things are progressing, it’s hard to say if we will be able to re-open at that date. Unfortunately, I’m as much in the dark as everybody else.”
Boulanger said some of the measures announced last week by the federal government will help in some way those people who are now unemployed.
She said she’s been hearing chatter that some extra measures will be announced in the coming days more specifically for medium-sized businesses like BonLook.
AN EMPTY CF TORONTO EATON CENTRE. PHOTO: THE GLOBE AND MAIL
“In 2008 we were living a systemic problem in the financial world. Right now, it’s more of a black swan event that created a liquidity crisis. For all businesses right now, our main problem is liquidity. We don’t have enough money to pay our employees because revenues were shut down very abruptly and very drastically as well,” said Boulanger.
“What most businesses need right now is an urgent injection of liquidity. My understanding is that it will work through existing systems in places like all the banks and institutions such as the BDC.
“I have faith that the government is not going to let everyone just go down in this crisis.”
If federal measures in this regard don’t materialize, Boulanger said massive job losses will result in the retail industry.
“Our biggest wish is to be able to rehire and to reinstate everybody into the business as soon as possible.”
LA VIE EN ROSE PHOTO: YELLOW PAGES
François Roberge, President and owner of La Vie en Rose and Bikini Village, said the retailer has 266 stores across the country in every province - 200 for La Vie en Rose and 66 for Bikini Village.
The total number of employees is 3,400 but when the stores closed recently that sent 3,300 employees temporarily to unemployment.
“We were losing so much money. We had no choice. It was a question of cash flow. There’s no traffic,” said Roberge, adding the biggest issue for retailers right now is their cash flow.
He said he would like to see more measures to ease the burden of employees caught now without a job.
“For me, I don’t want anything from government in terms of business but for my staff I think it’s important. A lot of people are living with every pay they got every two weeks. So they don’t have any security money or anything. So that’s why I think the government needs to support much more the worker than the company. The company, we’ll figure it out after.
PHOTO: ECKSAND
“It’s going to be big now the layoffs in Canada now for this week and next week.”
Erica Bianchini, creative director and co-founder of Ecksand, a fine jewellery retailer in Montreal who counts the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, as one of its clients, said the company had to take some precautions in limiting the capacity in its headquarters and the store.
The retailer handcrafts sustainable luxury jewellery, engagement rings and wedding rings. The retailer is predominantly online but its headquarters in Montreal has an extension with a retail location. The back end is its office and manufacturing area.
“With everything going and the uncertainty, you could see the massive decrease in foot traffic right away because people are scared,” she said, adding that its retail experience is completely private now as it has made several adaptations because of the coronavirus.
AN EMPTY YORKVILLE LANE, TORONTO. PHOTO: CRAIG PATTERSON
“We had to come down to about a fifth of our normal capacity.”
That has resulted in 12 people being temporarily laid off and heavily reduced hours across the board.
As a business owner, Bianchini has been frustrated and critical of the government response to the crisis. She said one of her main concerns is that the public in general has lacked direction and fear has been instilled in people. Although there are many precautions needed to ensure everyone’s health, she said the government should also have been telling people what to do with a Plan A, Plan B and Plan C. If the government had done that, people would feel less uncertain about what’s going on and more organized.
“What’s happening right now is people don’t know what they can do, if they can spend, what’s going to happen, what’s up, what’s down, and that’s killing business. It’s killing business faster than we could ever have imagined,” added Bianchini. “It’s detrimental to our economy right now and that’s what’s scaring us all.”
Louis Vuitton Flagship on Bloor Street (Toronto) during initial COVID shutdowns
Canada’s ritziest shopping district is a virtual ghost town amid the COVID-19 epidemic. We toured Toronto’s Bloor-Yorkville area (while practicing social distancing) and took photos. Almost all retail stores in the area have been shuttered (temporarily) since Friday or before. In some cases, luxury brands have removed product entirely from stores amid concerns of robberies and as a drastic measure, the Christian Dior flagship store on Bloor Street West installed wood hoarding over its facade on Friday afternoon.
The high density Bloor-Yorkville area is home to a clustering of luxury brand stores as well as notable restaurants and other services. It serves a dense, affluent, and rapidly-growing local population and is also a destination for Torontonians and tourists. Given that Canada has shut its borders down temporarily, it remains to be seen when international tourists will return, even after stores themselves reopen.
Bloor-Yorkville’s grocery stores and drug stores remain open but with reduced hours. Grocery retailers Loblaws and Whole Foods are limiting the number of people who can enter stores at one time, which has resulted in lineups. At the Loblaw City Market at Manulife Centre, a six-foot distance was being mandated between each person in line. Italian grocerant concept Eataly, which opened in November, is open to the public though sit-down dining options have been removed.
Retailers hope to re-open stores within the coming weeks, though it remains to be seen if COVID-19 will be contained as hoped. Given the increase in cases in Canada over the past few days, not to mention how many people are still out socializing, the situation could be prolonged for a considerably longer period than expected. On Friday, for example, the EB Games store on Yonge Street saw lineups for a new video game release — the retailer faced intense criticism even from Mayor John Tory and Premier Doug Ford. EB Games subsequently announced Saturday that its Canadian stores had shut temporarily.
