With a mission to inform, empower, celebrate and advocate for British Columbia's current and aspiring business leaders, BCBusiness go behind the headlines and bring readers face to face with the key issues and people driving business in B.C.
Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/394777
What's in Store M etro Vancouver has welcomed an infl ux of American brands over the past year, and its retail landscape continues to shift— especially in the downtown core. Accord- ing to CBRE's most recent Vancouver Retail MarketView report, vacancy rates have increased in the 1100 block of Robson Street—thanks to high rent prices and struggles with Canadian retailers such as Le Chateau and Reitmans—while farther east, in Robson's 800 and 900 blocks, open leases are being snapped up as retailers jockey for position near the future location of Nordstroms. Last year's highly anticipated arrival of Target in Canada was a letdown for consumers and a fl op for the retail giant. Target's underwhelming entry into the Canadian market culminated in the dismissal of Target Canada president Tony Fisher in May of this year, followed by the release of an apolo�y video to Canadian consumers for, among other things, its poor product selection and stocking issues. Target currently has 19 locations in B.C., none of which are in Vancouver. The company has not confi rmed whether it will convert the former Zellers in Vancouver's Oakridge Centre into a Target, but regardless, the 55-year-old shopping centre will soon see massive changes. In March of this year, Vancouver City Council approved a $1.5-billion redevelopment proposal for Oakridge Centre, which would include doubling the mall's size to 1.4 million square feet. On the North Shore, Park Royal's recent renova- tions to its outdoor retail village concept has made it the second-largest shopping centre in Metro Vancou- ver, after Burnaby's Metrotown. Park Royal is now home to Aritzia's biggest Canadian store, at 7,000 square feet, and the largest Zara in Metro Vancouver. As we consider what the year ahead in retail holds, here are Vancouver's most active spots, prici- est locations, key retailers, plus the new kids on the block primed to make a local impact. • A look at Vancouver's bustling retail scene and the changes to come by Kristen Hilderman r E t A i L W. BrOADWAY W. 4tH AVE ArBUtUS St. YEW St. mAPLE St. W. 10tH AVE W. 12tH AVE W. 13tH AVE W. 6tH AVE W. 16tH AVE BALSAm St. 26 24 25 robson Street (hornby St. to jervis St.) $150-$300 alberni Street (Thurlow St. to burrard St.) $130-$160 Granville Street (Downtown) $50-$125 Granville Street (W. 6th ave. to W. 16th ave.) $60-$80 West 4th avenue (burrard St. to balsam St.) $35-$80 West broadway (Cambie St. to alma St.) $35-$70 main Street (South of W. broadway) $40-$60 Water Street $45-$55 Cordova Street $25-$30 lululemon victoria's Secret lush roots Zara louis vuitton Tiffany & Co. hermès De beers Sephora (Fall 2014) j.Crew aritzia Tory burch burberry holt renfrew Topshop nordstrom (September 2015) Chapters restoration hardware anthropologie arc'teryx nicole bridger Clearly Contacts john Fluevog Diane's lingerie West elm versace home (Fall 2014) 1 9 10 11 12 6 13 14 7 8 15 19 24 25 26 20 21 16 17 18 22 23 27 2 3 4 5 RENTAL RATES ($ PER SQ. FT.) LOWEr mAiNLAND rEtAiL iNVENtOrY VANCOUVEr 4.3 million sq. ft. SUrrEY 6.7 million sq. ft. 20 BCBusiness november 2014