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Vancouver Area Retailers Busy as Stores Begin to Reopen After COVID-19 Shutdowns [Photos]

By
Retail Insider
-
700 BLOCK OF THURLOW STREET IN VANCOUVER. PHOTO: LEE RIVETT

By Retail Insider

Some retailers in British Columbia began reopening doors on Friday May 15, and pent up demand is said to be resulting in strong sales at some stores as consumers return after nearly two months of store shutdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Retail Insider’s Lee Rivett and Ritchie Po took photos for this article. Mr. Rivett toured downtown Vancouver over the weekend and Mr. Po toured CF Richmond Centre. As per law in British Columbia, stores in enclosed malls have been permitted to reopen along with businesses that have exterior entrances (to date retailers in enclosed malls in provinces such as Ontario have not been permitted to reopen).

Some retailers are saying that pent-up demand is resulting in strong retail numbers. Retail Consultant David Ian Gray, founder and strategist at DIG360 Consulting Ltd., said that the Zara store on Robson Street saw very strong sales numbers when it reopened on Friday May 15. Retailers in the area have said that pent up demand has resulted in a situation where consumers are coming out of their homes with a purpose to spend money. Gray said that other retailers had said that sales were strong. The H&M store at CF Pacific Centre was busy and spaced out. Last week some stores in the downtown Vancouver mall weren’t open yet he said.

One source with a luxury brand noted that even when stores were closed, the well-known brand had seen comparable sales through remote clienting as when the retail space had been open before the shutdowns. This is interesting as it appears to show that high retail sales can be obtained by some brands even if a physical store isn’t present.

Not all stores have opened yet. Those that have are taking precautions, many of which have been mandated by governments. That includes occupancy limits, physical distancing protocol, sanitization and reduced store hours. Some retailers are providing face masks to guests and hand sanitizer is becoming ubiquitous.

The following are photos taken over the past few days in downtown Vancouver and Richmond.

Above: A lineup at the Artizia store at the southwest corner of Robson Street and Thurlow Street. Aritzia says that it is seeing strong sales numbers amid pent-up demand.

Above: Luxury stores in Vancouver’s Alberni Street ‘Luxury Zone’ have begun to reopen. It’s too soon to tell for some how sales will be. Many of these retailers have private shopping areas which will no doubt be a good thing at this time as well as into the foreseeable future.

PHOTO: LEE RIVETT

Above: The Versace store at the southwest corner of Thurlow Street and Alberni Street hadn’t opened as of the weekend, as per the photo above, but should be soon.

PHOTO: LEE RIVETT

Above: The Prada flagship store at the southeast corner of Alberni Street and Thurlow Street is open once again. The store had been shut for weeks and product had been removed.

Above: The Burberry store at the northwest corner of Alberni and Thurlow Street in the photos above once again has product on the shelves and is open to the public with limited capacity.

Above: Saint Laurent on the 700 block of Alberni Street has reopened after being boarded up for weeks. Moncler will open soon.

OVO (former Boys’co location). PHOTO: LEE RIVETT

Above: Some stores on Robson Street are still in the process of reopening. The OVO store in the photo above includes a door person wearing a face mask.

PHOTO: LEE RIVETT

Above: A reopened Club Monaco flagship store on Robson Street. Doors were left open to welcome guests while creating a sense that the space is well ventilated.

ROBSON STREET DURING REOPING AFTER COVID SHUTDOWN. PHOTO: LEE RIVETT

Above and below: Another shot of the 1000 block of Robson Street with soon-to-open retailers.

PHOTO: LEE RIVETT
PHOTO: LEE RIVETT

Above: Lululemon is beginning to reopen its stores, including its flagship on Robson Street at the corner of Burrard Street. Many storefronts in Vancouver were boarded over for weeks and artwork was painted to help lift spirits for those passing by.

PHOTO: LEE RIVETT

Above: A door person in a mask at the Tiffany & Co. flagship at the northwest corner of Alberni Street and Burrard Street. Below: The Jimmy Choo and Rimowa stores on Alberni Street have yet to reopen — Rimowa is new and replaces multi-brand ‘Artino’ which occupied the space for several years.

PHOTO: LEE RIVETT
PHOTO: LEE RIVETT

Above: A photo of foodservice business Thierry which has yet to reopen. Below is optical retailer Oliver Peoples which should be open again soon.

PHOTO: LEE RIVETT
PHOTO: LEE RIVETT

Above and below: Luxury retailers on the 1000 block of Alberni Street.

PHOTO: LEE RIVETT

Above and below: The 1100 block of Robson Street — Muji is expected to open soon. Below, the Nike store opened last week.

PHOTO: LEE RIVETT
PHOTO: LEE RIVETT

Above: the soon-to-open Victoria’s Secret store at the northeast corner of Robson Street and Burrard Street. We reported last week that 13 Victoria’s Secret stores in Canada will close permanently.

Below are photos by Ritchie Po of CF Richmond Centre, located south of Vancouver.

PHOTO: RITCHIE PO

Above: the Hallmark store at CF Richmond Centre features directional arrows, as well as a more spaced-out configuration.

PHOTO: RITCHIE PO

Above: Montreal-based eyewear retailer BonLook has opened at CF Richmond Centre. Prior to COVID-19, the retailer was expanding physical retail locations rapidly.

