233063
John Thomson  

Rumours and things

We came very close to losing one of the top hockey broadcasters in the business as the Edmonton Oilers came down to three choices from a group of 100 applicants. This was to replace Hall of Famer Rod Phillips who has been the Oilers' voice for thirty-seven years. The Rockets' Reagan Bartel was that close to making the switch to the bigs. We would have been sorry to see him go but at the same time realize that’s the goal to strive for in the in the hockey broadcast business. What we do know is that he will make the move one day soon, he is that good.

--------------------

It certainly looks like Salmon Arm has broken through the negatives and are about to approve Smart Centres. The builders of Walmart shopping centers in Canada will finally get the go ahead to build a 116,000 square foot store in the city. It has been a long fight between the developer and those people that didn’t want to have the giant merchandiser in town and were happy to let the Walmart shoppers go to Kamloops or Vernon. The battle has cost everyone involved time and money that could be better spent.

--------------------

The Bay department store in Kelowna is 50-years-old. The 127,000 square foot destination department store has been a focal point of shopping in Kelowna and the valley since the day they opened.

Quite a history to the 340-year-old retailer coming to Kelowna in 1960 to anchor the newly built Capri Centre Mall owned by Cap Capozzi and Family. The shopping centre was the first of its kind to be built in the B.C. interior. The mall's original main anchor was The Bay, but the store moved out in the 1970s with the construction of Orchard Park.

The new owners of The Bay have made some significant changes since their takeover by NRDC Equity Partners LLC, who also own the department store in the U.S. Lord & Taylor have quietly made these changes with the future in mind and so far most of their decisions have been very positive. It is a nice place to shop.
--------------------

Local retailers are enjoying a boom in school-time sales across the board with shopping lists going beyond the basic supplies. Shopping is a little different these days because all the shopping that we did for our daughters not that many years ago was done before they went to school for the first day. Now mothers and fathers are shopping well into the month for clothing etc for the kids making full use of the bargains that inevitably become available.

It has become the second biggest shopping period in Canada after the Christmas buying in December.

Retailers give every indication that the expected sales from the back to school promotion will be stronger than last year’s recession buying budget time.
--------------------

  • Check your profile: If you search the web, you’re likely to already have a profile on Google that says what products you’re interested in — pets, crafts, etc. To check it, go to Google.com/ads/preferences. If you don’t want to have the advertisements you see on every site to be affected by these preferences, opt out. Google has a nice little video explaining how.

  • Don’t enter: Want to win a trip to Hawaii? A free dinner at your favorite restaurant? When you toss your business card into the bowl or fill out a form, the information you provide is likely to be collected and resold.

  • Don’t register: If you bought a new refrigerator, computer or camera, the manufacturer is likely to ask you to register the device. Their pitch is that registration will allow them to provide a warranty (as promised), giving you the assurance that if the product breaks in the first year or two, you can have it replaced. In reality, that registration is likely to go directly to a marketing firm rather than the manufacturer. You don’t need to register and provide this private information to be covered under the warranty. But save your receipt.

    Finally, you should understand that you are likely to be your own worst enemy when it comes to keeping information private. We are constantly reacting to the impulse to get the free thing, whether that’s website content or a free dinner or vacation sweepstakes. You need to be skeptical of things that are free because the price is personal information.

    --------------------

    Mike Wiegele Helicopter Skiing is pleased to offer a one of a kind Canadian Ski Instructor Alliance Level 2 course from December 12-16, 2010. Designed to introduce intermediate ski instruction, participants embark on a 5 day course that includes a helicopter transfer to the mountain and use of the Snowcat with on-board video analysis.

    Toll-Free North America: 1.800.661.9170


  • More John Thomson articles

    230485
    About the Author

    John Thomson is the Okanagan's pre-eminent business columnist writing his column, Rumours and Things, for over 24 years. Plugged in to the valley's who's who, John keeps his readers coming back for more with his straight talk and optimistic perspective on where we are headed next.

    When John is not writing his column, he runs a sixteen year old think tank called the Executive Roundtable and holds his popular "Thomson Presents" quarterly business speaker seminars.

    Have a comment, question, or tip for John? 

    E-mail John at
    [email protected]
    or send him a fax at 250-764-8255.

     



    231492
    The views expressed are strictly those of the author and not necessarily those of Castanet. Castanet does not warrant the contents.

    Previous Stories



    232548


    232177