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Mall Retail (Cambridge Centre, Conestoga, Fairview)
#46
I’ve always learned that London was considered to be a bellwether market by many retailers, so is earlier on their list of expansion plans- supposedly success in London has been seen to be a strong indicator of success in other smaller Canadian markets, so London was tackled earlier than it might otherwise be for its size. It’s also far enough from Toronto that it can support things that communities nearer to Toronto of a similar size cannot.

I’m not sure that Masonville has been the dominant mall in London for very long, but it certainly has been lately. White Oaks has been the more important mall for out-of-towners, but I don’t think it’s nearly so common for people to take a big shopping trip to the city to visit a number of stores as it was ten or twenty years ago. White Oaks is struggling now, along with all of the others.

As a relative newcomer to the Region, I’ve been under the impression that Conestoga was the top-tier mall, and would continue to be. I’ve only gathered this from what I hear people talking about. But to me, rather than a good sign, CF’s willingness to build a new building for Wal Mart separate from the mall shows a lack of leverage- Fairview needs Wal Mart more than the other way around. It sounds a lot like what other malls are doing, abandoning the traditional mall format for a more big box type set-up, just to survive.
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#47
I don't actually think there's a clear top-tier mall in the region.
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#48
(03-30-2016, 01:16 AM)Lens Wrote: That does bode well for Fairview Park though. In my experience Masonville was probably the more dominant mall in London and it looks like CF is making it into a larger, regional mall. One thing I will note is that London appears to get many more national and Toronto area chains than Waterloo Region. Perhaps market researchers look at the size of the city and compare it to the smaller size of our cities not taking into account the much larger metropolitan area we have. Anyone else notice this trend?

Keep in mind that we got an Apple Store at Conestoga Mall before one opened in Masonville in London. 

In retailing, Apple is arguably the most sought after retailer for a shopping centre. 

On a sales per square foot basis showing productivity, Conestoga is ahead of Fairview Park Mall. Conestoga currently does sales $800 per square foot while Fairview Park does $617 per square foot. I think Conestoga appeals to a wider variety of shoppers because of the good mix of stores. It is the only Regional mall to still have an attached grocery store, pharmacy, book store, bank, and (standalone) movie theatre in addition to the typical mid to upper range mall stores. Most regional malls got rid of grocery stores decades ago as they fell out of fashion, but with current trends in retailing, it's smart to have a grocery anchor in your development. I think the popularity of Winners in the mall helps too. A full line grocery store, pharmacy (with post office) and bank right in the mall help with attracting shoppers more on a weekly basis rather than a monthly basis, which help draw spin off visits to the other stores.
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#49
I wonder if it has to do with proximity to the GTA more than size of the region. Local malls aren't just in competition with each other; they're in competition with Square One and Yorkdale - and probably Eaton Centre as well.
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#50
(03-30-2016, 05:52 PM)DHLawrence Wrote: I wonder if it has to do with proximity to the GTA more than size of the region. Local malls aren't just in competition with each other; they're in competition with Square One and Yorkdale - and probably Eaton Centre as well.

Really? I don't buy that... Milton has much higher end stores and Mall, and they're MUCH closer.
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#51
(03-30-2016, 08:53 PM)jordan2423 Wrote:
(03-30-2016, 05:52 PM)DHLawrence Wrote: I wonder if it has to do with proximity to the GTA more than size of the region. Local malls aren't just in competition with each other; they're in competition with Square One and Yorkdale - and probably Eaton Centre as well.

Really? I don't buy that... Milton has much higher end stores and Mall, and they're MUCH closer.
Milton's is an outlet Mall meant to draw Toronto residents out for Outlet Mall specific merchandise and is not a traditional mall. Their real traditional Mall is horrible
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#52
(03-30-2016, 09:46 PM)neonjoe Wrote:
(03-30-2016, 08:53 PM)jordan2423 Wrote: Really? I don't buy that... Milton has much higher end stores and Mall, and they're MUCH closer.
Milton's is an outlet Mall meant to draw Toronto residents out for Outlet Mall specific merchandise and is not a traditional mall. Their real traditional Mall is horrible

I still don't buy our approximaty to Toronto as an excuse for not having nice things. 2 hours is not close at all.
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#53
(03-31-2016, 01:25 AM)jordan2423 Wrote:
(03-30-2016, 09:46 PM)neonjoe Wrote: Milton's is an outlet Mall meant to draw Toronto residents out for Outlet Mall specific merchandise and is not a traditional mall. Their real traditional Mall is horrible

I still don't buy our approximaty to Toronto as an excuse for not having nice things. 2 hours is not close at all.

Assuming the use of a car, it's easily less than an hour from Fairview Mall to Mississauga.  Yorkdale isn't much farther.

The decisions are made by independent businesses, and the reasons are rarely public, so we can only speculate here.  I tend toward the "proximity factor" camp, and I think that's also why we haven't seen an IKEA here yet: the Toronto and Burlington stores are "close enough" that most people are willing to drive there, so they don't see the potential of big incremental sales increase from the cost of establishing an additional store here.
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#54
Ben Moss Jewellers is closing their shops at Conestoga Mall and Cambridge Centre. The shop at Fairview Park Mall will remain open.

http://www.therecord.com/news-story/6562...cambridge/
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#55
Something is going on at the old Conestoga Mall Target location. Construction signs outside and it looks like the ceiling is being ripped out. Anyone hearing anything about what could be going on?
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#56
(09-07-2016, 12:58 AM)razzie13 Wrote: Something is going on at the old Conestoga Mall Target location. Construction signs outside and it looks like the ceiling is being ripped out. Anyone hearing anything about what could be going on?

Is the Halloween specialty place going in that space again, perhaps? Unlikely they would do any renovations though...
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#57
All the other Halloween shops have opened. This looks a bit more in depth. Hoping for Simons personally
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#58
(09-07-2016, 12:31 PM)razzie13 Wrote: All the other Halloween shops have opened. This looks a bit more in depth. Hoping for Simons personally

That would just be the best ^
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#59
Not sure if this will be utilizing any of the old Target space, but looks like Conestoga Mall is getting a North American first.  An active wear retailer based out of England (London), Zakti Active is opening on September 25th.
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#60
Looks like whatever is happening to the old Target store space in Conestoga Mall is significant.

The whole north parking lot is fenced off, and is closed from the Davenport roundabout through to the front of the store. No vehicular access is permitted and heavy machinery is on site excavating the parking lot. PCL looks to be the general contractor, and they only usually take on significant commercial projects. 

Is this a full redevelopment of the north end of the mall?

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