Signage promoting stores that will be opening at the Shops at Don Mills.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
On Tuesday afternoon, the news that McNally Robinson Booksellers had declared bankruptcy apparently hadn't travelled as far as the Shops at Don Mills, where bibliophiles seeking holiday reading were stopped by a small note on the door announcing the store's sudden closure.
"I wanted to come here for the last six months," said Terry Montgomery, one of the disappointed customers, "and I finally got up here."
The question of its location has clouded its outlook ever since it opened last spring, and in an interview this week, Winnipeg-based co-owner Paul McNally admitted launching a new store was a risk in a downturn, especially while trying to compete with the Indigos and Amazons of this world. But he nonetheless took a parting shot at the mall's developer, Cadillac Fairview.
Mr. McNally asserted that the developer failed to provide the signage or new tenants that would bring in business. "Obviously you buy a pig in a poke when you go into a new place," Mr. McNally told the Winnipeg Free Press. "But one would think that Canada's biggest retail developer might have done a better job."
The store might not have been ideally situated for book lovers. A Globe and Mail story quoted one prominent publisher who said audiences there were meagre, even for a prize-winning, bestselling author such as Lawrence Hill.
To what extent did Cadillac Fairview kill McNally Robinson's lone Ontario store? While Mr. McNally did not respond to calls for elaboration, two retail experts indicated they believe the mall is not at all responsible for the store's closure. Other retailers at the Shops at Don Mills said their business is growing.
In the middle of the afternoon on a weekday, McEwan - the 22,000-square-foot gourmet-food store - is jumping. There's a line at the cash for takeout food, and the eating area is jammed.
The store's owner, celebrity chef Mark McEwan, says he's optimistic about the shopping complex - "so much so that I'm opening a new restaurant in the Shops at Don Mills on June 1."
Though perhaps remote for customers such as Mr. Montgomery, developers had long been keeping a keen eye on the area. Built in the 1950s, Don Mills was Canada's first planned suburban community. It is also a short hop in the Beemer from high-end areas such as the Bridle Path.
Until recently, the plaza was a jumble of discount stores catering to low- to middle-income families and seniors (the better-off high-tailed it to Bayview Village or even Yorkdale). But it was revamped last year, returning to its open-air, main-street roots. Shops now sit on thoroughfares with names such as Clock Tower Road. The sidewalks are extra-wide. On Tuesday, 25 children and parents were skating on a rink at the centre of the complex, despite an icy wind.
For those who want groceries, but not McEwan's $14 truffled mac-and-cheese, there's also a Metro, which was hopping. Down the way at Starbucks, every seat is taken, and its steamy competitor, Teaopia, is buzzing with caffeinated moms.
Clothing-store personnel are typically upbeat about their businesses. Anthropologie, the upscale sister of Urban Outfitters, has been consistently busy, says one manager. Although Your Choice, a women's clothing boutique, had a tough start when the mall opened in April, "we've had a good Christmas," owner Martin Feix says.
Barbuti Fine Men's Clothing, formerly located in Bayview Village, seems to have settled happily. "We had an established clientele and they like the new location," co-owner Eddy Tarantino says. "We've also made a lot of new clients since July."
But the news can't be entirely good. While the Eaton Centre and Yorkdale are packed with Boxing Week shoppers, few browsers here carry shopping bags. The parking lot near Metro is packed, but a lot on the other side of the complex is empty. And the top two floors of the multi-storey car park are deserted.
About 20 of the complex's 100 storefronts are vacant, but some would say that's not unusual at this point.
"Having some empty is not abnormal and shouldn't prevent the other [stores]from doing well, " said Mary Mowbray, a manager at the real-estate broker Colliers International.
The absence of Boxing Week crowds isn't evidence the mall is in trouble, Ms. Mowbray says. While the Eaton Centre is a tourist destination, the Shops at Don Mills are aimed at nearby residents.
As for Mr. McNally's complaint about poor signage, Chris Lee, the owner of Aphrodite Spa and Nails, says Cadillac Fairview informed him the company plans to erect large signs in the vicinity.
But even a lack of them wouldn't drastically impact a store's success, says Maureen Atkinson, senior partner at retail consulting firm J.C. Williams Group. It might cause "a five-per-cent difference in their performance. It's not a 50-per-cent difference."
As for Cadillac Fairview, the company remains positive. "I can tell you that other retailers in the project are achieving results well in excess of their expectations," says Alexandra Whyte, general manager of the Shops at Don Mills.
Still, others at the centre are hoping new stores open soon. "It's a work in progress," Mr. Tarantino said.
In terms of McNally Robinson, Ms. Whyte had only warm words. "We wish McNally Robinson nothing but the best and hope they are able to recover and reach their full potential."
Special to The Globe and Mail