Here and there

The new $495 million CrossIron Mills Mall, is open in Calgary. It is the city's first new enclosed shopping space in 20 years. The 1.1 million sq.ft. center will expand Calgary's retail space by 3.5 percent and represents the first major gamble by a retail developer in Canada since the recession began last fall. Built by Ivanhoe Cambridge, a unit of the Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec, to hold 17 anchor tenants, CrossIron opened with just 13. Its first anchor tenant, Bass Pro Shops, which opened in March, has already beaten its sales forecasts. The developer says about 80 percent of its space is leased, with about half its retail space devoted to factory outlet shops. "It's an interesting time to open a centre, but frankly we know these centres do really well," said Ivanhoe Cambridge vice-president of development John Scott. "Will we be able to resurrect something? We're certainly hopeful.” Ivanhoe Cambridge still owns a piece of land in Kelowna.

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It’s difficult to realize that it was fourteen years ago Chris Homes and his wife Lisa had the idea for a farm market inside a interior location and that was the beginning of Quality Greens Farm Market, with a total of four stores in the valley now.

Now Homes has decided it is time to grow again and this year leading up to Earth Day 2010 you will see some changes made in the operation of the stores. The family-owned retailer is changing their look and committing to the pledge that plastic bags would disappear from the stores by Earth Day April 22, 2010.

It really is all about the philosophy the couple have about the food we eat and their place in their customers' lives because they deliver that fresh product to the market everyday.

Tammy Moore’s Madhouse Creative were the architects of the growth changes for the company and their creativity is evident in the manner in which the brand change is taking place. They are very good at what they do.

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Wouldn’t this be good shopping if you live in the area? Loblaw’s have just opened a new 45,000 square foot store on Queen W. in Toronto on the second floor. A special 8,000 square foot Joe Fresh Style centre and when the third floor is completed a 29,000 square foot Winners on the top floor.

This is a real break through for the Joe Fresh Brand that has been so successful for the Loblaw stores in the east and Real Canadian Super Store in the west. Three hundred stores in Canada’s largest retail chain carry the brand. The success of the Joe Fresh line has added a financial win for the Canadian chain and should reach $1 billion in sales to the bottom line.

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I look at the Sotheby’s International Realty of Canada website all the time because you really never know what you’re going to find there. There are some very expensive homes in the Okanagan for sale by this International player but that’s for another time. Right now the real estate broker has gathered a large number of vineyard properties for sale in the Okanagan and they are presenting them to the world.

There was certainly something going on as more and more wine country properties were for sale on their listed sales reports. Then a friend of mine in the business said this was a planned exercise by the Realtor and was directed to the international market with Germany a focus of the marketing effort.

In their listing is about $100 million worth of vineyard properties for sale and they were in the range of 3 ½ hectares to 7 hectares.

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Are we about to get grocery price wars in the west this fall? We know that Walmart will open two Supercenters in the Okanagan bringing the total to three with the West Kelowna store opening last fall.

The Loblaw’s chain have already reduced the price of three thousand items in their stores in Atlantic Canada and have just moved into the Toronto area with price changes in one of their chains there.

The number one retailer in food in this country is the Loblaw organization and they have maintained that they will not be beaten in giving Canadians the best price available all the time and they are ready for any kind of a fight.

This could be good news for the consumer and the manufacturers are being squeezed to the limited on what they can charge the retailer in today’s marketplace. The winner has to be the consumer.

I don’t know what the schedule is for Western Canada but you can be sure you as a shopper are going to see some major changes in pricing this fall.