PHOTO: RITCHIE PO

Above and below: The mall’s Zara store has opened with spaced out merchandise and sanitization protocol.

PHOTO: RITCHIE PO
  • PHOTO: RITCHIE PO
  • PHOTO: RITCHIE PO
PHOTO: RITCHIE PO

Above: Shoppers Drug Mart in CF Richmond Centre is open. Beauty product testing has been halted for now.

PHOTO: RITCHIE PO
PHOTO: RITCHIE PO
PHOTO: RITCHIE PO

Above: Some stores have yet to reopen dressing rooms. This is posing a challenge as some retailers are also hesitant to accept returns at this time. Fashion retailers are quarantining clothing that has been returned or tried on. The quarantine periods generally range between 24 hours and three days.

PHOTO: RITCHIE PO

Above: Sleep Country Canada, which has been rapidly expanding into malls, is welcoming guests with caution. Below, Journeys has moved displays from the centre of the sales floor to create more space for physical distancing.

PHOTO: RITCHIE PO
PHOTO: RITCHIE PO

Above: Hugo Boss at CF Richmond Centre. The photo below is of the mall’s food court which does not yet allow guests to sit to eat.

PHOTO: RITCHIE PO
PHOTO: RITCHIE PO
PHOTO: RITCHIE PO
PHOTO: RITCHIE PO

In the photo above, the Hudson’s Bay department store at CF Richmond Centre has reopened with spacing, occupancy and safety protocols. Many Hudson’s Bay stores in the country have recently reopened, with more to come.

PHOTO: RITCHIE PO

Above: A normally busy Apple store. Spacing has resulted in significantly less guests in the space at one time. The photo below shows another angle of the lineup for the Apple store.

PHOTO: RITCHIE PO
PHOTO: RITCHIE PO

Above: The newly reopened Uniqlo store at CF Richmond Centre. The store carefully guides visitors through the vast space.

PHOTO: RITCHIE PO

Above: The Muji store at CF Richmond Centre features arrows directing shoppers that are being asked to line up. The store’s merchandise is much more spread out than prior to the store shutdowns.

Tomorrow we’ll take you on a photo tour by Jessica Finch and Craig Patterson in Toronto.

Will COVID-19 Have Canadians Relying On Credit More Than Ever?

By
Retail Insider
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By Leo Gutierrez

During “normal” times, credit provides a means for consumers and businesses to make purchases and investments when they’re short on cash. If used responsibly, credit cards can also be a good way to accumulate travel rewards and take advantage of cashback deals. Sadly, these are anything but “normal” times.

The Effects of COVID-19 on the Credit Industry

The COVID-19 pandemic is hitting consumers and businesses all across Canada and the rest of the world. Reports estimate that Canadian unemployment stands around 7.5%, the highest rate the country has seen since the 2008 economic crisis. As a result, many consumers need to fall back on credit while they await unemployment benefits. 

The Coronavirus has forced many to live their life online, safe inside their homes. Businesses have been forced to reexamine their online platforms to successfully ride out this wave.  Since shipping services are deemed essential services, buying goods online has become the go-to outlet for much of the population. It would not be surprising to see a jump in online credit card use for the first quarter of 2020 (and throughout the year) as compared to 2019.  According to a study by Canadian Payments Insights, a company offering analysis into the payment habits of Canadians, in 2019 “credit cards were the most popular payment method for online purchases in Canada.” Canadians used credit cards for more than 66% of all transactions in 2019. 

CREDIT: CANADA; TECHNOLOGY STRATEGIES INTERNATIONAL; 2019; 1,790 RESPONDENTS; AMONG THOSE WHO HAD PURCHASED ONLINE IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS; MULTIPLE ANSWERS WERE POSSIBLE © STATISTA 2020

However, the crisis is not just affecting consumers. With less cash to spend, retail stores are also taking a huge hit. Fortunately, Canadian businesses do have access to increased credit thanks to the Business Credit Availability Program (BCAP), Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA), and other economic initiatives. That said, delays in certain government benefits could cause many retailers to close their doors for good.

Delays in Government Benefits

While Canadian citizens also have access to emergency government funds, the application process and wait times have left millions of individuals without a stable income for weeks at a time. This means that credit cards are being used in place of cash and debit cards. Consumers are turning to credit to pay for just about everything — from groceries to rent.

Right now, credit cards are a necessity for a lot of Canadians, but they also pose a financial risk. Nobody knows exactly how long the Coronavirus pandemic will continue, but many experts believe that there will not be a vaccine (or economic stability) for at least a year. Relying on credit cards and unemployment benefits for months at a time could be the only solution for many until day-to-day life returns to normal.

Tips to Stay Afloat

In this time of financial hardship and uncertainty, Canadians must remember not to overextend themselves. Acting responsibly and budgeting carefully could make the difference between weathering the storm successfully and experiencing long-term financial instability. So, here are a few tips to help Canadian consumers maintain fiscal responsibility during this crisis:

●      Don’t use all of your cash reserves immediately – If you have cash on hand, consider yourself lucky. However, you shouldn’t spend all of your cash first. Instead, try to strike a balance between cash and credit. This way, if an emergency comes up that requires cash, you will have cash on hand to deal with it.

