I'm very interested in the changes within Canada's retail sector - Target moving in, Nordstrom probably, J. Crew's first store in Toronto and so on. Sears Canada is slashing prices across the board by up to 30%:
"The move, aimed at taking on rivals such as discount titan Wal-Mart Canada Corp., reflects the urgency of the new CEO to revive the department-store retailer as it rushes to improve operations before the arrival of another discount powerhouse – U.S.-based Target Corp. "
from: http://www.theglobeandmail.com.....le2340575/
Even more interesting is that as Canada's retail sector undergoes a rather dramatic change, this change includes more online shopping - right now, there aren't nearly as many opportunites to shop online in Canada like there are in the US. Meanwhile, as this changes (and it willl), it's interesting to note that this will also have a noticeable effect on the commercial real estate market - because of the need for new distribution centres and warehouses.
"If the insiders are right, Canada’s commercial property market is about to get an industrial-level facelift.
Their prediction: a slew of shiny new 500,000-square-foot-plus facilities will be constructed in the next five to 10 years featuring ceiling heights of at least nine metres, in large part to accommodate high-tech automated materials handling systems.
The reason developers will move toward building more of these large-scale distribution facilities, explains Stan Krawitz, president of Toronto-based commercial real estate consultancy Real Facilities Inc., is tied to changes in the way Canadians are shopping for everything from books to electronics."
from: http://www.ctv.ca/generic/gene.....44700.html
While all this is going on, there's a new emphasis on trying to figure out why Canadian prices are so much higher than similar items in the US - despite the Canadian dollar increasing by about 50%.
"There are many reasons why retailers charge consumers more in Canada than they do in the United States, but one is simply that they can, witnesses told a Senate committee Tuesday.
Representatives of Canada's manufacturers and consumer advocacy groups focused on the same point — the lack of competition in Canada's retail sector — as a possible key component for the continuing price gap between the two countries.
Bruce Cran of the Consumers Association of Canada told the committee that he is somewhat baffled by what has happened over the last five years, a period during which the loonie gained about 50 per cent in purchasing power as it has risen to parity with the U.S. dollar.
And yet, he said, his own sampling of the price differential over that period shows that the gap has never fallen below 25 per cent."
from: http://www.winnipegfreepress.c.....52549.html
Looks like clothing and style has significant implications across many sectors.
ETA: Oops, I had no idea this would look so long. Sorry about that!