The following is a collection of photos from the Bloor-Yorkville area from Friday and Saturday during the day with a description of what’s happening. All photos are by Retail Insider.
Above: The large two-level Dior flagship store’s facade was being boarded over Friday afternoon. The 13,300-square-foot store opened last year in the Colonnade at 131 Bloor Street West and is currently the largest Dior store in North America.
Above: Another view of the Colonnade with Coach and Mulberry also shuttered indefinitely.
Above: The 18,000-square-foot Louis Vuitton Maison flagship store at 150 Bloor Street West has shuttered temporarily. Product in the store has been removed as per the photo below.
Above: New York City-based jeweller Tiffany & Co. has closed its 11,000-square-foot, two-level store at 151 Bloor Street West. Product appears to have been removed from the store.
Above: The Gucci flagship store, which is under renovation at 130 Bloor Street West, was shuttered last week. Product has been removed from the store as per the photo below.
Above: The 9,000-square-foot Burberry flagship store at 144 Bloor Street West has shuttered for the time being. The photo below shows that product has been removed from the store.
Above: The mixed-use 110 Bloor Street West building. All stores, including the large Winners/HomeSense have shuttered. Remarkably, three ground-level retail tenants had already shuttered permanently over the past several months. That includes, left-to-right: Calvin Klein Underwear, Guerlain, and Browns Shoes.
Above: The MCM flagship store at 93 Bloor Street West has removed all product from the store. We reported on the store’s opening in late 2017.
Above: The Dolce & Gabbana flagship store at 111 Bloor Street West has closed and product appeared to have been removed from within. Sources had said that Dolce & Gabbana was already looking to vacate the space permanently, though a timeline hadn’t been provided.
Above: UK luxury brand Mulberry has shuttered its store at the Colonnade at 131 Bloor Street West. It remains to be seen if the brand maintains its two Canadian stores in the future, both located in Toronto.
Above: Italian luxury brand Prada has cleared out its two-level flagship store at 131 Bloor Street West, and has pulled the curtains on its second floor retail level. Below is a photo taken through the store’s front doors on Saturday afternoon.
Above: An emptied out Cartier store at 131 Bloor Street West. The store is said to be getting a substantial renovation at some point, though it could be delayed because of the current situation.
Above: The Montblanc flagship store at 151 Bloor Street West is completely empty and shuttered. Other retailers at the same address include Moncler, Stuart Weitzman, and Peloton, all of which have closed temporarily.
Virtually deserted: The photo above, taken from in front of the Zegna store at 100 Bloor Street West, shows a quiet Bloor Street which is normally much busier during the day.
Above: Temporarily shuttered Zegna, Hermes, and Holt Renfrew Men stores at 100 Bloor Street West.
Above: Men’s multi-brand luxury retailer Harry Rosen has temporarily closed its 55,000-square-foot flagship store at 82 Bloor Street West, as has Roots and Banana Republic further down the block.
Above: Sephora, COS, and other retailers shutter temporarily on Bloor Street West. Beauty brand MAC had shuttered permanently in January.
Above: Eataly at Manulife Centre remains open, though chairs in dining areas appear to have been turned over (we didn’t go inside). The Maison Birks jewellery store on the corner is closed temporarily, as is the Gap store at the left of this photo.
Above: Boutique concessions inside of Holt Renfrew at 50 Bloor Street West have removed some products from the shelves. That includes the ground level Miu Miu boutique to the right of this photo. The lighter brown carpeted area in the photo housed several handbag brands and it appears product has been removed. We were unable to see if Balenciaga, Bulgari, David Yurman, Gucci, Dior, Prada, Fendi, Bulgari and Louis Vuitton had cleared out their concessions.
Above: A view towards the Holt Renfrew Centre at 50 Bloor Street West. Aritzia, Fossil, and Zara have shuttered temporarily, as has the Holt Renfrew store which is under the magenta tarp as part of a renovation which will include a new facade.
Above: The vacated Zara store at 50 Bloor Street West.
Above: Looking east along Bloor Street standing in front of the Zara store.
Above: Looking towards 2 Bloor Street West, which will see a substantial overhaul that will include a new Bloor Street frontage as well as demolition to the back-end for new residential skyscrapers and a small park.
Above: Canada’s first Chick-fil-A restaurant at 1 Bloor Street East is ‘carry out only’ for the time being.
Above: A stretch of small businesses, many of which appeared open and busy on Friday, on Charles Street just west of Yonge Street.
Above: The Beauty Boutique at Shoppers Drug Mart at Manulife Centre has been decommissioned temporarily with product removed from the space. The rest of the Shoppers Drug Mart store remains open on reduced hours.
Above: Normally busy Yorkville Avenue is virtually empty on Saturday as people stayed indoors. A handful of people were cautiously walking through the neighbourhood while some cars drove by. Restaurants are either closed or are open for take-out orders only.
Above: Another view of Yorkville Avenue and its shuttered stores and restaurants.
Above: Christian Louboutin and other retailers temporarily shutter on upscale Yorkville Avenue.
Above: Italian luxury fashion brand Versace has shuttered its store in the 102-108 Yorkville Avenue complex. Below is a photo showing that the store is mostly empty inside.
