<![CDATA[Waterloo Region Connected - Retail]]> https://www.waterlooregionconnected.com/ Mon, 09 Nov 2026 16:15:48 +0000 MyBB <![CDATA[Kitchener Toys R Us - Up for sale]]> https://www.waterlooregionconnected.com/showthread.php?tid=1983 Tue, 25 Nov 2025 20:44:06 +0000 Wingers19]]> https://www.waterlooregionconnected.com/showthread.php?tid=1983
https://kitchener.citynews.ca/2025/11/25...-for-sale/]]>
https://kitchener.citynews.ca/2025/11/25...-for-sale/]]> <![CDATA[Hot Deals and Awesome Finds]]> https://www.waterlooregionconnected.com/showthread.php?tid=1393 Thu, 04 Apr 2019 02:01:51 +0000 jeffster]]> https://www.waterlooregionconnected.com/showthread.php?tid=1393
Finding awesome foods or furniture in St. Jacobs? Unique "things" in Elmira? Stuff like that. If you find a unique retail outlet, one of kind, post it!

Just an idea. This region has a lot to offer, but it's weird finding out about stuff on an American Network (CBS) -- in regards to Old King Bistro, and it's weird having someone from out-of-town go on and on about some place in the region that you never heard of.]]>
Finding awesome foods or furniture in St. Jacobs? Unique "things" in Elmira? Stuff like that. If you find a unique retail outlet, one of kind, post it!

Just an idea. This region has a lot to offer, but it's weird finding out about stuff on an American Network (CBS) -- in regards to Old King Bistro, and it's weird having someone from out-of-town go on and on about some place in the region that you never heard of.]]> <![CDATA[Cannabis shops in Waterloo Region]]> https://www.waterlooregionconnected.com/showthread.php?tid=1387 Wed, 06 Mar 2019 21:43:02 +0000 Bob_McBob]]> https://www.waterlooregionconnected.com/showthread.php?tid=1387 https://www.therecord.com/news-story/920...t-a-store/

As it stands right now there are 7 retail stores allocated to the "west" region of Dufferin-Wellington, Hamilton, Niagara, Haldimand-Norfolk, Brant, Waterloo, Perth, Oxford, Elgin, Chatham-Kent, Essex, Lambton, Middlesex, Huron, Bruce, Grey, and Manitoulin. Three are in London, one is in Niagara, and one is in St. Catharines (but the name indicates Niagara). It's fairly likely one or both remaining stores will be located in Hamilton or Windsor, which would leave Waterloo Region without a single store.]]> https://www.therecord.com/news-story/920...t-a-store/

As it stands right now there are 7 retail stores allocated to the "west" region of Dufferin-Wellington, Hamilton, Niagara, Haldimand-Norfolk, Brant, Waterloo, Perth, Oxford, Elgin, Chatham-Kent, Essex, Lambton, Middlesex, Huron, Bruce, Grey, and Manitoulin. Three are in London, one is in Niagara, and one is in St. Catharines (but the name indicates Niagara). It's fairly likely one or both remaining stores will be located in Hamilton or Windsor, which would leave Waterloo Region without a single store.]]> <![CDATA[Sportsworld Chapters moving]]> https://www.waterlooregionconnected.com/showthread.php?tid=1150 Thu, 22 Feb 2018 23:41:39 +0000 Drake]]> https://www.waterlooregionconnected.com/showthread.php?tid=1150
Looks like Fairway road will be getting a third Starbucks.]]>
Looks like Fairway road will be getting a third Starbucks.]]> <![CDATA[Waterloo Region's Compost]]> https://www.waterlooregionconnected.com/showthread.php?tid=717 Tue, 11 Apr 2017 01:42:14 +0000 Markster]]> https://www.waterlooregionconnected.com/showthread.php?tid=717
http://www.regionofwaterloo.ca/en/aboutT...sp#compost
Quote:Yard waste that the Region collects along the curb is turned into compost. Compost is an earthy-smelling soil conditioner and can be used for home gardens and lawns.

Residents of Waterloo Region can pick up compost (maximum 5 bushels) from spring to fall at no charge while supplies last at the Cambridge (201 Savage Drive) and Waterloo (925 Erb Street West - Gate 2) Waste Management sites between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday to Saturday. Compost is not available during the winter.

Season: April until October as supply is available.

Thank you for diverting yard waste from landfill and helping to make useful compost.

