Canadian retailers closing amid intense competition, failure to adapt to market
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In Canada, many retailers had a "great thing going for years," according to Farla Efros, the president of HRC Advisory, a retail consulting firm. There wasn't much competition and the economy was stable. But that all changed with the recession and the onslaught of international competition and the Canadian Push. "They got a bit sleepy and all of a sudden have needed to go into recovery mode," says Efros.

An influx of fast-fashion brands, combined with an inability to adapt to new styles and a growth in consumer choice, have led to the demise of many mid-price Canadian retailers.

International companies like Zara, H&M and Forever 21 are seen as fast-fashion brands - they're massive and they operate on a ramped-up schedule. A traditional apparel retailer might have taken months to go from the runway to a store," says Stephens. "A retailer like Zara is accelerating that process. So they've really just changed the speed with which retailers need to get apparel to market."

This speed allows these big retailers something traditional ones don't have: flexibility. They can get a new popular style onto the market in weeks or even days in some cases, according to Stephens.

Traditional retailers just can't keep up.

On top of that, spending habits are changing. Mid-market retailers don't have as much draw because, Stephens says, people are gravitating towards the extremes. "Their new iPhone purchase is being supplemented by buying clothing at Forever 21. So these are the extremes of value," he says.

'Lack of Innovation' and 'Infinite Choice' are the other main factors.  cbc.ca

Security Career Expo in Toronto draws more than 200 attendees
Canadian Security magazine's Security Career Expo, held March 9 in Toronto, hosted more than 200 students who came to listen to expert speakers, mentor with respected industry professionals and meet potential employers. Professionals from TD Bank, Canada Post, Go Transit, Peel Region School Board, the City of Calgary, Canada's Wonderland, MLSE, Sears and many more mingled with students, answering questions and sharing their expertise. Students were able to engage with security leaders in small groups through mentoring roundtable sessions. Security Career Expo also held a series of panels and seminars designed to help future professionals plan their own careers and learn about fields such as IT security, loss prevention, investigations and global terrorism. canadiansecuritymag.com