●      Don’t overdo your debt repayment – Usually, paying more than the minimum on your credit cards is a good thing. However, in a time when your cash flow could be inconsistent, you shouldn’t spend extra cash unless it’s absolutely necessary. Pay what you can without taking away too much from your available funds.

●      Dip into your savings if necessary – COVID-19 presents the biggest crisis of our generation. If there’s ever been an emergency that required drastic measures, this is it. While you don’t want to drain all of your savings or retirement fund, you shouldn’t be afraid to take out some cash when you really need it.

●      Don’t be afraid to ask for help – The Canadian government has instituted a number of programs to help individuals get food, medicine, and money during this crisis. Research which benefits you are eligible for and apply as soon as possible.

To learn more about COVID-19 programs for individuals and businesses, consult Canada’s COVID-19 Response Page.

June Webinar Series: RISE Again Retail by the David Sobey Centre for Innovation in Retailing & Services

By
Retail Insider
-

By the David Sobey Centre for Innovation in Retailing and Services, a research centre at Saint Mary’s University.

We may never go back to retailing as we knew it. The pandemic has shifted consumer behaviour and employee expectations have changed many retail business models. The pandemic has financially challenged most retailers. The one sector that has benefited from the lockdowns was grocery retail. As more meals were prepared at home, grocers did well. Metro and Sobeys reported same-store sales growth for a four-week period during March-April of 25% and 37% respectively and Loblaws reported a $751 million increase March sales.

Other retailers, considered non-essential, have been closed for nearly two months. As the economy gradually reopens, some of them will not make it. Others will survive but will be wounded by the prolonged store closure. Some will not just survive but will thrive. The retailers who were financially and strategically in a strong position pre-pandemic, will come out of this crisis in good shape.

With social distancing and other restrictive measures set to continue for a while, retailers must ensure that their employees and customers are protected. Masks, gloves, and increased use of cleaning products in stores will be the norm for a while. Many retailers are planning on limiting the number of customers allowed into the store. All of this will increase the cost of doing business and put pressure on margins. Even before the pandemic hundreds of store closures were announced in Canada and the US. We are likely to see more closures due to the increased financial stress caused by the pandemic. Reitmans, which operates 576 stores in Canada across several banners, has filed for bankruptcy protection. In the US, JC Penney, Nieman Marcus, and J. Crew have taken the same route.

What must retailers do to ensure a strong post-pandemic recovery? If retailers take the effort to understand the emerging post-pandemic customer, think strategically, act proactively, and embrace change, they can come out of this crisis in stronger shape. The ones who yearn to go back to the way things were will struggle. This is the lesson coming out of our extensive research during the past two months.

At the David Sobey Centre for Innovation in Retailing and Services, which is a research centre at Saint Mary’s University, we have been surveying Canadians every month to understand how their attitudes and behaviours may be shifting during the pandemic as well as their values and outlook. From April to May we saw changes in how people shopped, how often they shopped and what they bought. More consumers have shopped online in the past two months than ever before. This is likely to continue. Consumers expect to focus more on their personal experiences in the future as opposed to merely owning material possessions. Consumers are reevaluating their choices in life and want retailers to do the right things to earn their trust. Retailers must understand these shifting consumer attitudes and values and respond accordingly.

We have surveyed employees in Canada and US to understand their issues, perceptions and how they are being treated by retailers. We have also interviewed senior executives from over 30 retail companies – from large multinationals to smaller regional retailers. The ones who are doing well and are poised to do well in the future seem to have a few common traits:

  • Core Values: Retailers with strong core values had a guiding light as they navigated through the dark and rough terrain created by the pandemic. Those who were short-term focused, opportunistic, and not really committed to some foundational principles struggled.

  • Know Your Customer: Consumer response to the pandemic is not uniform. Some will go to malls as soon as they reopen, and others are going to avoid in-store shopping. Expectations and spending patterns may be different post-pandemic. Invest the resources to get to know your customer. You may have to engage with different segments of customers differently.

  • Scrappy and Fail Fast: The change forced on the retail sector by this pandemic was at a level that has not been seen in the past. This required retailers to try different solutions to problems and innovate fast. Those who were scrappy and took fail fast approach have had more success. One retailer went from only physical stores to full-fledged e-commerce in two weeks. The online store was their lifeline as the stores remained closed for several weeks. Another retailer quickly trained store staff to become online personal shoppers. One apparel retailer whose stores were closed, launched an app within a week to enable a personalized mobile shopping experience.
  • Employees First: The companies that received positive reviews in our surveys were ones who put the employees above short-term financial metrics. “Hero” pay became an industry norm in the past two months. But these companies went beyond. One hired a psychologist to provide ongoing counseling to employees. Another provided full pay for staff even though all their stores were closed. They decided not to let their employees take the government support.

  • Long-term Play: We also saw great examples retailers who are thinking strategically and not just focused on weathering this storm. They see longer term opportunities in the market as weaker players exit. Shifts in consumer behaviour are opening new opportunities and a different role for their stores and online channels. They are positioning themselves to take advantage of these opportunities.

Using our research and insights from leading industry experts in areas such as retail strategy, leadership, retail innovation, and customer experience, the David Sobey Centre is pleased to offer a webinar series in June called RISE Again Retail. This is a series of six webinars, two per week, starting from June 9th.

