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Church-Wellesley Village

I spoke with the staff in Pharma Plus today and what is actually happening is they are doubling in size! They are taking over the office space above them and right now the north-east end of the store is closed off for the installation of an escalator. The Pharmacy will stay open at all times during the expansion.
 
Peepers said:
I spoke with the staff in Pharma Plus today and what is actually happening is they are doubling in size! They are taking over the office space above them and right now the north-east end of the store is closed off for the installation of an escalator. The Pharmacy will stay open at all times during the expansion.
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A two story pharmacy? Interesting! Thanks for asking! :)
 
androiduk said:
That's great. I'm guessing they'll be carrying more food items to draw in customers.
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probably anticipating increased traffic with more condos coming across and down the street in next few 5-10 years.
any info on the rexall at corner of C-W? any plans to close, etc?
 
I think all the PharmaPlus stores are being revamped into "REXALL". The one in First Canadian Place and the one on Parliament have been upgraded and look fabulous. They are no longer called PharmaPlus. Personally, I think PharmaPlus is a better name than Rexall, but the stores look really good.
 
^ Really good article. But the owner is blaming it on everything else but himself. No one wants to buy $6 birthday cards. :p
 
devjohnson said:
^ Really good article. But the owner is blaming it on everything else but himself. No one wants to buy $6 birthday cards. :p
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Have you been to a Hallmark lately? They cost that much there too.
The owner though is not willing to take some of the blame. You need to adapt to the needs of the community. Communities do not stay the same forever.

“The community doesn’t really support the stores on Church Street anymore, does it? Look at Loblaws. It’s full of gay people shopping. That’s why Pusateri’s is suffering, and other stores are going out of business . . . I can’t afford to stay there anymore.”

Loblaws is on Church, and Pusateri's caters to a more upscale shopper, not your regular grocery store shopper.
 
devjohnson said:
^ Really good article. But the owner is blaming it on everything else but himself. No one wants to buy $6 birthday cards. :p
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I agree a very well researched and written article. While the high rents are a big problem on Church I think the unwillingness of long term retailers to innovate is the far bigger problem. Flatiron's is selling the same campy merchandise that they sold 20 years ago and there just isn't a market for this stuff anymore.

Likewise Reither's was stuck in the same time-warp for 20 years. They knew for years that Loblaws was coming but made no changes to up their game so as to counter the competition. For example they never invested in a professional grade coffee maker. Their coffee was always horrible. Had they been able to make a good up of coffee they would have been able to sell much more of their desserts.

As for Pusateris they need to reinvent their store or go out of business. Most of their stock is available from Loblaws at lower prices and often better quality. They need to stock their shelves with quality items not available from Loblaws. If a store offers quality products not readily available elsewhere it will succeed. Cumbrae's is an example of this. People come from all over the GTA to buy their meats so it's unlikely they have been hurt by Loblaws.
 
I don't agree with Reither's being stuck in time, it was a specialty store that worked. Yes, the store was basically unchanged for a few decades but much like Cumbrae's, people came from all over to buy his vast selection of imported goods, fresh and gourmet meats and pre-made food (cabbage rolls etc.). As a place to sit and have a bowl of goulash or a dessert, yes, the coffee definitely could have been better but that was a pretty limited side venture with only a few seats. Riether's and Zelda's have been the biggest losses to the community in the past decade. Pusateris has nice fresh fruits and vegetables and I love the outside market display but their prices have gone up a lot in the past year or so, unfortunately I can't see them hanging on much longer unless they have a great lease or something.
 
2rms01f.jpg


Hope the final project looks as good as the render. Looks even better than Shoppers. This will add some life to this bland boring building.
 
Peepers said:
As for Pusateris they need to reinvent their store or go out of business. Most of their stock is available from Loblaws at lower prices and often better quality. They need to stock their shelves with quality items not available from Loblaws.
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That's exactly what I was thinking.
Running a small and independent store doesn't mean you carry the same kind of stuff the big chains do and charge twice the price, and then asking for so called "community support". You are essentially ripping of the community in that case.

Small retail needs to be innovative and sell products the big chains don't have. Small retails don't have the large scale and low cost enjoyed by large ones, and to offset such disadvantage, they need to constantly introduce different products and service, making shopping there worthwhile, making higher prices worthwhile. If you are essentially selling the same products Metro, walmart and Tim Horton's carry but charge 50% more, shopping there is nothing but stupid.

There is nothing wrong with people going to the cheapest store to buy the same product. It would be stupid not to do so. There is absolutely nothing wrong with big chains either since they provide essential at good prices. What the small retailers need to do is to think outside the box and distinguish what they offer from the big chains. Otherwise they are only going one way. It is NEVER the customer/community's fault that a store goes out of business. It only means the community doesn't need you any more.
 
devjohnson said:
2rms01f.jpg


Hope the final project looks as good as the render. Looks even better than Shoppers. This will add some life to this bland boring building.
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That's a pretty major overhaul; looks good though. Wonder when it'll happen.
 
to_l said:
That's a pretty major overhaul; looks good though. Wonder when it'll happen.
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It's happening now, construction began about a week ago.
 
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