Coolibop
Active Member
^ Sounds like they are using the same playbook as the Ontario provincial gov't (science centre).
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rdaner
Senior Member
Real estate play.
Brian S-W
New Member
So far it’s Windsor, Chinook Centre in Calgary…during Stampede week, Coquitlam,
Kingston, Winnipeg, Park Royal, Vancouver DTN, Victoria DTN, approximately three to five more B.C. stores, and a few more scattered across the country.
cslusarc
New Member
Retail-Insiders.com reports: Various Hudson’s Bay Department Stores Across Canada Close Temporarily Due To HVAC Issues
ShonTron
Moderator
Even Sears Canada in its late-era decline after 2010 didn’t close stores early in the evening, turn off escalators and elevators, and shut stores down over HVAC issues.
HBC is rotten, and at this point, it’s hard to see it recovering at all.
HBC is rotten, and at this point, it’s hard to see it recovering at all.
mburrrrr
Senior Member
Maybe the contractors got burned with Sears but not with HBC…….
rdaner
Senior Member
Someone on SSP said that these closures would be a great time to do an inventory for a closing sale.
cslusarc
New Member
I hope that Hudson's Bay isn't filing for bankruptcy in Canada for its Canadian operations. It's promotional activity has been minimal for the past 2 weeks with no storewide promotional events.
DSC
Superstar
Not much point doing promotions if many of their stores are closed!
cslusarc
New Member
Has anyone heard any "good news" about Hudson's Bay this week?
Is your local Hudson's Bay store still closed due to lack of a functional Air Conditioning system? Someone had mentioned on reddit that the (Winnipeg) Polo Park store's AC has been offline for over a whole year.
Is your local Hudson's Bay store still closed due to lack of a functional Air Conditioning system? Someone had mentioned on reddit that the (Winnipeg) Polo Park store's AC has been offline for over a whole year.
DSC
Superstar
As HBC seems to be 'circling the drain', this piece on the building of these major department stores may be of interest.
www.theguardian.com
Paris’s department stores transformed urban life. What can they teach today’s struggling shops?
Inspired by opera houses, the grands magasins were astonishing spectacles, built on a pharaonic scale. A new exhibition in the French capital charts the golden age of a dying concept
www.theguardian.com
AlvinofDiaspar
Moderator
As HBC seems to be 'circling the drain', this piece on the building of these major department stores may be of interest.
Paris’s department stores transformed urban life. What can they teach today’s struggling shops?
Inspired by opera houses, the grands magasins were astonishing spectacles, built on a pharaonic scale. A new exhibition in the French capital charts the golden age of a dying concept
There is an "experiential" aspect to department store that is still relevant I think - but I am afraid there is no market for experiencing tired stores. Since AC is out, they can try turning the lights off as well - shopping a la ONoir. Change rooms ought to be an interesting experience.
AoD
Richard White
Senior Member
I can concur with that.
During my most recent trip, there were tons of tourists in both Harrods and Fortnum and Mason.
They would get store branded items to say they were there, they would walk around the store and take pictures. The floors with household goods and clothing were sparse. There were a few Emiratis walking around Harrods but for the most part it was just tourists looking to say they were there.
Marks and Spencer was similar to a lesser extent. People like myself who remember it from Canada stopped in to check it out but for the most part it was locals looking to shop for daily stuff. I found Marks and Spencer to be more relaxed version of the Queen St Bay location. You could buy clothes, shoes, etc along with groceries.
I was at the Bay in STC last weekend and noticed how tired it was. I was in and out rather quickly as I felt it was dying. The store itself was very quiet with little foot traffic. Everything was very overpriced and the store was not being maintained.
AlvinofDiaspar
Moderator
The problem with tourists is that most aren''t really there to buy the big ticket items. They are probably the most purely experiential bunch (myself included, when I was at Fortnum). But what they contribute is a sense of excitement - nobody likes to shop at a morgue.
AoD
Richard White
Senior Member
That depends on what you're looking to buy.
Personally I have no need to shop at a morgue but there is always that one person...