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Winners (new Winners stores)

I shop at Holts and I shop at Winners. I doubt if I'm the only person who refuses to be defined by some marketer's idea of how my "demographic" is supposed to behave.

This is part of a trend that is squeezing out mid-market retailers. People buy their evening wear at Holt's, and their underwear at Winners. Or, people match very expensive with cheap chic, such as can be found at H&M.
Come to mention it, H&M is also along the Bloor St strip and it can be thought of as a "discount" store to some degree.
 
I don't think the effect was totally negative. Along Madison Avenue, one of NYC's premier shopping streets, there are a few locations of "Daffy's", which is a discount clothing store. These stores co-exist nicely with the upscale tenants. Bloor is alive and kicking, and doesn't seem to have suffered from the Winners moving in.

Meh - Madison is like a Queen Street, Bloor is Fifth Avenue.. Anyway, hopefully the exponentially rising rents will push Winners out. I'd love to see a Saks there, or a Crate and Barrel, maybe a Neiman Marcus? It's a department store type space, very big.
 
Actually, Madison is much, much higher-end than Queen Street. While Fifth Avenue is the top street, Madison boasts Barney's, Ralph Lauren, and many other top-tier brands. It is second only to Fifth Avenue in its concentration of high-end retail shops.
If the crowds at Winners are any indication, it's not going anywhere soon.
 
Actually, Madison is much, much higher-end than Queen Street. While Fifth Avenue is the top street, Madison boasts Barney's, Ralph Lauren, and many other top-tier brands. It is second only to Fifth Avenue in its concentration of high-end retail shops.
If the crowds at Winners are any indication, it's not going anywhere soon.

Well Queen Street with its rate of gentrification might reach a high end status eventually. That Winners just bothers me, not because it's Winners, but because it took a prime spot on the Bloor Street strip. Arguably the most central location in the entire "Mink Mile"! Had only they moved a few blocks east or west, that would've made a world of difference. Oh well, I just hope the rents push them out soon, even if they achieve huge numbers, they have to sell a shitload more than Prada. Which just sells one or two gowns and voila - they can pay their rents for the month and make a profit!
 
Well, not quite. Prada's staff, and overhead cost a lot more than Winners does. No doubt Winners has at least a standard commercial lease, which means a term of 7-10 years with at least one option to renew for a similar term. Winners won't be going anywhere fast.
 
Hey, Winners isn't exactly Bargain Harold's. It's where savvy, intelligent Rosedalers go to slum. You thought they got that at Holt's? Fooled ya.

Another NY comparison point might be Century 21 (the place that got dusted-up by 9/11)...
 
True, C21 and Winner's are somewhat similar (but C21 carries MUCH higher-end labels). However, C21 is not located in a high-end shopping district.
 
Lots of new designer clothes at College Park this morning, with free food and flunkeys standing around making sure we stayed well hydrated.

A few things called out to me. I flirted with a blue velvet Valentino jacket for a while, and an Armani shirt that, sadly, wasn't quite frilly enough for The Big Statement - then withdrew my attentions.
 
Do they have them? I'm counting down the years and saving my pennies ...

I bought two pairs of Doc Martens there last week. It's taken me almost forty years to overcome my idealogical opposition to buying a brand worn by skinheads.
 

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