Canadian Retail Thread

[davidivivid]

New Ameublement Tanguay store in Trois-Rivières.

Pictures by Stéphane Groleau










https://www.facebook.com/Stephane.Gr...c_ref=NEWSFEED

[SpongeG]

pretty nice, is it a furniture store?

[youngregina]

American Apparel is currently in the process of liquidating its stores in Calgary and a friends says it's taking place in Winnipeg too. They've also closed the online stores for Canada and other countries.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

pretty nice, is it a furniture store?

Yes. One of their stores in Quebec City was quite controversial for its architecture. I will try to find a picture.

[hipster duck]

Originally Posted by youngregina

American Apparel is currently in the process of liquidating its stores in Calgary and a friends says it's taking place in Winnipeg too. They've also closed the online stores for Canada and other countries.

Yeah, they're getting rid of stores in Vancouver too.

I picked up one of their tees and a plaid shirt at a heavy discount, which means I bought them at a price that would be considered to be "regular" just about anywhere else.

I also realized that the decline of American Apparel means that I'm officially old (I'm in my early 30s). I liked how they hadn't changed any of their product offerings since the mid-2000s - which is the way I still dress. I realize now that people of my age who grew up on AA are no longer a demographic that fashion retailers try to market to.

[Acajack]

Controversial Meubles Maurice Tanguay building in Quebec City:

[SpongeG]

looks more like a church than a furniture store. nice.

----------

American Apparel was bought by Canadian company Gildan in November. I imagine they will need to restructure and start reopening new stores in the future.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

looks more like a church than a furniture store. nice.

.

I've never found it that bad.

But people in Quebec City are fussy, what can I say.

[niwell]

Originally Posted by hipster duck

Yeah, they're getting rid of stores in Vancouver too.

I picked up one of their tees and a plaid shirt at a heavy discount, which means I bought them at a price that would be considered to be "regular" just about anywhere else.

I also realized that the decline of American Apparel means that I'm officially old (I'm in my early 30s). I liked how they hadn't changed any of their product offerings since the mid-2000s - which is the way I still dress. I realize now that people of my age who grew up on AA are no longer a demographic that fashion retailers try to market to.

I think I fit the same demographic... and have watched the decline of AA for a while now. My zip up hoodie from 7 years ago is still in excellent condition, though I only really wear it around the house or for minor errands like going to the convenience store these days.

I find that Uniqlo is a pretty good modern interpretation of that style - and it is significantly cheaper. Finally went to the the Eaton Centre location in Toronto a few weeks ago and promptly spent a few hundred dollars. Assume they will open stores outside of Toronto at some point in the near future.

[niwell]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Controversial Meubles Maurice Tanguay building in Quebec City:

That looks like a poorly designed megachurch - fits in the Ugly Canada thread. I quite like the Trois-Rivières store though.

[TorontoDrew]

Tacky, like others have said it looks like a church, or movie theater or casino. You have to give it credit for being different though.

[Martin Mtl]

Originally Posted by Acajack

I've never found it that bad.

But people in Quebec City are fussy, what can I say.

I think it looks like somebody's nightmare. But at least they learn from their mistake; the new store is lean and nice.

[SaskScraper]

I've liked American Apparel's colored Tees but probably still like comfort of Aeropostale, H&M, & even Old Navy if can find prints that aren't too campy.. Guess and Express for size and style are my favorites. I've checked out Uniglo in US but not as much my style (I don't like pastel colors as much) or my fit (i'm 6'2").

Speaking of furniture stores, Ashley Furniture Homestores, World's largest furniture manufacturer from Wisconsin and North America's #! furniture store seems to have a big presence in Western Canada with a couple dozen Homestores, Saskatoon has a distribution centre etc. but doesn't seem to have as much coverage in other parts of the country and I wonder if local furniture stores like Tanguay in Quebec may be why.

https://www.ashleyfurniturehomestore.ca/

[hipster duck]

I think a wave that AA was able to ride up and down was the fad for band shirts in the 2000s. Every indie rock band bought a boxload of AA t-shirts, printed their logo and sold them from the merch booth at concerts. That culture is dead, so that business is dead. Their knee-high socks were also really sexy on girls, but that went out of style as well.

