The Beach Village area in Toronto has undergone a recent transformation as it continues to welcome new retailers and businesses to the neighbourhood with a strategic plan and effort to revitalize it.
Anna Sebert, the Executive Director of the Beach Village BIA (Business Improvement Area), said 12 new ventures have either recently opened or will soon open in the district.
“It’s amazing. This has been pretty unprecedented,” she said. “People are being more positive about the area. And that’s a huge win for us.’
They include: Both Bruno’s (coming soon); East Toronto Vascular Clinic; Marvelous Beauty Lounge; The Vape Pub; Scholar’s Education Centre; Isabella’s Boutique restaurant (moved to a bigger location in the Beach); Beaches Brew Co.; Big Bruce Public House; Toronto Popcorn Company; Derma Bar; Blue Cloud Cafe; and The Sweet Oven.
PHOTO: BEACH VILLAGE BIA
When the Beach Village BIA put together an aggressive retail revitalization plan for its lakeside community back in the winter, it faced significant challenges including a 13 per cent vacancy rate and a stream of negative media coverage about the area’s business prospects.
Zenergy Communications was brought on to spur marketing and media relations efforts in the region as a business recruitment plan was developed, and several major events were launched throughout the spring and summer to drive foot traffic and increase spending in the area.
Sebert said those efforts are paying off as several new businesses are taking a foothold in the area.
The Beach Village BIA is made up of about 320 shops, restaurants, and services along Queen Street East running from Lockwood Road to Neville Park Boulevard. It is slightly north of Lake Ontario in the eastern part of Toronto.
Sebert said about 24 per cent of the businesses are retail and services is the largest sector with about 46 per cent followed by food and drink at about 27 per cent. Art and entertainment is about three per cent.
“Mostly our businesses are small, independent retailers. Mom and pop shops. That kind of thing,” she said.
“Our name The Beach Village alludes to the fact that we are a small town within the city. It’s kind of like this little pocket of its own in the east. A lot of people kind of consider the end of our BIA as the unofficial end of Toronto. It’s a nice little pocket where you can go to the beach and then you can stroll around. We’ve got some larger sidewalks. We’ve got Kew Gardens which is a huge park in the area – used to host Jazz Fest for 25 years.
PHOTO: BEACH VILLAGE BIA
“It’s a very community centric neighbourhood as well. Everybody kind of knows each other – that kind of feel.”
Sebert said the neighbourhood has experienced changes in recent years. Development which has taken place in the western part of the city has slowly moved east to The Beach Village.
“I think a lot of people want things to stay the same but they’re not. It’s very cyclical down here at The Beach and I think a lot of people for many years were thinking ‘oh it was better in the 80s, better in the 90s’. There’s a little bit of a raise in the vacancy rate. That came from a multitude of reasons. You did have people buying properties for development as that was slowly coming in,” she said.
“Then you had some people as the commercial property taxes went up the area was sought after and rents became a little more expensive. Only really people who were providing great products, great experiences were the ones who were surviving. It was becoming tough. But that’s something we’re definitely seeing a change in. We do have some great landlords down here who are willing to work with people and breathe some new life into here.”
PHOTO: BEACH VILLAGE BIA
The BIA recently did a streetscape master plan with the City of Toronto to guide the vision of the street for the future and build a brand identity.
“That’s great and that’s what we always do but this year we actually have started to do a business recruitment strategy and that is beyond the scope of what BIAs normally do. We normally don’t have the funding for that kind of thing – the labour, the time. But I was actually granted a grant from the City of Toronto’s BIA office – an innovation grant – to work on this business recruitment strategy,” said Sebert.
“Right now we have talked to and surveyed businesses, landlords, residents and we’re really trying to develop a more comprehensive marketing strategy to really promote this area as the place to do business.
PHOTO: BEACH VILLAGE BIA
“I think we’ve always had that really great base of what we do. We do our movies in the park. We do retail shopping events. We do Christmas events. We do banners and baskets. We make the street look beautiful. But I think now that we’ve got that foundation we’re starting to build on it and I think we’ve already seen some great responses from our businesses who want to get involved and that’s really going to continue to help us especially in recruiting more independent businesses to the area and as we see that already happening we can start featuring that and getting them to be involved in the process. Let’s try to bring in more people.”
Toronto-based retail industry expert, personal wardrobe stylist and image consultant Yana Brikker of Ask Yana Inc. predicts that the rise of clothing rental businesses, as well as the rise of second-hand and off-price retail, will grab market share from traditional fashion retailers in Canada in the coming years. The trend is being driven by social media as well as individuals looking for bargains at a time when cost-of-living is increasing, and incomes stagnate.
This could hit full-priced fashion retailers in a big way, according to Ms. Brikker. And it comes at a time when an unprecedented number of international brands enter the Canadian market, which could see more homegrown brands shutter if they’re unable to compete.
For years, Toronto-based Yana Brikker has been working as an image consultant and stylist for a range of clients that include women and men, and she says that she predicts that the clothing rental business will be taking Canada by storm as clients request such services. She also explained how the phenomenon could result in consumers not actually buying clothing if they want to only be seen once in a particular garment.
HOLT RENFREW BLOOR SHOE HALL PHOTO: GEORGE PIMENTEL
“I was at several gala events recently, and I was surprised at how many rental dresses I saw in the room,” Ms. Brikker said. “I was in the showroom with two of my clients earlier that week and the owner informed me that many of the dresses we wanted for the evening we needed had already been reserved. I saw many of the same dresses at the events that followed, and it’s part of a bigger trend that I am witnessing,” she said.
“More and more, people are posting photos of themselves on Instagram and they don’t want to be seen twice in the same outfit. At the same time, they want to be seen in beautiful clothing, but it can be financially prohibitive to buy an expensive outfit and wear it only once,” she said. “Now we’re seeing women in particular renting a beautiful dress for the evening rather than making a substantially larger, permanent investment in a garment”.
Accessories, including jewellery and designer handbags, are also being rented out she said. “Rather than spending thousands of dollars on a collection of bags, women can rent one for a limited time, be seen wearing it, and have the option of being seen with several different bags rather than investing in just one item”.
