Good to see Miniso is coming, it’s quite an enjoyable store with all kinds of random stuff alongside everyday essentials. It feels very Japanese, and in China they even used to brand the stores as Miniso Japan, but I think now it’s just called Miniso. Miniso and Uniqlo are pretty much the mainstays of malls in China (both big and small) and now that we’re finally getting a Miniso, I think we may finally get Uniqlo too… at least eventually!
I think a one two punch of Miniso and Uniqlo could be the anchor tenants needed to bring people back to Brunswick Square from all over the region. Even though McAllister place would be the safer bet for Uniqlo, Brunswick Square could actually have a higher pay off, and tap into the seasonal cruise ship market.
Both Saint John and Halifax could be interesting opportunities for Uniqlo and Miniso to expand their distribution and warehousing side of things given our large sea ports. Halifax might be the more logical place for Uniqlo to open their first retail store, but Port Saint John could be the better option for warehousing and distribution, since we’re significantly closer to the much bigger markets in Central Canada and the US Northeast.
I still don’t get why there’s not a single Uniqlo store open across the Maritimes, and feel like by now there should have been multiple Uniqlos in Halifax, and at least one in each of the other maritime CMAs. It’s not a huge store, and we have all kinds of malls and retail nodes across the region with more than enough available space.
What could malls in Saint John offer Uniqlo to make it worth their while to open up a store in one of our malls?
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