Has anyone here made use of this?
It says it starts in April, so would it be up and running by now? Do they frequently run out?]]>
http://www.regionofwaterloo.ca/en/aboutT...sp#compost
Quote:Yard waste that the Region collects along the curb is turned into compost. Compost is an earthy-smelling soil conditioner and can be used for home gardens and lawns.

Residents of Waterloo Region can pick up compost (maximum 5 bushels) from spring to fall at no charge while supplies last at the Cambridge (201 Savage Drive) and Waterloo (925 Erb Street West - Gate 2) Waste Management sites between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday to Saturday. Compost is not available during the winter.

Season: April until October as supply is available.

Thank you for diverting yard waste from landfill and helping to make useful compost.

Has anyone here made use of this?
It says it starts in April, so would it be up and running by now? Do they frequently run out?]]> <![CDATA[New Waterloo Beer Store]]> https://www.waterlooregionconnected.com/showthread.php?tid=555 Wed, 30 Mar 2016 00:03:02 +0000 Drake]]> https://www.waterlooregionconnected.com/showthread.php?tid=555
I wasn't aware this was under construction. They buildings are to the point of the construction that the walls are being closed in and the roof is on.

This strikes me as a weird location for a beer store. Are they bailing out on their Albert St location like the Shoppers Drug Mart has or will this be a new location?]]>
I wasn't aware this was under construction. They buildings are to the point of the construction that the walls are being closed in and the roof is on.

This strikes me as a weird location for a beer store. Are they bailing out on their Albert St location like the Shoppers Drug Mart has or will this be a new location?]]> <![CDATA[TD branch closure investigated by federal Financial Consumer Agency]]> https://www.waterlooregionconnected.com/showthread.php?tid=472 Wed, 30 Sep 2015 21:18:06 +0000 ookpik]]> https://www.waterlooregionconnected.com/showthread.php?tid=472 TD branch closure investigated by federal Financial Consumer Agency 
Quote:The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada is investigating the closure of a Toronto Dominion Bank branch in Kitchener. The agency was asked to look into whether the bank followed rules about consultation and notice periods for local bank branch closures, it has confirmed to CBC News...

TD also told CBC News that it held a community meeting about the move on Aug. 25. That meeting about the Kitchener closure was held at the Waterloo location.

As a customer of that branch, a refugee from the closing of the 50 Westmount branch in Waterloo a couple of years ago I might add, I too wasn't notified of any "community meeting" in August. Ironically the Belmont branch is one of the original Waterloo Trust branches that Canada Trust acquired in the 1980s. That that in turn was acquired by TD Bank in the 1990s. Subsequently there has been a steady decline in what Ed Clark used to describe as "Thinking like a customer."

I do appreciate that fewer people visit branches in large part because there's less need for them to do so. I certainly didn't use that branch very often. But when I did it was because my need couldn't be addressed online or even over the phone. And TD doesn't even plan to leave an ATM behind for the convenience of those who either don't want to go to King and Erb to get some cash or who don't want to pay gratuitous ATM fees.

In addition it's not clear what will happen to the bank premises. There was a report on CBC KW Radio that then building has been sold, but no mention of to whom or for what purpose. Anyone on WRC know?]]> TD branch closure investigated by federal Financial Consumer Agency 
Quote:The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada is investigating the closure of a Toronto Dominion Bank branch in Kitchener. The agency was asked to look into whether the bank followed rules about consultation and notice periods for local bank branch closures, it has confirmed to CBC News...

TD also told CBC News that it held a community meeting about the move on Aug. 25. That meeting about the Kitchener closure was held at the Waterloo location.

As a customer of that branch, a refugee from the closing of the 50 Westmount branch in Waterloo a couple of years ago I might add, I too wasn't notified of any "community meeting" in August. Ironically the Belmont branch is one of the original Waterloo Trust branches that Canada Trust acquired in the 1980s. That that in turn was acquired by TD Bank in the 1990s. Subsequently there has been a steady decline in what Ed Clark used to describe as "Thinking like a customer."

I do appreciate that fewer people visit branches in large part because there's less need for them to do so. I certainly didn't use that branch very often. But when I did it was because my need couldn't be addressed online or even over the phone. And TD doesn't even plan to leave an ATM behind for the convenience of those who either don't want to go to King and Erb to get some cash or who don't want to pay gratuitous ATM fees.