It’s still unclear how big the clothing rental trend will be in Canada, as new companies continue to develop platforms to sell rental clothing. Startups across the country are getting in on the trend and it’s all so new that it remains to be seen just how much clothing rentals will affect sales at full-priced traditional retailers. “I predict that clothing rentals will be the next big thing and that we will continue to see new companies form to rent clothing to customers temporarily. Full-priced retailers will have to look to innovate if they want to compete,” said Ms. Brikker.
“Last year Neiman Marcus in San Francisco launched a 3,000 square foot pop-up location for Rent the Runway, which was followed by a permanent storefront for Rent the Runway. Now we see that Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Free People, American Eagle, Vince, Ann Taylor and other retailers are getting in on the clothing rental trend,” she said.
RENT THE RUNWAY AT 434 POST STREET IN SAN FRANCISCO. PHOTO: MIHA MATEI PHOTOGRAPHY
The trend continues as retailers such as Bloomingdale’s get into subscription rentals. Launched last month, Bloomingdale’s ‘My List’ includes a US $149 fee where customers are entitled to four pieces initially, with unlimited substitutions. Also recently, HBC-owned Lord & Taylor was acquired by subscription rental website LeTote in a partnership that could see LeTote rolled out in some Canadian Hudson’s Bay stores, according to sources familiar with the situation.
Startups such as Ocurent, recently launched by fashion veteran Marlee Rabin in Montreal, is an example of a rapidly-growing company that is renting out fashions to her clients. “The majority of my customers tell me that they love getting dressed up for big events, especially for the Instagram photo opportunity,” said Ms. Rabin. “However, when they wear a dress to an event that they own, they feel insecure and tend to avoid being in or posting photos in case they’ve been seen in the same dress in the past. Renting has provided them affordable access to new outfits for all of their events, which simultaneously gives them more content for their personal social channels,” she went on to say.
Ms. Rabin’s new company has innovated in that the suppliers of her fashions do so on a consignment basis, which means she herself doesn’t have to invest in stock. At the same time, owners of the dresses are able to profit from the dresses that are being rented out. Ocurent is growing rapidly and will be featured in a separate article in Retail Insider.
SCREEN SHOT OF THE ‘LE TOTE’ WEBSITE. THE COMPANY ACQUIRED HBC-OWNED LORD & TAYLOR. CANADIAN HUDSON’S BAY STORES COULD ALSO BE PART OF THE PARTNERSHIP, ACCORDING TO SOURCES.
There are plenty of other examples of clothing rental companies expanding their operations in Canada. Ottawa-based Rent Frock Repeat, for example, is rapidly expanding its operations nationally and it recently introduced a subscription service.
Yana Brikker explained how the growth in second-hand fashions could further disrupt Canadian retailing. While second-hand clothing is hardly a new thing, it’s becoming more mainstream and social media is part of the reason.
“You’re far less likely to be wearing the same dress as someone else if it’s vintage, and the quality in some vintage pieces is superior to some designer brands that you can buy today,” said Ms. Brikker. “As the world of fashion moves away from specific trends, people are becoming more comfortable expressing their own personal identities and vintage clothing is an avenue for style expression,” she said.
That could result in a hit to brands such as Hermes, which have created false scarcity by limiting the sales of some of its bag styles, including the iconic ‘Birkin’ bag. Acquiring a Birkin bag at a Hermes store can be a challenge unless a buyer is established with the brand, though a vintage retailer is less likely to discriminate provided that the customer has the money to buy the item,” explained Ms. Brikker. “A good vintage Birkin bag, particularly if made of exotic skin, can cost into the six-figures”.
The rise of off-price retail and warehouse sales also further stands to erode traditional fashion retail in Canada. And it’s not just those struggling financially who are looking for a bargain, said Yana Brikker.
“Everyone loves a great deal and a ‘good sale’, even my most affluent clients,” she said. “I’m able to find clients bargains because I know where and when to look, and my wealthiest clients appreciate the savings just as much as those with less money to spend,” she said.
Ms. Brikker has expanded her styling service to a wide range of clients. “I will open my heart and services to anyone who wants to better their life,” she said. “You only have seven seconds to make a first impression”. She has also been volunteering for charities such as Dress for Success, the Corsage Project, and others. Ms. Brikker is working to improve the lives of men that are new to the single scene due to recent divorces and are looking to get back into the dating scene or at the very least, are looking for a boost of confidence and to look and be their best.
YANA BRIKKER IN THE NEW GUCCI OUTLET AT TORONTO PREMIUM OUTLETS, AS WELL AS A SHOT WEARING MOSCHINO.
“I know where to find some of the best deals and if you’d like to know where, you just have to Ask Yana,” she said. “Ask Yana Inc.” is the name of Ms. Brikker’s styling service business, which involves her seeking out high-quality and high-fashion items from leading off-price retailers as well as at wholesalers and sample sales. She also provides services such as closet overhauls where she will revise, revamp and revitalize a client’s entire wardrobe from start-to-finish, and then takes them shopping or shops for them to create their new looks.
ABOVE AND BELOW: NORDSTROM RACK AT 1 BLOOR ST. E. IN TORONTO. PHOTO: CRAIG PATTERSON
“It’s the thrill of the hunt,” she said. “You can find amazing discounted designer pieces at off-price retailers if you know when and where to look. I have paid a fraction of the retail price for some incredible designer finds over the years,” she says. As some of her clients are time-starved, Ms. Brikker says that she’s willing to do the leg work to find the best goods at the lowest cost.
Retailers such as TJX banners Winners and Marshalls have been opening more than a dozen stores annually in Canada, while new entrants such as Nordstrom Rack, Saks OFF 5TH and DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse have entered the market in the past few years. Canada has also seen US-style outlet malls open in recent years in major markets. The rapid growth in off-price retailers is expected to continue to take a bite out of traditional fashion retailing in Canada. And social media isn’t the only reason Canadians are seeking value priced goods. Incomes have stagnated for many Canadians and the cost of living continues to rise. Many people are also increasingly seeking ‘experiences’ over ‘goods’. What that means is there’s more competition than ever for Canadian retail dollars, which is amplified considering that more than 30 international retailers entered the Canadian market last year and more than 50 brands came into Canada the year before, which was a record.
Over the past decade, as well, US-styled designer outlet malls have opened in Canada. In a relatively short time, almost every major market in Canada spanning from Vancouver to Montreal have seen the openings of major outlet malls.
