What do you think of this project?

  • Total voters
    59
David A said:
Not a surprise, these days "temporary" closure is sometimes a euphemism for permanent, especially if the temporary is more than a few months. This one was way, way over a year. I wish companies would be better in their communication, but I suspect after they put the temporary closure sign on the door, they never come back. This can be a bit frustrating and confusing to customers or visitors, so hopefully the signage will be updated soon now that a decision has been made.

On a brighter note, perhaps this frees up a space to potentially fit the original entertainment theme for the area. Also, it isn't a big loss, there are already three Shoppers Drug Marts nearby.

As for Starbucks, they seem to have almost given up on downtown, but a large multinational US chain doesn't exactly scream Ice District anyways, so no great loss imho. It would be nice to get something at least more distinctly Canadian there instead.
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Tim Horton's is already in the ICE District (COE). I'd like to see a Second Cup or a Blenz. Or better yet, a local coffee chain like a Transcend or a Square 1.
 
EdmTrekker said:
CEO of what? Starbucks or Recall ... and if Starbucks are you saying CEO is reversing course on closures in inner/core areas of cities?
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CEO of Starbucks. He (re)took the job for the second time earlier this week after the now former CEO stepped down, and in both his previous stints heading the company, he pushed for massive expansion (and considered a true franchising model, last time, in 2017).
He is a big believer in the strength of street presence to reinforce Starbucks's creed with Millennials and Gen Z (which usually entails more presence in urban cores).

Also, their run for the suburbs was poised to revert post-pandemic, as the trend seen in 2020/early 2021 has been reversing in most major cities throughout North America (there are more people moving in than moving out of the inner cities), and he'll likely pigtail on that to push his strategy.
I actually wouldn't be surprised if we saw a couple more stores open in the core and core-adjacent areas, as well as Whyte Ave.
 
ChazYEG said:
CEO of Starbucks. He (re)took the job for the second time earlier this week after the now former CEO stepped down, and in both his previous stints heading the company, he pushed for massive expansion (and considered a true franchising model, last time, in 2017).
He is a big believer in the strength of street presence to reinforce Starbucks's creed with Millennials and Gen Z (which usually entails more presence in urban cores).

Also, their run for the suburbs was poised to revert post-pandemic, as the trend seen in 2020/early 2021 has been reversing in most major cities throughout North America (there are more people moving in than moving out of the inner cities), and he'll likely pigtail on that to push his strategy.
I actually wouldn't be surprised if we saw a couple more stores open in the core and core-adjacent areas, as well as Whyte Ave.
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I wouldn't be surprised if Starbucks figures out that all the locations closed in the last few years was a mistake. A new (or recycled) CEO coming in is the perfect occasion to reverse or revisit the mistakes of their predecessor.

Now, some of those prime locations are no longer available, or the landlords might be harder to deal with if they lost rent on them. For instance, their previous prime Whyte Ave space has been leased by someone else. However, there are other comparable spaces available.

I always thought that push to drive through suburban locations was a mistake that didn't mesh well with the company's image or key customer bases. I was surprised how many locations they actually closed in downtown Edmonton and Whyte Ave., I think at least half a dozen. So, it may take them a while to rebuild what they destroyed over the last few years.

I guess that is what some large companies that lose their direction do, they take a step back then a step ahead and try to portray it as accomplishing something.
 
David A said:
I wouldn't be surprised if Starbucks figures out that all the locations closed in the last few years was a mistake. A new (or recycled) CEO coming in is the perfect occasion to reverse or revisit the mistakes of their predecessor.

Now, some of those prime locations are no longer available, or the landlords might be harder to deal with if they lost rent on them. For instance, their previous prime Whyte Ave space has been leased by someone else. However, there are other comparable spaces available.

I always thought that push to drive through suburban locations was a mistake that didn't mesh well with the company's image or key customer bases. I was surprised how many locations they actually closed in downtown Edmonton and Whyte Ave., I think at least half a dozen. So, it may take them a while to rebuild what they destroyed over the last few years.

I guess that is what some large companies that lose their direction do, they take a step back then a step ahead and try to portray it as accomplishing something.
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Some of the locations were not exactly the best, but especially the Canterra and Whyte/104st ones shocked me.

One of the reasons the CEO was changed is that results came in really poor for 2021 Q3/Q4, and are looking even worse for 2022 Q1, with no signs of easy improvement before 2022 Q4-2023 Q1, which was perceived as a major strategic failure by the board and the shareholders alike.

I'll bet that they'll look for a new location in West Oliver, close or on Jasper (CNIB looks like a potential candidate), something around 109 st, closer to 104 Ave and something on or near the ICE District (the plaza might still be an option).
 
ChazYEG said:
Some of the locations were not exactly the best, but especially the Canterra and Whyte/104st ones shocked me.

One of the reasons the CEO was changed is that results came in really poor for 2021 Q3/Q4, and are looking even worse for 2022 Q1, with no signs of easy improvement before 2022 Q4-2023 Q1, which was perceived as a major strategic failure by the board and the shareholders alike.

I'll bet that they'll look for a new location in West Oliver, close or on Jasper (CNIB looks like a potential candidate), something around 109 st, closer to 104 Ave and something on or near the ICE District (the plaza might still be an option).
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Amazing how there’s this soulless invisible hand that gets involved in the corporate world in these matters. Instead of firing the CEO, one would think Starbucks would work to attract and retain millennials and gen-z as their core clientele by making their prices more affordable and competitive with value brand coffees.

Y’know, sustainable business models for a company always preaching about sustainability?
 
Stevey_G said:
Amazing how there’s this soulless invisible hand that gets involved in the corporate world in these matters. Instead of firing the CEO, one would think Starbucks would work to attract and retain millennials and gen-z as their core clientele by making their prices more affordable and competitive with value brand coffees.

Y’know, sustainable business models for a company always preaching about sustainability?
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Corporate world is all about money and results. They didn't fire him, exactly, but he was pressured to step down because he messed up BAD and failed in the long-term strategy in pandemic times.

Also, they don't quite need to change their prices for the business model to work (and of you compare with their typical competition, they're among the cheapest, anyways), considering the whole hype and their "street cred" with millennials and gen Z (the former more than the latter).
 
ChazYEG said:
Corporate world is all about money and results. They didn't fire him, exactly, but he was pressured to step down because he messed up BAD and failed in the long-term strategy in pandemic times.

Also, they don't quite need to change their prices for the business model to work (and of you compare with their typical competition, they're among the cheapest, anyways), considering the whole hype and their "street cred" with millennials and gen Z (the former more than the latter).
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Um is this now a Starbucks business model forum? If so can we also discuss the closing of the Red Robin restaurants and their failed business policies?
 
Vijay19 said:
Um is this now a Starbucks business model forum? If so can we also discuss the closing of the Red Robin restaurants and their failed business policies?
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Fair, but this is a discussion board, and sometimes side conversations flow from a development. It's not always practical to have active discussion on a small side topic in another forum, so items like this are interesting and seem fine, as long as they don't linger on for days. Maybe the mods will disagree with me 😨
 
TAS said:
I didn't realize we were getting another bank on the main floor - National Bank. I realize that's affiliated with Loblaws, just didn't know another bank was planned.
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I didn't realize either, at some point they should consider changing the name to the Bank District!
 
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Bank District definitely a name option ... as is Posts, Poles and Beams since there are so many with some broken all ready and the large display stands are great to walk into and bang your head. Going to be some injuries and injury claims arising.
 
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