SmartCentres’ First Walmart: Changing the Canadian Retail Landscape
Source: SmartCentres Blog
The day had finally come. After five years of secret meetings, confidential phone numbers, a handshake deal and never referring to Walmart by name – SmartCentres opened our first Walmart in Barrie, Ontario on November 22, 1994.
Along Highway 400 at Mapleview Drive East, in what was a growing urban area at the time, sits the site of our very first Canadian Walmart. While much of the area around the site has changed dramatically over the years, Walmart has remained a steady pillar in the community and serves as a reminder of the values and vision upon which Executive Chairman and CEO Mitchell (“Mitch”) Goldhar built SmartCentres REIT.
“I wanted to work with retailers who wanted to open earlier, stay open later, sell for less and offer fair return policies,” Mitch recalls. “Retailers who generally treat the average household earners fairly and respectfully.”
Built on Trust and a Shared Vision
The opening of Barrie’s Walmart was a fantastic indicator of the success to come, but a successful entry into a new market is never guaranteed, especially when that new market is the second largest geographic country on the planet. This is exactly why confidentiality was key during the 5 years between the handshake that started it all and opening day in 1994. We’re talking locked boardrooms and codenames kinds of secrecy.
But confidentiality alone wasn’t going to secure the Canadian market for Walmart. It was about relationships built on trust, and the mutual trust between Walmart and Mitch would change the Canadian retail landscape forever.
“Trust is why I worked without a contract, without any documentation, without any payment to help them map out an execute and entry plan into Canada,” Mitch explains. “There was never a contract obligating Walmart to work with me. It was all trust.”
On the back of that trust and shared vision for a better future for Canadians, the SmartCentres business grew. A tidal wave of support came both from Walmart and Canadian shoppers throughout the 90s.
A New Walmart Every Three Weeks
Mitch’s vision of bringing value and convenience to Canadian families started to materialize – exponentially. In the first few years alone, between 1994 and 1998 SmartCentres built 26 Walmart stores – that’s more than four a year. Following that, between 1995 and 2009, we built and opened a Walmart store on average every three weeks. That’s approximately three 3 million square feet annually.
“I spent every waking hour of every weekday meeting with retailers, landowners, architects and politicians and every weekend travelling Canada,” Mitch recounts. “I was looking for more markets, and sites within those markets to buy, zone, lease and build retail facilities that were aligned with our vision.”
Opening day in Barrie in 1994 was just the beginning. Walmart was and continues to be an industry leader in supply chain management of food and general household goods. Walmart’s entry to Canada led the way of change for Canadian families across the country for years to follow.
Our companies share a vision of bringing value and convenience to Canadian families – and we are incredibly proud to be Walmart’s only real estate partner in the world.
Join us in continuing to bring value and convenience to Canadians across the country. Enquire today.