Furthermore, warehouse sale providers continue to grow their presence in Canada. Now more than ever across the country, consumers are able to shop substantial discounts at warehouse sale events such as those hosted by OPM Sales and other companies.
It remains to be seen just how prolific clothing rental, vintage retail and warehouse sales become in Canada. After all, Canadians are also time starved more than ever and may not have time to go out and hunt for good deals and bargains. The same goes for those looking to enhance their image on social media — many in the Gen Y and Gen Z age range who live in urban centres choose to not drive a car, which means it can be challenging getting to outlet malls and warehouse sales.
“That’s where working with a personal stylist and image consultant becomes a big advantage,” said Ms. Brikker. “While there may be a fee to hiring a stylist, a good stylist who knows where to shop can actually save you a substantial amount of money in the end,” she said. “As well, it can be tremendous time savings, not to mention there’s less stress on the client, which makes it well worthwhile in the end”.
We’ll continue to report on how fashion rentals, second-hand and off-price retail is affecting the Canadian retail industry. Feel free to share your opinions below in the comments section.
The Retail Job Fair is being held on Tuesday, September 17th, and there’s still room for 10 more retailers seeking employees. More than 700 job seekers will attend the event on the second floor of the Toronto Reference Library at 789 Yonge Street, which is being held between 10:00am and 2:30pm.
The job fair has been held for several years and has seen tremendous success. This year, 20 retailers already signed up and there is room for about 10 more retailers to join them. The hundreds of job seekers, most over the age of 18, have skill levels ranging from entry level to management. The majority of job seekers are under the age of 30 and are highly motivated. This is an opportunity for retailers to find ambitious employees at a time of record-low unemployment.
Employers interested in participating in next week’s job fair should contact Kamla Sudama as soon as possible at: Kamla.Sudama@toronto.ca
A list of retailers already confirmed to be participating, as well as positions being offered by these employers, can be found by downloading this PDF document. Impressive retailers include Best Buy, Hudson’s Bay Company, Sephora, Canadian Tire, Starbucks, Saks Fifth Avenue and others.
Job seekers can register to attend the Retail Job Fair at this link. The organizers suggest dressing for success as well as bringing at least 15 copies of your resume. The organizers also suggest connecting with your Job Developers and Employment Counsellors to prepare for the job fair. For more information or preparation help, call: 416-392-0101.
Youth aged 16-29 are asked to attend between 10:00am and 12-noon, while all other job seekers are asked to attend between 12-noon and 2:30pm on September 17th.
Job seekers: if you are not currently receiving support with your job search and you would like help with your resume, interview preparation or anything employment related, please call 416-397-JOBS (5627) to get connected to a local Youth Employment Partnerships (YEP) agency or a City of Toronto Employment Centre.
If job seekers have any questions, please connect to your Job developers/Coaches with any questions about this event or call 416-397-JOBS (5627) to leave a brief message starting with your name and phone number. A representative will call you back within 2 business days.
Toronto bar and cocktail supply shop Cocktail Emporium has expansion on its mind as the unique retail offering prepares to open a new location in Union Station’s historic Front Street Promenade in early 2020, which will be its third store.
Kristen Voisey, founder of Cocktail Emporium, said the company has launched its signature line, Potion House, and executed a fresh rebrand for all properties changing the operating name from BYOB to Cocktail Emporium. It has also revamped its e-commerce site.
“My passion for beautiful, interesting barware and quality cocktail ingredients led me to open my first store in Toronto seven years ago. I feel so fortunate that people have loved what we do so much that we’ve been able to expand and take Cocktail Emporium to the next level,” said Voisey.
kristen voisey, cocktail emporium’s founder
“Shifting our business name to Cocktail Emporium and creating a new look and feel for our brand represents the ever-changing cocktail industry and our continued development as a business. And of course, we want our loyal customers to recognize us wherever they go.”
Its flagship Cocktail Emporium at 972 Queen St. W. first opened in April 2011.
“I guess there was nothing like that in the city at the time. Basically I was in Los Angeles and there was a store called Bar Keeper. It sold vintage glassware and bar tools. So I basically did the same thing but in Toronto in the west end. It was really in a hip neighbourhood in Los Angeles and Queen Street West was kind of the same. So I thought it would work really well in Toronto,” said Voisey.
She opened a second store in Kensington Market at 20 Kensington Ave. in 2016.
PHOTOS: COCKTAIL EMPORIUM
Cocktail Emporium is working with designers Iron & Ivory to create a dynamic, contemporary retail space offering an unparalleled range of unique bar and cocktail supplies at the Union Station location which the company says is one of the busiest transit hubs in North America.
“Being a part of the Union Station Front Street Promenade space is truly an honour. I love that they are creating this vibrant area filled with homegrown brands and retailers — it’s a brilliant idea and use of space, and it lets visitors to our city get a true taste of Toronto’s diversity and talent as soon as they step off a train,” said Voisey.
“Because we focus on a lot of bar and restaurant industry at the other two locations, the Union Station will be more of a basic home bar and gifting items. We are going to focus a lot on quick gifts people can buy as they’re going through to get the train. We’re going to focus on corporate gifts because we have a lot of office buildings around there as well. Because it’s such a small location, it will be the best of ingredients, glassware and bar tools. I think Union Station is going to be about 400 square feet total and about 300,000 people are going to walk through there on any given day.
From its conception, the vision for Front Street Promenade was to be Union Station’s ‘main street’ as tenants will be skewed towards local retailers, bringing a local vibe and street flair. The goal is to convey to visitors of the station a ‘sense of Toronto’ at Union, reflecting unique offerings throughout the city.
Voisey described the brand as basically a one-stop shop for everything bar and cocktail related. The stores carry a lot of ingredients, books, bar tools, new and vintage glassware – “anything to do with imbibing really.”
“When we first opened the store was called BYOB – bring your own booze – and the goal was to gear to the home bartender but as we kind of grew and the cocktail culture in Toronto was growing as well we started to get a lot of bartenders and then it became kind of two customer bases – there was the at home bartender and then there was the professional industry bartender,” she said.
“We’ve expanded a lot with the industry to sell them bar tools, and glassware, and ingredients that they need for their bars as well.”
Beyond the bar industry, the target customer is basically anyone who wants to make a great cocktail at home.
