Toronto King East Centre | 140m | 39s | First Gulf | WZMH
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urbandreamer
recession proof
Maybe a condo is going on that site just like on Sherbourne a highrise apartment is going in the NF location?
chriskayTO
Active Member
A sign went up outside No Frills today saying it will open on March 4.
Maybe 3 storey townhomes. I doubt the locals would allow a condo in the heart of Cabbagetown like the one going in on Sherbourne.
DSCToronto
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The developers want to put up a condo tower to the east of the Sun Building (in the parking lots that run from King to Front just west of Berkeley). I do not think anything official is in yet but that's what I hear. (BTW, the area is St Lawrence, not Cabbagetown.)
^ I was referring to Urban Dreamer who I think was talking about replacing the No Frills on Parliament in Cabbagetown with a tower similar to the one that's being built on top of the No Frills in St Jamestown.
beaconer
Active Member
They put up awnings on the windows on Princess.
I dont know what to think..
I dont know what to think..
BSH
New Member
beaconer
Active Member
It would be pretty sweet if a Starbucks would open in the south-east corner of Princess and King in 333, or at the failed Citizens Bank/former deli cafe on the north-west corner of Front and Princess.
CityPainter
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I've always thought a coffee shop would be good here, too, but I was thinking more like a Tim Horton's. The foot traffic certainly warrants it and the nearest one is up at Richmond and Sherbourne. Starbucks has a location a stone's throw away at Front and Frederick, but that's never stopped them before.
Got a flyer in the mail today specific to Luciano's No Frills. Opens at 8am this Friday. Very exciting.
Tee
Active Member
I'm soooo happy that we have a new, big store in the area to say nothing of an LCBO and a Dollarama!
Has anyone heard any rumbling as to which bank will be moving in...and when?
Thanks!
Has anyone heard any rumbling as to which bank will be moving in...and when?
Thanks!
UrbanVigor
Active Member
I like Starbucks, but with one at King & George and the other around the corner at Front & Frederick, it would be nice to have more variety. A Timmy's would be great or even a local biz would be nice. How 'bout a Dark Horse?
DSCToronto
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Now you're talking!
CityPainter
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No Frills is now officially open! It is a vast, brightly lit and yellow shopping experience overall. The average prices are definitely far cheaper than any of the nearby downtown alternatives. However, there is quite a big contrast between it and Sobey's across the street which I now believe should be able to coexist with No Frills. No Frills doesn't really have a deli or prepared food sections, which are always the most popular and busy parts of Sobey's. I hope the coexistence is possible, I like having a choice between them.
beaconer
Active Member
Sorry for the long post..lol, read at your own peril..
I went this morning. Was surprised at how busy it was.
While I certainly hope both can co-exist (nice to have choice and competition with the two), having shopped at No Frills now, I am now even more certain with my original prediction that Sobeys will close with-in five years. Mark the date: March 4, 2016!
However, with the proposed redevelopment of the:
177-197 Front Street East
(http://urbantoronto.ca/showthread.p...Metropia-Urban-Landscapes)&highlight=Front+St)
predicting Sobeys closure due to competition might be moot?
My impressions..
-They have a ton of check out counters, maybe because its opening weekend, a ton of staff on hand.
-The store is generally designed for volume sales and volume customers. they have a ton of shopping carts. I ended up stocking my fridge for $50.
-prices don't even compare. Across the board cheaper. Yes almost no fresh prepared food, except cheaply priced Sushi.
-The store will draw cost conscious shoppers with cars in the east area that do not live within walking distance, because it is worth it and they have a convenient parking lot
-they have general supplies (toiletries, cleaning, dry products, etc) that is much larger than Sobeys or Metro. Has that "big box" feel.
-it was very clean, but generally has a bit of a cheap feel to it- tiled vinyl flooring, low tiled ceilings, hard white flourescent lighting, unlike Sobeys with their polished concrete, high ceilings and general soft lighting
-checking out the demographics of the customers, it reflected a healthy mix of the population of St Lawrence
-Having such a large store significantly changes the character of the intersection. Much more pedestrian and car traffic in and around Princess, and the night lighting is very bright. its no longer a deadzone. Princess as well is no longer just an annonymous side street, but is becoming animated at the street level- East Lofts residential entrance, No Frills Entrance, scotia bank entrance and probably an ATM I would think on the Princess side. I can totally see a coffee shop coming to either Princess and intersection soon. Also, when the LCBO, Dollar store and bank come, that whole stretch of Front will have steady stream of pedestrians.
