Leon’s Furniture Limited, Canada’s largest furniture and appliances retailer, is investing heavily in e-commerce to grow the company’s business in that platform.
It announced last week that Shopify will power all of its portfolio of online stores, including leon’s.ca, thebrick.com and furniture.ca on the Shopify Plus platform, which powers large and growing online stores and brands.
Edward Leon, President and CEO of Leon’s Furniture, told Retail Insider that the company has been in the e-commerce business for well over 20 years.
“Our sister company The Brick started in it before Leon’s did,” said Leon. “So we’ve had experience growing up in the business. It’s undeniable. Obviously there’s continued increased interest and awareness around what the web can do for both the retailer and the consumer at large. It’s something that we’ve embraced and wanted to expand our capability.”
Leon said the company is also working on the development of dedicated apps that will significantly improve customers’ online shopping experience. Some of these enhancements include intelligent room planners, virtual decorating, and augmented reality capabilities where shoppers can place items from the online store against a backdrop of their own rooms. Additional features that will be offered to customers on LFL’s online stores include instant deferred payment options, and enhanced delivery features.
“Emerging technologies and changing shopping behaviour forces retailers to re-think how they operate and transform their business to create a truly seamless shopping experience between the online website and traditional brick and mortar store. To win in the retail space, and specifically in the industry segment in which LFL operates, requires mastering both our chain-wide in-store customer experience and our e-commerce offerings across all of our online properties,” said Leon.
Leon’s Furniture Limited is the largest retailer of furniture, mattresses, appliances and electronics in Canada and operates under the following retail banners: Leon’s; The Brick; The Brick Mattress Store; and The Brick Outlet. With the Midnorthern Appliance banner alongside the Appliance Canada banner, it is also the country’s largest commercial retailer of appliances to builders, developers, hotels and property management companies. LFL has 304 retail stores from coast-to-coast in Canada.
286 FAIRWAY ROAD LOCATION IN SOUTH KITCHENER, ONTARIO. PHOTO: LEON’S FACEBOOK
LEON SAID THE COMPANY IS WORKING ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF DEDICATED APPS
Leon said the company selected Shopify partly because of what it could offer Leon’s but also because of “their willingness to want to be the leaders in terms of refining that customer experience.”
“It aligned itself well with what we were trying to do and so right from the get go it seemed like a very natural partnership,” he said.
“Times are changing especially with the demographics of a younger crowd. More tech savvy. More comfortable dealing over the web than perhaps more traditional customers. It was very obvious to us that we had to be strong because we are Canada’s leader. We are the largest retailer in our category of goods and we’re obviously very protective of that and we don’t want to go backwards. We want to lead the way. So that’s what this whole initiative is about.”
In Canada, in Leon’s industry, e-commerce sales are tracking less than five per cent of the overall business that’s being done which is about half of what it is in the U.S., explained Leon.
“If you want to include accessories and all home furnishing like products, if that’s a $17 billion business, you can do the math to find the size of the market today and potentially where it can be,” he said. “I think we’ve lagged behind the U.S. for many years but I think you’re going to see in the next few years us shortening that gap – the difference between what percentage of business is done online in our industry here versus what it is in the U.S.”
Leon said there are still markets in the West, particularly for Leon’s, and in the East, for The Brick, that the company can grow its physical footprint across the country.
“We might downsize some of our physical requirements from what we have historically done because part of the e-commerce strategy is to augment the in-store experience by means of opening up a virtual unlimited showroom to consumers and therefore not requiring the size of the showrooms that we had in the past which all plays well because in retail your cost of operation is critical to your success and unfortunately rents aren’t coming down too quickly any time soon,” said Leon.
“We have to be mindful of always expanding in a profitable, long-term way that makes sense. And we believe a smaller footprint in addition to whatever augmentation we can add through the web or digital experience in-store is something we’re going to invest in a big way.”
Montreal-based jewellery retailer Birks is expanding its presence in Vancouver this fall with the unveiling of two luxurious jewellery and watch brands. An official boutique for UK-based diamond retailer Graff will open on West Georgia Street, and Swiss luxury watch retailer Patek Philippe will open next to it. Both are set to open towards the end of November, and both will have separate street-facing entrances.
It’s the first time that Graff will have a presence in Canada. The brand is showcasing a selection of its jewellery and timepieces at Birks’ Yorkdale Shopping Centre store in Toronto until November 11, prior to the the Vancouver store opening. Graff and Birks’ representatives were in Toronto this week to show the impressive Graff collections.