“We get a lot of people who are bar enthusiasts who have really great home bars and they’re really interested in the topic and they make great cocktails. They come back time and time again. We also have beginner at-home bartenders and we can set them up with all the tools, ingredients and glassware that they need to have a basic home bar,” said Voisey.
“I would say in our Kensington Market location, and it will probably be the same in the Union location, we do get a lot of tourists purchasing things because they always say that they don’t have a store like this in their city.
PHOTO: COCKTAIL EMPORIUM
“Expansion is always something we’re interested in. We are really interested in getting more interest in the States with our wholesale line because we have such a great selection now. We’ve got it all here from overseas. It will be really great to get the American market interested as well especially with the Canadian dollar it’s great for American customers to buy our bar tools and glassware.”
The company’s e-commerce site sells internationally. On any given day, it has orders that go all around the world. Canada is the biggest market with the U.S. the second biggest market.
“We’ve had a website for a long time and we’ve sold online since 2012 but we’ve really focused on revamping it and the growth with that for sure both industry wide and the general consumer,” said Voisey.
“I think we’ve got the Toronto market covered with three locations. We’re pretty much the only store of our kind here in the city. I think that if we do another location it might be another country such as Australia or the States.”
PHOTO: COCKTAIL EMPORIUM
The company’s Potion House signature line is curated and designed by Voisey. The collection features stylish, functional bar tools such as citrus juicers, muddlers, shakers, strainers, jiggers, mule mugs, ice tongs and mallets, glassware, bitter bottles and more. Potion House Sets are also available and can be customized.
“Potion House has been a fun and rewarding project. The line grew out of a desire to create cool, classic bar staples that are accessible and covetable,” said Voisey. “Having a house line also allows us to offer bar sets that anyone can fully customize with their own branding or identity – they make a memorable gift item.
PHOTO: COCKTAIL EMPORIUM PHOTO: COCKTAIL EMPORIUM
“A lot of the glassware I designed myself. The reason we did that is because we cater to a lot of industry we really wanted to be able to price it at something that’s accessible to them. We have wholesale on that. We sell to a lot of bars and restaurants in the country but we also sell to other stores as well.”
Retail Council of Canada (RCC) is collecting sales productivity numbers for Canada’s top shopping centres, which will be released this fall as a Special Edition Canadian Retailer: Physical Retail 2019. Contributors (paid content) and advertisers are also being sought to add additional insight into the latest trends being seen in Canada’s top malls, as well as bricks and mortar retail in general, which are seeing remarkable transformations as the industry shifts and consumer tastes change.
The study will rank Canada’s top shopping centres in terms of annual sales per square foot as in years past and will compare these numbers to previous year’s data. This year’s study will include an analysis from the study’s author, Craig Patterson, and will also expand to include editorial content those seeking to provide insight, via paid content. Topics in the study will include how shopping centres are transforming into complete communities that are creating experiences by using cutting-edge technologies while embracing entertainment, enhanced food and beverage options, and even flexible work spaces.
Retail Council of Canada’s Shopping Centre Study has become an authoritative information document for the industry. Further thought leadership will make the study an even more robust resource that will be released in the Fall of 2019 to thousands of readers and industry professionals and decision makers with spending power. The findings of the report will be of particular interest to the heads of mid-to-large retailers, operations and store planners, marketers, merchandisers, sales and real estate executives, urban planners, designers and entertainment developers.
The study’s initial findings will be showcased by Craig Patterson at this year’s Retail Council of Canada Brick and Mortar Forum, which is being held in downtown Toronto on the morning of November 19, 2019.
The Special Edition Canadian Retailer: Physical Retail 2019 will be promoted in Retail Council of Canada’s ‘Retail This Week’ weekly newsletter with more than 25,000 subscribers, through Canadian Retailer magazine’s 32,500+ subscribers, Retail Council of Canada’s website with millions of viewers annually, as well as social media channels. It will also be advertised heavily across Retail Insider’s platforms that include its website, daily newsletter, and social media channels that also see millions of viewers annually.
Be sure to act fast, as the deadlines to secure space in the publication is October 11, 2019, with material close of October 21. The launch date is set for November 15, 2019.
Well-known Canadian businesswoman Natasha Koifman is launching her unique e-commerce platform ShopNK – a curated site with a conscience where a portion of sales will be directed to certain charities and causes.
“I started it to really to encourage the next generation to wield their buying power responsibly – to remind them that simply making the mindful choice is a reward in of itself. And to build a community amongst artisans and consumers that work towards a greater good,” said Koifman, who is President of NKPR, a public relations firm based in Toronto.
“I do a lot in the cause space, in the philanthropic space, and I just thought how do we encourage the next generation to be more philanthropic while at the same time really getting to know cool artisans and new shops and have an opportunity to be exposed to new products.
“It’s really interesting actually. When we did our coming soon page, and promoted it on social media, we really got hundreds and hundreds of emails of people wanting to sign up and learn more and I was almost even surprised at the response because people seemed really hungry to be able to give back in a meaningful way while at the same time really discovering cool, new and interesting products and brands.”
Koifman curated products in three different categories under beauty, style and entertaining because it’s a big part of the NKPR brand, who it is and what it does.
“So you’re going to find things in a price range anything from $6 to $500. We’ve really curated the items,” she said.
A portion of the proceeds from every ShopNK purchase will go directly to an established charity of the buyer’s choice —one of five local and international organizations that are near and dear to Koifman. One charity will be chosen per product.
“It’s an approach that empowers our followers to think philanthropically at the personal level and give more meaning to the things they surround themselves with,” she said.
“The reason it started is because we wanted to truly educate people on the importance of giving back but at the same time recognizing that we consume goods and we are going to continue to consume them so why not consume the goods that we’re excited about and at the same time educate people about giving back.”
Koifman created NKPR in 2002 to combine her two passions: sharing stories of substance and championing important causes. Recognized as one of Canada’s most powerful and innovative women in public relations, she has been honoured with awards from the Women’s Executive Network (WXN), Notable magazine, BizBash and others. A sought-after speaker and commentator on public relations, marketing, popular culture and fashion, she writes a regular column for Huffington Post and is a frequent contributor to Entertainment Tonight Canada and Newstalk 1010 radio.