We think it is a great opportunity for retailers, irrespective of size, to invest some time reflecting on how they should lead their companies through the next phase (Q3 and Q4, 2020) and then into the longer term. What does their strategy look like? Which opportunities for innovation should they address and how? What will the new customer experience look like and how do they meet the changing customer expectations? How can they build a strong internal culture that will sustain the company through all the change that is going to be inevitable?

These are some of the topics we will address in the webinar series. We are delighted that Sarah Jordon, CEO of Mastermind Toys, will be a special guest on the opening day. Speakers and instructors are industry veterans who will share their insights, engage participants in meaningful discussions and help participants formulate action plans. Those in leadership roles or anyone with a significant responsibility in a retail business can benefit from this program. Please visit us for information and registration.

*Partner content. To work with Retail Insider, email: craig@retail-insider.com

Morguard Aims to Gain Consumer Confidence as its Retail Centres Reopen

By
Mario Toneguzzi
-

Keith Reading, director of research at Morguard, a fully integrated real estate company, has talked a lot recently about commercial real estate but one key word keeps popping up. Confidence.

“As with any sort of downturn, when you come through the other side, you don’t really see a recovery until confidence is restored,” said Reading. “That’s confidence on the part of owners, on the part of shoppers. With this crisis coming through on the other side, consumer confidence is going to be a big driver and I think that’s where there could be quite a bit of change.

“Consumers will need to feel confident to go back into shopping centres. This is an unprecedented event that we will have eventually come through. Rebuilding that confidence will take longer than I believe ever before.

“There’s a tremendous degree of confidence to be built. That’s going to be key. With regard to shoppers, they’ve got to rebuild confidence in certain brands. They’ll have to develop confidence in what I think will be new brands and new ways of shopping. Right now there’s a lot of uncertainty of how different stores are set up to receive their customers and both retaining existing customers but also bringing in new ones. There’s a tremendous amount of work to be done to gain that confidence. That will take efforts on the parts of building owners and managers with regard to shopping centres.”

Prior to the COVID-19 crisis, Reading said foot traffic in shopping centres was down generally across the board. That will be even more of a challenge now.

“Necessity is the mother of invention. This will force shopping centres and their managers and their marketing teams to come up with solutions to get shoppers into the shopping centres themselves and get them back shopping with confidence,” he said, adding that the coronavirus has to become a distant memory before consumers really start to spend again the way they did during the recent peak before the crisis.

“Consumers have to be confident about their jobs, they have to be confident about the economic outlook and with that confidence will come a little bit of almost reckless abandon in terms of shopping to get back to where we were in the previous peak.”

There’s also pent-up demand right now with consumers itching to open up the purse strings.

“There’s that desire to say look we’ve just gone through this period where we haven’t been able to go out, we haven’t been able to do some of the things that we took for granted, we were forced in a lot of cases to stay home, and I think once things start to open up, people are in a position where okay let’s go out, let’s have some fun, let’s go buy something to make ourselves feel a little better, to lick our wounds so to speak. Absolutely there’s some pent-up demand and there’s some desire to have a little fun,” added Reading.

Shopping centres and plazas anchored with essential services such as grocery stores and drug stores have been able to weather this economic downturn.

“We really saw during the financial crisis (of a few years ago) how well shopping centres did that had a grocery store, perhaps a drug store, perhaps a liquor store. They all fared really quite well through the financial crisis and in fact after the financial crisis we saw a lot of demand for grocery-anchored shopping centres,” said Reading.

“I think on a relative basis those shopping centres have done really quite well. And I think that will be the case also through this crisis. You’ve got to eat, you need medicine for whatever ails you and liquor is one of those things that can add a little pleasure in your life, it’s something people like to do. So it’s those types of properties with those types of tenants who have really fared quite well.”

But also during times of crisis it can foster some creativity, he added. For example, there’s been tremendous growth in things like pop-up shops. Property owners in losing some of their tenants will have to and will take the opportunity to try to grow their tenant base. That will drive quite a turnover in the retail sector.

Stokes to Permanently Close 40 Store Locations in Canada

By
Mario Toneguzzi
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STOKES EXTERIOR PHOTO: PLACE LONGUEUIL

Stokes, a Montreal-based tableware, kitchenware, and home décor retailer with 147 stores across Canada, intends to permanently close about 40 of its locations after it sought protection recently under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act.

Olivier Benchaya, partner with Richter Advisory Group, the trustee, told Retail Insider that the company had put into place its restructuring plan which included the closure of stores and it was liquidating the inventory in those 40 stores when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

“And everything had to be brought to a halt,” he said. “The stores were closed I believe on March 19 and since then what the company has done is they’ve really tried to reduce expenses to minimize cash flow impact and preserve liquidity.

“The positive is their online platform responded very well. The volume increased significantly. So that has been helpful. The head office is partially functioning. The warehouse there’s distribution going out of there. But mostly the employees are working from home.

STOKES STORE AT MAIL CHAMPLAIN. PHOTO: MAIL CHAMPLAIN

“What we’re doing now is working with the company and their advisors to put together a plan for go forward with the business post-COVID and what that can look like. That includes sales assumptions, perhaps further head count reductions, or additional store closures. We’re not certain at this point. We’re looking at the alternatives. We’re essentially putting together that post-COVID plan of re-opening the stores and how that can translate into sales and also more importantly how the online platform will now take on a larger role given what we’re faced with. They’re going to be investing in that technology even further and improving the overall customer experience on the online platform.”