Geneva-based Patek Philippe, which sells some watch styles in excess of $100,000 each, has a presence in a handful of high-end jewellers nationally. A selection of premium timepieces will also be showcased in the new official Patek Philippe salon, which will be one of only a handful globally for the brand.
The Graff and Patek Philippe boutiques will be connected internally, though from the outside, they will have their own entrances and retail signage. Inside, they will share the same cashiers as part of Birks’ operations.
The 575 square foot Graff salon will feature a selection of Graff jewellery, engagement rings and timepieces, and “will house decadent, brushed- gold vitrines, showcasing one-of-a-kind high jewellery suites, irresistible fine jewellery collections and ground-breaking timepieces” according to the company. Some pieces on display in the Vancouver Graff salon will be one-of-a-kind, including an impressive jewelled necklace we were shown that was priced at just under $1-million. Pieces selling for in excess of $1-million are expected to follow as the store tests the market, though it also has some less costly items with prices beginning at about $6,000. Graff is expected to do well in Vancouver — the brand is popular with an affluent Asian demographic, and Vancouver is known to be a significant target for Asian tourists as well as residents who have chosen to live in the city either full-time or part-time.
Chairman Laurence Graff and CEO François Graff at official opening of Hong Kong Central flagship.
Graff’s CEO, Francois Graff, said, “Canada is an important market with a discerning and international clientele; this is a prominent retail destination for Graff and we are delighted to be exclusively represented by Birks Group, whose name is synonymous with luxury.”
“We are proud to be the only retailer to carry such an elite brand such as Graff,” said Jean-Christophe Bédos, President and CEO at Birks Group Inc. “We are committed to bringing brands to Canada that house innovation and quality and that will ultimately elevate the luxury shopping industry.”
Graff’s website has listed its Vancouver address as being 1014 W. Georgia Street, which is part of the ‘Burrard Building’ which houses boutiques for brands such as Tiffany & Co., Jimmy Choo, and accessory retailer Artino. At least three more luxury brands are confirmed to be moving into the base of the Burrard Building in 2019.
Vancouver is seeing an unprecedented number of luxury brands moving into its downtown core, many of which focus on jewellery and watches as well as leather goods and other accessories. West Georgia street is now finding itself becoming a luxury retail address of its own, located a short block north of the Alberni Street ‘Luxury Zone’ that has been undergoing a transformation for the past several years.
Graff was founded by Lawrence Graff in London in 1960, and the company operates a highly selective network of standalone stores and concessions worldwide. Graff boutiques can be found in major world luxury capitals and in the United Staes, Graff operates six standalone stores in New York City, Bal Harbour FL, Chicago, Las Vegas, Palm Beach and San Francisco, as well as concessions at Saks Fifth Avenue stores in New York City, Beverly Hills, Greenwich CT, Houston, and at Tyson’s Corner in suburban Washington DC. Graff is a highly respected company which says that its diamonds are sourced ethically, and it publishes a bi-annual client magazine called ‘Graffiti’ both in English and in Chinese. Lawrence Graff was said to be worth US $5.6-billion as of April 2018.
Geneva, Switzerland-based Patek Philippe was founded in 1851. The company designs and manufactures timepieces and movements, including some of the world’s most complicated watches. As such, it is considered to be one of the world’s most prestigious manufacturers and prices of some of its designs are astronomical. The company has been owned by the Stern family since 1932, and it has distribution in more than 400 retailers globally. The company operates only a handful of storefronts globally and Vancouver will become one of few cities in the world to have a standalone space dedicated to the brand.
The massive Royalmount mixed-used development in the Town of Mount Royal in Montreal is set to begin construction in the spring, paving the way for the city’s future world-class lifestyle and shopping hub.
On Thursday, Carbonleo and L Catterton Real Estate, the developers of the project, announced that site preparation is underway at the southwest corner of Décarie Expressway and Highway 40 to prepare for the construction of this new urban destination. The developers say the privately funded project will become a world-class lifestyle hub and a state-of-the-art destination for the surrounding community, the city as a whole, and visitors from abroad.
The first steps in preparing the site for construction will be the demolition of buildings located at 8400 and 8600 Décarie Boulevard while those at 8300 and 8500 will be preserved for future integration into the Royalmount project, said Nicolas Désourdy, Carbonleo’s Executive Vice-President & Partner, Leasing.
