Meridian DEMO

The arrival of U.S.retailers including J Crew and Target to Canada will not only change the face of Canadian retailing for consumers, the influx of these foreign giants is set to trigger a massive shift in the retail real estate landscape.

To explore the impact of increased foreign competition for retail real estate in Canada, RAC has invited experts from both the commercial real estate and retail sectors to offer their perspectives to help Canadian retailers effectively navigate the market changes.

Moderated by Mike Pelyk, Senior Vice-President of Oberfeld Snowcap, Canada’s largest retail real estate advisor, the panel included:

John Massey, Vice President, National Leasing Cadillac Fairview

Brad Jones , Vice President, Leasing Oxford Properties

Jeff Ross, Senior Vice President, Leasing RioCan

Perry Caicco, Analyst – CIBC World Markets

Key questions addressed by the panel include:

What will be the impact on retail space supply?
How will lease terms and rental rates be effected?
Will increased demand spur new retail developments?
What can Canadian retailers do to defend their position ahead of Target’s arrival in 2013?
Will new retail brands in the malls lead to increased traffic & consumer spending or just dilute market share for existing brands.

This lunch speaker event was a perfect opportunity to network, listen and learn how individuals will be affected by the changing retail real estate. The venue was the Arcadian Court in the Simpson Tower.

This video is the recording of the Panel Discussion at the October 23, 2011 meeting of RAC, Retail Advertising & Marketing Canada. It shows the calibre of speakers thst RAC members hear at their meetings.