Canadian Retail Thread

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by WhipperSnapper

I probably spend close to 2 hours a day on SSP.

I hate you for saying that.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by manny_santos

I just finished reading a book about Eaton's, published a couple of years ago: Eaton's: The Trans-Canada Store.

Very interesting read, and it lists the opening date of almost every single location across Canada including the discount Horizon locations (basically their answer to Kresge's K-Mart or HBC's Zellers).

One thing I found interesting is how haphazard their locations were in the earlier years. While Toronto had two stores (Queen Street and College Street), and some smaller cities such as Chatham and North Bay had a smaller format store, London did not have a store until 1961, Ottawa didn't have a store between 1968 and 1973, and Kingston never had one.

In the end, I remember Eaton's having three locations in London: downtown at Wellington Square (later Galleria), Westmount Mall, and Masonville Place. It seems to me in the later years they made a lame attempt to be hip and cool, and had juice bars in some stores. The Galleria store, as I recall, had been reduced from five stories to two in 1997, with the lower floor becoming a Goodlife Fitness club and the upper two stories being closed off.

Ottawa was dominated by about a half dozen large scale local department stores. In took years before any of the National retailers established here.

Morgan's was probably the first one in 1951, Woolworth can be dated back to the 50s based on photographs, but I don't have an exact date, could have been earlier. HBC only came in 1960 when they bought out Morgan's, Simpson's came in 1971.

Before that, it was all local; Freiman's, Charles Ogilvy's, Larocque, Caplan's, Murphy-Gamble, Giant Tiger (later on the market in 1967).

The only store left today is Giant Tigre, the rest were all bought out or closed starting in the 70s. The Freiman Building (now HBC) and Giant Tiger are the only ones still standing in their (relatively) original states.

[eemy]

Zellers had a store on Sparks Street circa ~1960. There's a Winners there now. Prior to Zellers, there was a local department store, LN Poulin Ltd, dating back to 1888 or so.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by WhipperSnapper

I probably spend close to 2 hours a day on SSP.

But that's highly educational.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

But that's highly educational.

I pretty much have the equivalent of a Masters in Architecture from screwing around here for 15 years, right? RIght?

[WhipperSnapper]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

But that's highly educational.

I would imagine the stops around Dundas Square having lots of lures so they are multi-tasking while they stand.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by jeremy_haak

Zellers had a store on Sparks Street circa ~1960. There's a Winners there now. Prior to Zellers, there was a local department store, LN Poulin Ltd, dating back to 1888 or so.

I think Woolworth was in there between Poulin and Zellers.

[flipv]

Originally Posted by jeremy_haak

Zellers had a store on Sparks Street circa ~1960. There's a Winners there now. Prior to Zellers, there was a local department store, LN Poulin Ltd, dating back to 1888 or so.

I'm pretty sure there was a Zellers on Sparks when I went to Carleton. That was 9 years ago.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by flipv

I'm pretty sure there was a Zellers on Sparks when I went to Carleton. That was 9 years ago.

You're right. It was Zellers up until 2013. It sat vacant for a while until Bier Market took over half the space around 2014-2015 and Winners took up the rest recently.

[SaskScraper]

Tsawwassen Mills opened last week to lots of fan fair and traffic snarles.

http://globalnews.ca/news/2993139/tr...vers-stranded/

Making it now BC's third largest mall outside Metrotown & Guildford, it saw 50,000 shoppers this last Saturday alone.
Here's a virtual look of the Mall modelled almost exactly like Ivanhoe Cambridge's other development CrossIron Mills in between Calgary & Airdrie..

• Video Link

Tsawwassen Mills even though has no direct link to Skytrain, Translink has some routes from Bridgeport Station to Tsawwassen Mills and the Ferry Terminal, you can see advertising for the Mall on the sides of tons of buses in Vancouver..

[Coldrsx]

A nice article on the changing for of Edmonton and its retail/small business scene.

https://monocle.com/magazine/issues/98/living-colour/

[Klazu]

Here's a tour of the brand new 1.2 million sqft Tsawwassen Mills that opened in the beginning of the month near the Tsawwassen ferry terminal in Delta, BC. This huge development on First Nations land has been a very controversial due to its nature of being a huge car-dependent mega-mall far away from all major cities.

You can really see its size from the air and how the surrounding area is currently just farm land. There are 6,000 parking spaces at the mall and there is another part called Tsawwassen Commons under construction behing the main mall.







The 6,000-car parking lot is absolutely massive and there are dedicated parking spaces for all kinds of shoppers.



Inside they have used different natural materials that make for a very pleasing appearance. There is lots of wood and even the lighting is soft and warm.











There are many art installations all over the mall which are a nice touch.







Some of the art pieces are really beautiful.









There are few cafeterias along the long corridors, but the 1,100-seat food court in the middle is where most restaurants are at (minus Boston Pizza and Montana's, which have separate entrances on the side. The food court is a busy place, but I didn't find the noise level too bad.





