Canadian Retailers Increasingly Facing Stronger Headwinds - Retail Sales Growth Slows - Amazon Takes A $1B Bite  U.S. and international retailers have sharply escalated the pace of new store openings in Canada over the past five years, with many seeing Canada as an engine to fuel top-line growth. The Canadian retail market has experienced slower growth in 2015, however, largely due to a softer Canadian economy. While both luxury and value retailers are seeing continued growth, a number of 'middle-market' retailers that are failing to differentiate themselves are struggling and in some cases, shuttering.

Retail Council of Canada numbers indicate that the annual rate of Canadian retail top-line growth for the year to July 2015 was only 1.7%, compared with 4.6% and 4.3% in the corresponding two prior years.

There are two 'silver linings', however - cross-border shopping trips to the U.S. are estimated to have decreased by 25%, resulting in the repatriation of those retail sales to merchants in Canada. Canadian will save $1,500 annually as a result of the reduction in retail gas prices, resulting in an additional $15-20 billion in the hands of Canadian consumers.

In addition to the above macro-economic headwinds being faced by retailers operating in Canada, the significant increase in competition both from new entrants into the Canadian market as well as from e-commerce pure-plays (it has been estimated by some that Amazon's Canadian business is now over $1 billion) is impacting the overall market share for incumbent retailers as a group. retail-insider.com

Amazon's corporate culture raises questions about Canadian similarities
The excesses of Amazon.com's hard-driving corporate culture made headlines this week, raising questions about whether similar problems are possible at Canadian companies. Parker said a company based in Canada with a similar mission would likely demand the same of its employees.

"Amazon knows who they are," he said. "They're trying to take over the world and they recruit people based on that." That type of extreme workplace environment is often seen in high-volume, low-margin industries like retail, where efficiency is paramount. The biggest problems arise, Parker added, when managers down the line from Bezos do their best to implement their own interpretations of his uncompromising vision for productivity. They're going to be representing that culture every day and some of them are just going to take it way too far," he said.

"The idea that employees should be radically flexible, always on call, always serving the customer, and sacrificing themselves to help the company is something we find all over the world," he said.

Yet Steven Murphy, dean of Ryerson University's Ted Rogers School of Management, said it's less likely for a Canadian company to drive its workers as hard as Amazon allegedly does. "A lot of U.S. corporations, and especially tech, ride that balance between dedication and a level of commitment that we may not see in Canadian organizations," he said.  ctvnews.ca

"Canada remains one of the most favourable markets in the world for supermarkets," Loblaw & Metro Continue to Grow  Canadian consumers are spending more on food, and competition among supermarkets has settled down after several years of intense competition, according to CIBC World Markets analyst Perry Caicco. "It now looks like the glory days will extend into 2016, and possibly beyond," said Caicco, who upgraded his outlook on Loblaw Cos. and Metro. financialpost.com

Jeweller Michael Hill plans to almost double its Canadian store count
With 60 stores and eight new ones this year, they plan on opening six in 2016 and six in 2017. Plan on 110.  retail-insider.com

Sears to close Seaway Mall, Welland location - affecting 55 employees

Toronto's high-end grocer Pusateri's will rebuild flagship after last weekend's fire Saturday night

Retail Fast Facts: July 2015 

Highlights:
● Total monthly retail sales changed by 1.2 per cent over the comparable month last year. 
● Total sales excluding food, automotive and gasoline changed by 3.8 per cent over the comparable month last year. Read more