Tausi Insider

A Starbucks location in Pittsburgh, Pa., on Nov. 7. Gene J. Puskar/The Associated Press Starbucks SBUX-Q workers at more than 100 U.S. stores are on strike Thursday in their largest labour action since a campaign to unionize the company’s stores began late last year. The walkouts coincide with Starbucks’ annual Red Cup Day, when the company gives free reusable cups to customers who order a holiday drink. Workers say it’s often one of the busiest days of the year. Starbucks declined to say how many red cups it plans to distribute. Workers say they’re seeking better pay, more consistent schedules and higher staffing levels in busy stores. Stores in 25 states planned to take part in the labour action, according to Starbucks Workers United, the group organizing the effort. Strikers are handing out their own red cups with union logos. Starbucks, which opposes the unionization effort, said it is aware of the walkouts and respects its employees’ right to lawfully protest. The Seattle compan...

Starbucks SBUX-Q workers around the U.S. are planning a three-day strike starting Friday as part of their effort to unionize the coffee chain’s stores. More than 1,000 baristas at 100 stores are planning to walk out, according to Starbucks Workers United, the labor group organizing the effort. The strike will be the longest in the year-old unionization campaign. The union says it expects the strike will shutter some stores entirely; at others, managers or other workers may keep the stores open. A message seeking comment was left with Starbucks Friday morning. This is the second major strike in a month by Starbucks’ U.S. workers. On Nov. 17, workers at 110 Starbucks stores held a one-day walkout. That effort coincided with Starbucks’ annual Red Cup Day, when the company gives reusable cups to customers who order a holiday drink. More than 264 of Starbucks’ 9,000 company-run U.S. stores have voted to unionize since late last year. Starbucks opposes the unionization effort, saying the c...

An employee helps a customer at the Fire and Flower store in Ottawa on April 1, 2019, as the first legal cannabis stores open in the province of Ontario. CHRIS WATTIE/Reuters Chad Finkelstein is a business lawyer and registered trademark agent at Dale & Lessmann LLP in Toronto, with a focus on franchising, licensing, distribution, retail and cannabis. Currently, approximately 1,500 cannabis stores are open or approved in Ontario, 450 in British Columbia and 760 in Alberta (these being the three most populous provinces that have privatized cannabis retail operations). In most cities, one might find two or more cannabis stores on the same block, at the same intersection or within the same plaza. People often express confusion about, or even resentment toward, this concentration of cannabis stores, and wonder how any of them could make money, or why anybody would want to open one, or how this could have come about. It’s a question with no easy answers. To pin it on any one factor wo...

This spring, Hudson's Bay Company is set to open Zellers stores inside 25 The Bay locations across Canada. Chris Bolin/Tausi Insider For many Canadians, the name Zellers conjures up memories of more than just a department store. The flood of nostalgia may include getting high fives from Zeddy the mascot or a family trip to the store’s 1950s-style diner for some Eggs Zenedict. Now, more than a decade after a Target Corp. deal that saw the end of the beloved Zellers era, the discount retailer is making a comeback. Last summer, Hudson’s Bay Co. announced that it is planning to open Zellers locations within its Bay department stores. On Jan. 18, the company revealed the planned locations for its first 25 “in-store experiences” across Canada. Here’s a refresher on all things Zellers. What’s the deal with the comeback? Not much is known about the deal. Starting in 2023, the retail company said it is planning to open Zellers locations within its The Bay department stores, adding that Ze...

People walk through Yorkdale Mall, in Toronto, on Nov. 26, 2021. Tijana Martin/The Canadian Press Canadian retail sales edged down in November amid a broad consumer spending pull back as the rising cost of living continued to erode purchasing power. Statistics Canada said Friday retail sales dropped 0.1 per cent to $61.8-billion in November. While the decrease wasn’t as pronounced as expected – the agency’s early estimate for the month predicted a 0.5 per cent drop – other measures show a bigger drop. Retail sales in volume terms, which measures the quantity of goods sold and controls for price changes due to inflation, decreased 0.4 per cent in November. Core retail sales, which exclude gasoline stations and motor vehicle and parts dealers, dropped 1.1 per cent – the largest decline in 11 months. Still, the federal agency’s early estimate for December suggests retail sales rebounded slightly up 0.5 per cent for that month, though it cautioned the figure would be revised. “Canadian c...

Starbucks SBUX-Q workers around the U.S. are planning a three-day strike starting Friday as part of their effort to unionize the coffee chain’s stores. More than 1,000 baristas at 100 stores are planning to walk out, according to Starbucks Workers United, the labor group organizing the effort. The strike will be the longest in the year-old unionization campaign. The union says it expects the strike will shutter some stores entirely; at others, managers or other workers may keep the stores open. A message seeking comment was left with Starbucks Friday morning. This is the second major strike in a month by Starbucks’ U.S. workers. On Nov. 17, workers at 110 Starbucks stores held a one-day walkout. That effort coincided with Starbucks’ annual Red Cup Day, when the company gives reusable cups to customers who order a holiday drink. More than 264 of Starbucks’ 9,000 company-run U.S. stores have voted to unionize since late last year. Starbucks opposes the unionization effort, saying the c...