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Bloor-Yorkville Scene

taal said:
That's what I was referring too ... I do understand why people have an appreciation for the independent shops in yorkville - when I say yorkville I refer to yorkville village to the north - and all I meant was it's fine for Bloor to be filled with only high end international chains.

That said, my post was regarding the apparent slow down on bloor anyway :)
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I think the 'slow down' has been initiated by the Bloor renovations.. Nobody could get hordings onto that street anyway. Now that it's over, well it's winter, THE worst time to launch new stores. I assume spring will be very fruitful for Bloor.

Apparently only 3,900sqf in the 150 Bloor retail space is left (the one that hugs the church).
 
Filip said:
I think the 'slow down' has been initiated by the Bloor renovations.. Nobody could get hordings onto that street anyway. Now that it's over, well it's winter, THE worst time to launch new stores. I assume spring will be very fruitful for Bloor.

Apparently only 3,900sqf in the 150 Bloor retail space is left (the one that hugs the church).
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hmm, looks like they're still advertising all of it here (could be old though):
http://www.150bloor.com/retail-leasing-opportunity.php
 
Makes sense for the big names to be on Bloor Street itself and the smaller players in the Yorkville village area behind it.
 
the last ten years have seen a huge change for Bloor Street retailers. A lot of local shops (Betty Hemmings Leather) have relocated to the Village while high-end international fashion houses have taken over (Burberry, Gucci, Boss have all opened in the last 2/3 years) - stores that were already opened (Harry Rosen, Hermes and Prada) have doubled in square footage. Even retailers like Lululemon have relocated off Bloor. I suspect we're seeing the last of a shakedown in terms of older legacy retailers (like First) move off the street while additional high end retailers without a Toronto retail presence will move on to the street. Most high-end retailers who enter the Toronto market do surprisingly well. The Brooks Brothers Toronto stores is their number one store after Madison Ave flagshap. In terms of non-box retail Toronto is vastly underserved.
 
Not having any high end department stores other than Holt's helps out the high-end retailers on Bloor. Although Chicago has 4 high end department stores and that doesn't seem to effect the high-end retailers on both Oak St and the Magnificent Mile. I wouldn't mind seeing a Barney's in Toronto someday.
 
That wouldn't work in Toronto ... not even close. Don't forget Chicago (frankly most American cities) have a much larger high end market compared to anywhere in Canada.
 
In this case, we can't really say Bloor is losing an independent/local business. First is owned by Aldo. Based on it's website, the First brand may be transitioning to the Locale brand.
 
pw20 said:
the last ten years have seen a huge change for Bloor Street retailers. A lot of local shops (Betty Hemmings Leather) have relocated to the Village while high-end international fashion houses have taken over (Burberry, Gucci, Boss have all opened in the last 2/3 years) - stores that were already opened (Harry Rosen, Hermes and Prada) have doubled in square footage. Even retailers like Lululemon have relocated off Bloor. I suspect we're seeing the last of a shakedown in terms of older legacy retailers (like First) move off the street while additional high end retailers without a Toronto retail presence will move on to the street. Most high-end retailers who enter the Toronto market do surprisingly well. The Brooks Brothers Toronto stores is their number one store after Madison Ave flagship. In terms of non-box retail Toronto is vastly underserved.
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Don't suppose you have a source for that statement?
 
Ya, I would love to believe that Brooks does that well...but I don't. Maybe the best in Canada. The merchandise is crazy expensive, the brand means very little to Canadians compared to Harry/Holts offerings and its only open 5 days a week from 10-6. I presume they are in lots of power house US malls where they trade 9-9, 7 days a week to people who actually have awareness and appreciation of their brand.

I may be out of the loop as I wear jeans to work everyday, but if I was going to drop $200.00 on a dress shirt I would probably do it at Harry's rather than Brooks.....unless it was to match my seersucker jacket and penny loafers.
 
The store does well because the price point of their suits is 20-30% less then the cheapest boss suit at Harry's. Their clients (whom are situated above the store) order vast quantities (well not vast...) but its easy to go in buy two suits, 5 shirts etc... The dollar volume's of the store, per square foot (according to ppl involved with the company) are second to the Mad flagship. I'm sure some of its boosterism, so take it with a grain of salt - but its at a good price point in the market.

Would you want a suit at Banana or spend a bit more and get Harry quality service at 30% lower prices?

They're also open on Saturdays, but again - their clientele isn't there on Saturdays. Last time I was in the store - the guy after me was buying 3 suits and 10 shirts....
 
pw20 said:
The store does well because the price point of their suits is 20-30% less then the cheapest boss suit at Harry's. Their clients (whom are situated above the store) order vast quantities (well not vast...) but its easy to go in buy two suits, 5 shirts etc... The dollar volume's of the store, per square foot (according to ppl involved with the company) are second to the Mad flagship. I'm sure some of its boosterism, so take it with a grain of salt - but its at a good price point in the market.

Would you want a suit at Banana or spend a bit more and get Harry quality service at 30% lower prices?

They're also open on Saturdays, but again - their clientele isn't there on Saturdays. Last time I was in the store - the guy after me was buying 3 suits and 10 shirts....
Click to expand...

If the Brooks store in Toronto is second to the Madison flagship AND the TO store only does office hours, then it's REALLY GOOD. By the way, why did Brooks end up opening in the financial district anyway? If they were in any other location, they'd be 7 days a week too.
 
I really don't get Brooks Bros. I have not been a suit guy for a while so if it is positioned between Harry and Banana I can see the niche.

It would be great if they are doing those volumes, but I don't see how it is possible in the financial district. The trade is just too limited even with people stocking up on suits and shirts.
 
Their never-ending sale ( currently 50% off ) will drag on until the middle of February, according to the salesman I spoke to last week.
 
Walking around Yorkville the other day I noticed that the 'For Lease' sign has come down at the Club Monaco. Anyone know who's taking the 10,000 sq ft that was available?
 
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