Canada Retail Still Prevalent Market for US
Colliers International released today its Spring 2012 Retail Report detailing that Canada is being seen as a stable marketplace that has room for growth by the US retail sector.
What’s luring the US to the Great White North? Canada’s strong mall performance has shown to be significantly outpacing the US. This paired with a growing Canadian Per Capita Retail Spending has produced a tempting opportunity for expansion for US retail.
Mall performance in Canada specifically outpaced the US by a significant amount of sales per square foot—performing 50 per cent better than its southern counterparts. This means that although the US in 2011 was reaching a mall performance of about $400 USD per square food, Canadian malls were entertaining figures of almost $600 USD in sales per square foot. These figures show that Canada may be rebounding from the 2009 recession faster than US retailers.
“The strong fundamentals of the Canadian economy and retail sector in particular have been well noticed by domestic and foreign players,” says James Smerdon, Director of Retail Consulting with Colliers International. “It is no surprise that emerging players from the development side such as Tanger Outlets, Simon Properties, Kimco and even London-based McArthurGlen are establishing a Canadian presence”.
Colliers found that if US retailers do consider moving into the Canadian marketplace, it would be best to consider Western Canada. This is because the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan were the national leaders in annual growth rates—2.1 per cent, 1.4 per cent and 1.3 per cent respectively.
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Colliers International’s report seems to understand Canadian retail trends being embarked upon in 2012. With Target getting ready for its big move across the border, it’s clear big retailers from the US are seriously considering a new market, especially with retail giants like Walmart already embracing Canadian retail.
