February 8, 2012

The Great Mirvish Makeover

How to revitalize Mirvish Enterprises

BE THE ANTI-WAL-MART

With each visit [to Honest Ed’s,] the store has been less and less crowded. This is no surprise given that competitors like Wal- Mart have assumed the “discount king” mantle and offer, quite honestly, a more pleasant shopping experience. How can you bring the people back? Use what you have going for you: namely, a brand name that evokes warmth, caring and the Canadian spirit. In other words, you are the anti-Wal-Mart. Why does Honest Ed’s evoke pleasant memories? Well, because Ed Mirvish did things to get himself known in the community as a kind and caring person. Who can forget the Thanksgiving and Christmas giveaways? It’s time for [the company] to wholeheartedly embrace the community. Show us some love, and we will return it a thousand-fold, just as in decades past.
Ashwin Joshi, Director of Schulich School of Business’s MBA Program

ADOPT A FUNKY, NEW CONCEPT

Revitalize Honest Ed’s. The Bloor and Bathurst corner has tremendous potential, but the traditional retail concept is outdated and holding the corner back. Completely redevelop the retailer by changing its format and moving to a funky concept — like a Century 21 in New York. This would serve the history of Honest Ed’s while breathing new life into Toronto’s retail scene and providing a strong pillar for additional redevelopment in the area.
Lisa Shepherd, President of Mezzanine Consulting

BRING THEATRE ONLINE

Connect with the artistic community by giving them an opportunity to pitch their play idea to a director, their set idea to a producer, their musical score idea to a conductor. Mirvish becomes the curator of creativity in the theatre, not just a place to stage plays.

Mirvish can also bring theatre online as webisodes. Tease the audience to come out and see it. Or, during preview week, create a “pay what you can afford” system, and encourage patrons to blog about their experience.
Tony Chapman, CEO of Capital C Marketing

INVEST IN HOMEGROWN HITS

If I had one key suggestion for David Mirvish in these changing times, it would be to invest significantly in medium scale
original commercial projects in partnership with Toronto’s alternate theatres, where development costs are much lower and where homegrown hits are quite feasible. The alternate theatres need to think more commercially, and, if the gap between the large tourist theatres and the indigenous creative centres could be bridged, a healthier and more vibrant Toronto theatre ecology might emerge for the benefit of all.
Ken Gass, Factory Theatre’s artistic director

DON’T FALL BEHIND THE TIMES

Honest Ed’s should create an online identity so they are keeping up with current social media. Facebook groups, Twitter and even fun e-mail campaigns could highlight “kitsch” weekly items that could draw in the hip Annex crowd as well as locals who have stopped considering Ed’s as a great place to shop. It’s also time Ed’s launches a new PR campaign ... so it doesn’t get replaced with a big box (capital B) boring store.
Debra Goldblatt, Public Relations Maven

This article appears in the April 2009 issue of Post City Magazines

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