FTLComm - Winnipeg - December 27, 2000

As boxing day wore on we decided to venture forth and see how things were going. Visiting the larger stores like Wall mart and the Brick was a mixed situation. Wall mart actually had some excellent bargains but it also had more than its share of shoppers. Business was brisk at the other large stores and that was after four in the afternoon. We went to the Polo Park mall and it was interesting. The mall and its many small stores were very busy but Sears had only a few modest bargains while Eatons was almost deserted. Time did not permit a visit to Zellers. The picture above shows the large numbers of shoppers in the mall and on the right you can see the problems this mall was having with its escalators More than half were out of service and this one seen here is one of those

as customers clamber down

a stairway that was never intended to be be climbed or walked upon. The massed shoppers in the picture are caught behind an elder lady making the perillous descent with the grooved footing and clutching several bags of goods. This picture (right) shows a lower density then other areas and this is primarily because this area is near several of the youth oriented clothing shops. Three of these included the one seen below were crammed even this late in the day and all had door guards who not only checked the people leaving with merchandise but in some cases restricted admittance into the store to make sure that things did not get to crowded and thus lead to a dangerous shopping condition

This was our first visit to the newly renovated Eatons store. Sears has purchased a few of the former Eatons outlets across the country and decked them out as somewhat "upscale" retail outlets. As mentioned we found the place almost deserted and with good reason. Bargain hunters knew full well that in Eatons there are no bargains. The products are of a slightly higher value and quality and there were no sales. Many parts of the store are very stylish and we were taken with the scene in kitchen ware. These super sized glass products were especially interesting. It would look to us that if you haven't seen a new Eatons store as done over by Sears you had better hurry because it is unlikely these operations can sustain being open and not doing any business for very long. The best scene of the day is not here on this page so I will instead have to settle for just telling you about it. We were in Wall mart and as you will recall the place was really packed. Wall mart keeps their walk ways very tight in some areas of the store and because of signs and products it is hard to see. I came around one corner and there was a two hundred fifty pound, over six foot tall man in his forties with a beard and mustache playfully motoring around on a two wheelled scooters No time for me to whip out my camera but lots of time for me to savour the sight of the man's delight, the gleeful smile he gave me, as he dismounted the device and set it back up atop the display.