She is the President of the Board for Artists for Peace and Justice Canada and on the Board of Directors for APJ USA. She also supports various other charities working to improve the lives of others. Koifman divides her time between Toronto and New York City.
Koifman said ShopNK is committed to changing the way people engage with the shopping experience – a new extension of the NKPR brand bringing a humanitarian mindset to modern retail.
She said the curated offering is built around limited-edition pieces in the style, beauty and entertaining spaces, all sourced through coveted brand collaborations between burgeoning entrepreneurs as well as established brands.
As an extension of its mission, it is also offering limited one-on-one mentorship opportunities with Koifman with 100 per cent of the proceeds going directly to a ShopNK charity of your choice. Future sessions will tap into industry leaders and celebrities.
Koifman said the products will be available across North America as ShopNK will ship items to people’s doorstep in Canada and the United States.
“This really started because I do so much in the cause space. Our brand is known for being very philanthropic and one of the things that I noticed is that my generation considered community and giving back. And I wanted to make sure that the next generation we were able to excite them and encourage them in the same way. So that’s really the motivation,” she said.
“At the same time, I recognized that we’re all so busy. I’m a huge online shopper. I love online shopping. And it’s a great way to discover cool, interesting, new products and brands. I was able to kind of marry my three passions – cause, consumer products and how do we shine the spotlight on really cool and interesting entrepreneurs.”
No one would deny that the face of retail is changing due to the forces of e-commerce. What we may not fully grasp yet is how that pace of change is accelerating and what it will mean for many industries in even a relatively short time horizon of five to 10 years.
The truth is that technologies such as virtual reality, 3D printing, nanotechnology, and ever-expanding communications bandwidth are laying the groundwork for the next major shift in retail.
The big idea and driver of the Industrial Revolution was that value could be created through industrializing manufacturing and distribution. Today, less and less value is being created by manufacturing. Almost anyone can make anything and the cost of manufacturing keeps decreasing. Distribution is the next domino to fall. With virtual reality, we can experience places and things without the cost or effort of traveling to them. With 3D printing we can “print” complex products at home without the cost of going to a store to buy them or having them shipped to us.
When you boil it down then, the true value of any product is not in its manufacturer or distribution. A product’s real value can be summed up by four things: Idea, Design, Emotion, and Cause.
The first source of value is the idea that created the product, the concept, thought and intellectual capital that went into it. Next is its design. How is the idea put together? What are the specific parts and dimensions? As human beings, we are driven much more by our emotions than by reason. Neuroscientists and psychologists know that most often consumers are motivated to buy a product because of the impulse it makes them feel, and then try to rationalize it to themselves later. Last is its cause. This is the reason why a product exists. Does it serve some higher purpose? What is the story behind its conception? What is the change it, or its creator, seeks to make in the world?
In the near future, will you be able to get your martini through a Star Trek-like replicator? The short answer is yes. Gin is entirely made up of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen molecules, even including the botanical compounds in it! These are three ubiquitous elements that are present in all organic matter and could easily be supplied in raw form to your home-based “replicator” or 3D liquid “printer” It’s only a matter of arranging them in the right combination and viola! You have a gin martini dispensed from your kitchen’s liquid printer. Want to taste the martini from the Bar Hemingway inside the Ritz Carlton in Paris? It’s as easy as purchasing the licensed formula and having your liquid printer produce it for you. There is no need to travel to Paris.
So why are many successful e-commerce companies investing in brick and mortar locations? It comes down to experiences. We like to experience brands and products before we buy them. It gives us a sense of connection and trust, increasing the emotional value we receive. Until we all have another Star Trek innovation—the Holodeck or full sensory virtual reality machine—in our homes, we will continue to travel to experience products. This is why high-end brands such as Gucci, Cartier, and Tiffany continue to build boutique retail locations, sometimes even competing with themselves in large cities.
GUCCI’S NEW YORKDALE BOUTIQUE PHOTO: GUCCI
The service industry is also not immune to these forces. For example, retail banks provide many financial services to consumers where no physical product is involved. There was a time when you had to travel to a branch to complete these transactions. Retail branch location—in other words, distribution—was a source of value and competition in the industry. However, with the advance of e-commerce, there is very little need to travel to a branch anymore. Almost all transactions can be completed electronically and thus banks have been closing branches for years. Nonetheless, to create a greater emotional connection with customers, some banks such as Capital One with its cafes, are creating non-branch branches where customers can experience the bank’s brand.
As a business leader in the retail, service, travel, and hospitality industries, how do you prepare for these trends? It comes back to IDEC. Think carefully about the value that you really provide if the limitations of distribution or place and manufacture were removed. What is the Idea, Design, Emotion, and Cause that you can deliver to your customer and how can you maximize those elements to differentiate yourself from your competition? That will be the basis of your success in the retail world of the future.
Rich Smith
Based in Philadelphia, Rich Smith is CMO with Chief Outsiders. He works with companies to differentiate, drive customer loyalty, and unlock profitable growth. More info at www.chiefoutsiders.com.
This week Craig and Lee talk about Nike, Innisfree, Montreal Eaton Centre, and Hillberg & Berk.
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Asian Grocery Chain Enters Canada with Plans for Up to 15 Stores in 3 Years
Chinese grocery chain Sungiven Foods is expanding into Canada this winter by opening three stores in the Vancouver area. The company’s Canadian senior vice president Terence Fong told BIV that Sungiven Foods Canada plans to add between 10 and 15 stores in the country over the next three years.
Sungiven Foods Canada Inc. is a subsidiary of Xiamen Sungiven Foods Holdings Ltd., based in Xiamen, China. The company operates more than 90 stores in China, most being in Xiamen. The company’s Canadian head office was opened earlier this year in Burnaby.
This winter, Sungiven Foods will open three stores in the Vancouver area, including a store at the City Square Mall near Vancouver City Hall, as well as a storefront in the city’s West Side/Kitsilano area (3301 W. Broadway) as well as a store on the 4000 block of East Hastings Street near the corner of Gilmore Street in Burnaby. City Square, which was sold last year for $225 million, lost its 25,000 square foot Safeway anchor store as part of the grocery chain’s restructuring that saw many former locations converted to FreshCo nameplates.
