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Target Canada
#16
That's a really good point, it would be a big opportunity for HBC to bring back Zellers. I notice on online news articles a lot of people are commenting to bring back Zellers they miss Zellers etc. Target and Zellers have alot of similarities Target even has Cherokee, all HBC would really need to do is change the signs, uniforms and carts.
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#17
(01-17-2015, 04:23 AM)TMKM94 Wrote: it would be a big opportunity for HBC to bring back Zellers... all HBC would really need to do is change the signs, uniforms and carts.

Really? And go head-to-head with Wal-Mart? Methinks not. 

Unlike Target, Wal-Mart did succeed in Canada. Amazingly well. They were probably the main reason why Zellers went kaput. They're also a major reason why HBC itself is struggling and has been through several ownership changes and reorganizations since Wal-Mart came up here.

Zellers may have local roots and HBC national roots, but sentimentality shouldn't dictate business decisions. I doubt it factors into shoppers' decisions, especially at the low end of the budget spectrum where, er, "The lowest price is the law."

Do you really think HBC would stand a chance at a second chance against Wal-Mart?
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#18
I'm hoping that Ivanhoe Cambridge realises the value of the land that Target currently sits on (100m from an LRT station) and either sells off the property or bulldoses it themselves and puts up some residental development.
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#19
Do you have examples of successful residential buildings sitting atop a mall? I certainly wouldn't want to live on top of Conestoga Mall.
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#20
(01-17-2015, 03:35 PM)BuildingScout Wrote: Do you have examples of successful residential buildings sitting atop a mall? I certainly wouldn't want to live on top of Conestoga Mall.

The Cours Mont-Royal in Montreal comes to mind: http://www.lcmr.ca/en

There is also housing at the Complexe Guy-Favreau which is office + a bit of commercial. Wikipedia says that it is a housing cooperative. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complexe_Guy-Favreau
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#21
(01-17-2015, 04:20 PM)plam Wrote: The Cours Mont-Royal in Montreal comes to mind: http://www.lcmr.ca/en

Cours Mont-Royal is an urban shopping centre. I mean residential atop a real honest-to-god shopping mall.
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#22
How about Brentwood Mall in Burnaby, B.C. Something for Conestoga and Fairview Park Malls to aspire to!

[Image: 2j0jar7.jpg]
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#23
The Target space is brand new, freshly renovated. Knocking it down now would be madness for any sane property owner. There are plenty of parking lots to build on first.
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#24
While not always directly on top, I'd say Toronto has a great number of buildings that are so close to its malls that you can scarce tell the difference.
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#25
There have also been proposals for a residential tower at the south end of Eaton Centre and residential floors on top of the Atrium on Bay. I think the latter was dropped, though.
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#26
Re Target's demise, don't blame me; I never set foot in any of their stores Wink

On a more serious note the lunchtime program on CBC Radio 1 had a retail consultant who was very critical of Target's strategy. For instance Target took no interest in any of the customer data that Zellers had accumulated over the years. That would have gone a long way in planning what merchandise to stock in each store.

A more poignant example was that they walked away from Zellers' pharmacy operation, preferring to start from scratch. As a result they lost important data including both customer files (prescriptions) and related demographic information. He estimated that information alone was worth $100s of millions. So not only did they lose a reliable stream of pharmacy revenue because customers went elsewhere to fill prescriptions but they also lost related sales in other departments when those customers would have come in to pick up prescriptions.

By contrast when Wal-Mart took over the Zellers' store at Bridgeport and Weber they created a temporary location next door while they renovated their "new" store. The leaseholds for the temporary location were quite elaborate and I imagine cost a lot of money. The temporary pharmacy remained open throughout the transition. The original Zellers staff stayed on with Wal-Mart before, during and after. (My family has been getting prescriptions filled there for years and continues to do so.)

The pharmacy is but one example of how Target shot themselves in the back of their red jackets as a result of HQ's arrogance and hubris. He gave several more.
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#27
To underscore my comments and further contrast how Target and Wal-Mart differed in their pharmacy strategy: Canadian pharmacists fighting Target Canada

Quote:Target was promising plenty of foot traffic and strong financial results for the pharmacy franchisees operating within its stores – as much as $300,000 in annual income after five years.

Franchisees were told to be ready to hit the ground running as the first weeks were the most critical in building up a client base, said Gavrilidis.

Instead they were hampered by fax machines that didn’t work on the first day, making it impossible to fax doctor’s offices for prescriptions. The computer software they had to use was relatively untested and difficult to operate, said Gavrilidis.

The stores were empty and the shelves were bare. “They basically set up hurdles in front of us instead of giving us open lanes to run,” he said.

Now pharmacy franchisees have been told they have to leave by February 27, a deadline they say they can’t possibly meet.

Competitors who are aware of their situation are offering them a fraction of what their client files are worth – as little as $1-$2 a file instead of the market value of $17, said Gavrilidis. “It’s like a fire sale,” he said...

Target Corp. set aside $90 million to pay the 17,600 people who will be left jobless when stores close, but pharmacy franchisees say they are being left high and dry.
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#28
The Kitchener store is definitely going to be one of the first in the region to close. Unlike the Conestoga Mall location it is very very low on stock levels and has not received any new stock such as patio furniture. They also seem to have started condensing the store towards the entrance.
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#29
I wouldn't be surprised if the Target at Conestoga Mall was in the top 30 or so performing stores in the country. It was always busy (much more so than the Zellers), and I think it got a lot of mall traffic from the Starbucks location alone. I wouldn't be surprised if the less busy stores clear out first and condense merchandise later at the busier stores.
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#30
I had the opposite opinion of that store. I found the few times I walked through it, there were hardly anyone shopping. I liked having a Starbucks at the mall, but when I realized they would not accept my Starbucks card because they weren't a corporate store, I bailed on that idea too.

I won't miss Target Canada.
_____________________________________
I used to be the mayor of sim city. I know what I am talking about.
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