Above: The normally busy Yorkville Village food court is empty and has no seating. Landlord First Capital Realty spent several years and many millions of dollars renovating the former Hazelton Lanes shopping centre. First Capital Realty is also redeveloping much of Yorkville Avenue and owns the buildings housing Chanel, Versace, Brunello Cucinelli, Stone Island, and others.
Above: ‘The Oval’ at Yorkville Village during what would have been a normally busy afternoon. A wine store was the only retailer open in the area.
Above: ‘The Fix’ at Yorkville Village is almost unrecognizable. The space used to house large chairs, tables and couches that encouraged people to gather. Desks at the back were also used by some as makeshift work spaces.
Above: The Whole Foods grocery store at Yorkville Village remains open on reduced hours and is currently limiting the number of customers allowed inside at any time. We noticed long lineups to get into the store over the weekend, which no doubt is causing further frustration during an already challenging situation. This photo is of an entranceway we’d normally use to enter Whole Foods, which has been blocked for the time being.
Above: The Cumberland Street entrance to ‘Yorkville Lane’ which saw a substantial renovation last year.
Above: ‘alo bar’ in Yorkville Lane, considered to be one of the leading restaurants in Canada, is closed during a Saturday afternoon. It’s said to be almost impossible to get a reservation at the restaurant when it’s open.
Above: Nespresso at 159 Cumberland Street was closed along with other nearby retailers that include Lululemon, Aveda, Nicholas, and SEE Eyewear.
Above: Normally busy Cumberland Street was unusually quiet on a Saturday afternoon. The Kate Spade flagship store at 138 Cumberland Street had shut temporarily, as had others.
Above: Another view of Cumberland Street. Retailers have shuttered while some restaurants offer takeout service.
While Retail Insider would like to report on other areas of the city and country in a similar way, we may not be able to do so in the foreseeable future due to suggested social isolation. Retail Insider is located in the area and we’re staying close to home for the time being. We’re hoping that stores, restaurants and other businesses in Canada will open again in the coming weeks and that isolation won’t be necessary in the weeks to come. We’ll otherwise continue to provide retail-related updates on the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada.
Preparing a healthy salad with seeds - PHOTO: WELL+GOOD
These are unprecedented times for all of us. And frankly, we are all trying to figure out how to deal with our new lives, even if we know it will only last for a while. Strange days have found us, as normalcy is just not an option, for the safety of society, for us all. Public health officials and political leaders in Canada have been outstanding thus far. The media and reporters have been miracle workers, keeping the Canadian public well informed, even making some content open access. Thank goodness for them.
The not-so-graceful display of our collective journey to cope with this global threat has been the panic buying we have seen everywhere. People have been impulsively emptying shelves, everywhere, irrationally. We are all complicated human beings, and it’s hard to judge anyone since we are in unchartered waters. People manage anxiety and risks differently, in their own way. As a society, we will go through cycles of emotions, compulsions, and foolishness. We are in the worst of it, but it will end eventually.
With quarantines, cancellations, closures, and social distancing, home is, more than ever, the safest place for anyone to be. One positive thing coming out of this unfortunate episode could be to have everyone spending more time in the kitchen, a place in which fewer Canadians have spent time in recent years.
PHOTO: CBC.CA
The evidence which suggests Canadians are spending less time in the kitchen is mounting, despite record cookbook sales. Canadians buy almost $100m worth of cookbooks and food-related literature every year, but sales of tools and appliances used for cooking, like spatulas, mixers, and cooking bowls, have dropped steadily every year over the last 5 years. In 2019, sales for appliances and other items normally used in private kitchens dropped by 2%. The average Canadian can now watch over 250 hours of cooking or food related shows a week on television. A few networks are solely devoted to food. Still, cooking is just a fantasy for a growing number of Canadians.
Time has been unkind to kitchens. In a recent survey by Dalhousie University, for people born before 1946, 95% ate meals prepared by parents or a caregiver at home when growing up. That percentage dropped significantly over the years. Millennials were not exposed to home cooked meals as much, and neither was Generation Z. About 64% of Millennials regularly ate home-cooked meals when growing up, compared to 55% for Gen Z. Compared to the older generation, that’s a whopping drop of 31% and 40%. In other words, younger generations have a different appreciation for the kitchen and how food is prepared and consumed at home. The COVID-19 pandemic could potentially make younger generations more familiar with a space which seems like a fable to them.
More time at home can be a benefit for all of us. In that same survey conducted by Dalhousie University, 68.4 percent of Canadians would like to spend more time preparing food at home. With the current public safety measures, many will be getting their wish.
IMAGE:FREEPIK
Buying and reading a cookbook is like watching a good movie. We can project ourselves into the story, imagine we can do things we never thought possible, making us dream. Some cookbooks these days are masterpieces, works of art. But most cookbooks have been used as coffee table books or regifted. Such a shame. But COVID-19 could change everything.
As we are forced to spend more time at home, and with provisions safely nestled in cupboards and freezers, the opportunity to revisit our kitchens daily has never been so good. Equipped with unread cookbooks and underused kitchen tools, Canadians can now see some action in the kitchen.
We will get through this by sticking together and listening to our competent public health officials. In the meantime, let’s dust off our cookbooks and get reacquainted with the one room that can truly be considered the heart of anyone’s home: the kitchen.
