The Metro Vancouver Retail Thread

[trofirhen]

^Very interesting video, thanks. Although the two cities are much different, there are other things factoring in. Singapore is hot and outdoorsy at Christmas, Vanouver much colder.
However, regarding the streetscape lighting, taking into account that Singapore is a major world city, (alpha+, according the infernal orange chart!)
Singapore is 5.6m, metro van 2.5m.) And it shows. Singapore is ultra-modern, ultra sleek, ultra tall, ultraeverything in a way that Vancouver cannot be; and should not be.
Vancouver should be itself. But I agree totally with Sponge G that the lighting and festive vibes in Vancouver, could, would, and should be turned up sparkling bright from doom and gloom.

[Klazu]

Sorry guys, but I don't see anything special in the decorations shown on that video. We have pretty similar level of Christmas lighting on Robson Street and especially in our bigger malls. That's some upscale shopping area in Singapore, so obviously it has big new shopping centers, but I don't find those decorations over the top in any way.

I don't think Vancouver and Singapore should be compared, but in my opinion our city is just as modern (our average building in Downtown might even be newer than in Singapore) and while Singapore has more tall buildings, they don't have any supertalls either. I am sure it's a nice city with bustling streets (it's in Asia, after all), but I don't there is any need to picture Vancouver as some backwash city like so many in here often try to do...

Also, if you want to see crazy Christmas decorations, just visit Van Dusen Garden, Stanley Park, Capilano Suspension Bridge this time of year. I have been to all (I actually just came from a photoshoot in Van Dusen Garden) and they are wicked!

[casper]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

They should just stick a price margin tag on luxury goods so you can be satisfied at how much markup you're paying on something.

In the past the Brand use to stand for some level of quality or innovation. Now with outlet malls and special inventory designed specifically for outlet sales, I don't know any of these brand stand for.

As you say it may just correspond to the status symbol of saying I willing to overpay by a higher percentage because I have money.

[SpongeG]

Louis Vuitton and a lot of the more expensive french brands are still all made in France, a lot of the italian brands are still made in italy. But a lot of the stuff is being made in china now or asia, like coach is all made in asia.

So the european stuff made in europe you can somewhat justify the expensive price since there is more cost involved.

as Le Cruset expands I don't know if its still true but the pricier core pieces are still made in France and the cheaper more common stuff is all made in China now and why they are at a lower price point these days.

Vancouver does have some great christmas things to do but you have to pay a lot to get into to see them, doing robson street to the nines would be free to see and enjoy. I just think the shopping areas could be doing a lot more not just at christmas. Like the victorias secret store on robson could have been a great lit pink wall.

similiar to this one



would also be cool to see the granville street H&M store reclad with lights and screens

[Graham_Yvr]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

Louis Vuitton and a lot of the more expensive french brands are still all made in France, a lot of the italian brands are still made in italy. But a lot of the stuff is being made in china now or asia, like coach is all made in asia.

So the european stuff made in europe you can somewhat justify the expensive price since there is more cost involved.

as Le Cruset expands I don't know if its still true but the pricier core pieces are still made in France and the cheaper more common stuff is all made in China now and why they are at a lower price point these days.

Vancouver does have some great christmas things to do but you have to pay a lot to get into to see them, doing robson street to the nines would be free to see and enjoy. I just think the shopping areas could be doing a lot more not just at christmas. Like the victorias secret store on robson could have been a great lit pink wall.

similiar to this one



would also be cool to see the granville street H&M store reclad with lights and screens

Victoria's Secret on Robson DOES have a pink wall. It wraps around Robson to Burrard and is two storeys tall except where there are display windows. This has been in place since it opened. Have you missed that? I'm confused.

[Sheba]

Originally Posted by Graham_Yvr

Victoria's Secret on Robson DOES have a pink wall. It wraps around Robson to Burrard and is two storeys tall except where there are display windows. This has been in place since it opened. Have you missed that? I'm confused.

"Like the victorias secret store on robson could have been a great lit pink wall."

[Vin]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

places like this make you realize just how boring and lame vancouver really is

over here we debate if we are allowed to say merry christmas or not and they go crazy with decorations

• Video Link

Many Vancouverites are scared of anything "hointy nointy" and lights that cause birds to be disoriented.

Also, just look at the number of forumers angered by even a suggestion of a 2nd mall in downtown Vancouver. Here you are showing a street with 20 plus malls lining it somewhere in Singapore: that's simply a travesty by local standards.

[SpongeG]

Originally Posted by Graham_Yvr

Victoria's Secret on Robson DOES have a pink wall. It wraps around Robson to Burrard and is two storeys tall except where there are display windows. This has been in place since it opened. Have you missed that? I'm confused.

it doesn't light up the same though

this one glows at night, the robson store seems to just have spot lights infront of the pink



compared to robson location

[SpongeG]

Originally Posted by Klazu

Sorry guys, but I don't see anything special in the decorations shown on that video. We have pretty similar level of Christmas lighting on Robson Street and especially in our bigger malls. That's some upscale shopping area in Singapore, so obviously it has big new shopping centers, but I don't find those decorations over the top in any way.

I don't think Vancouver and Singapore should be compared, but in my opinion our city is just as modern (our average building in Downtown might even be newer than in Singapore) and while Singapore has more tall buildings, they don't have any supertalls either. I am sure it's a nice city with bustling streets (it's in Asia, after all), but I don't there is any need to picture Vancouver as some backwash city like so many in here often try to do...

