Canadian Business Online: Invasion Canada
CBO's Zena Olijnyk, whose work I admire greatly, has an excellent piece about how US and international merchants are turning their attention to the Canadian retail market. They bring with them global purchasing and logistic clout, marketing savy, and huge financial resources.
I will refrain from summarizing her whole article, since it deserves to be read in it's entirety. I'm all in favor of global competition, as it stimulates the marketplace, and encourages home-grown business to get on their game, and deliver better performances to both their customers and their shareholders. Already, I am laying bets on companies that will rise to the challenge, like Shopper's Drug Mart, and ones who won't, like HBC. Oh wait, HBC is technically an American company now.
I would like to point out that Ms. Olijnyk deserves great recognition for writing the best pun to come out of the LaSenza/Victoria's Secret merger: "a tempest in a D cup".
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Retail Competition in Canada gets a lot fiercer
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"A Supercentre Excursion" by Zena Olijnyk was fascinating. I especially liked the reference to the return of the general store, and some of the difficulties even the Wal-Mart colossus faces. Presumably you have been reading about their entry into India, which seems a bit ironic, since India is one of the countries exploited by Wal-Mart. The eulogies for department stores seem so much like those for dead monarchs: the king/queen is dead, long live the king/queen. The "department store" is not dead or sleeping under the mountain, it is just in a slightly different form now and bearing a different marque. Olijnyk's reference to the brands carried by Wal-Mart, and the tiny matter of quality, was appalling. It would appear the race to the bottom is not just a matter of price. Why would people not recognize that if they are not prepared to pay for quality in what is new, they might be better off buying what is old?
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