Business in Winnipeg

[borkborkbork]

Originally Posted by hexrae

There's a talent pool, it's just very shallow I've been head hunted on Linked In multiple times in the past year.

the fact that skip and bold are having such struggles trying to build enough of a talent pool makes the city having wasted time/money on the amazon hq2 bid (50k tech jobs) even funnier.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by borkborkbork

the fact that skip and bold are having such struggles trying to build enough of a talent pool makes the city having wasted time/money on the amazon hq2 bid (50k tech jobs) even funnier.

That is a fair comment. I'm not in the tech business but from friends who are I've long heard about the relatively shallow talent pool. But then again I've also heard that the relative lack of opportunities and reputation for stingy employers/lack of opportunities for advancement means that a lot of talent has routinely left for other cities. When the Alberta economy was booming in the 2000s I'm sure a ton of people from Manitoba went to work at IT departments of energy and financial companies there, government, you name it.

Like I said, I'm not in IT but when I graduated with a professional degree in 2005 the starting salaries in my field were literally double in Calgary what they were in Winnipeg. If anything the IT pay gap was probably even wider.

[esquire]

Neechi Commons bit the dust.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manito...ipeg-1.4727871

The story reminds me a bit of Red River Co-op in the 80s, when they had a successful little operation but then overextended themselves with huge supermarkets and lumberyards. They ended up retrenching to just gas bars for years. Neechi is similar in that it was a small, successful co-op for years and then bit off more than they could chew with the building on Main.

Bad days for groceries on North Main... Main Meats and now Neechi Commons have disappeared. I'm not sure where there are any real grocery stores along that stretch of North Main from Logan to Mountain. I can only think of small convenience stores.

[h0twired]

Originally Posted by esquire

Neechi Commons bit the dust.

This should surprise nobody.

Neechi had no business being in the North End. People got WAY too caught up in the cultural side of Neechi Commons instead of actually running a business that caters to the actual NEEDS of the community.

A grocer like Cantors would be a far better fit for the area.

[esquire]

^ Yeah, no question that they lost focus on what they were good at. The higher aspirations were nice, but being a cultural hub unfortunately doesn't pay the bills.

[Ando]

Originally Posted by esquire

That is a fair comment. I'm not in the tech business but from friends who are I've long heard about the relatively shallow talent pool. But then again I've also heard that the relative lack of opportunities and reputation for stingy employers/lack of opportunities for advancement means that a lot of talent has routinely left for other cities. When the Alberta economy was booming in the 2000s I'm sure a ton of people from Manitoba went to work at IT departments of energy and financial companies there, government, you name it.

Like I said, I'm not in IT but when I graduated with a professional degree in 2005 the starting salaries in my field were literally double in Calgary what they were in Winnipeg. If anything the IT pay gap was probably even wider.

My brother-in-law has been bringing in IT people from india for several years.

[DavefromSt.Vital]

The reward category list for the yet to be named new Marriott/Ritz-Carlton/Starwood hotel loyalty program is now out:

https://points-redemption.marriott.com/category-change

Of the five current Winnipeg properties, the Delta Downtown will be a Category 3. The other four (Courtyard Airport, Fairfield Ellice, Four Points Airport, Four Points Pembina) will be Category 2. Cheap points stays for people visiting, but we seriously need to get some higher category properties!

[buzzg]

They must take city and cost of said city into it... There's numerous Residence Inns in other (much) larger cities that are Cat4. Also our Delta is newly renovated and very very nice, but only a Cat3, compared to the others all being 5/6.

I could see a Westin here soon, but I don't expect a Ritz, W, or even Marriott here in the next 5-10 years.

I'm not overly concerned with attracting new luxury hotels really (market will dictate that), but I think it's concerning/shitty the lack of downtown hotels in the major points program(s). It's gotta be tough to convince a lot of corporate travellers to stay downtown when the only Marriott/SPG downtown is Delta, which is very expensive – many companies require staff to use their points-system of choice.

[Tacheguy]

I see Stefano Grande stepped down from the Downtown Biz. I can think of one or two people on this forum who would be great for that job!

[bomberjet]

Any opinions out there on Delta 9 from some SSP investors?? They are an interesting option at this point in time.

[dmacc]

Originally Posted by bomberjet

Any opinions out there on Delta 9 from some SSP investors?? They are an interesting option at this point in time.

I feel like they are a great investment that is being overshadowed by the big players at the moment. They are one of 4 groups allowed to sell retail in Manitoba which is estimated to be around $300-500 million market. They seem to be the furthest ahead of the other 4 players in terms of being prepped to open retail locations. Not to mention they will be supplying to the province. They will essentially be double dipping.

Even if they earn just a quarter of a $300 million dollar market, $75 million dollars represents a decent growth opportunity. They could easily see a 300 million dollar Market Cap with that revenue and with other areas that they are pushing into and deals with Canopy and WestLeaf they could easily see a higher valuation.

I don't know enough about the management to know why the stock has struggled so much more then other players. My only guess is the small player in a small market makes it easily overlooked. I feel the first earnings report after Legalization will be the real catalyst for Delta 9. All companies will balance to prices based on their true value instead of their anticipated value. I am no expert but I feel like they are in the best position of all the companies in Manitoba to succeed. Full Disclosure I am invested in Delta 9 so my opinion is biased.

[bomberjet]

Thanks dmacc. Those are exactly my thoughts, and they are cheap right now.

I've been doing some research and I think part of the hesitation is the CEO seems a bit amateurish. See the recent pictures from the news on their upcoming store. He's out in a t-shirt with blue sunglasses on. Instead of a business attire.

Seems like they have some solid plans though and are peaking my interest.

[DowntownBooster]

Although not Winnipeg specific, Greyhound Canada has announced that it will be ending all passenger and freight services in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and all but one route in British Columbia. I'm not sure what the economic impact will be on Winnipeg but I presume there will be some.

[esquire]

^ Wow... is that just the regional routes or are they chopping all the trans-Canada service as well? Although mind you, who knows how much of a future trans-Canada buses have... who would want to ride one when you can probably fly across the country on a ULCC airline for less.

[Biff]

I understand Bison Transport has bought something like 400 acres in CentrePort.....Kitty corner to the Summit Rd and CentrePort Canada Way intersection.

http://www.centreportcanada.ca/available-properties
CentrePort Land Use Map - The big Red "Sold" property.

[DowntownBooster]

Originally Posted by esquire

^ Wow... is that just the regional routes or are they chopping all the trans-Canada service as well? Although mind you, who knows how much of a future trans-Canada buses have... who would want to ride one when you can probably fly across the country on a ULCC airline for less.

I believe it is all routes in western Canada. The exception is a route between Vancouver and Seattle. The current service will be discontinued as of October 31, 2018.

[Wpg_Guy]

what becomes of the greyhound terminal at the airport?

[DowntownBooster]

Originally Posted by Wpg_Guy

what becomes of the greyhound terminal at the airport?

I guess unless someone else wants the space it will become vacant like all the Target locations did when they pulled out of Canada.

[esquire]

Are there any other bus services that use it? If not, I guess the next step is demolition. It's only 9 years old.

I don't know what else you could really use it for... a car rental building, maybe? A Winnipeg Transit terminal?

[Authentic_City]

I thought Jefferson Bus Lines restarted service from Winnipeg to Fargo and Minneapolis last year, but it looks like Winnipeg is no longer on their schedule. Is there any other bus company besides these two that would use the terminal?