tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10100067.post8105287506087690606..comments2024-01-14T14:15:01.131-06:00Comments on The Rise and Sprawl: Too cozy to fail?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10100067.post-78264254365831682472009-12-31T13:50:38.764-06:002009-12-31T13:50:38.764-06:00Agreed. The Polo Park store was horribly designed....Agreed. The Polo Park store was horribly designed. What a waste.<br />Their venture into Don Mills was a terrible business decision. But hey, all successful business persons have failures. C'est la vie.Spugsleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05514502163560568920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10100067.post-40213002945550930952009-12-31T09:42:43.819-06:002009-12-31T09:42:43.819-06:00From what I hear, a huge amount of staff at the Gr...From what I hear, a huge amount of staff at the Grant Park location were laid off as well, so it's not just Polo employees that are hurting.Sandy Klowakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06407668501877156236noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10100067.post-13302173059552380022009-12-30T23:32:03.511-06:002009-12-30T23:32:03.511-06:00It's terribly sad news, but it's also the ...It's terribly sad news, but it's also the result of a spectacular business miscalculation<br /><br />They must have invested a small fortune to open the Polo Park and Don Mills stores and the fact they have to close both while the paint is barely dry tells us a lot about how poorly prepared they were to weather such things as an economic downturn or, more importantly, the complete failure of their bookstore model in the Toronto market (where they'd host book signings by prominent authors only to have maybe five people show at each).<br /><br />Paul McNally blames the Internet as one of the main reasons for the company's failure, but if I remember correctly, the Internet was very much around in 2007. One would have thought they'd have given the online market more than a passing thought when they undertook such a huge expansion in a short period of time.<br /><br />Now they're down to one local store and have had to abandon plans to open an outlet in the new airport terminal, thereby foregoing some pretty significant visibility and sales.<br /><br />We can only hope they turn things around in the next couple of years so they'll be in a position sometime again to expand, this time with the benefit of hindsight.Prairie Topiaryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16232297726814938610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10100067.post-12554801957458634462009-12-30T22:53:49.986-06:002009-12-30T22:53:49.986-06:00I care about downtown as much as the next guy, but...I care about downtown as much as the next guy, but re: all this "they should have never closed Portage Place", etc. talk of the past couple of days -- AFAIK, that store was losing money, and that's why it was closed. Simple as that.<br /><br />That being said, it's ridiculous that a city as big as Winnipeg can't support a single proper downtown bookshop (no, Coles @ CityPlace doesn't count). Or at the very least in Osborne Village.Thomashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00749726553784119972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10100067.post-85552717944727381552009-12-30T22:49:15.823-06:002009-12-30T22:49:15.823-06:00The NYC store now belongs to one of the McNally da...The NYC store now belongs to one of the McNally daughters and her husband, but was initially set up with staff from Grant Park (and possibly Saskatoon).Thomashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00749726553784119972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10100067.post-76445114568582015932009-12-30T15:36:46.411-06:002009-12-30T15:36:46.411-06:00Its just a bookstore.Its just a bookstore.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10100067.post-80174978559003174092009-12-30T13:55:47.875-06:002009-12-30T13:55:47.875-06:00They also opened one in NYC, which I think was bou...They also opened one in NYC, which I think was bought out...MacDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00622720894426859083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10100067.post-35506347672723024382009-12-30T00:48:02.197-06:002009-12-30T00:48:02.197-06:00Remember that McNally's first started their bu...Remember that McNally's first started their business admidst the recession of the early 1980s.Lil Zebrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10022930534145293089noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10100067.post-12816735485933456542009-12-30T00:17:14.646-06:002009-12-30T00:17:14.646-06:00a) They should've never left Portage Place
b)...a) They should've never left Portage Place<br /><br />b) They could quite easily sell eBooks and compete in that marketplace as well, if they had vision, leadership and a better internet presence.Louis Rielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14960119234871377867noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10100067.post-21312549742595728392009-12-29T22:04:30.049-06:002009-12-29T22:04:30.049-06:00I lost respect for them when they moved from downt...I lost respect for them when they moved from downtown, and have been shopping @ chapters ever since.Manitoba Newshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02504927130279769341noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10100067.post-39586985702195980692009-12-29T21:15:07.190-06:002009-12-29T21:15:07.190-06:00Promote your site or blog on f9book.comPromote your site or blog on <a href="http://f9book.com" rel="nofollow">f9book.com</a>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com