Canadian Retail Thread

[samsonyuen]

I thought it might be a good idea to have a thread to post any snippets of retail information that might not necessarily warrant a thread of its own. Here's an article about Lowe's coming into Canada. They're a big box home improvement chain à la Home Depot or Rona. There are talks of them buying Rona up.
__________________________
Home reno giant Lowe's readies move into Canadian
By MARINA STRAUSS
Thursday, June 2, 2005 Updated at 3:55 AM EDT
From Thursday's Globe and Mail

Retailing and real estate insiders are bracing for the arrival of Lowe's Cos. Inc., a U.S. home improvement powerhouse whose entry into Canada could further shake up an already competitive retail landscape.

Two consultants have been quietly talking to Canadian landlords over the past few weeks, discussing possible deals for superstore sites, and industry sources believe Lowe's, the second-largest U.S. home improvement merchant, is the prospective tenant.

Lowe's could make an announcement about its plans for Canada as early as next week, real estate sources said. A number have been told to expect an announcement on June 6. Lowe's said it does not comment on rumours, but confirmed it has a global growth strategy.

"We have said for a number of years that we are evaluating international opportunities. At some point we will be a global company," said Chris Ahearn, a spokeswoman for Lowe's in Mooresville, N.C.

The chain has been a rival to Home Depot Inc., the world's biggest home improvement retailer, which already operates in Canada.

Lowe's has ridden the wave of women's growing interest in tackling home improvement projects. With annual sales of about $36.5-billion (U.S.) and more than 1,100 stores in the United States, Lowe's courts women by pushing home decor and other related items.

It has designed its mega-outlets in a more inviting manner, with wide aisles and bright lights to ease the stresses of shopping.

In Canada, Rona Inc. of Boucherville, Que., has become a powerful contender to the No. 1 Home Depot also by catering to women's tastes. As well, Rona has grown rapidly in recent years by swallowing rivals.

Now, industry insiders suggest that Lowe's may eventually try to snap up Rona, if it hasn't already attempted such a move.

When Robert Nibock took over as chief executive officer in January, he told analysts that he was interested in international growth.

"Certainly there's a lot of opportunity on the international side, and it's something that we will, over the next year or two, be in the process of assessing," Mr. Nibock said.

Retail consultant John Williams of J.C. Williams Group Ltd., said it may be difficult for Lowe's to establish itself quickly in this country without eventually making a big acquisition.

He pointed to the huge head start of both Rona and Home Depot. "It's a very difficult market," Mr. Williams said. "Rona and Home Depot are so well positioned now . . . They're really duking it out."

Home Depot has 120 superstores here while Rona has 530 outlets of varying sizes.

Sylvain Morrissette, a spokesman for Rona, said he couldn't comment on rumours. But he insisted that Rona has developed a strong strategy to ensure its future.

Rona differs from Home Depot in that it has a wide array of store types, from uber-sized big boxes to small outlets. Lowe's may only be interested in Rona's superstores.

The rumours about Lowe's possible arrival in Canada have created a buzz in the industry. One retailing source said he had heard that Lowe's representatives have tied up as many as a dozen sites for its mega-outlets, and that is has set up a Canadian office. It is expected that the first stores will be in Southern Ontario by next year.

Real estate officials said Michael Goulais and Alan MacKenzie of M. Goulais Consultants in Toronto have been meeting with them to discuss locations for a U.S. retailer entering Canada. "They are producing letters of intent," one official said.

Reached this week, Mr. MacKenzie did not comment on whether he and his partner represent Lowe's and are trying to find store locations for the retailer.

One real estate source said Mr. MacKenzie expressed interest in some of his company's locations, and he is waiting to hear back about offers for the sites.

"We've been told it's an existing American organization that's looking for anywhere from 10 to 15 acres," the source said. "There's not that many, even in the States, American guys that take that size unit. Most of the ones that do take it are already here."

U.S. discounter Target Corp. has also been interested in coming to Canada. But Target CEO Bob Ulrich said last month [May] that it has no immediate plans to expand outside the United States.