“The project has actually started,” said Désourdy. “Demolition has started on the biggest building on site, at 8400 Decarie, which we’re tearing apart as we speak − and 8600 Décarie is going to go under demolition very shortly. When you put all that together, I think it’s a pretty exciting time. It’s a spectacular mixed-used retail project that will redefine how Montrealers shop and are entertained. Our first deals are signed and it’s happening.”
He said no less than 80 per cent of the materials – concrete, wood, glass, steel, copper and aluminum – will be recuperated on site and recycled.
“While continuous discussions are underway with local partners and authorities, plans are in place to keep inconveniences down to a strict minimum for local businesses and residents during terrain preparation for Royalmount,” said Désourdy.
Royalmount is located in the heart of the island of Montreal, transforming a former industrial district into a cultural and commercial hub of mixed-used development in about 3.6 million square feet of retail, hotel, hospitality and office space. The developers control over 74 acres of land at the site and the project will create 15,000 new jobs.
Désourdy said the retail component will consist of about 1.4 million square feet of space with most of it enclosed in a mall environment with a “mid to high-end offering and flagship stores.”
“In that retail, there’s a large food and beverage component with over 100 food and beverage options including a food court, a food hall, sit down restaurants, cafes and bars,” he said.
A piazza and high street area will make the site a popular and vibrant destination for shoppers, people dining out, and for simply hanging out in what will be Montreal’s newest hot spot.
Désourdy said there are plans for five to seven hotels on the site with the potential of up to 1,500 rooms.
Two buildings on site will be kept for office space with over 240,000 square feet of space.
PHOTO: CARBONLEO
PHOTO: CARBONLEO
“We’re going to add probably another 250,000 square feet and then we have the ability to add another million. We could go up to 1.5 million square feet but with office space it’s a little bit different because it’s market driven. It depends on the demand,” said Désourdy.
The Royalmount development will be about four years in the making with opening expected in the fall of 2022.
“If you look at the site, it’s the epicentre of Montreal. It’s centrally located on the island. It’s next to one of the city’s wealthiest neighbourhoods. Also, in being next to Highway 15 and Highway 40, it offers the best visibility in the province,” said Désourdy. “It’s 360,000 cars per day passing through this interchange.”
Royalmount will also be directly connected to the subway.
PHOTO: L CATTERTON REAL ESTATE
PHOTO: CARBONLEO
“The other interesting part for Montreal is the whole luxury market. If you look at Montreal and you compare it to Toronto which has many luxury nodes . . . Montreal really has only one place to go which is a shop-in-shop experience at Holt Renfrew next to our Four Seasons project. There’s really a void in Montreal for the luxury market and what we’re seeing so far is a very strong interest from the luxury retailers. Retailers are ready to commit to projects that have a vision and that integrates the mixed-use component, the public transport connection, the food and beverage, the entertainment, the hospitality. They see the added value and really, what they want is traffic coming into their stores. By combining all these uses that’s what we’re bringing to them and they see the added value. They’re actually ready to engage in this project.”
The developers say the hub of Montreal’s new Midtown will be reminiscent of other famous world class central boroughs such as Midtown Manhattan, Tokyo Midtown, and Midtown Toronto. Montreal’s new Midtown will complement other iconic city boroughs such as the Mile End and the Plateau-Mont-Royal, said the developers.
Carbonleo is a private Quebec-based property development and management company with a track record of developing successful next generation mixed-use developments. The company, which employs 50 people and was founded in 2012, has numerous projects in its stable including Quartier DIX30, Royalmount, as well as Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences Montreal.
L Catterton Real Estate has over $15 billion of equity capital across six fund strategies in 17 offices globally. It is the largest and most global consumer-focused private equity firm in the world. Since 1989, the firm has made over 200 investments in leading consumer brands. L Catterton was formed through the partnership of Catterton, LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy) and Groupe Arnault.
The long awaited Nordstrom Rack store in Edmonton, Alberta is officially opening on October 25, 2018. The off price store’s opening was first announced back in 2016.
The store is located in the South Edmonton Common power centre. South Edmonton Common is a 2.4-million-square-foot power centre and is owned by Cameron Development Group and operated by CREIT (Canadian Real Estate Investment Trust). The store is situated on a triangular shaped pad flanked by the 19th Avenue Fly Over and Gateway Boulevard. This prime location allows cars travelling north on Gateway Boulevard to see the Nordstrom Rack store from the Highway. Over 200,000 vehicles will pass by the store daily. There are dedicated entrance and exit points that were built to accommodate the traffic flow. The store was built from the ground up starting in spring 2018 and is over 35,000 square feet with 143 dedicated parking stalls.