In addition it's not clear what will happen to the bank premises. There was a report on CBC KW Radio that then building has been sold, but no mention of to whom or for what purpose. Anyone on WRC know?]]> <![CDATA[Gateway Park/Sportsworld Retail Area]]> https://www.waterlooregionconnected.com/showthread.php?tid=451 Thu, 13 Aug 2015 03:11:24 +0000 The85]]> https://www.waterlooregionconnected.com/showthread.php?tid=451 Gateway Park/Sportsworld Retail Area
[Image: En6IuKUr.jpg]
Image from: http://www.gtamotorcycle.com/vbforum/sho...Tag/page58

[Image: PfXQkYHL.jpg] 
Image from; http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Attraction_Rev...tario.html


A thread to discuss the progression and state of retail in the Gateway Park/Sportsworld Area of Kitchener - the Region's first collection of 'big box' stores.
]]> Gateway Park/Sportsworld Retail Area
[Image: En6IuKUr.jpg]
Image from: http://www.gtamotorcycle.com/vbforum/sho...Tag/page58

[Image: PfXQkYHL.jpg] 
Image from; http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Attraction_Rev...tario.html


A thread to discuss the progression and state of retail in the Gateway Park/Sportsworld Area of Kitchener - the Region's first collection of 'big box' stores.
]]> <![CDATA[Grocery Stores]]> https://www.waterlooregionconnected.com/showthread.php?tid=397 Wed, 15 Apr 2015 12:22:22 +0000 panamaniac]]> https://www.waterlooregionconnected.com/showthread.php?tid=397 (04-15-2015, 03:31 AM)TMKM94 Wrote: I'm hoping it will be something that's not in KW yet like Longo's or Loblaws, but if not then I hope it's a Sobeys also.
Zehrs is Loblaws.   Longo's would be OK.  What I'd really like to see would be a Farm Boy.  They're big in Ottawa and they are opening two stores in London. ]]> (04-15-2015, 03:31 AM)TMKM94 Wrote: I'm hoping it will be something that's not in KW yet like Longo's or Loblaws, but if not then I hope it's a Sobeys also.
Zehrs is Loblaws.   Longo's would be OK.  What I'd really like to see would be a Farm Boy.  They're big in Ottawa and they are opening two stores in London. ]]> <![CDATA[FutureShop- All Stores Closed Immediately]]> https://www.waterlooregionconnected.com/showthread.php?tid=388 Sat, 28 Mar 2015 14:36:36 +0000 rickhd]]> https://www.waterlooregionconnected.com/showthread.php?tid=388 http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on...e23677084/

Effective immediately.   Some will be re-branded Best Buy.    

Another one bites the dust. ]]> http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on...e23677084/

Effective immediately.   Some will be re-branded Best Buy.    

Another one bites the dust. ]]> <![CDATA[PLANNING Asian Supermarket At Former Stedelbauer GM Site]]> https://www.waterlooregionconnected.com/showthread.php?tid=384 Fri, 20 Mar 2015 01:24:48 +0000 neonjoe]]> https://www.waterlooregionconnected.com/showthread.php?tid=384
Quote:KITCHENER — A group of Toronto investors purchased the site of a former car dealership on Ottawa Street North and plans to build an Asian supermarket that could open this fall.


http://www.therecord.com/news-story/5516...tors-site/]]>
Quote:KITCHENER — A group of Toronto investors purchased the site of a former car dealership on Ottawa Street North and plans to build an Asian supermarket that could open this fall.


http://www.therecord.com/news-story/5516...tors-site/]]> <![CDATA[Husky Gas Station - 417 King St North, Waterloo (Closed)]]> https://www.waterlooregionconnected.com/showthread.php?tid=354 Sat, 31 Jan 2015 22:42:40 +0000 Drake]]> https://www.waterlooregionconnected.com/showthread.php?tid=354 <![CDATA[Target Canada]]> https://www.waterlooregionconnected.com/showthread.php?tid=333 Fri, 16 Jan 2015 01:17:59 +0000 Drake]]> https://www.waterlooregionconnected.com/showthread.php?tid=333 Pride took down a giant: How Target’s corporate hubris was its Canadian undoing
[/url]
[url=http://business.financialpost.com/author/theresatedesco/]Theresa Tedesco | January 15, 2015



Treat us like Americans — or else. That’s what Canadians kept telling U.S. retailer Target Corp., by staying away from its sparsely stocked and overpriced stores for almost two years. But the Minneapolis-based giant, which had staked its celebrated name on its first expansion foray outside the U.S., seemed determined to continue forging ahead with an ill-fated experiment that never gained traction in the diverse Canadian market.