Roger Plamondon, regional operations manager for Eastern Canada at Home Depot Canada, said he has heard the rumours about Lowe's but "for us, it's business as usual . . .

"We have been in Canada for 11 years. We are very proud of our performance in Canada. We know the Canadian marketplace very well," Mr. Plamondon said.

Lowdown on Lowe's

In 60 years, Lowe's has grown form a modest collection of North Carolina hardware stores to a megastore chain that rang up $36.5-billion (U.S.) in sales last year.

The big box

Employees: 160,000 (80 per cent of them full-time)

Outlets: 1,100 in 48 U.S. States

Typical store: 117,000 square feet of retail space, selling about 40,000 products

The foundation

Began in the mid-1940s after H. Carl Buchan bought out his brother-in-law James Lowe and rode the postwar boom with a modest chain of hardware/lumber stores. In the 1980s with the rise of do-it-yourself, it evolved into full-fledged building centres.

The design

Make old stores feel like new - spent $500-million (U.S.) last year to upgrade stores and plans to invest $700-million this year.

The big three

Lowe's three-pronged sales strategy:

1-Installations (such as cabinets and decks)

2-Special orders (up to 500,000 items, such as fashion plumbing)

3-Commercial business customers.

The nuts and bolts

Company went public in 1961.

Joined NYSE in 1979 (NYSE: LOW)

Reached billion-dollar-annual-sales mark in 1980.

Over the past 10 years, results have risen steadily - for fiscal 2004, profit reached $2.18-billion on sales of $36.5-billion, 18% better than 2003.

Average customer transaction $63.43 in 2004.

The rivals in Canada

Home Depot, the Atlanta-based chain that entered Canada 11 years ago, has 120 superstores.

Rona, based in Boucherville, Que., has 530 stores of varying sizes.

[algonquin]

two words...

CANADIAN TIRE

as long as dipshit and doughhead on the commercials don't ruin a good thing!

[Lucky 24]

Sorry Sam that your thread went to shit....WinnipegPatriot and KGB....if both of you don't cool it, you will be given some time off from here.

Hopefully by deleting the posts in this thread, we can start off on the right foot again.

[KGB]

"Hopefully by deleting the posts in this thread, we can start off on the right foot again."


Yea, censorship is the answer to everything????

And from somebody in Toronto to boot...hmmmm.

And what have we censored that is so dangerous to society, that we would take such drastic measures???...my personal observations of the state of retail on Queen Street as not constituting Canadian retailing that sucks????

And I'm a big boy...I can take being called a twit....not that deleting it somehow means it didn't happen.






KGB

[Lucky 24]

Originally Posted by KGB

"Hopefully by deleting the posts in this thread, we can start off on the right foot again."


Yea, censorship is the answer to everything????

And from somebody in Toronto to boot...hmmmm.

And what have we censored that is so dangerous to society, that we would take such drastic measures???...my personal observations of the state of retail on Queen Street as not constituting Canadian retailing that sucks????

And I'm a big boy...I can take being called a twit....not that deleting it somehow means it didn't happen.






KGB

It's easier to just delete the posts than the close the entire thing down and start all over again. KGB, you must realize that I will not tolerate people saying amazingly stupid stuff about our city. I understand you defending against amazingly silly comments that were mentioned in this thread...but believe me, the person that started the problem has been sent a warning about stating such ridiculous comments and any further problems will lead to further discipline. You can defend our city against such ridiculous comments, but the tone of the responses are very condescending and negative and doesn't help anything at all...in fact, it just helps to encourage more crap being thrown around. And I just can't tolerate that.

If you don't agree with my decision about deleting the posts because of the reasons above, then by all means, we can discuss this through PMs.

EDIT: One more thing I wanted to add. I deleted the posts because if people read them, it would only continue the junk being thrown around and it would never end. This thread is to talk about new retail developments, not to debate and compare the retail districts of different cities. That junk is for the city vs. city debates.

[Roch5220]

Target, I hate to admit, I love those stores. I use to hate them cause I've been to some shitty ones a couple of years back, but the new ones are pretty decent.

