Lingerie is hot, discount sporting goods are not.
That appears to be the message from a couple of major retail players in Winnipeg.
The owners of La Vie En Rose have opened up their fourth lingerie shop in Winnipeg and do not plan to shirk away from the market just because Victoria's Secret made its high-profile arrival in town late last year.
And Sport Mart has closed its last location in Winnipeg as its parent company aims to focus its efforts on higher-end banners such as Sport Chek and Atmosphere. The former specializes in mid-to-upper-priced sporting goods and the latter on camping and outdoor recreation.
La Vie En Rose's location, on Kenaston Boulevard not far from the new Ikea store, is its first outlet store in town and will feature merchandise on sale or at liquidation prices. It also has a line for men, which isn't available at its regular stores, as well as its LVER collection: a value line for young women and women alike.
Company spokeswoman Emilie Gentes said the late 2012 arrival of Victoria's Secret at Polo Park Shopping Centre hasn't affected La Vie En Rose stores in St. Vital or Kildonan Place because they're not in the same neighbourhood. Its Polo Park store, on the other hand, has felt the impact, but the reverse of what most would have expected.
"We noted an increase in traffic, in fact. People are curious about Victoria's Secret. It is a marketing machine," she said.
Sport Mart quietly shut down three other stores over the last two years. A company spokesman said it plans to open more than 100 new Sport Chek and Atmosphere locations, incorporating more than two million square feet of real estate, in the next five years.
In total, more than 60 Sport Mart stores across the country will be shut down.
from Western Investor April 2013