He said the company has identified 40 stores that are being closed but it will take about two to three months to liquidate that inventory. That process began prior to the COVID outbreak.

“Once (Stokes) re-opens they will be opened for a period of about two months to liquidate the inventory, two to three months. And then after which time they will be permanently closed,” explained Benchaya of the stores set for closure.

PHOTO: STOKES

On February 18, Stokes announced it had initiated the process to reposition its business for future growth and profitability by filing a notice of intention to make a proposal to its creditors.

“After many years of solid financial performance, Stokes, like most other retailers, is adapting to fundamental changes in the industry, including how customers shop. To better compete in today’s retail environment, Stokes will be reducing its retail footprint in Canada and streamlining its head office operations. The Company will continue investing in its online business which has experienced material growth over the last few years,” said the news release.

“Stokes will be closing its less profitable stores while maintaining the majority of its retail locations across Canada and its head office operations in Montreal, QC. Once the restructuring is completed, Stokes will continue to employ approximately 1000 Canadians. The Company’s management is confident that, through the restructuring process, Stokes will emerge as a healthier and more profitable business, well positioned for long term success to the benefit of all stakeholders.”

The company was founded in 1935. In a court document, Stokes said, like many other retail chains, it fell victim in recent years to adverse macro-trends, including changing consumer preferences, expensive leases and a general shift away from brick-and-mortar to online retail channels.

“Increased competition from discount and online retailers has exerted significant downward pressure on pricing and margins and, notwithstanding the Company’s efforts to implement measures to improve its performance, it has not been able to return to profitability,” it said.

Other factors included: store performance in Western Canada and Alberta in particular has been below expectations; the increase of the minimum wage across several regions has affected the cost of instore labour; the high cost of rent in certain store locations as a result of certain existing long term leases; and significant costs and lost revenue resulting from the implementation of a new enterprise resource planning system and new warehouse management system.

It said that for the 11-month period ending December 28, 2019, Stokes recorded a net loss before taxes of approximately $6,014,000. For the 12-month periods ending on January 26, 2019 and January 27, 2018, Stokes recorded net losses before taxes of approximately $656,000 and $2,456,000 respectively.

Law Firm Offering Free Legal Advice for Small Business Owners in Canada

By
Mario Toneguzzi
-

Small businesses across Canada are in survival mode right now, doing everything they can to get through the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

And one of their toughest challenges is navigating all the legal issues that they face from questions about rent and employment to all the government assistance programs put in place to help businesses during this challenging time.

Calgary-based Goodlawyer, an online, on-demand service that provides access to lawyers across the country, is offering free legal advice to small business owners in Canada to help them navigate the complex and difficult legal questions related to the impact of the pandemic on their business.

“As the COVID-19 outbreak continues to impact small businesses in Canada, we’ve seen a significant increase in engagement with our platform as the need for legal support grows across the country. These companies have many questions, but few answers,” said Brett Colvin, CEO & Co-founder of Goodlawyer. “We want to give back to small businesses during this unprecedented time by offering free, no-strings-attached, legal advice from our network of lawyers to help them manage areas such as leases, employee relations, and various government support programs.”

Colvin said Goodlawyer has waived the fee for legal advice sessions for any business affected by the shutdown. Interested clients can visit goodlawyer.ca/coronavirus, enter the promo code #washyourhands, and then select their province and legal area they would like advice. Clients are instantly matched with an appropriate lawyer and their availability. On average, clients can apply in as little as five minutes and speak with a lawyer in less than 24 hours, said the company.

“We’re doing that because we can. We’re in a position where we have access to legal experts right across Canada that are able to offer services at these barn-burner prices and for a very small outlay from the company we’re able to help Canadians across the country,” said Colvin. “It’s been great for us as a young company to build our brand and to show that we’re actually out here and helping do some good. There really was a genuine desire to help Canadians and given our position to provide affordable legal help right across the country we were well situated to do that.”

Goodlawyer was founded in 2018. Colvin noticed early on in his legal career that it was challenging for people and businesses to access quality, affordable, and transparent legal services.

So an online platform was created to help find, connect, and receive “micro” legal services from qualified and vetted lawyers across Canada – all from the convenience of a laptop or mobile device. Today, Goodlawyer has over 60 lawyers in its network.

“We have lawyers signed up from right across the country,” said Colvin.

Colvin said Canadians can connect with a qualified lawyer to discuss issues related to rent and real estate, employee/employer relations, contract negotiations, access to government support, and more.

“All of the shut downs have been catastrophic and more today than any time in my lifetime certainly legal issues are at the forefront of people’s minds because we’re in unprecedented times and they’re bound to contracts whether it’s a lease, an employment agreement, a buyer contract, but these contracts weren’t designed to live in a world of a pandemic,” explained Colvin.

“That is bringing all sorts of legal issues and then overlaid on top of that are all of the government’s support programs that they’ve been trying to push out as quickly as possible fumbling some, doing a good job with others. It’s been just a fury of information for retailers and small business owners to kind of navigate through just to keep their business alive hopefully at the end of this pandemic.”