While I appreciate them precisely because they didn't innovate, it probably wouldn't have hurt them to try out a few new product offerings. They completely missed the yoga pants for women craze, even though they were well positioned to capture it: for one, it fit their line of clothes; secondly, many of the twenty-something indie rock girls from 2006 grew up to become yoga moms.

[WhipperSnapper]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

American Apparel was bought by Canadian company Gildan in November. I imagine they will need to restructure and start reopening new stores in the future.

Not quite. Gildan has put in a bid for most of their Canadian assets. The bidding process as part of the American Apparel bankruptcy liquidation is still open.

Yep, the brand didn't evolve with the time and, given their pricing, the only surprise is that they lasted this long. I really liked their tees too. Crazy how hard it is to find a simple tee.

[SpongeG]

i like the george t-shirts from walmart, the organic ones are nice and only 9.97 only 5.97 for non-organic

[davidivivid]

And I get to drive by this ugly thing almost every day...

Originally Posted by Acajack

Controversial Meubles Maurice Tanguay building in Quebec City:

[Taeolas]

Originally Posted by SaskScraper

I've liked American Apparel's colored Tees but probably still like comfort of Aeropostale, H&M, & even Old Navy if can find prints that aren't too campy.. Guess and Express for size and style are my favorites. I've checked out Uniglo in US but not as much my style (I don't like pastel colors as much) or my fit (i'm 6'2").

Speaking of furniture stores, Ashley Furniture Homestores, World's largest furniture manufacturer from Wisconsin and North America's #! furniture store seems to have a big presence in Western Canada with a couple dozen Homestores, Saskatoon has a distribution centre etc. but doesn't seem to have as much coverage in other parts of the country and I wonder if local furniture stores like Tanguay in Quebec may be why.

https://www.ashleyfurniturehomestore.ca/

I think Ashley did a big expansion out east, but it didn't take. I remember a store in Freddy at one point about 5-7 years ago; so if it was in Freddy they were going anywhere they could go.

Since then they've contracted and seem more focused on pairing up with other retailers to handle their furniture out here. They are still in Moncton.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by SaskScraper

I've liked American Apparel's colored Tees but probably still like comfort of Aeropostale, H&M, & even Old Navy if can find prints that aren't too campy.. Guess and Express for size and style are my favorites. I've checked out Uniglo in US but not as much my style (I don't like pastel colors as much) or my fit (i'm 6'2").

Speaking of furniture stores, Ashley Furniture Homestores, World's largest furniture manufacturer from Wisconsin and North America's #! furniture store seems to have a big presence in Western Canada with a couple dozen Homestores, Saskatoon has a distribution centre etc. but doesn't seem to have as much coverage in other parts of the country and I wonder if local furniture stores like Tanguay in Quebec may be why.

https://www.ashleyfurniturehomestore.ca/

There seems to be a non-aggression pact between Tanguay and the other Quebec furniture giant Brault et Martineau. Tanguay dominates from Trois-Rivières eastwards, but has no stores west of there.

B&M is in Montreal, Gatineau and Sherbrooke but has no stores going towards Quebec City.

Neither is present on the other guy's turf.

[begratto]

Originally Posted by Acajack

There seems to be a non-aggression pact between Tanguay and the other Quebec furniture giant Brault et Martineau. Tanguay dominates from Trois-Rivières eastwards, but has no stores west of there.

B&M is in Montreal, Gatineau and Sherbrooke but has no stores going towards Quebec City.

Neither is present on the other guy's turf.

There's a simple explanation for this: they both belong to the same company : collections.banq.qc.ca:81/lapresse/src/pages/2003/P2003-05/11/20/D/82812_20031120LPD10.pdf