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Shuffling of Big-Box Retail Real Estate in Canada: Interview with Liza Amlani

By Mario Toneguzzi

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Bed Bath & Beyond in Mississauga (Image: Google)

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Recent news in the retail industry has spotlighted the shuffling of big box real estate in the country.

First, retail giant Canadian Tire announced it is expanding its Mark’s store footprint with the acquisition of several real estate leases formerly held by Bed, Bath & Beyond in Canada.

The retail giant announced it was acquiring 10 of those leases for $1.6 million. 

Acquiring these leases will enable CTC to continue building on the growth of its Mark’s and Pro Hockey Life (PHL) banners. CTC has designated six of the 10 leases acquired for Mark’s relocations in Grande Prairie, Medicine Hat, Red Deer and Strathcona County (Alberta), Langley (BC), and Oakville (Ontario), it said.

In addition to the Mark’s relocations, the agreement will allow CTC to implement plans for four new Pro Hockey Life (PHL) stores in Ontario. The 10 leases combined represent more than 242,000 square feet of retail space, added the company.

Image: rooms + spaces

Then, Canadian entrepreneur Doug Putman announced he was launching a new Canadian home store brand called rooms + spaces in 21 retail locations formerly occupied by Bed Bath & Beyond and buybuyBABY storefronts.

Putman is acquiring more than 800,000 square feet of real estate and the new stores will open in early summer.

In this video interview, Liza Amlani, Principal/Founder, Retail Strategy Group, and Co-Founder, The Merchant Life, discusses the latest developments.

“It’s what attracts most of us to real estate. It’s a great price,” said Amlani. “I think both parties really got a great deal and I think that was critical for them moving forward on these deals.”

Amlani talks about the reason those spaces were attractive, what might happen to upcoming Nordstrom real estate, the new concept by Putman and the trend towards more shop in shop concepts like Zellers in The Bay.

Amlani said the reason why the leases were scooped up was simple.

The Video Interview Series by Retail Insider is available on YouTube.

Connect with Mario Toneguzzi, a veteran of the media industry for more than 40 years and named in 2021 a Top Ten Business Journalist in the world and the only Canadian – to learn how you can tell your story, share your message and amplify it to a wide audience. He is Senior News Editor with Retail Insider and owner of Mario Toneguzzi Communications Inc. and can be reached at mdtoneguzzi@gmail.com.

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Mario Toneguzzi
Mario Toneguzzi
Mario Toneguzzi, based in Calgary, has more than 40 years experience as a daily newspaper writer, columnist, and editor. He worked for 35 years at the Calgary Herald covering sports, crime, politics, health, faith, city and breaking news, and business. He is the Senior News Editor with Retail Insider in addition to working as a freelance writer and consultant in communications and media relations/training.

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