Morning Mess: Costco — The infatuation

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/05/2015 (3946 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Canadian Tire wanted in on Target real estate. Then Walmart bought up some pieces of the failed U.S.-based retail chain. Then word on Monday that Lowes was buying 13 former Target stores and that this might be the suitor for our former Target store.

Apparently, none of the above. And with that news, it’s official. The space formerly occupied by Target is now the most talked about piece of real estate in Brandon since ACC moved to the North Hill. It could be the most talked about piece of real estate ever. But why?

Why is the community so interested, and so opinionated in what goes into one store in south Brandon?

Who cares?

Thousands actually. Perhaps tens of thousands. And the reason why they care is because thankfully, to this day, one of the ritualistic acts we do often daily — certainly on a weekly basis — is shop.

For many shoppers, there’s no feeling like walking into a store you love, buying something on sale and then bragging about it to everyone you know. And while many feel shopping in Brandon is adequate, just open a computer to read some of the social media commentary on the state of retail in Brandon, and you might get a different opinion.

Over the last five years, I have watched conversations develop and grow, involving stores we wish would come to Brandon. Just three years ago, when assembling a top 10 list like this one, U.S. retail giant Target was at No. 2. Now they’re history. Top 10 today means nothing tomorrow. Some of these stores are just wishful thinking. They may never come. Others are on their way.

Regardless, this is the 10 most popular stores/retailers Westman just cannot stop dreaming about.

10. Best Buy — This is the only one on the list that is actually coming/here/on its way. Future Shop and Best Buy had the same owners in Canada, and really it only made sense to have one brand with some cities having a Future Shop and Best Buy just blocks from each other. Like Target, Best Buy is a Minneapolis-based mega retailer. Unlike Target, they have proven success in Canada. Brandon and Westman appears to be excited by the arrival of Best Buy. With the company set to take on Amazon head to head, look for them to do some innovative things in retail.

9. Gordman’s — This retailer just expanded to Minot and is currently U.S. only. They’re in high demand because they carry high-end brand name clothing and home apparel at drastic discount. For those shoppers who don’t have the time or energy to make it to a U.S. outlet mall, many are opting for this retailer and would like to see them make a move north — although experts warn they could suffer the same fate as Target.

8. Sears — While Westman is filled with Sears catalogue centres, and Brandon has a small Sears store on the North Hill, I come across many shoppers who wish Sears would make a big department store footprint like those in Winnipeg or Minot. With so many discount retailers and dollar stores, the day of the mid-priced retailer seems to be slipping away, and Sears appears to be the strongest success story in Canada in that area. Could Sears possibly fill the gap left by Target?

7. Jysk — Started by Denmark’s Lars Larsen, as a chain of bed linen stores, he’s a European version of Sam Walton of Walmart. And while the Walton family still owns much of Walmart, it is a publicly traded company. Jysk is not. It is owned entirely by Larsen, and he calls the shots. They essentially sell stuff for your home, like curtains, candles, lamps, photo frames, mirrors, rugs, wall art, blankets, pet items, kitchen décor, furniture, and outdoor living stuff. If you haven’t guessed, it’s a store squarely aimed at women. There are currently three locations in Winnipeg and Prince Albert, Sask., recently got one, so this store is definitely on the radar.

6. Pier One Imports — If Jysk is the store for women from Denmark, then this is the store for women from our neighbours to the south. This American chain is set up in Canada and currently has operations in Winnipeg. The closest U.S. location is also Minot. They too sell much of the same items as Jysk, and would be a direct competitor. While Jysk looks to market more on the side of “practical,” Pier One’s marketing is more of a “luxury” brand, selling items that look unique and one of a kind. However we all know they aren’t, but most women I know go crazy for this store anyway.

5. Walmart — I know we have one. I’m simply relaying what I’m reading on social media. But seriously, have you seen their parking lot on a Saturday? For all the eye rollers who think a second Walmart is ridiculous, remember, they built one in Bottineau, and that town is smaller than Neepawa. If Walmart sees money to be made, they’ll build. And people will go there. Many also feel a Walmart in south Brandon might pull customers away from the Bottineau store. We have more than one Sobeys, Shoppers Drug Mart, even Pizza Hut. Oh and Tim’s. Oh and Dollar stores. Oh….

4. Olive Garden — Although Brandon has a nice assortment of restaurants, and new ones arriving every year, two big chains formerly owned by one big company dominate the demand for new eateries. U.S. company Darden Restaurants used to own both Olive Garden and Red Lobster, but recently sold off the latter. The thought of those fresh warm buttery breadsticks and huge assortment of pasta is proving to just be too much for Westman to resist. Admittedly our family stops at the Portage Avenue store when in Winnipeg, and we are always guaranteed to run into at least two or three families from Brandon. And like Sears and Pier One, Minot recently added an OG to its restaurant lineup.

3. Old Navy — Fashionable discount clothing for young families. Old Navy continues to be an incredibly popular store for shoppers from western Manitoba. While most of the items sold are friendly on parents worried about stretching budgets for sports, and transportation, music lessons, and other household bills, moms tell me the clothes stand up to more than one wash before showing wear, which can’t be said for many other “budget” clothing lines.

2. Red Lobster — Someone once told me Brandon now has more sushi restaurants per capita than any other city its size in Canada. Somehow I believe it. And apparently they’re all doing well. After all, Brandon is the most landlocked city in Canada. Known for our beef and pork there is a MASSIVE appetite for well-marketed seafood and Red Lobster is to seafood what Apple is to tech. You may not love it all the time, but the reality is, they know what they’re doing and they do it well. If Costco ever did come to Brandon and had a Red Lobster attached, I want to start a security company exclusively for that property’s crowd control. I would be in business for a very long time.

1. Costco — Just reading this is making your heart pound isn’t it? Breathe. Just breathe. This has now moved to proportions not seen since … well, ever. If and when the day comes, and the announcement is made that this retailer is coming, anyone with large amounts of pane glass in their homes or business should be given 24 hours notice to board them or tape them. Because when that announcement is made, shoppers in Westman will react like a million schoolgirls getting notice that Justin Bieber is coming to their school to give them a kiss on the cheek. Worse. The screams from Westman shoppers will be so loud, glass will shatter, dogs will bark and howl and there will be parties not seen since the end of the Second World War. That is how bad this area wants this store. It has grown beyond demand. It has become pop culture now. And pop culture can often be made fun of. Brandon’s obsession with Costco certainly is something that gives many people in other cities something to chuckle about. And to shoppers of Westman, keep shopping. And keep the faith.

BIRTHDAYS

Gabby Majesta •Dillen Adelin Critchlow •Sheena Tanner •Crystal Dawn • Angie Sellars • Jennifer Blair • Wendy Evans Taylor • Karla Jensen Johnson • Jennifer Turner •Jennifer Sparrow • Sheree Logan • Tamara Yurkiw Kilford • Jaycee Castle • Leslie Bryde •Scott Goetz

Tyler Glen is a radio DJ on Star-FM. He writes a weekly column for the Brandon Sun.

» Twitter: @Tyler_Glen