Indigo is the largest and only major surviving bookstore chain in the country. The Indigo brand has been expanding like crazy lately with a lot of new stores replacing Chapters and Coles locations. They have 209 stores operating under various banners including Indigo, Chapters, Coles, and IndigoSprit. In today’s post, I’ll be going over the rise of Indigo and how they grew to be Canada’s #1 bookstore. Brief History Indigo Books & Music   was founded in 1996 by Heather Reisman . Indigo opened their first “superstore” in 1997 . Indigo then   merged with Chapters in August 2001 , which got them a lot of locations under the Chapters and Coles banners. Reinventing Indigo Indigo introduced what they call a “Cultural department store concept”. While still featuring books, this concept expands Indigo’s non-book merchandise to include home decor, toys and more. My thoughts It’s kind of amazing seeing Indigo thrive a little pre-covid when most book retailers around the world a...

Today’s post is part 2 to my series on Loblaws models and store decors. I’ll be going over the store decor packages that Loblaws uses. This will only be going over the ones that I can find and ones used for Loblaws and their other market banners because there is some over lap with the decors used. 80s neon (Loblaws only) This decor package was used in the 80s and featured neon signage. Market (90s-2008) This decor package was introduced in the 90s and features real tile floors in the grand aisle as well as a painting of a streetscape in the grand aisle. Stores also have some local flair in the form of exterior signage that said “xx market” where xx is the plaza/neighborhood/cities’ name and a mural with local landmarks or skyline. Deluxe version of Market The deluxe version has the front end decorated like a street. The lane lights had fake lamps on them. The service departments are deluxe looking with more detailed elements. Great Food (2008-2011) Loblaws created a food focused format...

Another retailer was killed by the pandemic. On September 9th, Groupe Dynamite, owners of the Dynamite and Garage chain filed for creditors protection and will be filing for Chapter 15 Bankruptcy in the US. It's unknown right now how many stores are going to close, but I can confirm that the one in the blog's coverage area already closed with signage intact. They operate 400 stores under both banners. Source:  https://www.retail-insider.com/retail-insider/2020/9/groupe-dynamite-files-for-and-obtains-creditor-protection-amid-pandemic-struggles

Hi everyone, here's a quick update on what's going on with the blog right now! I'm in the process of writing posts for this month and October. Those posts will automatically go up bi-weekly on Tuesdays @6:00 p.m Eastern Time like usual. So if you notice anything off about those posts, please let me know. Also, I'm experimenting with using Tumblr as a blogging platform. As part of that, those posts will be posted on both this blog and Tumblr.  Thanks for reading this update :). - Dom, aka DZ.

Today’s post will be the start of a 2 part series on Loblaws models and decor packages. The first part going over the major store models that Loblaws used within the blog’s coverage area. This will only cover known models that Loblaws used and not models used by their other chains or acquired chains. Note that there may be overlap with other models. Early models Loblaws used many store models in their early years that look similar, so I’ll only be talking about the most common surviving one. Their earliest surviving store model was the “generic market” model with a rectangular entrance way. Most of these stores are now Nofrills or Valu-Mart stores or reused for other non-retail uses. See link at the end of the post for photos of these early stores. Late 70s- 80’s Super Store model [1] This model was used around the  late 70s 80s. Stores during this era were known as “Loblaws Superstore”, which is a forerunner to the present day Real Canadian Superstore chain. These store had a cong...

Today’s post will be covering a few well preserved Target stores that are still abandoned 5 years after the company left Canada. Some of these locations are still listed on Google Maps as closed if you look up Target. Many of those abandoned stores are located in dead malls or smaller community malls, which make them harder to re-tenant. Target: Cloverdale Mall-Toronto ON Credit: Google Maps You’re not fooling anyone. They only painted the store green in the last 2 years or so and the store never got a new tenant after Target left. This Target won’t get a new tenant anytime soon because there are plans to redevelop the mall and plus the former Target wing of the mall is dead. Target: Sherdan Centre- Mississauga ON Credit: Google Maps This Target hasn’t been touched since they left. It’s a nice treat to see if you are in the area. There are some noticeable label scars on the building. It’s one of the better preserved stores in the area.  Target: South Oakville Centre- Oakville ON Cr...

Here are 5 fun facts about retail that you didn't know about. 1 . Sobeys' parent company , Empire Company, owned a movie theatre chain called Empire Theatres, which closed in June 2013. 2. Loblaws still operates a Dominion chain in Newfoundland and Labrador long after the brand officially went defunct.  This is due to them acquiring some Dominion stores when A&P divest most locations outside of Ontario when they acquired the chain. 3. The Hudson's Bay Company name is over 300 years old! It dates back to 1670. 4.Bi-Way is planned to make a comeback this month! Until the next one, DZ

Here’s a list of the different classes of malls. Some malls may not exactly fit theses descriptions, but for the most part cover the different types of indoor malls out there.

Here's a few of my recent retail models I've made. I may upload more in the future if I have time to make more. Model of a Modern Esso station (This model was done in 2019). Model of a Made up convenience store called "The C" Model of a self checkout system.

GNC has filed for chapter 11 today  in the US and is currently closing up to 1290 stores worldwide. GNC has been struggling for a long time now and this announcement came as no surprise. A list of closings can be found here . Around 29 Canadian stores are expected to close so far.

Ever wondered what each of the store numbers that are on the top of Walmart receipts mean? These store numbers identify each Walmart store internally and seem to have a common pattern based on when each store was planned/opened. Here’s a list of the store numbers Walmart currently uses in Canada and what they mean. Note that they may be anomalies to this rule and stores may not follow these “rules”.  Last updated June 20 th , 2020. Store number Meaning 3xxx 1990s built store. Also used on former Woolcos. 10xx Usually used for 2000s stores. 11xx Early 2010s stores. 12xx Mid 2010s stores. If you have anything to add to this list, please let me know in the comments. Side note: I'll be switching to my summer posting schedule of 2 posts a month from July 1st till September 1st. Until the next one: DZ

Today, I got a weird Walmart store to show you. It's the rare Walget, a Target turned Walmart and it has two floors 🤯. Walmart #1211 opened at Erin Mills Town Centre around 2016 after buying this and some other Target stores after that company ceased Canadian operations. Walmart did absolutely nothing on the outside to hide the fact that the store was an old Target. You can clearly tell by the street views that nothing on the outside changed. Inside, Walmart did change some things around, but some Target remains are still present in the store such as the upper level washrooms being in the same area, and the lighting and escalators. Street view back when the store was abandoned as a Target in 2015 (Credit: Google Street view) Street View of the same store as a Walmart (Credit: Google Street view) Highlights Former Zellers turned Target They use grey plastic carts Has no vision centre, photocentre, fast food outlet nor a portrait studio 2 story Supercentre Yellow & Blue decor v...