On
Wednesday, March
30, 2005
, a new store will
open at the Hanmer Valley Shopping Centre in Hanmer. With approximately
64,000 Grand Opening circulars being distributed to almost every household
in the area, company officials expect to welcome a large crowd of
bargain-conscious consumers wanting to be the first in line to take
advantage of the hundreds of grand opening specials immediately after the
ribbon-cutting ceremony. The mall doors will open up at
7:00 a.m.
to accommodate the
line up of early shoppers.
The
Hart marketing strategy hinges on providing value-priced merchandise
supported by a solid promotional program and exceptional customer service.
The company takes pride in their claim “Our
prices are unbeatable!”
In
the photo above, Rod Groulx, Store Manager, and Julie Laquerre, Assistant
Store Manager, put the finishing touches on the childrens’ wear section
of the Hart Department Store.
Hart Stores Inc., a “quiet giant” which has been steadily expanding
for the past 45 years in
Quebec
and
Eastern Canada
, is taking a bold step into the
Ontario
market with the 30,000 square
foot store at the Hanmer Valley Shopping Centre. The Hanmer site is only
the second
Ontario
outlet of the 68-store chain.
However, with a store opening up in
Whitby
on April 1 and another in
Espanola in August, the Hart chain, which already operates out of
Kirkland
Lake
, has quickly and successfully
entered the “retail game” in
Ontario
.
While
the announcement of another department store in the City of
Greater Sudbury
may not on the surface be
considered big news, the opening of the Hart Store in
Valley East
definitely has added
significance for the area. For
one thing, this is the first major retail chain to establish in one of the
outlying communities since amalgamation. Previous expansion has been
focused on the sites in the former city of
Sudbury
.
When
Michael Hart, President and CEO of the Montreal-based Hart Stores Inc.,
first examined potential sites in the Sudbury area, he was immediately
impressed with the community of Valley East. For one thing, while the
population of the Greater Sudbury Region has declined by 10% since 1971,
the population in
Valley East
has actually increased in that
same time by over 25%, and a close examination of the demographics
verifies that this is a preferred community among young families. As
people move into the City of
Greater Sudbury
from other larger metropolitan
areas, many of them have been attracted to the quality of life of
Valley East
. Young people who have
experienced the “big city life of
Southern Ontario
” are seeking an escape from
the congestion and traffic. They have discovered that
Valley East
contains all of the amenities of
which they have been searching.
Valley East
is also the perfect setting for
a Hart Department Store. Hart has solidified its share of what it
considers to be a growing market and successfully coexists with its large
big-box competition by differentiating its merchandising approach. Hart
Stores provide local residents with the selection, quality and pricing of
much larger box stores, with the added benefit of personal service that
one would only expect from much smaller establishments. It is the best of
both worlds, and gives
Valley East
residents the finishing touch
they were looking for. A community of 25,000 people, situated about 20
minutes from large retail centers, with a growing population base of
people in search of a small town atmosphere with big city convenience, is
the ideal location for a Hart Department Store.
Even
more important to
Valley East
is that the new Hart Department
Store has opened the “flood-gates” for even more retail expansion in
the community. Over the next several months, other similar-sized retail
outlets are expected to announce that they will be establishing in
Valley East
as well.
Once local residents realize that this is a community where they
can have it all, the economic spin-off will be tremendous. Shoppers today
are getting tired of the “big city” congestion that comes with most
major retail development complexes. It is nice at the beginning, but the
novelty soon wears off. The fact that Hart Stores Inc. chose
Valley East
as the place to establish a
foot-hold in
Ontario
says a lot about the confidence
this chain has in the community. Visitors to the store will soon realize
that the day has now come when communities the size of
Valley East
can have the same retail choices
as much larger centers and still maintain that “personal touch” which
is so very important to a healthy quality of life.
All
eyes in the City of
Greater Sudbury
will be on
Valley East
during the next several months
in anticipation of an economic “boom” in retail development to meet
the growing demand among local residents for a health mix of selection,
convenience and customer service that will allow for a quality of life
that until now was unobtainable.