Retail’s critical role in keeping our communities strong is especially evident during this COVID-19 crisis. Retail Council of Canada’s (RCC) top priority is ensuring the safety and wellbeing of all retailers and their employees so they can meet the diverse needs of Canadians while keeping everyone safe.
Ensuring we not only protect our country’s exceptional retail infrastructure but also allow for greater agility to meet the quickly changing needs of Canadians during these extraordinary times has been Retail of Canada’s (RCC’s) 24/7 focus for the last several weeks.
On behalf of our small, medium and large retail members from coast to coast, we have and continue to proactively inform, challenge, lobby and advance measures and programs to support our industry with all levels of government across Canada. We are doing so to assist during this period of crisis and uncertainty and to prepare for what might come next.
Supply Chain and Movement of Goods
We have one of the most sophisticated grocery and food supply industries in the world. The sudden rush of buying has temporarily left some grocery shelves bare but they are currently being re-stocked. There is no reason for residents to panic-buy and stockpile. Yet the fact remains, how Canadians are buying is changing and we need new systems. Policy makers are listening; RCC applauds the recent Ontario’s province-wide announcement to allow 24/7 deliveries, which will increase how quickly retailers can move product onto shelves and get needed goods to consumers as RCC proposed. We encourage other provinces to follow suit.
A special mention to all our drug chains and pharmacies. During emergencies such as this unprecedented pandemic, drug chains and pharmacies have been working around the clock to ensure that Canadians are safe with respect to medication and timely access to medications. We salute your work and your dedication.
Essential Retail
Ensuring a broad number of retail doors remain open so retailers can continue to serve the varied and diverse essential needs of Canadians is critical during this crisis. The importance of having a clear definition of “essential retail” will ensure access to all Canadians to the goods they need, when they need them and will reduce the current stockpiling tendencies.
Financial Support and Fixed Costs Relief
RCC is lobbying governments across the country to ensure retailers and their employees have quick and easy access to EI as well as payroll, tax and rent and utilities relief. We are thankful to all retailers who are assisting us in developing and putting proposed measures before governments to ensure that our needs as an industry are a priority.
We are also thankful to the many like-minded trade associations who are supporting our message and advancing our proposed retail-relief measures.
Retail Employees
These are unprecedented times. We thank all our employees in stores and supply chains who are working every day to respond to the essential needs of Canadians. We are all so grateful for your efforts and personal sacrifices. Know that we are taking extra measures to ensure you can work safely while we all get through this crisis together.
Finally, I join all our retail businesses in thanking Canadians for supporting our employees and for practicing appropriate hand hygiene and other infection prevention and control measures to protect themselves and those around them.
OXFORD PROPERTIES’ SOUTHCENTRE MALL IN CALGARY. PHOTO: OXFORD PROPERTIES
Amid the continued crisis of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, shopping centres in Canada remain open – although some with reduced hours of operation.
However, the Retail Council of Canada (RCC), a not-for-profit, industry-funded association that represents small, medium, and large retail businesses in every community across the country, has been “pushing” landlords to look at some measures of rent relief for retailers during this challenging economic time.
“We are pushing landlords in various (sizes) to look at the long view and that the businesses they have that are currently cash flow squeezed are not viable and then they have no tenants,” said Karl Littler, Senior Vice President of Public Affairs for RCC.
“And if those tenants are not being replaced by new entities — and they may well not be – the long-term cost to them is going to be pretty significant and they may want to look very hard now at providing some sort of relief in order to have viable tenancies on a long-run basis.
CF PACIFIC CENTRE, VANCOUVER. PHOTO: CADILLAC FAIRVIEW
“Some of them get that message and we do anticipate some outcomes from that and we’ve had some chats with them. Part of it is what does commercial law say in terms of your rental agreement. So there may be some outs. It depends on how those agreements are structured. But we are also pushing landlords to look at rent relief because ultimately it’s in their long-term financial interest.”
Ivanhoé Cambridge announced on Friday that it will be granting a deferral of the rent payable by those tenants of its retail properties in Quebec. “In these exceptional times, Ivanhoé Cambridge wants to contribute to the collective effort to support the Quebec economy, and will be deploying measures to alleviate the immediate financial pressure for its tenants in its Québec shopping centres,” the company said in a statement.
“We are implementing exceptional measures in order to respond to an exceptional situation. Each of us must do our part to support the well-being of our community and Ivanhoé Cambridge is united in solidarity with the difficult circumstances faced by many businesses, said Nathalie Palladitcheff, President and Chief Executive Officer, Ivanhoé Cambridge.” Our decisions are made with caution in these circumstances. The mitigating measures proposed today aim to alleviate the liquidity problems of the tenants of our shopping centers in Quebec and to support the economy of the province.”
“If you’re a landlord you need tenants to survive. So you can be a jerk and say ‘hey we have an agreement, you owe us money, I don’t care what’s happening, pay’. You can do that. You might feel good in the short run but in the medium term to long term you’re going to end up shooting yourself in the foot because there won’t be any retailers left or considerably less,” said Winder. “It’s almost like when a company goes bankrupt. Lenders try to renegotiate terms with the company to help it get back on its feet so they can get their money back versus getting no money back.