As the off-price division of Nordstrom, Nordstrom Rack offers everyday savings of up to 70% off. The Edmonton location carries an incredible selection of designer and brand name apparel, accessories and shoes for the entire family. There is also a beauty and home section as well. The product assortment is 30% from the main line Nordstrom store and 70% specially purchased product for the store. 38 of the top 50 brands that are available at Nordstrom full line stores are also available at the Edmonton Nordstrom Rack including Ray-Ban, Cole Haan and Theory. Nordstrom has said the store is strategically merchandised by grouping merchandise by gender and category (e.g., jeans, coats, etc.). This allows customers to be more efficient in their shopping and potentially find more treasures.
For men’s fashions, brands included Hugo Boss, Michael Kors, Ted Baker and Zanerobe. With the Athleisure trend still in fashion, the store also carried a wide selection of both men’s and women’s active wear brands including C&C California, Lole and Nike.
The shoe department is stocked with an impressive 27,000 pairs of shoes. For women’s shoes, there is a dedicated designer aisle with brands including Manolo Blahnik, Jimmy Choo and Tod’s. A unique point of differentiation for men’s shoes is that this location stocks shoes up to Size 16. You do not find such a large range of shoe sizes in many stores.
The beauty section carries both department store brands such as Stila and Korres. The store also features the Grab + Go beauty rounder. This assortment of deluxe sizes of premium beauty products which allows customers the opportunity to try these products without the commitment of buying a full sized product. In addition, if customers are interested in the full sized version, they can purchase the products at a full-line Nordstrom store. This strategy helps to increase customer engagement between all Nordstrom stores.
The Edmonton store represents the newest generation of Nordstrom Rack stores. The fixtures are all on casters so that they can be easily flipped out as the merchandise changes. To assist with moving fixtures quickly and efficiently, the entire store floor is polished concrete. There is wayfinding signage around the entire store to assist customer movement instore as well as to delineate the departments. The wayfinding combines being bold and friendly along with the clean signature Nordstrom Rack look. To align with Nordstrom Rack’s strategy of customer convenience, the fitting rooms are self-service and unisex. Nordstrom notes that fitting rooms are used by over 75% of women with men only accounting for 25% of usage. This allows the fitting rooms to be flexed if there is more demand. Another unique feature is there is an area outside of the fitting rooms with a charging table for those waiting for their parties as they are using the change rooms. There is also complimentary Wi-Fi which helps to make the wait times go faster.
The checkout experience is enhanced as there are mobile checkout stands similar to the technology used by Apple Stores throughout the store, allowing associates to cash out customers from anywhere in the store via a mobile device. The mobile checkout stands align with Nordstrom Rack’s strategy of customer convenience. There is still the traditional checkout stand available for larger orders. There are also new payment methods available at Nordstrom Rack including Alipay and WeChat Pay. This should attract international customers that are shopping in Canada.
The selection of South Edmonton Common as the first Edmonton Nordstrom Rack location is ideal. South Edmonton is an affluent quadrant of Edmonton with an average annual income of $114,794 and a population of over 640,000 people within a 20 minute drive. There is a mix of young families, affluent, middle-aged suburban and exurban families that live in this area. The area population is expected to grow by 7% by 2022. The Edmonton market is unique for Nordstrom as it does not have a full line Nordstrom store. In markets across Canada, there are both Nordstrom Rack stores and Nordstrom Department stores which encourage customers to cross shop the stores. With these demographics and unique product mix, this location could be quite successful and be in the running as a top-selling store. If sales prove successful, this may provide the green light for a full-line Nordstrom store to be built in Edmonton. There are many attractive locations in Edmonton especially due to the bankruptcy of Sears Canada which vacated Southgate Centre. This shopping centre is a premier fashion and lifestyle destination in South Edmonton.
The Edmonton store marks the sixth Nordstrom Rack store in Canada with other stores located in Vaughan Mills in Toronto, One Bloor West in Toronto, Deerfoot Meadows in Calgary, Ottawa Train Yards in Ottawa and Heartland Town Centre in Mississauga. While the company says that it could eventually operate as many as 15 Nordstrom Rack locations in Canada, none have been announced.
Head office on dufferin Street in Toronto. Photo: Android Dave
By Mario Toneguzzi
A new trend is emerging in ecommerce in Canada – small to medium-sized online stores are following major ecommerce retailers and moving into brick and mortar spaces.
An example of this is StickerYou, a global e-commerce leader in die-cut sticky products, including stickers, labels, iron-ons and temporary tattoos.
