Metro Vancouver's strong economy and consumer demand for retail options has prompted American retailers to target the Lower Mainland for expansion even as they close stores at home.
North Carolina-based Lowe's Companies Ltd. opened its first B.C. store November 1 - two weeks after it announced store closures in the U.S.
The 1,725-location home-improvement chain's big-box outlet in New Westminster's Queensborough district will have 117,000 square feet of indoor retail space with another 31,000 square feet dedicated to an outdoor garden centre. The building and its 550 parking spots sit on a 13-acre footprint.
Lowe's, which is the world's second-largest home-improvement retailer, announced October 17 that it would close 20 U.S. stores and lay off 1,950 of its 160,000 employees. The company added that it will slow expansion to a maximum of 15 new stores in 2012, down from a previously announced 30 new stores next year.
"We believe that there's plenty of room for good retailers in what is a good Canadian market," said Ramona Paul, who is the manager of the chain's Queensborough store.
Paul has hired 180 staff so far and may hire a handful more workers in the next few months.
Other large American retailers are looking to follow Lowe's strategy of expanding north because the economy is comparatively more vibrant. Some chains to watch according to retail analysts include: Nordstrom Inc., Dick's Sporting Goods, Kohl's Corp. and J.C. Penny Co. Inc.
Lowe's spokeswoman Joanne Elson said her chain first opened a Canadian store in 2007 and expanded to Western Canada in 2010 with its first of what are now three Calgary locations. It opened outlets in Edmonton and Regina earlier this year.
– Glen Korstrom/BIV
from Western Investor December 2011