“It’s the same thing with landlords. Landlords really should be re-negotiating or at least giving some time buffer to these retailers. Now having said that, who is going to give landlords relief too because basically it’s a value chain. So if landlords give relief to retailers which they should do who is going to give relief to landlords? Are the banks going to give relief to landlords? Maybe. Or their lenders? Everyone in the transactional chain has to sort of help each other and work together in the short term or else the whole thing is going to fall down and then everyone loses.”
YORKDALE SHOPPING CENTRE, TORONTO. PHOTO: OXFORD PROPERTIES
Winder said shopping centres that have reduced their operating hours should definitely be giving rent relief to retailers.
“I think a lot of these malls should just close down right now unless you’re a grocery store or a drug store you really shouldn’t be open unless it’s something that is a very functional necessity for society right now. If you’re not a functional necessity, essential service, like food, or water or medicine, you really shouldn’t be open. It’s not a time where people are going to be shopping for discretionary goods. Why not just close and help flatten the curve as they say,” added Winder.
He said big retailers will survive this crisis because they have deep pockets but the small to medium size retailers are under-capitalized, they don’t have as many assets, and they probably have higher debt to equity ratios and now suddenly they have no cash flow.
“So there’s a high probability of those folks going bankrupt,” he said.
PHOTO: CADILLAC FAIRVIEW
Michael Kehoe, a commercial real estate broker based in Calgary and the volunteer Lead Ambassador for the International Council of Shopping Centres in Canada, said the coronavirus for retail real estate landlords and retailers around the world is now a reality rather than a looming threat.
“In Canada, where one in seven jobs are in shopping centres, the retail sector and retail spending accounts for an estimated $737 billion of consumer activity generated by the retail, food-and-beverage, entertainment and consumer service industries that occurs within Canada’s shopping centres,” said Kehoe, owner and broker of Fairfield Commercial Real Estate. “The country’s 3,700 shopping centres and their retailers must face a new reality with the goal of preserving the retail sector over the mid to long-term and entice retail sales staff and customers back to the fold when this is over.
“Nearly 70 per cent of shopping centre tenants are small businesses that employ less than 10 people and Canadian shopping centres generate nearly $25.5 billion of sales taxes for governments across the country. Developments concerning the COVID‑19 pandemic have significantly accelerated and have the potential to jeopardize the entire industry causing long-term damage, rampant unemployment and irreparable harm to the retail sector and communities across our country. Retailers are the heart and soul of the country and when times are challenging, developers, shopping centre operators and all retail real estate landlords must find solutions to assist retailers with deferred rent arrangements until things return to a new normal whatever and whenever that will be.
CF MARKET MALL, CALGARY. PHOTO: CADILLAC FAIRVIEW
“The situation progressively will return to a new normal over time, but retail tenants will need assistance from their landlords. Internationally many landlords have already issued a waiver of rent for all food service and retail tenants for the upcoming months, some mandated by their national governments.”
In a statement, Oxford Properties Group, which owns retail properties in Canada, said: “We continue to take our guidance from the Public Health Agency of Canada and local public health authorities. At this time, we have not been advised to close any of our properties or to reduce hours. We’re committed to supporting our retailers in this difficult time and have provided retailers the option to reduce store operating hours to 11am – 7pm effective from Monday, March 16 for an initial two weeks.
“Although some stores will choose to operate on reduced hours, our shopping centres will remain open to the public between 10am and 9pm. This allows for shoppers to access stores that wish to operate regular hours as well as vital services such as grocery stores and medical facilities that operate from our centres.
CADILLAC FAIRVIEW’S CF TORONTO EATON CENTRE. PHOTO: CADILLAC FAIRVIEW
“Up-to-date operating hours for retailers will be listed on our shopping centre websites.”
When asked about rent relief for retailers, Oxford replied: “Our focus right now is on the health and safety of our people and our customers, and everyone is working around the clock to make that happen.”
In a statement on its website, Cadillac Fairview, operator of malls across the country, said: “At Cadillac Fairview our first priority is the health and safety of our guests, tenants/their employees and our employees across our portfolio. In light of many local governments taking actions to support our communities during this difficult time, Cadillac Fairview, as well as our industry peers will be limiting the hours of operation at our shopping malls.
“At this point, Public Health has not advised us to close our shopping malls; however, effective Monday, March 16 mall operating hours will be 11:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. every day (unless the regularly scheduled closing hour is earlier). These hours will remain in place for two weeks, at which point we will re-evaluate. Access to the property will remain unchanged, as we understand there are some services and tenants that may operate as per their usual hours of business, and we will continue to support them in their approach.”
SUBURBAN OTTAWA STORE. PHOTO: MONIKA JASKOLKA VIA GOOGLE MAPS
Long-standing Ontario-based bargain retail store Zellers closed its doors for the last time this year after over 75 years of business.
An iconic retail store for so many Canadians, its last two stores, located in Ottawa and Etobicoke, closed in January, 2020.
Many Canadians were not ready for the bargain chain to shutter and so were pleasantly surprised to spot the retailer on Twitter this past week. Amid the COVID-19 chaos, Zellers seemed to be having some light-hearted fun, tagging old friends and flames alike in a humorous Twitter dialogue.