The reason why I think Sobeys will not be able to compete despite the fact that they have different target markets is because I believe groceries stores have about 75%-90% overlap in terms of the product they sell.
Sobeys competitive advantage is:
- prepared foods
- open 24 hours
- "specialty foods" (which for me IMHO, aren't that special and those needs are served much better at St Lawrence Market).
The combination of the first three factors, imho, is a small part of their business, and I'd argue that its not enough to survive. They need to make money on that 75%-90& product overlap.
Further, with rise in food prices and inflation, which appears will be a significant issue for the next five years, price wins, and Sobeys may even lose that "upper" scale segment of population.
Heck, I eat what I think to be quite healthy and consider myself part of the Sobeys demographic- I eat non processed foods, mostly fresh produce, and at this point, I still prefer No Frills.
If the two stores were not directly across the street from one another, or were even a block away on a corner (i.e. Rabba), I think it may be a little different.
Anyhow just my two cents..
I went this morning. Was surprised at how busy it was.
While I certainly hope both can co-exist (nice to have choice and competition with the two), having shopped at No Frills now, I am now even more certain with my original prediction that Sobeys will close with-in five years. Mark the date: March 4, 2016!
However, with the proposed redevelopment of the:
177-197 Front Street East
(http://urbantoronto.ca/showthread.p...Metropia-Urban-Landscapes)&highlight=Front+St)
predicting Sobeys closure due to competition might be moot?
My impressions..
-They have a ton of check out counters, maybe because its opening weekend, a ton of staff on hand.
-The store is generally designed for volume sales and volume customers. they have a ton of shopping carts. I ended up stocking my fridge for $50.
-prices don't even compare. Across the board cheaper. Yes almost no fresh prepared food, except cheaply priced Sushi.
-The store will draw cost conscious shoppers with cars in the east area that do not live within walking distance, because it is worth it and they have a convenient parking lot
-they have general supplies (toiletries, cleaning, dry products, etc) that is much larger than Sobeys or Metro. Has that "big box" feel.
-it was very clean, but generally has a bit of a cheap feel to it- tiled vinyl flooring, low tiled ceilings, hard white flourescent lighting, unlike Sobeys with their polished concrete, high ceilings and general soft lighting
-checking out the demographics of the customers, it reflected a healthy mix of the population of St Lawrence
-Having such a large store significantly changes the character of the intersection. Much more pedestrian and car traffic in and around Princess, and the night lighting is very bright. its no longer a deadzone. Princess as well is no longer just an annonymous side street, but is becoming animated at the street level- East Lofts residential entrance, No Frills Entrance, scotia bank entrance and probably an ATM I would think on the Princess side. I can totally see a coffee shop coming to either Princess and intersection soon. Also, when the LCBO, Dollar store and bank come, that whole stretch of Front will have steady stream of pedestrians.
The reason why I think Sobeys will not be able to compete despite the fact that they have different target markets is because I believe groceries stores have about 75%-90% overlap in terms of the product they sell.
Sobeys competitive advantage is:
- prepared foods
- open 24 hours
- "specialty foods" (which for me IMHO, aren't that special and those needs are served much better at St Lawrence Market).
The combination of the first three factors, imho, is a small part of their business, and I'd argue that its not enough to survive. They need to make money on that 75%-90& product overlap.
Further, with rise in food prices and inflation, which appears will be a significant issue for the next five years, price wins, and Sobeys may even lose that "upper" scale segment of population.
Heck, I eat what I think to be quite healthy and consider myself part of the Sobeys demographic- I eat non processed foods, mostly fresh produce, and at this point, I still prefer No Frills.
If the two stores were not directly across the street from one another, or were even a block away on a corner (i.e. Rabba), I think it may be a little different.
Anyhow just my two cents..