There are around 200 stores inside the main mall, but the main attraction is the very first Bass Pro Shop in British Columbia. It occupies a huge section of the eastern wing and is an attraction on its own. As I hope my photos will show, it's definitely worth a visit!





What they don't have at the store, you don't need. The selection is massive.









One of the many in-store attractions is a aquatic themed bowling alley and bar! The place was packed with families on a Saturday night and I can see it remaining busy, as the setting is very unique.











They have not spared any costs with the store and another attraction is the grand hallway through the store. With dozens of animals on display, it is a big draw for families.





Yes, there is even a waterfall and a huge fish tank with big fish!





The hallway leads to a separate entrace to the store through a very nice cabin themed lobby.





I presume that all the animals are real or at least they looked very life-like!







Back on the outside.



They have definitely learned from the opening weekend gong show, when people were stuck in a parking lot congestion for as long as four hours! Now there are guides at every entrance indicating that there are several exits from the mall.



Overall I was impressed by how much effort they have put into making Tsawwassen Mills a destination and Bass Pro Shop definitely is a must-see. There is a lot draw with this place, even though it is very far from most big residential areas and a car is needed. That is also the shame part about the mall, but I think it has lots of potential and we had a good time and will be visiting occassionally in the future.

I hope you enjoyed my tour of the place.

[OTSkyline]

Looks very nice, and pretty large too! When was the last big mall built in Canada? We don't see that every year...

Also like the different colors and materials inside, including the wooden floors. Too many malls go for the white floors tiles, white walls, glass and white everything these days, making it look modern but kinda boring/sterile.

[WhipperSnapper]

I would guess the last 3 large malls built in Canada would be the 3 Mills malls.

[Loco101]

Originally Posted by WhipperSnapper

I would guess the last 3 large malls built in Canada would be the 3 Mills malls.

I would guess the same thing for indoor malls and I believe they were the ONLY large indoor malls built since the 1980s!!!

Tsawwassen Mills opened in 2016 in Tsawwassen BC.

CrossIron Mills opened in 2009 in Calgary AB.

Vaughan Mills opened in 2004 in Vaughan ON and is still the largest mall to have opened in Canada so far in this century.

All three are owned by Ivanhoe Cambridge.


I don't know of any large shopping mall that opened in Canada during the 1990s. In fact, I'm not sure if even a smaller one opened. A recession and high unemployment during that time really hurt many retailers. It was also the beginning of Walmart entering Canada and other big box stores.

Other recent large retail developments that should be mentioned are the factory outlet ones.

[TownGuy]

Geez that place looks exactly like Vaughan Mills.

[trebor204]

Winnipeg will be opening 'Outlet Collection Winnipeg' scheduled to open next May. It will be over 400,000 sq ft, (a lot smaller than the other Mills malls) and owned by Ivanhoe Cambridge. It's part of the of the larger Seasons of Winnipeg, and has an additional 350,000 sq ft of retail space.

http://www.ivanhoecambridge.com/en/n...ction-winnipeg


http://seasonswinnipeg.ca/pub/docume...an-Tenants.pdf

[miketoronto]

Just my opinion, but I do not find the Mills Malls interiors that captivating. They are dull, cheap warehouse looking interiors, with those steel roofs, etc.

I am not against malls. But why did Metro Vancouver allow such a bad sprawl development to take place in this time of so called smart urban planning . Build a mall. But why allow it on the urban edge with a total car centric design? Seems backwards to me, and speaks to just how much our plans about being smart with our land and growth are not followed.

[yaletown_fella]

Originally Posted by miketoronto

Just my opinion, but I do not find the Mills Malls interiors that captivating. They are dull, cheap warehouse looking interiors, with those steel roofs, etc.

I am not against malls. But why did Metro Vancouver allow such a bad sprawl development to take place in this time of so called smart urban planning . Build a mall. But why allow it on the urban edge with a total car centric design? Seems backwards to me, and speaks to just how much our plans about being smart with our land and growth are not followed.

How is it backwards? Many families buy in bulk and require a car so the ample parking is a big plus.

The design is nice compared to power centers. It will also attract ferry commuters and tourists waiting for the ferry. Quite a smart move to build this here.

[ue]

Originally Posted by miketoronto

Just my opinion, but I do not find the Mills Malls interiors that captivating. They are dull, cheap warehouse looking interiors, with those steel roofs, etc.

I am not against malls. But why did Metro Vancouver allow such a bad sprawl development to take place in this time of so called smart urban planning . Build a mall. But why allow it on the urban edge with a total car centric design? Seems backwards to me, and speaks to just how much our plans about being smart with our land and growth are not followed.

Because it was built on First Nations lands, which don't have the same smart growth type protocols to inhibit this type of development from occurring.