[WinnipegPatriot]

Target is a hell of a lot more fashionable than Walmart, and has established a more trendy image. I wish one of the mid-scale dept. store chains would come to Canada. I bought some great home decor stuff from Target that I could not find from a Canadian retailer.

[samsonyuen]

There was a (wrong) article in the Globe a year or two ago about Target's impending buyout of HBC, and selling off of the Bay. That never happened, even though the Globe insisted it would happen that week. I think it's definitely going to happen, just when. Zellers' new stores are pretty nice, and you can see a similarity, but it's not the same as Target still.

[Travis007]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servl...tory/Business/

Lowe's readies move to Canada
By MARINA STRAUSS

Thursday, June 2, 2005 Updated at 3:55 AM EDT

From Thursday's Globe and Mail

Retailing and real estate insiders are bracing for the arrival of Lowe's Cos. Inc., a U.S. home improvement powerhouse whose entry into Canada could further shake up an already competitive retail landscape.

Two consultants have been quietly talking to Canadian landlords over the past few weeks, discussing possible deals for superstore sites, and industry sources believe Lowe's, the second-largest U.S. home improvement merchant, is the prospective tenant.

Lowe's could make an announcement about its plans for Canada as early as next week, real estate sources said. A number have been told to expect an announcement on June 6. Lowe's said it does not comment on rumours, but confirmed it has a global growth strategy.

"We have said for a number of years that we are evaluating international opportunities. At some point we will be a global company," said Chris Ahearn, a spokeswoman for Lowe's in Mooresville, N.C

The chain has been a rival to Home Depot Inc., the world's biggest home improvement retailer, which already operates in Canada.

Lowe's has ridden the wave of women's growing interest in tackling home improvement projects. With annual sales of about $36.5-billion (U.S.) and more than 1,100 stores in the United States, Lowe's courts women by pushing home decor and other related items.

It has designed its mega-outlets in a more inviting manner, with wide aisles and bright lights to ease the stresses of shopping.

In Canada, Rona Inc. of Boucherville, Que., has become a powerful contender to the No. 1 Home Depot also by catering to women's tastes. As well, Rona has grown rapidly in recent years by swallowing rivals.

Now, industry insiders suggest that Lowe's may eventually try to snap up Rona, if it hasn't already attempted such a move.

When Robert Nibock took over as chief executive officer in January, he told analysts that he was interested in international growth.

"Certainly there's a lot of opportunity on the international side, and it's something that we will, over the next year or two, be in the process of assessing," Mr. Nibock said.

Retail consultant John Williams of J.C. Williams Group Ltd., said it may be difficult for Lowe's to establish itself quickly in this country without eventually making a big acquisition.

He pointed to the huge head start of both Rona and Home Depot. "It's a very difficult market," Mr. Williams said. "Rona and Home Depot are so well positioned now . . . They're really duking it out."

Home Depot has 120 superstores here while Rona has 530 outlets of varying sizes.

Sylvain Morrissette, a spokesman for Rona, said he couldn't comment on rumours. But he insisted that Rona has developed a strong strategy to ensure its future.

Rona differs from Home Depot in that it has a wide array of store types, from uber-sized big boxes to small outlets. Lowe's may only be interested in Rona's superstores.

The rumours about Lowe's possible arrival in Canada have created a buzz in the industry. One retailing source said he had heard that Lowe's representatives have tied up as many as a dozen sites for its mega-outlets, and that is has set up a Canadian office. It is expected that the first stores will be in Southern Ontario by next year.

Real estate officials said Michael Goulais and Alan MacKenzie of M. Goulais Consultants in Toronto have been meeting with them to discuss locations for a U.S. retailer entering Canada. "They are producing letters of intent," one official said.

Reached this week, Mr. MacKenzie did not comment on whether he and his partner represent Lowe's and are trying to find store locations for the retailer.

One real estate source said Mr. MacKenzie expressed interest in some of his company's locations, and he is waiting to hear back about offers for the sites.

"We've been told it's an existing American organization that's looking for anywhere from 10 to 15 acres," the source said. "There's not that many, even in the States, American guys that take that size unit. Most of the ones that do take it are already here."

U.S. discounter Target Corp. has also been interested in coming to Canada. But Target CEO Bob Ulrich said last month [May] that it has no immediate plans to expand outside the United States.