Colvin said navigating government support programs has been one of the ways people have utilized the free 15-minute sessions because business owners can get a ton of information to figure out where they fit within those government programs.

“Our lawyers are well versed in them. So for retailers in particular the CECRA (Canada Emergency Commercial Real Estate Assistance program) is huge and then obviously the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy are the two big ones that retailers should have on the forefront of their minds and make sure that they maximize those,” he said.

Canada’s Top 100 Retailers Ranked Pre-COVID-19

By
Mario Toneguzzi
-
PHOTO: LOBLAWS

Prior to the COVID-19 store shutdowns, a few large store-based conglomerates effectively controlled a large proportion of the current Canadian non-auto retail sales environment, according to the latest CSCA Retail 100, created by the Centre for the Study of Commercial Activity at Ryerson University.

The report says its latest data shows that this long-standing trend has continued apace as in 2018 the 10 largest conglomerates controlled 48 percent of national retail sales, increasing from 43 percent in 2014.

Given that many of the top 10 retailers had been deemed ‘essential’ as stores shut temporarily to the COVID-19 pandemic, they will likely maintain their place in terms of rankings and see even more market share.

According to the report, here are the top 10 retail conglomerates in the Canadian market and their banners:

  1. George Weston Limited, Canada (Shoppers Drug Mart, Loblaws, Real Canadian Superstore);

  2. Costco, Inc., U.S.;

  3. Empire Company Ltd., Canada (Sobeys, Safeway, IGA, Farm Boy)

  4. Walmart Stores Inc., U.S.;

  5. Metro Inc., Canada (Metro, Food Basics, Jean Coutu Pharmacy)

  6. Canadian Tire Corporation, Canada (Canadian Tire, Mark’s Work Wearhouse, SportChek)

  7. McKesson Corporation, U.S. (IDA Pharmacy, Uniprix, Rexall Drug Store)

  8. Lowe’s, U.S. (Lowe’s, Rona, Rona Home & Garden);

  9. The Home Depot Inc., U.S.; and

  10. Home Hardware Stores Ltd., Canada (Home Hardware, Home Hardware Building Centre)

PHOTO: COSTCO

“It’s a small group of very large retailers that are controlling a large part of the Canadian retail pie basically. So there’s a dominance to what they do. That’s really a key aspect of the Canadian retail marketplace,” said Tony Hernandez, Director & Eaton Chair in Retailing for the CSCA, and Professor in the School of Retail Management & Department of Real Estate Management at Ryerson’s Ted Rogers School of Management.

“You’ve got this dominance really of the big grocery and general merchandise retailers that kind of take a large proportion of retail sales in Canada. That’s one of the key trends.”

The report broke the overall sales down to the top 100 retail chains operating in Canada as ranked by total estimated annual retail sales in fiscal 2018/2019.

The report said the top 100 retail conglomerates account for close to 70 per cent of non-automotive retail sales in Canada in 2018, declining from 71.4 percent in 2014.

“From the retailer perspective, these big conglomerates can be looking at marketplaces and saying okay this is a market where we need this banner. So it gives them a lot of flexibility to operate across Canada using multiple banners to essentially meet the local needs of Canadian shoppers,” said Hernandez. “Ultimately all of these companies the sales that they create are driven by local demand. It’s the ability for these big companies to choose the banner that they can operate within a given market in order to kind of maximize the sales within that marketplace.”

The number of retail conglomerates that operate with at least $1 billion in sales has reached 31 in Canada, he said, adding that six retail conglomerates are in the $10-billion club.

“So we’ve got quite a concentrated retail market with some very big conglomerates controlling a large amount of sales and controlling a large amount of stores as well,” said Hernandez.

“It ultimately comes down to the demand from Canadian consumers. Retailers are going to go where there is a market and U.S. retailers are going to be looking to either enter in or expand in the Canadian marketplace based on how vibrant they see the Canadian marketplace - maybe even relative to their own domestic market. So I think it’s really reflective that international retailers, particularly U.S. retailers, still see Canada as a viable retail market to be operated in and expanded.”

PHOTO: FARM BOY

The report said the bulk of retail sales are in groceries and beverage stores (20.3 percent of national sales), general merchandise (17.8 percent) and health and personal care (8.4 percent). Groceries and beverage stores are dominated by Canadian headquartered chains. The general merchandise category is dominated by US headquartered operations. Health and personal care are dominated by Canadian headquartered businesses.

While the level of domination by the 10 largest chains is about the same for both 2014 and 2018, the 100 largest chains in 2014 contributed a greater share of national sales (65 percent) than those in 2018. Canadian headquartered chains contributed 6.4 percentage points less to the 2018 total than in 2014, while the contribution of chains headquartered in the US increased by 5.5 percentage points and from elsewhere in the world by 0.9 percentage points, added the report.

There’s no surprise that the online retail marketplace continues to grow. The highest shares of ‘online’ expenditure were in entertainment (30 percent) and electronics (28 percent). The lowest shares were in groceries/food/alcohol (less than five percent).

“Every retailer is grappling with the balance between online and offline. How do we meet the needs of our consumers in an efficient and profitable way? I think from a consumer side we all are increasingly getting more greedy as consumers. We want more and more and we want to pay less and less. So it’s a challenge and dynamic for retailers,” said Hernandez.

