Calgary Openings, Closings, and Developments

[Hack&Lube]

Chinook should just build a giant condo development on top of the Nordstrom end. That's the trend in Asia and Vancouver.

[Manhattanboy]

You have to think Saks Fifth Avenue is next to close.

[cam_wmh]

Speaking of Chinook Centre, I see they are doing some work at the old Jack Carters property. Any word whats going on there?

[keratosis]

Getting ready for the Halloween store maybe.

[tvp2003]

Originally Posted by Manhattanboy

You have to think Saks Fifth Avenue is next to close.

The last time I was in Chinook (maybe 5 years ago?), it was a random weekday and I saw David Rittich at Saks with his wife.

He didn't look very excited to be there...

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by Ironhorse

Calgary’s average disposable income has cratered significantly since 2014/2015.

And ever rising property taxes and carbon taxes are kicking retailers squarely in the nuts also. It is not sustainable.

Probably has more to do with other areas of Canada not having people with disposable income. Calgary is still mostly affordable.

They're not going to keep one or two stores open across Canada.

[jayswin]

Wouldn't be surprised if something opens in the old Black Swan in Southport. There were a ton of cars there today and bunch of people that looked they were checking the building out.

[you&me]

Originally Posted by Shazam

Probably has more to do with other areas of Canada not having people with disposable income. Calgary is still mostly affordable.

They're not going to keep one or two stores open across Canada.

It can be (and I think is) both.

I would imagine the Calgary store is one of the better performing Nordstroms in Canada.

Yet I also know that the retail mix here has moved drastically down market since they opened, meaning the Calgary Nordstrom has less high value, high margin products on the shelves

[Shazam]

I never thought of Nordstroms as really high end, it was about The Bay and below Brooks Brothers, didn't really seem any different as the store operated.

There's a lot of crazy price pressure on retailers due to places like Amazon, Decathlon, H&M, Uniqlo, etc. Although I barely consider Amazon a clothing retailer due to the sheer amount of utter junk they sell.

[TorqueDog]

The problem with Nordstrom in Canada is that people in Canada who give a crap about Nordstrom know what a Nordstrom is supposed to be, there's a reason people go there when they travel to the US. It isn't supposed to be 'The Bay'.

However, Nordstrom Canada has been pretty bad for keeping up with the latest inventory, whereas Nordstrom in the US always has the most up-to-date styles from the designers they carry. Nordstrom Canada doesn't carry the same stuff, nor does it offer the fastidious customer service of Holt Renfrew or Harry Rosen (though they have no qualms about asking the same price for items). I ended up sticking with Holt and Harry Rosen.

That said, Nordstrom at Chinook was always pretty lively, and I fully expected Saks Fifth Avenue to go belly-up in Canada first, mainly due to how quiet it is in there, and the sparse at-best inventory.

[PepsiFree]

Nordstrom had some great brands when it opened, and still has great brands… from 2015.

They stopped carrying some really nice brands and started filling up with the same few, none of which were particularly hard to find anywhere else or desirable in the first place. Their jean selection got especially terrible over the years when it started out really great.

Overall just a wasted opportunity and a complete misread. If you want to be high end, be high end. I’m not going to Nordstrom to buy a Volcom hoodie.

[Sr. Mints]

New retailer Team Town Sports is opening two locations in Calgary, Market Mall and Macleod/Heritage Dr.

https://www.newswire.ca/news-release...818421002.html

[you&me]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

The problem with Nordstrom in Canada is that people in Canada who give a crap about Nordstrom know what a Nordstrom is supposed to be, there's a reason people go there when they travel to the US. It isn't supposed to be 'The Bay'.

However, Nordstrom Canada has been pretty bad for keeping up with the latest inventory, whereas Nordstrom in the US always has the most up-to-date styles from the designers they carry. Nordstrom Canada doesn't carry the same stuff, nor does it offer the fastidious customer service of Holt Renfrew or Harry Rosen (though they have no qualms about asking the same price for items). I ended up sticking with Holt and Harry Rosen.

That said, Nordstrom at Chinook was always pretty lively, and I fully expected Saks Fifth Avenue to go belly-up in Canada first, mainly due to how quiet it is in there, and the sparse at-best inventory.

When Nordstrom in Chinook first opened, they carried some genuine designer womens lines, like Valentino, YSL, etc... Stuff you'd otherwise have to get at Holt... and certainly not the Bay.

But over time, those brands were re/displaced by the likes of Tory Burch and Michael Kors... Stuff you can get at the Bay (I think? Can't remember the last time I was in a Bay).

As Pepsi said, the Nordstrom we got when it first opened is a shadow of what we see retreating from the market today. I'm not sure if this is reflective of other Nordstroms in Canada, but certainly isn't true to the ones I'm familiar with in the US. From a customer service & shopping environment perspective, it's still head-and-shoulders above the level of merchandise would generally indicate (ahem, the Bay).

[btimbit]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

Nordstrom had some great brands when it opened, and still has great brands… from 2015.

They stopped carrying some really nice brands and started filling up with the same few, none of which were particularly hard to find anywhere else or desirable in the first place. Their jean selection got especially terrible over the years when it started out really great.

Overall just a wasted opportunity and a complete misread. If you want to be high end, be high end. I’m not going to Nordstrom to buy a Volcom hoodie.

Upscale Winners is definitely how I'd describe it the last few years

[Slava]

Originally Posted by Sr. Mints

New retailer Team Town Sports is opening two locations in Calgary, Market Mall and Macleod/Heritage Dr.

https://www.newswire.ca/news-release...818421002.html

I drove past that Home Outfitters today and wondered might go in there.

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by you&me

As Pepsi said, the Nordstrom we got when it first opened is a shadow of what we see retreating from the market today.

Absolutely, it most certainly isn't what it was when it started. My 'The Bay' comment was specifically in response to Shazam saying it was at the level of The Bay and below Brooks Brothers. Nordstrom at its best is in a league well outside of anything either of those retailers aspire to. It was meant to be a Saks / Holt Renfrew / Harry Rosen contemporary.

[Swift]

Originally Posted by Sr. Mints

New retailer Team Town Sports is opening two locations in Calgary, Market Mall and Macleod/Heritage Dr.

https://www.newswire.ca/news-release...818421002.html

That Heritage Gate address is actually over by Costco.

[Calgary14]

Wasn't there talks of developing Deerfoot Meadows more just next to the Superstore where the empty land is? I seem to recall the usual stores like Canadian Tire etc. Not that we need more traffic in that area

[Slava]

Originally Posted by Calgary14

Wasn't there talks of developing Deerfoot Meadows more just next to the Superstore where the empty land is? I seem to recall the usual stores like Canadian Tire etc. Not that we need more traffic in that area

There was a grandiose plan during the boom in 2007-2008 I think. Maybe something has come up since, but at that point there were going to be a bunch of luxury brands and things like that. I think that was before the GFC, and when that hit it was pretty much curtains, but I'm really just going from memory here.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

Absolutely, it most certainly isn't what it was when it started. My 'The Bay' comment was specifically in response to Shazam saying it was at the level of The Bay and below Brooks Brothers. Nordstrom at its best is in a league well outside of anything either of those retailers aspire to. It was meant to be a Saks / Holt Renfrew / Harry Rosen contemporary.

I would definitely peg the “proper” version of Nordstrom as the same level of the ones you mentioned, with a more everyday/trendy fashion slant.

Was the store a terrible disappointment? Yes. Will I still swing through the liquidation sale? Absolutely.