Watch the video above: Loblaw store moving into Kensington Market. Mark McAllister reports.
TORONTO – The independent stores that fill the majority of Kensington Market will soon have to compete with a corporate giant as Loblaw announces it will open a store in the historic neighbourhood in 2016.
But David Soberman, a professor of marketing at the University of Toronto, says the competition won’t be isolated to independent stores versus Loblaw. Instead, the Kensington Market neighbourhood and its crosstown rival St. Lawrence Market will be competing for the business of Torontonians.
And Soberman thinks the introduction of a Loblaw store could allow the neighbourhood to better compete with the city’s oldest market.
“The most important area that Kensington market competes with is probably the St. Lawrence market area,” Soberman said. “This is something that could actually make Kensington market as appealing as St. Lawrence Market for someone who wants to do a little bit of market shopping but also pick something up from the supermarket as well.”
Soberman points out that there is a small Loblaw store in St. Lawrence Market that appears to fit seamlessly into the neighbourhood.
“This will be a unique store, a smaller-than-usual footprint, and a creative second-story location,” Kevin Groh, VP of corporate affairs and communications for Loblaw said in a statement. “It will be part of a mixed-use development, which is – by definition – designed to support the healthy combination of high-density living with various services and retail nearby.”
The grocery store will only be 20,000 square feet making it much smaller than its counterpart at old Maple Leaf Gardens and much smaller than most of its retail locations.
Despite that, community groups fear that Loblaws might make it impossible for independent businesses to prosper.
“You can’t just impose a community grocery store.”
“I think there is so much pressure on Kensington Market right now and anything that competes with the raw food sellers is bad for the market, the neighbourhood, it’s bad for us as a destination,” Dominique Russell, a spokesperson for Friends of Kensington Market said.
Russell suggested Loblaw meet with the surrounding community to gauge their feelings on the proposal. However, Tribute Communities which owns the building in which the Loblaw will open, has conducted several community meetings.
But the Loblaw isn’t the only so-called “pressure” that the community is facing. A Wal-Mart proposed for the area sparked a similar backlash and resulted in a temporary development freeze in the area as the city conducted a land-use study of the neighbourhood. And increasing rents have also forced other businesses out of the neighbourhood, Russell said.
“It’s very hard for small grocery stores, small fruit stands, with the rising price of real estate to survive,” she said. “Part of what draws people here is that sense of neighbourhood that sense of community, the interactions with the merchants, the restaurants that can run and get their fresh fruits and vegetables. So there’s going to be, that’s the biggest pressure.”
– With files from Mark McAllister
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