Grants for Small Businesses in Canada Launched by Canadian Chamber of Commerce & Salesforce

By
Mario Toneguzzi
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RETAIL STREETS IN CALGARY
RETAIL STREETS IN CALGARY. PHOTO: WHERE.CA

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce is partnering with Salesforce, a global leader in Customer Relationship Management, to offer a $10,000 lifeline to help 62 small businesses across the country cope with the economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis.

The new program, the Canadian Business Resilience Network Small Business Relief Fund, will provide small Canadian businesses from coast to coast to coast with $10,000 grants to help their recovery efforts during these unprecedented times.

“During the COVID-19 crisis, the Canadian Chamber’s mission is to help as many businesses as possible stay afloat and remain open. Small business owners put everything they have into their businesses, and these grants will help give a little bit back to them. Good people coming together is how Canadians have managed this crisis, and the Canadian Chamber and Salesforce are following their lead, one business at a time,” said Perrin Beatty, President and CEO, Canadian Chamber of Commerce.

“We realize that compared to the hundreds of thousands of small businesses that are hurting right now this is a small program but for 62 companies it will help out. It’s designed to be aimed at private sector companies that are small where a $10,000 grant could really make a difference. We’ve tried to make the criteria as broad as possible to allow as many people in any part of the country to apply.

RETAIL STREET IN TORONTO. PHOTO: TABIA

For some companies every single dollar at this point is critical and could mean life or death for smaller businesses.

“What’s happened is that the main streets of Canada have become dark and many of the lights won’t come back on sadly,” said Beatty. “What we need to do is make sure as many of those businesses as possible are able to reopen.”

The grant is targeted to small, for-profit businesses that have been operating for several years and are now experiencing challenges because of COVID-19. The application period will open on June 1 on the CBRN website and will close on June 12. The successful applicants will be announced in late June to early July with the funds being transferred to the successful applicants shortly thereafter.

The applications that best demonstrate how the funds will help the businesses, their employees, and their communities will receive the funding, said the organizations.

Salesforce is funding the initiative for a total of $620,000. Businesses can use the $10,000 grants to support their recovery efforts, including paying salaries, acquiring safety and personal protective equipment for staff, replenishing materials or paying for the measures required to adapt business models to the economic impacts of COVID-19, among other key priorities.

“We care deeply about the challenges small businesses across Canada are facing as a result of the pandemic and recognize that they have been hit especially hard,” said Margaret Stuart, Canada Country Manager, Salesforce. “With this initiative, our focus is supporting the resilience of Canadian small businesses owners and helping them recover. Small businesses are some of Canada’s most innovative and hardworking communities, and it is our priority to help them get back to work safely and prepare for Canada’s next normal.”

RETAIL STREETS IN MONTREAL. PHOTO: QUEBEC ORIGINAL

Salesforce also announced it plans to distribute $5 million USD to small business owners internationally.

“It is a generous gesture by Salesforce, which appreciates the difficult circumstances in which many small businesses find themselves,” said Karl Littler, Senior Vice President, Public Affairs at the Retail Council of Canada.

“Obviously, private support can extend only so far, which is why RCC is focused on improvements to major programs, including the the next phase of the CEWS wage subsidy, the take-up by landlords of the CECRA rental support program and the delivery of the long-awaited rental support program for larger retail tenants.”

Mary Ng, the Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade, said: “Small business owners and entrepreneurs are innovative and resilient. To support the businesses who make our communities strong, our government has taken decisive action to help them keep their costs low, keep their teams together, and keep up with their operational expenses.

“With the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and Salesforce stepping up, even more small business owners are going to get the help they need at this critical time. We’re all in this together, and we’re going to be here for small businesses every step of the way.”

L Brands to Permanently Shutter 13 Victoria’s Secret Stores in Canada

By
Craig Patterson
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VICTORIA’S SECRET IN YORKDALE SHOPPING CENTRE, TORONTO. PHOTO: VICTORIA’S SECRET

US-based lingerie and fashion retailer Victoria’s Secret will see its Canadian store count reduced substantially following a temporary shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Parent company, L Brands, says that it will permanently shutter 13 of Victoria’s Secret’s 38 Canadian stores, representing almost 35% of the Canadian fleet, as well as one Bath & Body Works location in the country.

It’s part of a bigger announcement that L Brands made this week that includes the closure of about 250 of its Victoria’s Secret stores in North America as well as 50 Bath & Body Works stores. The company is ‘rightsizing’ its fleet as it looks to split the two brands into separate corporate entities while at the same time growing its online business substantially.

L Brands hasn’t yet provided information on which of the company’s stores will be closing. In Canada, the 38 Victoria’s Secret stores include a mix of stores in shopping centres as well as standalone street-front flagships. Several years ago, we reported that Victoria’s Secret’s West Edmonton Mall store was the second-highest selling unit in the company following that of a flagship on Herald Square in New York City. The downtown Vancouver and downtown Montreal Victoria’s Secret flagship stores are among the largest units in the chain.

