Joe Clark explains it all: yes, there’s an impending Leslieville Starbucks; no, that isn’t a bad thing.
I’ve always liked Starbucks, as heretical as that may sound - the Church and Wellesley one is the nearest decent coffee place to Ryerson. Besides, I like their coffee – it’s the closest you can buy to the way I make it myself.
I never got the point of that impossibly self-absorbed episode in the Annex when the gates of hell opened after the Dooney’s landlord tried to rent to them instead. (Good idea or bad idea, why would anybody west of Bathurst care?)
I was delighted when they set up across the street from Dooney’s and prospered.
Clark also beats up a soon-to-be Leslieville deli owner who describes his market as ‘quality middle-class people with comfortable finances,’ something he probably shouldn’t be allowed to live down.
I’m not sure how his business plan ended up as a public document, but it’s very entertaining:
An impulse purchase at the Cheese Market after brunch on a Sunday requires employment and financial security. People in this segment are homogeneous in their middle-class food needs: Quality meats, produce, cheese, and other dairy including eggs. These items are purchased locally at supermarkets and specialty stores, and cooked at home many nights of the week.
It’s interesting to note that, despite Price Chopper’s consistently lower prices…, Loblaws has… three or four times the number of customers… These customers are in a financial and social position in society that allows them to decide that they will never cross Leslie St. to set foot in Price Chopper.
No, no, no. The problem with Price Chopper is that it has consistently low prices and quality to match, unlike Bulk Barn (in the same building as Loblaws) or the Gerrard No Frills.
Beyond segmenting by location, the socioeconomic demographic of cheese buyers is very broad. People of all ages love cheese, but only people of a certain age buy cheese. High school students are out. University students might want to buy cheese, but with the exception of special occasions, student loans come first. An impulse purchase at the Cheese Market after brunch on a Sunday requires employment and financial security. In terms of age, there's no limit — old people love cheese!
Do bankers have to read this sort of thing all day long? I can’t imagine.
Posted by Patrick at May 10, 2006 07:09 PM