Despite intense competition in the market from major grocers such as Loblaw, Sobeys and Walmart, not to mention Loblaw-owned Asian grocery chain T&T Supermarket, Sungiven’s VP told BIV that he felt there was room for Sungiven Foods in Canada. It’s unclear if its expansion will include other Canadian provinces, and competition will no doubt be fierce as the big players introduce same-day home delivery and other innovations meant to create convenience amid industry and consumer shifts.
Retail Insider repeatedly left voicemails and messages for Terence Fong last week, and we have not yet heard back. We’ll update this story if we do.
Longo’s Opens 1st Small-Format Grab & Go Storefront at Canada’s Busiest Subway Station
Toronto-based grocery chain Longo’s recently opened a unique meal-kit and grab-and-go focused concept on the concourse level of the Hudson’s Bay Centre in Toronto. Called ‘Pronto Eats’, the intimate 1,000 square foot space houses offerings geared towards commuters at the busy Yonge-Bloor subway station which sees more than 200,000 daily passengers. Included are ready-to-eat items such as salads and sandwiches as well as meal kits, which is something Longo’s has been pushing in its stores including its Maple Leaf Square flagship that was featured recently in Retail Insider.
The new Longo’s Pronto Eats is also the first Longo’s location to go cashless, which is part of an effort to streamline the purchase process. The store accepts debit and credit cards as well as Apple Pay. Customers can order food through Ritual or Grocery gateway for same-day pickup at the new Hudsons’ Bay Centre storefront. As part of an effort to reduce single-use plastics, the store has a ‘Take it Back’ program where customers can return used used plastics for recycling.
A cafe serving coffee is located at the back of the store. Two more Pronto Eats locations will open this fall in Toronto’s Liberty Village area, as well as north of Toronto in the community of East Gwillimbury, according to the retailer.
Last week, it was announced that $500-million was earmarked for an overhaul of Toronto’s Bloor-Yonge TTC subway station.
First Passen Lounge to Pop Up at Oshawa Centre
State-of-the-art digital measurement platform Passen will open a pop-up Passen Lounge at Oshawa Centre, east of Toronto, from September 12-22nd. Visitors will be able to create their own 3D profile to create the ‘best fit’ in clothing. Passen says that its digital fitting room technology is the future of fashion retail where customer measurements are scanned and kept on file, and can be used to determine if a garment will fit based on measurements.
It will be Passen’s first public showcase of its Passen Lounge concept, which is expected to be rolled out nationally as the company negotiates deals with landlords. Retail Insider featured an article on Passen in the spring of this year showcasing the technology.
Passen partnered with a denim event at Oshawa Centre called Rebelle Rebelle for the pop-up. In early January, Passen will showcase its next lounge location at Square One in Mississauga.
“Our mandate is to increase brand sales, reduce waste from returns, and to provide a fun, memorable, and valuable consumer experience,” says Passen in a release.
Innisfree Opens 1st Canadian Storefront
Photo: Innisfree (Yorkdale)
South Korean ‘naturalism-oriented’ cosmetic brand Innisfree has opened its first Canadian storefront at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre. A second location will open soon at CF Toronto Eaton Centre as the company kicks off its Canadian store expansion that will soon also include stores in the Vancouver area.
The 2,500 square foot Yorkdale Innisfree is located in the mall’s Nordstrom-anchored expansion wing across from Uniqlo and Muji’s large stores, and near other beauty and fragrance brands. L’Oreal-owned French fragrance brand Atelier Cologne is located next to Innisfree with Israel-based Laline being one storefront over. Across from Laline is a newly rebranded location for ‘Nature Collection’, a VDL-owned Korean beauty chain that was formerly known as ‘The Face Shop’.
Innisfree partnered with brokerage CBRE for its Canadian stores expansion. The Yorkdale Innisfree lease deal was negotiated by Arlin Markowitz and Selina Tao. In Vancouver, CBRE’s Martin Moriarty and Mario Negris are handling negotiations in that part of the country as Innisfree prepares to enter British Columbia.
Innisfree operates hundreds of stores globally and is part of the Seoul-based AmorePacific Corporation, which features 33 health, beauty and personal brands under its corporate umbrella. AmorePacific launched the Innisfree brand in 2002 and it now has stores in Asia, Australia and it recently expanded into the United States where it currently operates seven stores, with more to come.
Hermes to Open Massive Vancouver Flagship Friday, September 13
NEW HERMES FLAGSHIP AT 717 BURRARD STREET IN VANCOUVER. PHOTO: LEE RIVETT
French luxury brand Hermes will unveil its second large-format flagship concept in Canada this month with a new storefront at 717 Burrard Street. The store will span about 6,000 square feet over two levels with a similar amount of retail space as the Toronto Hermes flagship at 100 Bloor Street West that opened in November of 2017 (the Toronto flagship is housed in a leased space of nearly 13,000 square feet, including back-of-house and offices).
Hermes’ investment in Vancouver signals confidence in the market, which has seen luxury flagships open to cater to affluent locals and tourists. Some of the luxury stores in the nearby Alberni Street ‘luxury zone’ see astronomical sales numbers, though some have said sales have softened a bit over the past year.
The current 2,300 square foot Hermes location at 755 Burrard Street will be closed with the opening of the new two-level flagship at the southwest corner of Burrard Street and West Georgia Street. Cartier will replace Hermes after its parent company Richemont purchased the retail strata several years ago. Hermes will also be opening a new storefront this year on the ground level of the overhauled ‘Holt Renfrew Ogilvy’ in Montreal, and sources have said that a Toronto Yorkdale location could be in the works for the mall’s highly productive Holt Renfrew flagship.
Canada Goose and Mackage Opens at West Edmonton Mall
Image: Canada Goose at West Edmonton Mall
Further to last weeks report on West Edmonton Mall in Retail Insider, Canada Goose and Mackage have opened units in North America’s largest shopping centre. The Mackage store reflect’s the brand’s beautiful store design that includes black marble that contrasts with warm woods. The store showcases Mackage’s fall/winter 2019/20 outerwear and fashion collections for both men and women, as well as accessories.