VICTORIA’S SECRET FLAGSHIP IN MONTREAL. PHOTO: VICTORIA’S SECRET

Over the past six months in Canada, Victoria’s Secret had already been quietly closing many of its stores. In February, Retail Insider reported that Victoria’s Secret had already shut locations at CF Market Mall in Calgary, CF Sherway Gardens in Toronto, CF Richmond Centre near Vancouver, St. Vital Centre in Winnipeg, CF Markville near Toronto, White Oaks Mall in London, and CF Rideau Centre in Ottawa. A ‘Pink’ by Victoria’s Secret also closed at Mapleview Centre in Burlington Ontario. At the time, more store closures were expected.

Private equity firm Sycamore Partners recently stepped away from a US $525 million deal to acquire a 55% stake in Victoria’s Secret. In an earnings call this week, L Brands’ CEO Andrew Meslow said that the company is looking to rightsize its footprint which will include even more store closures in 2021 and 2022. Reasons included “responding to changing consumer behaviours” to create a “healthier and better business” in preparations for an anticipated sale of the Victoria’s Secret division.

Remarkably, Meslow said the company is looking to see online sales grow to about 50% of all retail sales for the Victoria’s Secret brand, following a significant spike in e-commerce following temporary store shutdowns on March 17. A substantial renovation program will see units updated into 2021 and beyond, though it’s unclear how many of those renovations will be for Canadian stores.

VICTORIA’S SECRET FLAGSHIP IN MONTREAL. PHOTO: VICTORIA’S SECRET
  • VICTORIA’S SECRET
  • VICTORIA’S SECRET

Landlords in Canada will once again have to deal with vacant retail space. Many of Victoria’s Secret stores span more than 10,000 square feet each. Before the COVID-19 shutdowns, more than 1,000 individual store locations were already expected to close in Canada in the first quarter of 2020. Some retail chains were exiting Canada entirely amid company shutdowns, while other retailers had filed for creditor protection to close some store locations.

The permanent store closures will continue this year and into 2021 at an accelerated pace. This month, Montreal-based footwear and accessory retailer Aldo obtained creditor protection with plans to close nearly half of its stores. Montreal-based fashion retailer Reitmans also obtained creditor protection and many store closures are expected. In the United States, fashion brand J.Crew filed for bankruptcy this month and its remaining Canadian stores are expected to become history. This week, home furnishings retailer Pier 1 announced that it was closing all 540 of its stores, including 67 units in Canada — that’s not new news, however, as Pier 1 announced in February that its Canadian units would shutter following a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in the United States.

More retailers are expected to announce store closures and filings in the coming days and months amid financial struggles due to the COVID-19 store shutdowns. As stores begin to reopen across the country, retailers hope that consumers will come back and shop, though some expect retail sales to be lower than in months past. Concern over becoming ill as well as money lost due to job losses, lost stock market wealth, and other factors such as a desire to save money could see spending reduced. At the same time, the costs to operate stores will increase with new sanitation and hygiene protocols as well as an expected increase in staffing costs.

We’ll follow up on this article when we learn the locations of the 13 Canadian Victoria’s Secret stores which will be shuttering permanently in the coming weeks.

Nordstrom Begins Opening Canadian Stores with Safety Protocols

By
Jessica Finch
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PHOTO: CADILLAC FAIRVIEW

Seattle-based Nordstorm will begin reopening its Canadian stores this week with health and safety protocols at the forefront of its operational plan. Friday, May 22, will see Nordstrom’s flagship store at CF Pacific Centre in Vancouver opening for the first time since the shutdown in March. Other locations will soon follow.

These include Nordstrom stores in Calgary and Ottawa, as well as three locations in Toronto. Nordstrom also operates six off-price Nordstrom Rack stores in Canada and a seventh will open at Willowbrook Shopping Centre in Langley — a Vancouver suburb — in the fall.

With the health and wellbeing of employees, customers, and surrounding communities being a top priority, Nordstrom says that it will be implementing appropriate safety measures and protocols at its CF Pacific Centre store once its doors reopen to the public.

EXTERIOR OF NORDSTROM AT THE CF PAIFIC CENTRE. PHOTO: TOURISM VANCOUVER
  • INTERIOR OF CF PACIFIC CENTRE. PHOTOS: CF SHOPS
  • INTERIOR OF CF PACIFIC CENTRE. PHOTOS: CF SHOPS

The following steps will be taken:

-Health screenings will be conducted for employees;

-Face coverings will be provided for employees and customers;

-Thorough and regular cleaning and sanitation will be conducted;

-Modified fitting room protocol will be implemented;

-Returned or tried-on merchandise will be kept off the floor for the recommended period of time.

Contactless curbside services and online shopping will continue to be available after the physical store reopening for those who do not wish to shop in-store. 

CF Pacific Centre reopened to the public on Friday, May 15, operating under reduced hours and with only a portion of retailers open, as of now. At the opposite end of CF Pacific Centre, Holt Renfrew reopened its store on Monday May 19. 

In cities where stores have begun reopening, foot traffic has for the most part, been light. CF Polo Park in Winnipeg reopened on May 4 with about 25 percent of retailers opening on day one. By the end of that week, about 50 percent of retailers had opened in the mall but foot traffic was said to be nowhere near the volume seen before the COVID-19 store shutdowns.

On May 19 some non-essential stores reopened in Toronto. So far there’s been only slightly increased foot traffic on the streets and only a portion of retailers open.

Next week Retail Insider will showcase photos in places where retail has begun to reopen, and we'll be tracking the industry in the weeks to come as Canada finds a new normal.

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