(Photo via Google Street View)
Last week, Urban Planet closed the doors on its massive store at 262 Queen Street West (the same building that once housed Caban), and the latest news is that Shoppers Drug Mart will be taking over the 20,000-square-foot space. The story was reported today in the National Post as the official sign of “long-coming death of Queen Street West bohemia,” though we’d never associate chain clothing store Urban Planet with bohemia.
“Obituaries for the spirit of the original Queen West have been written for years, particularly the stretch between University and Spadina,” writes Carmen Chai. “But there is a growing sense that the ongoing gentrification has finally cost the neighbourhood the character that made it famous.”
We understand the grievances of tenants being priced out of the area, but we’ll take makeup and magazines over this any day.
• Shoppers Drug Mart moves onto Queen West [National Post]
Great news! However, this location is more accurately @ Queen & Beverly – not John.
December 7, 2009 at 3:11 pm | by loriI miss Caban. I’d rather Ikea open a downtown store than have another SDM.
December 8, 2009 at 3:45 pm | by donnaOh god I cannot believe you wrote that you would like an Ikea downtown. Rediculous woman.
April 16, 2010 at 12:40 pm | by MoiraOMG another Shoppers Drug Mart downtown.
There’s one at King and John, then another one at Queens Quay.
Not to mention the one inside the Hospital for Sick Kids.
The Super stores per square feet employ less staff .
Shoppers’ prices for soft drinks and candy are more expensive than burb stores. Why is that?
Compare prices at SDG in Eaton Centre and the King street store to like the stores in the east end such as Shoppers World.
One Front End manager, one assistant=-his /her 3 merchandisers , once head cashier, 2 f/t cashiers, 5 part time cashiers one cosmetician supervisor, her 2 p/t staff
what does that add up to?
6 f/t staff 10 p/t staff given that p/t staff work 24 hours
6X40=240 hours + 10(24)=240 = 480 hrs (10.25 hr)
labour cost is then roughly 5000$ /week
* of course managers will make 20$-25$/hr
add this into total labour= 4x40x12=800$
5000$+800=5,800 /week
20,000 sq feet store @100$/foot=2000000$/month
2,000,000/4= 500,000 $ week
add operating cost 20%thats $600,000 week +5800$ labour=
each week the store must sell more than 600,000 in non over the counter goods to break even
so this store will employ 16 staff excluding the pharmacy
how much does the store return to the community?
slowly this big box store will wipe out all the mom and pops store being around 8 in the hood employing 24 staff.
the mom and pop bookstores are gone…the corner stores are gone..whats next?
did u know that the Jr public school at Ogden doesnt even have a subsidized snack program ?
So whats the scoop? hungry kids and 100$ per sq foot real estate rents what is the comparison here? mean?
April 30, 2010 at 11:51 am | by howard chong