Canada Goose also opened a 5,000 square foot store nearby, and is the second in Canada to feature a ‘cold room’ where visitors can test jackets in -25 degree temperatures (Edmonton’s ‘cold room’ is larger than the one in the Montreal flagship). Both Mackage and Canada Goose are located on the second level of the main run of West Edmonton Mall, which includes luxury brands Louis Vuitton and Tiffany & Co. as well as upscale retailers such as Coach and Michael Kors. UNTUCKit also recently opened nearby on the upper-level main run, and Matt & Nat is set to open nearby as well.
Canada Goose operates five stores in Canada including locations at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre, Montreal on Ste-Catherine Street, Calgary’s CF Chinook Centre, Vancouver’s CF Pacific Centre. Two more will open soon at CF Sherway Gardens in Toronto as well as at the Cascade Shops in Banff, Alberta. Sources say that Canada Goose will announce a storefront at CF Toronto Eaton Centre in a retail space currently occupied by Apple, which will relocate downstairs into a substantially larger retail space this fall/winter.
Peloton Secures Permanent Mink Mile storefront
CONSTRUCTION WORKERS AT 151 BLOOR ST. W. IN TORONTO
New York City-based fitness company Peloton, known particularly for its luxury stationary bicycles that live-stream spin classes, has relocated its Bloor Street location in Toronto into a more permanent space. Peloton opened its first Canadian location at 130 Bloor Street West in a space formerly occupied by Hermes in October of 2018 which was intended to be a pop-up. The new storefront has opened at 151 Bloor Street West and the deal was negotiated by Arlin Markowitz of CBRE Toronto.
In Canada, Peloton has six retail spaces in shopping centres in Ontario and Alberta. That includes Greater Toronto locations including Bloor Street, Yorkdale Shopping Centre, CF Sherway Gardens and Square One in Mississauga. In Alberta, Peloton showrooms are located at West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton and at CF Chinook Centre in Calgary. At least one Vancouver location is said to be under negotiation, with details to follow.
Foodtastic Acquires Quebec-Based Chocolato
Chocolato (Image: L2 CONSTRUCTION)
Foodtastic Inc., the Quebec-based franchisor of several marquee restaurant concepts, recently acquired Quebec-based Chocolato. Chocolato is known for its 20 dipping choices made from 100% pure high-quality chocolate, and it also serves dessert pizzas, fondues, handmade chocolates, drinking chocolate, ice cream and gelato, as well as other sweets. The first Chocolato opened on boulevard du Versant-Nord, in Sainte-Foy (Québec) in August 2015. There are now 22 locations in Quebec that include stand-alone stores, mall kiosks and express counters.
Foodtastic operates 58 restaurants under 11 banners, including Au Coq, La Belle et La Boeuf, Monza, Carlos & Pepe’s, Souvlaki Bar, Nickels, Vinnie Gambini, Blossom, Gatto Matto and Bacaro Pizzeria, as well as Big Rig Brewery and Big Rig Restaurants (Big Rig), which it added to its portfolio earlier this summer.
Founded by entrepreneurs Peter Mammas, Lawrence Mammas and Jacques Gaspo, Foodtastic is a leader in the restaurant franchising business with $125 million in annualized sales. Its recent growth is fuelled by a $47-million investment in December 2018 from Restaurant Royalty Partners and the Chocolato acquisition is part of Foodtastic’s vision to accelerate growth through new and existing brands. Foodtastic is working with Tony Flanz of Think Retail for its Canadian expansion except in the Quebec market, where Richard Gareau is working with the company. David Cantor of Cantor Realty Corp. is representing the brand for Ottawa.
Chick-fil-A Opening 1st Canadian Location Friday
Chick-fil-A at Yonge & Bloor (Image: Craig Patterson)
Popular US-based chicken-focused restaurant concept Chick-fil-A will officially open its first Canadian location on Friday at 709 Yonge Street at the corner of Hayden Street in Toronto’s Bloor-Yorkville Area. The corner retail space is part of the First Capital Realty-owned 1 Bloor East mixed-use complex that is anchored by Nordstrom Rack and a McEwan grocery store.
Chick-fil-A occupies about 4,400 square feet of retail space on the ground floor of the Yonge/Hayden intersection, offering exposure to thousands of pedestrians and vehicles daily. It’s also connected to Canada’s busiest subway station. Michael Calderone and Bryce Dymond of Urban Reform Realty Inc. Brokerage represented Chick-fil-A in the lease deal with First Capital Realty with Eric Sherman negotiating the deal on behalf of the landlord.
The restaurant chain is the third largest American fast-food restaurant and it’s growing quickly. The company is headquartered in College Park, Georgia, and was founded as the ‘Dwarf Grill’ in 1946 prior to changing its name to Chick-fil-A in 1967. The company operates more than 2,300 restaurants in the US and is planning a significant cross-Canada expansion as it gains brand awareness.
We got a chance this week to sample the menu and see the expansive space which was built by BUILD IT by Design. We learned that most Chick-fil-A locations are franchised and that most franchisees only operate one location. A cross-Canada expansion is expected for Chick-fil-A after testing the waters in the Greater Toronto Area.
The Montreal Eaton Centre on Ste-Catherine Street in Montreal’s downtown core is seeing a $200 million overhaul that will make the centre almost unrecognizable when it is completed before the end of this year. Landlord Ivanhoé Cambridge confirms that about 90% of the space at the new Montreal Eaton Centre has been leased out, and almost all of the stores in the new centre will feature their most updated store concepts. The project will be completed before December of this year.
Confirmed anchors at the new Montreal Eaton Centre will include a massive Time Out Market food hall, as well as French sports retailer Decathlon and large storefronts for retailers such as Sephora, the Gap and Old Navy. Some are speculating that a popular large-format Japanese fashion retailer could be joining the mix, though nothing is confirmed by parties involved.
Background: The newly formed Montreal Eaton Centre involves joining two adjacent shopping centres that both have unique histories. The former Complexe Les Ailes was created out of a former Eaton department store flagship store that once spanned nearly one million square feet. When Eaton closed in 1999, the lower floors of the building were converted into a shopping centre called ‘Complexe Les Ailes’, which was anchored by an impressive 225,000 Les Ailes de la Mode department store. After failing to capture shopping dollars, Les Ailes was downsized to a mere 75,000 square feet at the back-end of the Complexe Les Ailes — the chain continued to flounder and morphed into a discount concept before shuttering.