Also, if you want to see crazy Christmas decorations, just visit Van Dusen Garden, Stanley Park, Capilano Suspension Bridge this time of year. I have been to all (I actually just came from a photoshoot in Van Dusen Garden) and they are wicked!

a few lights in the trees along robson is nothing exciting. maybe its different this year i am in alberta and won't be in vancouver until the 18th and will have no time to go to robson till next year.

i will admit i was impressed with metrotowns christmas decorations when i saw them a few weeks ago, i was mesmerized by the lights around the elevator


look at regent street its amazeballs



and oxford street



robson should do more

[Vin]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

a few lights in the trees along robson is nothing exciting. maybe its different this year i am in alberta and won't be in vancouver until the 18th and will have no time to go to robson till next year.

i will admit i was impressed with metrotowns christmas decorations when i saw them a few weeks ago, i was mesmerized by the lights around the elevator


look at regent street its amazeballs



and oxford street



robson should do more

Yup, like tearing down those one storey stores and replacing them with 10+ storey structures.

[osirisboy]

Originally Posted by Vin

Yup, like tearing down those one storey stores and replacing them with 10+ storey structures.

YES.

Why does the city want every retail street to have a "village" feel and only allow 2 storey buildings with minimal lights and lots of trees. If nothing else it would be nice to have some variation

[Vin]

Originally Posted by osirisboy

YES.

Why does the city want every retail street to have a "village" feel and only allow 2 storey buildings with minimal lights and lots of trees. If nothing else it would be nice to have some variation

That's because the decision makers and their supporters think like villagers. They should at least let downtown grow up without their constant interference. Still wondering how people can challenge those antiquated Official Community Plans (OCPs) and viewcones.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by Vin

Yup, like tearing down those one storey stores and replacing them with 10+ storey structures.

Hmm, yeah. The street shown is one of the preeminent shopping streets in one of the planet's top 5 cities for business and tourism. Robson, Fourth, Main are hardly in the same league or likely to ever be so.

[excel]

Asian retail giant Muji likely to enter Vancouver next year. (Japanese)
With Vancouver’s retail sector continuing to outperform other Canadian markets, one industry observer says the city can expect an explosion of new brands, both international and domestic, in the coming year, with a prominent Asian retailer leading the way.

http://vancouversun.com/business/loc...uver-next-year

[SpongeG]

finally

[LeftCoaster]

Don't get excited till they sign a lease. Uniqlo has been actively trying to secure a space for 3 years now...

[Vin]

Anyone still thinks that there is a lack of demand for retail, and that a new mall downtown isn't necessary?

Quote from the above Vancouver Sun article:"That is because, despite Vancouver’s high sales number, the city continues to suffer from a relative lack of space. According to recent data from the Centre for the Study of Commercial Activity at Ryerson University, Vancouver’s per-capita mall space (at 11.4 square feet for every person living in the region) falls far behind the same figure for not only Toronto (at 16.4), but also Alberta (15.2 for Calgary, 16.2 for Edmonton)."

Again the City has been too slow to identify this, or otherwise they would've pushed for more retail building constructions even 10 years ago.

[jollyburger]

So will Vancouver finally be a world class city when we have as much retail per square foot as Toronto?

Who cares about profits we just need more shopping mall space.

On a national basis, Canada has fewer shopping malls than the U.S., at 14.8 square feet compared to 23.6 square feet per person, according to Cushman & Wakefield, a commercial real estate firm.

But that’s not necessarily an indication Canada is underserved, said Tony Hernandez, chair of Ryerson’s commercial activity centre.

“You could say we have less retail per capita. But is 25 square feet per person the optimal number? No one knows,” Hernandez said. “The real issue for retailers is how profitable do you want to be?”


Many U.S. malls are failing.

“In the U.S., 20 per cent of the 2,000 malls are failing and a staggering half a billion square feet of retail space lies empty. Even Wal-Mart has abandoned 400 stores across the U.S.,” the high-profile group of Canadian urban planners and architects noted in their open letter protesting Ford’s Port Lands plan.

Canada has fewer malls because most are owned by conservatively managed pension funds and the approvals process in Canada is more onerous than in the U.S., industry experts said.

However, Canada’s malls have higher sales per square foot.

The real issue for developers and retailers in Toronto is whether a mall on the waterfront could be successful.

Commercial real estate brokers are skeptical.

“You don’t usually see two super-regional centres a couple of kilometres apart,” said Mary Mowbray, manager, retail group, at Colliers International, referring to the Port Lands’ proximity to the Eaton Centre.

To secure financing, any waterfront mall developer would have to line up several major tenants in advance of construction. Those already in the Eaton Centre would likely be prevented by lease agreements from moving or adding a second store within such a short geographic distance, noted James Smerdon, director, retail strategy, at Colliers.

Even U.S.-style outlet mall developers, such as Tangers and Simons, both of whom plan to enter the Canadian market, would have difficulty setting up shop within spitting distance of full-priced stores, said John Crombie, national director, retail, for Cushman & Wakefield.

“It would cut into the full-priced retailers’ sales,” Crombie explained.

https://www.thestar.com/amp/business...ront_mall.html

[Vin]

^^

Certainly not a world class city when retailers cannot even find suitable space to open up shop in the ever-growing downtown and surrounding districts (in terms of population). Definitely an anti-business city when lease rates are driven up really high due to intense competition for the few retail spaces in Vancouver's downtown.

Many malls are failing in the U.S. due to the financial crisis of 2008 (eg. Detroit) as well as a drop of retail demand in sparsely-populated urban sprawl suburbs. One would be hard-pressed to find a failing mall in a commercial/retail urban centre anywhere in North America, or pretty much the rest of the world. Do those failing American malls also have Simons, Uniqlo, Saks 5th Avenue, Muji, etc etc waiting to enter the market? If not, then quit using the U.S. as an excuse to curb and stagnate our own retail growth potentials.

[Vin]

Speaking of retail demand:

http://www.retail-insider.com/retail...2016/12/luxury