This story, which was originally reported in Narcity, seems to have started with a single COVID-19 related tweet: “You know who would still have toilet paper? Zellers.”
IMAGE COURTESY OF NARCITY (CLICKTHROUGH TO ZELLERS TWITTER PAGE)
IMAGES COURTESY OF NARCITY
IMAGES COURTESY OF NARCITY
IMAGES COURTESY OF NARCITY
IMAGES COURTESY OF NARCITY
Sent from a newly-instated Zellers Twitter page, it immediately gained peoples’ attention as the masses continue to scroll through twitter searching for virus updates. Amid the doom and gloom of the current situation, this Tweet prompted many followers to share their favourite memories of the retail chain, all eager apparently to share in some carefree conversation.
In a slew of Tweets, Zellers also poked fun at other iconic retail stores, such as Target, Sears, and K-Mart, alluding to the relationships the chains once shared and even throwing some shade at Target and its infamous reputation in Canada.
What started as a joke quickly became a place for people to share their fond memories of their various relationships with Zellers over the years. Some spoke of the long-running careers they enjoyed with the retailer, while others remembered the part the retailer played in their lives, with some even implying that Zellers is the reason for their existence as their parents met and fell in love while working at the big box store.
IMAGES COURTESY OF NARCITY
IMAGES COURTESY OF NARCITY
Value-priced Zellers was founded by Walter P. Zeller in London, Ontario, in 1931. In 1978 The Hudson’s Bay Company acquired Zellers and the official Zellers logo was adopted in 1975. 1976 saw Zellers thrive enormously, with sales in excess of $400 million annually. In that same year, Zellers acquired discount chain Fields. Joseph Segal, who at the time was president of Fields, was appointed president of Zellers as part of the transaction.
At its peak in 1999, Zellers had 350 stores across Canada. However, the introduction of Walmart to Canada in 1994 meant significant competition for Zellers, ultimately resulting in significant loss of market share. Following on roughly ten years from then, in 2006, the Zellers chain had depleted to 291 stores and saw losses of $107 million on sales of $4.2 billion.
In 2008, the Hudson’s Bay Company and its subsidiaries, including Zellers, came under the ownership of NRDC Equity Partners, which was headed by Richard Baker. Hudson’s Bay’s namesake stores were positioned as more upmarket destinations under the creative direction of retail veteran Bonnie Brooks, and Zellers was beginning to be seen as a drag on the business.
PHOTO VIA ZELLERS CANADA FACEBOOK
PHOTO VIA ZELLERS CANADA FACEBOOK
In January of 2011, the Hudson’s Bay Company announced that it planned to sell the lease agreements for up to 220 Zellers stores to US-based Target for $1.825 billion. Zellers subleased the properties and continued to operate them as such until 2013. At the time, Zellers was down to 273 stores.
The Hudson’s Bay Company retained 64 Zellers locations for a time and in July of 2012, the company liquidated the Zellers chain entirely, which concluded in the spring of 2013.
In 2013, Target acquired 189 Zellers locations. Target then re-sold 39 units to Walmart Canada. As Target made a bold entry into the Canadian market, it identified between 125 and 135 Zellers locations that it would utilize for its own brand stores. Target failed for various reasons and in March of 2015, the Minneapolis-based retailer announced that it had filed to bankrupt its Canadian division and close all 133 Target stores — Target said that it expected to report about $5.4 billion in pre-tax losses for its fourth quarter amid the Canadian Target debacle.
ZELLERS’ FORMER MASCOT “ZEDDY” PHOTO: VIA CTV NEWS BC
Over the years, Zellers solidified a place in the hearts of many Canadians. A teddy bear named ‘Zeddy’ was used as a mascot to advertise the retailer’s toy selection. In the 1980’s, Zellers’ marketing slogans included “Only you’ll know how little you paid” and “Shopping anywhere else is pointless.” In the late 1980’s and early 1990’s the popular “Where the lowest price is the law!” was used in Zellers advertising and included animated commercials featuring Batman and Robin and villains like the Joker, the Penguin, Catwoman, and the Riddler.
In the 1990’s, Zellers adopted the slogan “Truly Canadian” and between 1997 and 2000, “Better and Better” was a slogan used regularly. “Everything from A to Z” was part of the retailer’s marketing messaging between 2000 and 2013.
Although the Canadian staple no longer fills the big box stores across the country, clearly Zellers will live on in peoples’ hearts and Twitter feeds for a long time to come.
A new cross-Canada study conducted polled more than 1,000 Canadians on how they are reacting to the COVID-19 outbreak. Overall, results indicated concern which included consumers being worried about venturing out into physical spaces, including grocery retailers.
The study was conducted by Dalhousie University in partnership with Angus Reid. Based on results, 71 percent of Canadians are generally concerned about the outbreak, while seven percent expressed that they are not sure how to feel.
Those polled in Quebec indicated that they are most concerned about the outbreak, at 79 percent, while 40 percent of Saskatchewan residents said that they are worried.
As part of the survey, Canadians were asked if they were concerned about potential health risks when going to a grocery store. In total, 65 percent of Canadians reported to be concerned about risks and lack of social distancing at the supermarket. The most concerned were in Ontario, coming in at 73 percent, whereas only 44 percent of Saskatchewan residents claimed to be perturbed.