Adjacent to Complexe Les Ailes was the original Eaton Centre Montreal, which was designed to be an adjacent shopping centre for the massive Eaton department store. Such an arrangement was common in cities across Canada, though most have been renamed over the years except for the iconic CF Toronto Eaton Centre.
What’s to Come: The new Montreal Eaton Centre will be highly experiential with ample food and beverage offerings as well as spaces that will change to keep things fresh. Included will be three spaces for brand activations. That includes a ‘central square’ as well as two other areas to host temporary tenants. The overall look of the space will be grander and with broader sight-lines, including large windows overlooking Ste-Catherine Street as well as large atriums to create visibility and connectivity between the floors. The centre’s overall design will be modernized with a colour palette that will be gray and pale white, with touches of wood.
The centre’s Old Navy flagship store will relocate to the back of the second floor in the overhauled complex, while the most recent Old Navy space will become home to a 10,000 square foot restaurant that will overlook the newly pedestrianized McGill College Street. The City of Montreal announced last year that it would transform the block of McGill College into a public square that will become a focal point for the city.
Ste-Catherine Street Flagships: Four large retailers will occupy the Ste-Catherine Street facade of the new Montreal Eaton Centre. Sephora is confirmed to be one of the tenants. The 10,337 square foot store will feature an entrance from Ste-Catherine Street, as well as from within the shopping centre itself. The store opens later this month.
The Gap will be another tenant with a prominent Ste-Catherine Street frontage at the Montreal Eaton Centre. Another street-facing tenant has yet to be announced for a two-level corner space facing Ste-Catherine Street.
Forever 21 recently closed at the Montreal Eaton Centre with a Ste-Catherine Street doorway, and reopened in a location nearby. A new tenant will occupy the former Forever 21 space at Montreal Eaton Centre space, which will feature two retail levels that will include frontage onto Ste-Catherine Street. Whispers during a tour last week included a rumour that Japanese retailer Uniqlo might be the tenant to take that space, though nothing was confirmed by Ivanhoé Cambridge. Sources confirm that Uniqlo has signed a lease on Ste-Catherine Street and the former Forever 21 space would be a logical choice. As well, for the past several months Uniqlo has been advertising jobs in the Montreal market.
Time Out Market: The highly anticipated Time Out Market will span 40,000 square feet and will consist of 16 restaurants and three bars — one will focus on beer, one on wine, and one on cocktails. There will be two stations for soft drinks, a demonstration kitchen with 27 seats, a retail space selling local products and clothing such as t-shirts, and a cooking academy. Included in the mix will be a breakfast counter where breakfast will be served all day.
Each of the restaurants in the Time Out Market will operate on one-year leases and will offer between eight and 10 dishes, which will generally be priced between $8 and $20. The Time Out Market has control over pricing, though there may be exceptions for special seasonal dishes.
A wide range of food options at the Time Out market will include vegetarian, Mexican, Thai, pizza and other offerings.
The space will aim to be zero waste with porcelain plates and bowls as well as reusable cutlery and glasses. Any aluminum used will be recycled.
The Time Out market will include impressive stainless-steel kitchens as well as glossy grey ceramic walls, concrete columns, and hardwood flooring. Uniformity will be key, with each restaurant’s branding being in the same black font.
What’s interesting is that the Time Out market won’t be accepting cash for purchases, except at its bars. Instead, credit and debit cards and mobile payments will the primary payment methods in the massive new space. Cash will also not be accepted in the mall’s new Decathlon store — the goal is to get customers moving quickly through both spaces. Mobile payments are expected to take hold in Canada quickly and retailers at Montreal Eaton Centre will be at the forefront.
The Time Out Market will have a seating capacity of 550 and will utilize elongated wooden tables, with a further 225 seats contained within an indoor terrace where alcohol will be permitted. The Time Out Market will be open until 9:00pm daily, while its bar space will be open until midnight.
Recently announced restaurants at the Time Out Market Montreal include: Burger T by Normand Laprise, Montreal Plaza by Charles-Antoine Crete and Cheryl Johnson, Hunting & Fishing Club by Claude Pelletier, Romados (roasted Portuguese chicken), Restaurant Moleskine (Neapolitan pizza), Red Tiger (Vietnamese), Il Miglio (fresh Italian pasta), and Hof Sucrée (dessert) by Hof Kelsten.
What’s interesting, as well, is the former ninth floor restaurant in the former Eaton department store could re-open under a new service provider. Upgrades will be required for the space that closed about 20 years ago with the closure of Montreal’s massive Eaton flagship store, which was at one time the largest in the company in terms of square footage.
Decathlon: The two-level Decathlon store will span more than 38,000 square feet over two floors. As a comparison, the Brossard Decathlon location in suburban Montreal spans more than 60,000 square feet on one level. The Montreal Eaton Centre Decathlon location will feature two entry points. One will be on the first floor via a central corridor, and another through the Time Out Market itself. Decathlon will include window displays showcasing its wares on Maisonneuve Boulevard, though it will not include an entrance onto the street. For the first time, Ivanhoé Cambridge and Decathlon provided renderings of the entrance to the new store for Retail Insider and other media.
At Decathlon, as mentioned above, only debit and credit cards will be accepted, as well as mobile payments — sales associates will have mobile terminals to process payments so there will be no registers to line up at, other than several self-service registers at the front of the store. About 50 people will work at the new Montreal Eaton Centre Decathlon store and its e-comerce site is being launched this month.
Retail Insider will continue to report on the progression of construction at Montreal Eaton Centre, which is part of an incredible transformation of downtown Montreal. Other adjacent shopping centres, many connected via underground walkways, are also seeing updates. La Maison Simons, for example, recently opened a standalone home store in the shopping complex below its Ste-Catherine Street storefront.
The Hudson’s Bay department store, located east of the Montreal Eaton Centre, recently saw upgrades to its main level beauty hall that includes more prestige brands in a beautiful space. Sources say that at least the ground floor of that Bay flagship will be renovated over the next year, though plans for a proposed 200,000 square foot Saks Fifth Avenue flagship store at the back end of the 650,000 square foot building has been shelved, according to reports. As well, the overhaul to the highly anticipated Holt Renfrew Ogilvy at 1307 Ste-Catherine Street West is ongoing and is expected to be completed by the spring of 2020, introducing some of the world’s leading luxury brands to the market in a collection of leased shop-in-store concessions.
