Canadian retail giant Sleep Country is launching a new concept store this fall in the Yorkdale Shopping Centre.
“We’re opening up a very new, exciting luxury concept, a very bespoke experience. It’s called The Rest,” Stewart Schaefer, President & CEO of Sleep Country Canada and Dormez vous, told Retail Insider.
“It really is a collection of mattresses and linens, sheets and pillows and duvets that we don’t carry in Sleep Country that is a much more luxurious line above whatever we sell at high end at Sleep Country for obviously a very refined taste where they believe their sleep is priceless.
“It’s a much smaller concept. It will also be a heightened experience. Within our team we talk about it as a seven-star hotel over a five-star hotel. And it comes to life somewhere around mid to late November.”
“It’s exciting to see Canadian brands evolve to capture new customer segments with in-store experiences,” said Robert Horst, Vice President, Retail, Oxford Properties.
“The Rest is another first-to-market concept at Yorkdale that complements the range of home décor retailers. We’re delighted to welcome The Rest among the new brands opening at Yorkdale this year.”
Schaefer said the store is about half the size of a regular location. It will be about 2,500 square feet.
“And it is strategically located right near Restoration Hardware because we do believe it does appeal to a similar demographic and it will feature, where we have roughly 40-odd beds in a Sleep Country 5,000-square-foot store, this store which is 2,500 square feet will only feature 13 uniquely, customized, fabulous beds at different price points, at different luxury levels with special ingredients into these beds that are all the luxury materials that you can think of.
“Yorkdale being Canada’s number one high end, premium mall, was chosen for all the unique tenants that they have including being next to Restoration Hardware and all the other people that they bring in. As well, launching a brand new concept the thousands upon thousands of people that enter through that mall during the holiday season is a huge part of our marketing where we hope to receive a lot of exposure in a very short period of time.
“It’s also a concept that will be very exclusive across the country where we could probably have maybe only five to a maximum of 10 of these locations opened in various cities – Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal. That has not yet been decided upon but the first one we figured that Yorkdale mall is that pristine mall in Canada we had to try it out. If we believe, which we do, that there is an opportunity to cater to a more customized bespoke higher end clientele that just want something more luxurious and if it works in Toronto we’re going to try and appeal to that market across the country.
Sleep Country currently has 296 locations across Canada. That doesn’t include its six Casper stores.
“There’s a bunch of (new) stores already in the pipes. So we’re excited about that,” said Schaefer. “Next year, it happens to be our 30th year anniversary and coincidentally we’re going to be opening our 300th Sleep Country-Dormez vous store. We’re going to create some type of an event around that.”
I warn anyone researching The Rest, DO NOT BUY! We bought what we were thinking was a high end mattress that cost in excess of $4,000. It’s the worst decision we’ve ever made! It is sagging by over half an inch and both my wife and I are unable to use it anymore. Both of our backs have sever issues now requiring medical treatment. There warranty team aren’t willing to help at all. Please, look elsewhere!