Less than four years after announcing its imminent arrival, and two years after opening its first stores in the northern frontier — a place that should have been the easiest and friendliest market for the second-largest U.S. discount chain to gain a foothold — Target announced it will exit Canada by mid-year.
That the company’s brand, so revered and lauded in the U.S., had been beaten and tarnished in Canada was a given. But just how badly came to light Thursday when the Canadian subsidiary filed for protection from its creditors under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) in Toronto. It showed more than $2 billion in operating losses since 2011, when Target acquired 220 locations from now defunct Zellers Inc., a subsidiary of Hudson’s Bay Co., and announced its expansion into Canada with much fanfare.

The company was hemorrhaging millions daily, enough that it would have taken until 2021 to earn a loonie in profits. The bottom line: 133 stores across the country are closing; 17,600 employees will be out of work. And the cost of the Canadian misadventure to the U.S. parent? A cool $5.4-billion write down.
Such a needless waste. Rarely has there been a company to enter this country with more brand recognition than Target had. Canadian shoppers accustomed to cross-border shopping waited with great anticipation for its arrival in March 2013. All we wanted were U.S.-style Target stores in Canada, slightly retrofitted to adapt to our national idiosyncrasies, namely frugality and politeness. Instead, what we got were empty shelves, higher prices, sketchy customer service, and apologies.
“You can’t think of a retailer that had a more positive image even before it was launched in Canada than Target. If you can’t expand into Canada, where can you?” asks David Soberman, professor of marketing at the Joseph L. Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto.
Was Target’s demise in Canada an extreme example of internal mismanagement? Did the brain trust in Minneapolis vastly underestimate what it takes to create and build a new business in a new country? Those were clearly part of the problem.
But it’s likely the bigger culprit was hubris. After all, excessive self-confidence and pride has forced the retreat of many corporations from markets before Target — and will afterward.

Mighty Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, was forced to exit the German market US$1 billion poorer in 2006, despite the fact that — being Europe’s largest market, with more than 80 million people earning high incomes, robust spending, and excellent infrastructure — Germany looked like a no-brainer on paper.
But apparently, Walmart’s mistake was thinking Germans liked to shop just the same way Americans do. By the time executives figured out that the one-size-fits-all business model doesn’t always, it was too late to fix the damage. After eight years, the Arkansas-based chain waved the white flag and beat a retreat.
Home Depot learned its own hard lessons in China in 2012. After six years, the home-improvement giant gave up trying to replicate its winning formula in the world’s second-largest consumer market, citing cultural differences.
And Canadian Tire, a national retail institution here, had a disastrous foray into the U.S. in the 1980s that left the company on shaky financial ground for decades. Expanding into the hyper-competitive U.S. market is tough enough, but the retailer didn’t stand a chance selling hockey sticks and snow tires in its Texas-based Whites stores.]]> Pride took down a giant: How Target’s corporate hubris was its Canadian undoing
[/url]
[url=http://business.financialpost.com/author/theresatedesco/]Theresa Tedesco | January 15, 2015



Treat us like Americans — or else. That’s what Canadians kept telling U.S. retailer Target Corp., by staying away from its sparsely stocked and overpriced stores for almost two years. But the Minneapolis-based giant, which had staked its celebrated name on its first expansion foray outside the U.S., seemed determined to continue forging ahead with an ill-fated experiment that never gained traction in the diverse Canadian market.

Less than four years after announcing its imminent arrival, and two years after opening its first stores in the northern frontier — a place that should have been the easiest and friendliest market for the second-largest U.S. discount chain to gain a foothold — Target announced it will exit Canada by mid-year.
That the company’s brand, so revered and lauded in the U.S., had been beaten and tarnished in Canada was a given. But just how badly came to light Thursday when the Canadian subsidiary filed for protection from its creditors under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) in Toronto. It showed more than $2 billion in operating losses since 2011, when Target acquired 220 locations from now defunct Zellers Inc., a subsidiary of Hudson’s Bay Co., and announced its expansion into Canada with much fanfare.