PHOTO: CBC.CA
Out of the 65 percent of concerned Canadians, a total of 57 percent of them are still taking the risk and buying groceries for themselves, whereas five percent have asked others to go to the grocery store for them. Somewhat surprisingly, only three percent of Canadians have opted to buy groceries online — we had expected the number to be much higher. This may be due to lack of trust and a fear that the necessary precautions may not be taken amongst grocery store staff or delivery drivers.
In a bid to lower the anxiety slightly, an initiative to accommodate the elderly and most vulnerable has been sweeping the nation over the past few days. On Monday, Galen Weston, the executive chairman of Loblaw Companies, announced that some of his company’s Loblaws grocery stores and Shopper Drug Mart pharmacies would open early for seniors and people living with disabilities so they can shop before the crowds.
“We all agree that food and drug stores are essential services and we must do what we need to in order to keep them operating and serving every community in the days and weeks ahead,” he wrote in a statement.
PHOTO: RADIOCANADA.CA
Loblaws is not alone in this movement. Pusateri’s Fine Foods declared that all of its locations, except for the one inside the CF Toronto Eaton Centre below Saks Fifth Avenue, would open early for the elderly and high-risk citizens. In addition, Longo’s is offering a “community wellbeing hour” for seniors in all Toronto locations from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. every morning.
Across the country, grocery stores are doing their best to create a safe environment for people to shop. In Edmonton, Sobeys Belmont took measures to ensure seniors were looked after by reserving 50 percent of its toilet paper stock for them after people had previously cleared out shelves and stockpiled packages with little concern for those more vulnerable.
The Dalhousie survey also asked Canadians if they had made any food provisions as a result of the pandemic. A total of 41 percent of them declared that they had made provisions as a result of the current situation. That means that more than half of the population, at 59 percent, have not bought anything since the start of the outbreak.
PHOTO: BROCKVILLE RECORDER & TIMES
Manitoba residents ranked highest in terms of the greatest number of consumers having bought provisions, with 52 percent of those polled in the province taking precautions early. Based on the survey results, despite their heightened concerns, only 31 percent of Quebecers bought provisions in wake of the situation.
The survey showed some food categories ranking higher in popularity than others. Of the Canadians who bought provisions, 30 percent purchased dry and canned goods, followed by 24 percent who focused on non-food items such as toilet paper, sanitary products, and tissues. Frozen foods were also at 24 percent. Results showed that 15 percent of Canadians who bought provisions also purchased either comfort foods and/or pet food.
The Atlantic Region saw the highest rate of consumers buying “other non-food items,” at 33 percent.
PHOTO: MACLEAN’S
The survey also reported that a total of 63 percent of Canadians already had provisions at home before the outbreak, with the highest rate being in Manitoba at 68 percent, and the lowest in Ontario at 61 percent.
Over the past week, Canadian grocery stores have seen an unprecedented amount of panic buying. Hoards of customers are depleting the store shelves of food, toilet paper, and cleaning supplies, despite the government and industry experts promising that food shortages will not be an issue for the Canadian public.
Marc Fortin, president at the Retail Council of Canada in Quebec, said that the only concern will be the lack of variety available to people, but “warehouses are getting their goods delivered, and orders are coming in.”
EMPTY SHELVES AT A GROCERY STORE IN NORTH VANCOUVER. PHOTO: CTV NEWS
The panic buying is unnecessary and potentially putting some at a higher risk. Sylvain Charlebois, professor at Dalhousie University and conductor of the Dalhousie study, said “rationing is absolutely appropriate when you’re dealing with a situation like this. It’s important for grocers to discipline demand as much as possible, and this is the one power they have.”
People are being encouraged to only buy what they need with the promise that the shops will not run out. Galen Weston has noted that “our supply chain and store teams are responding to the spikes in volume and quickly getting the most important items back on the shelf,” and is encouraging consumers to “shop online if possible.”
Canadians were also asked about risks in food service and their feelings regarding visiting restaurants and cafes. Surprisingly, only 26 percent of Canadians stated that they were concerned about going to a restaurant since the outbreak started, which is significantly lower than the number of people concerned about visiting the grocery store. Of those concerned, 22 percent are avoiding restaurants altogether, while four percent are opting to use food delivery apps.
IMAGE: FRESHPREP LINKEDIN
With countless businesses and brands distributing emails to patrons about various procedures being implemented in the wake of COVID-19, FreshPrep is also taking the time to comfort its customers with an incredibly detailed rundown of the care it is taking to ensure the health of its customers and team.
The multiple safeguards being put in place stretch from suppliers to delivery drivers, with no room for error at any point. “Staff in food production areas are being required to wear smocks, hairnets, disposable gloves, and sleeve protectors…delivery drivers are required to use sanitizer after each delivery; clean any touchpoints in their vehicles with disinfectant wipes; are limited to accessing only the loading bay in our facility; and to stay home if they are experiencing symptoms of illness.”
Interestingly, 25 percent of Canadians not concerned haven’t changed anything about their daily habits, while 49 percent of those not concerned are still visiting restaurants but are more cautious about where they are going.