Roger Plamondon, regional operations manager for Eastern Canada at Home Depot Canada, said he has heard the rumours about Lowe's but "for us, it's business as usual . . .

"We have been in Canada for 11 years. We are very proud of our performance in Canada. We know the Canadian marketplace very well," Mr. Plamondon said.

Lowdown on Lowe's

In 60 years, Lowe's has grown form a modest collection of North Carolina hardware stores to a megastore chain that rang up $36.5-billion (U.S.) in sales last year.

The big box

Employees: 160,000 (80 per cent of them full-time)

Outlets: 1,100 in 48 U.S. States

Typical store: 117,000 square feet of retail space, selling about 40,000 products

The foundation

Began in the mid-1940s after H. Carl Buchan bought out his brother-in-law James Lowe and rode the postwar boom with a modest chain of hardware/lumber stores. In the 1980s with the rise of do-it-yourself, it evolved into full-fledged building centres.

The design

Make old stores feel like new - spent $500-million (U.S.) last year to upgrade stores and plans to invest $700-million this year.

The big three

Lowe's three-pronged sales strategy:

1-Installations (such as cabinets and decks)

2-Special orders (up to 500,000 items, such as fashion plumbing)

3-Commercial business customers.

The nuts and bolts

Company went public in 1961.

Joined NYSE in 1979 (NYSE: LOW)

Reached billion-dollar-annual-sales mark in 1980.

Over the past 10 years, results have risen steadily - for fiscal 2004, profit reached $2.18-billion on sales of $36.5-billion, 18% better than 2003.

Average customer transaction $63.43 in 2004.

The rivals in Canada

Home Depot, the Atlanta-based chain that entered Canada 11 years ago, has 120 superstores.

Rona, based in Boucherville, Que., has 530 stores of varying sizes.

SOURCES: LOWE'S 2004 ANNUAL REPORT; LOWES.COM

[Victoria]

That's really interesting, thanks for sharing.

What the low-down on Target? What kind of store are they and why the sudden interest in Canada?

[Skybean]

Target is like a Zellers + Walmart Hybrid. Isn't Target already in some provinces.. i.e. Alberta?

[azzurri.chris]

^I don't think so.

Alright! Bring on the competition!!!

[Boris550]

I haven't yet seen a Target here...

A little variety can't hurt

[Tri-City Guy]

Goodbye Zellers!

[furrycanuck]

There are no Targets anywhere in Canada- why would you think they'd be in Alberta? We have exactly on Home Hardware in all of Calgary dammit.

Target is not like Walmart of Zellers (which I'd equate to K-Mart). It's a discount store but with a cooler vibe, with some very neat, edgy advertising. I'd say they come closer to Ikea, if Ikea ran a discount store.

[rt_0891]

Down with Wal-mart! Seriously though, I enjoy the atmosphere of Target more, even if they're just as evil corporately as Wal-Mart.

[Steeltown]

Never shopped at Wal-Mart before and I don't intend to do so in the future.

I like the new Zellers, Zellers changed most of their big locations. It now carries grocery products.

[azzurri.chris]

Originally Posted by rt_0891

Down with Wal-mart! Seriously though, I enjoy the atmosphere of Target more, even if they're just as evil corporately as Wal-Mart.

WTF? It's a business! Nothing they are doing is evil!

[rt_0891]

Originally Posted by azzurri.chris

WTF? It's a business! Nothing they are doing is evil!

lol. Many retail corporations are evil , considering that they purchase from sweatshop & child labour factories, exploiting cheap labour for the bottom line. But I guess that's the norm in today's globalized capitalist world ~

http://www.freethechildren.com/

[Boris550]

Originally Posted by furrycanuck

Target is not like Walmart of Zellers (which I'd equate to K-Mart). It's a discount store but with a cooler vibe, with some very neat, edgy advertising. I'd say they come closer to Ikea, if Ikea ran a discount store.

I agree. I was in a Target down in Montana a few months ago and I noticed that it was a much nicer store than some people say it is. And like you said, Target does have a cool vibe to it.