The company was hemorrhaging millions daily, enough that it would have taken until 2021 to earn a loonie in profits. The bottom line: 133 stores across the country are closing; 17,600 employees will be out of work. And the cost of the Canadian misadventure to the U.S. parent? A cool $5.4-billion write down.
Such a needless waste. Rarely has there been a company to enter this country with more brand recognition than Target had. Canadian shoppers accustomed to cross-border shopping waited with great anticipation for its arrival in March 2013. All we wanted were U.S.-style Target stores in Canada, slightly retrofitted to adapt to our national idiosyncrasies, namely frugality and politeness. Instead, what we got were empty shelves, higher prices, sketchy customer service, and apologies.
“You can’t think of a retailer that had a more positive image even before it was launched in Canada than Target. If you can’t expand into Canada, where can you?” asks David Soberman, professor of marketing at the Joseph L. Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto.
Was Target’s demise in Canada an extreme example of internal mismanagement? Did the brain trust in Minneapolis vastly underestimate what it takes to create and build a new business in a new country? Those were clearly part of the problem.
But it’s likely the bigger culprit was hubris. After all, excessive self-confidence and pride has forced the retreat of many corporations from markets before Target — and will afterward.

Mighty Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, was forced to exit the German market US$1 billion poorer in 2006, despite the fact that — being Europe’s largest market, with more than 80 million people earning high incomes, robust spending, and excellent infrastructure — Germany looked like a no-brainer on paper.
But apparently, Walmart’s mistake was thinking Germans liked to shop just the same way Americans do. By the time executives figured out that the one-size-fits-all business model doesn’t always, it was too late to fix the damage. After eight years, the Arkansas-based chain waved the white flag and beat a retreat.
Home Depot learned its own hard lessons in China in 2012. After six years, the home-improvement giant gave up trying to replicate its winning formula in the world’s second-largest consumer market, citing cultural differences.
And Canadian Tire, a national retail institution here, had a disastrous foray into the U.S. in the 1980s that left the company on shaky financial ground for decades. Expanding into the hyper-competitive U.S. market is tough enough, but the retailer didn’t stand a chance selling hockey sticks and snow tires in its Texas-based Whites stores.]]> <![CDATA[Canadian Tire GAS+ Offer (KW/Guelph/Cambridge) Offer - Save 3 cents/litre till Dec 18]]> https://www.waterlooregionconnected.com/showthread.php?tid=307 Fri, 05 Dec 2014 19:34:27 +0000 jerryhung]]> https://www.waterlooregionconnected.com/showthread.php?tid=307
Notes
  • It's a 2-week offer released on Fridays
  • Clicking on the image (in your email) opens a URL with a QR code for casher to scan
  • Offers range between Save 3 cents, 12X, 15X, $5 car wash, etc...
  • You CAN use Credit card with the eFlyer offer
  • You need to use Cash/Debit/Canadian Tire gift card to use the paper (or now digital) 10X-15X multiplier
  • I sign up with 2 email + my cell phone app = 3 eFlyer coupons for 2 weeks, enough for my gas needs
[Image: splash.png?t=1417801672]

If you haven't signed up, here is the link (I think it changes with each offer)
http://loop.sg/TU3RA8]]>
Notes
  • It's a 2-week offer released on Fridays
  • Clicking on the image (in your email) opens a URL with a QR code for casher to scan
  • Offers range between Save 3 cents, 12X, 15X, $5 car wash, etc...
  • You CAN use Credit card with the eFlyer offer
  • You need to use Cash/Debit/Canadian Tire gift card to use the paper (or now digital) 10X-15X multiplier
  • I sign up with 2 email + my cell phone app = 3 eFlyer coupons for 2 weeks, enough for my gas needs
[Image: splash.png?t=1417801672]

If you haven't signed up, here is the link (I think it changes with each offer)
http://loop.sg/TU3RA8]]> <![CDATA[Mall Retail (Cambridge Centre, Conestoga, Fairview)]]> https://www.waterlooregionconnected.com/showthread.php?tid=256 Sun, 02 Nov 2014 00:55:16 +0000 The85]]> https://www.waterlooregionconnected.com/showthread.php?tid=256 Mall Retail
Thread to discuss retail news at Waterloo Region's 3 Regional Malls:


[Image: sWqN9wBR.jpg]
Cambridge Centre


[Image: KG3ewvJf.jpg]
Conestoga Mall


[Image: RF78eOXe.jpg]
Fairview Park Mall


Image Sources:
Cambridge Centre
Conestoga Mall
Fairview Park Mall
]]> Mall Retail
Thread to discuss retail news at Waterloo Region's 3 Regional Malls:


[Image: sWqN9wBR.jpg]
Cambridge Centre


[Image: KG3ewvJf.jpg]
Conestoga Mall


[Image: RF78eOXe.jpg]
Fairview Park Mall


Image Sources:
Cambridge Centre
Conestoga Mall
Fairview Park Mall
]]>