PHOTO: FSR MAGAZINE
“In these uncertain times, results are suggesting that grocery stores are a significant source of risk for many Canadians, compared to food service. Crowds and lineups in grocery stores may have contributed to this fear,” Angus Reid and Dalhousie University stated in a press release.
“Canadians may not fear restaurants as much but are told to stay away by most public health officials. Given that almost three out of four Canadians are concerned about the outbreak, these results are not surprising.”
A total of 1,014 Canadians were surveyed in March 2020. The survey carries a margin of error of +/- 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
Thanks to COVID-19, governments in most industrialized nations are preparing for shortages of life’s necessities. If they fail, riots over food may be inevitable. Some wonder if we are responding appropriately to COVID-19, and it’s clear that recent events expose a fundamental flaw in the global systems that bring us our daily bread.
We live in a wondrous age when global supply chains seamlessly link farmers and consumers using the principles of “just enough, just in time.” For years, companies have worked hard to keep inventories low, timing shipments to balance supply and demand using knife-edge accuracy.
In many ways, this system is a miracle. Low-cost food is one outcome. And if there’s a problem in one part of the supply chain, the global system is good at finding alternatives. (Mangoes from Asia gone bad? Try the mangoes from Central America!)
But with this abundance — and convenience — comes a hidden cost that COVID-19 has exposed: a loss of resilience. Our global food system depends on the tendrils of international trade to wrap the world in an ever more complex system of buyers, sellers, processors and retailers, all of whom are motivated to keep costs low and operations lean.
Building resilience
So when the supply chain system itself is thrown into question — as it is now thanks to COVID-19 — then the wheels threaten to come off the proverbial apple cart. COVID-19 shows that we need to wake up and realize that if we really want to be resilient, we need to build in more redundancies, buffers and firewalls into the systems we depend on for life.
These measures will help ensure that our communities don’t panic if the food trucks stop.
A TRUCK IS LOADED WITH CONTAINERS FULL OF APPLES READY TO BE SHIPPED TO THE MARKET. (SHUTTERSTOCK)
But while this may sound sensible, high inventories and more regional self-sufficiency are, in fact, antithetical to the “just enough, just in time” approach that drives most of our economy, even though no one’s suggesting we need to be completely self-sufficient of the time.
Take the systems that produce and distribute the corn, wheat and rice that fuel most of humanity’s calories. The latest United Nations report on the global grain system contains some bad news. Last year, the world ate more grains than it produced within the year, and our carry-over stocks (defined as the amount of food we have, globally, at the end of the year to see us through to the next harvest) are declining.
The good news is that this decline comes after a run of good years where farmers delivered one monumental harvest after another. So our carry-over stocks started last year in pretty good shape and this means we’ve currently got about four months of food stored. But there’s a downward trend regarding those stockpiles, and this is worrisome.
Climate change poses challenges
But what if Mother Nature doesn’t play nice with us this year?
Climate change, after all, is making food harder to produce. What if we face a major drought in Europe and Asia like we did in 2010 to 2011? Or another big Midwestern drought similar to the situation in 2012 and 2013? And what if COVID-19 doesn’t go away by summer?
If any of these things happen, we may not have the buffers to protect ourselves. And it won’t be toilet paper and hand sanitizer we need to worry about. It might be wheat, rice and corn.
WHEAT IS HARVESTED IN A KANSAS FIELD IN JUNE 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/CHARLIE RIEDEL
Today, conventional wisdom is that the average city in North America has a three-day supply of fresh food (dried, canned and other preserved food supplies will last a bit longer). This, according to some, means that we are all only ever “nine meals from anarchy.” Luckily, North American grocery stores have sophisticated supply chains so no one is seriously suggesting that the panicked purchasing of the last few days that has emptied shelves will persist. Nevertheless, the systems we depend upon are, in many ways, fragile and inherently vulnerable.
In all likelihood, COVID-19 will pass and most of us will only suffer economic setbacks from lost wages and disruptions linked with cancelled classes, travel and meetings. But in the aftermath, it’s important to ask whether we — as a society — will treat this as a moment to learn a bit about the fragility of the modern world.
Software vendor Foko Retail announced today that it is offering its communication module for free to retail teams for internal use, in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.
“Right now, the retail industry is in complete flux,” says Foko Retail CEO Marc Gingras. “Some folks are closing stores down completely, while others—especially retailers providing essential goods and services, like grocery stores and pharmacies—need to remain open. We are giving out our communication tool free of charge to teams who need a fast and efficient way to communicate internally as the situation evolves.”
Gingras says he hopes the free platform is useful to district, regional, and store managers, field teams, and staff at HQ who need to get in touch quickly, share information, and manage what’s happening in-store from a distance.
The company emphasizes that the offer will remain valid for the next 12 months and that it is possible to get retail teams up and running in a matter of days.
About Foko Retail
Foko Retail is a communication and task management platform for retail teams. Built with users in mind, Foko Retail is used by leading brands like Nike, Whole Foods, Dyson, Five Below, and Converse to bring their in-store vision to life by keeping store teams engaged and on top of company priorities. To learn more, please visit fokoretail.com. For more information, contact Aja Butler George, Foko Retail’s Director of Marketing at aja@fokoretail.com.