The company will be among the first in the highly-competitive, largely ecommerce-based industry to move into a physical store.
“About eight or nine years ago, we saw that ecommerce was really the future and that you could sell anywhere around the world, you could create the technology. People could order and it would get shipped directly to them,” said Andrew Witkin, the company’s founder and CEO. “We still think that’s incredibly powerful but one thing looking at the future we sort of look at retail differently than maybe it’s kind of been interpreted in the past.
“We actually believe as a company that more like traditional retail we can actually launch a retail store that is different than any other retail store in the world. We would basically be the first dedicated sticker store in the world for purely stickers. Think of about a thousand different stickers in the store. High quality stickers. The kind you might see on people’s laptops or cars or water bottles. They’re all from different artists and different types of themes . . . Given different people’s lifestyles, there will definitely be one if not many different types of stickers that they would find appealing. There’s enough breadth there that it would be quite the experience they would not be able to find anywhere.”
Witkin said StickerYou is currently in final negotiations for a lease to open a store before the end of the year in Toronto.
“Our plan is definitely to do more than one store but that to start from one store, learn from the user experience at that store, how people interact with it, what people want and need, the kind of space we need in the location,” he said. “We’ll look at the first six months as being that evolutionary almost like a test phase and based on what we learn we would then either evolve it to a larger store or a different format and/or also start to expand to other cities.
“We might want to do one or two stores in the city but we don’t look at this as being 10 or 20 stores in a city. It’s a destination to go to in a city and we think with learning from the first store we’ll be able to do that in multiple cities.”
The company’s ecommerce website was launched in 2010. The company is based in Liberty Village in Toronto.
“We built a proprietary ecommerce platform for die-cut products. They include things like die-cut stickers, die-cut labels, decals, separate tattoos, badges, patches. Not that we did all those in 2010. We started with stickers but the technology that we built allowed people to go onto our website, design a sticker, or upload a logo and get a die-cut sticker of it and we can produce that probably more affordably, if you’re ordering let’s say short run, than anyone in North America because we’ve automated a lot of the production process for making that product,” said Witkin.
Online retailers go brick-and-mortar: Above: Toronto-based Fresh City Farms is now opening physical locations and below, Vistaprint opened its very first store in the world in Toronto last year.
The company is a vertical one both producing the product and retailing it at the same time which allows StickerYou to produce it and price it affordably. Unlike some retailers who have a supply chain that stretches out overseas, StickerYou can update and refresh its merchandise based on what’s selling and what’s trending in the market. And it can do that weekly.
“That’s one more reason people might find it experientially a lot more fun to come because you’re always going to see stuff that’s new. The other dimension to the store is we also want to inspire you on the kinds of things you can do with cuts and products via StickerYou,” said Witkin.
“So we’ll not only give you an ability to test out the product and see the quality of the materials we use and how they can be applied to wood or cement or plastic or glass to know they’re a good quality but we also show you different types of things that people can make for their business, for their organization, for their lifestyle. And I think once people see the power of what they can do on a customized basis it inspires them to make things that are very important to their life and order those. But they just kind of need to get a stimulation to it.”
Mario Toneguzzi, based in Calgary has 37 years of experience as a daily newspaper writer, columnist and editor. He worked for 35 years at the Calgary Herald covering sports, crime, politics, health, city and breaking news, and business. For 12 years as a business writer, his main beats were commercial and residential real estate, retail, small business and general economic news. He nows works on his own as a freelance writer and consultant in communications and media relations/training. Email: mdtoneguzzi@gmail.com
In Toronto as well, Muji is preparing to open its largest store outside of Asia at The Atrium complex on Dundas Street West near Yonge Street. A temporary location will close on October 29 and when the new one opens late fall, it will span a whopping 19,110-square-feet over two levels. It will be the first two-level Muji in Canada and will feature a central escalator well.
In a press release, Muji said, “MUJI Atrium will offer many products and services never seen before in Canada. Additional details regarding the store will be released at a later date.”
Oakridge & QuadReal To Launch Exhibition with Kengo Kuma Fazioli
In mid-November, QuadReal Property Group will unveil the next step of the Oakridge Centre transformation. The Westbank Exhibition Centre will be assembled and housed in the former Zellers location and will feature a series of installations, which will culminate with the unveiling of a Kengo Kuma designed Fazioli piano commissioned through Showcase Pianos. The world-renowned Japanese architect designed the case which was built of Hinoki Wood over a one year period and comes with a price tag of $890,000.
Currently dismantled and residing in the Showcase Piano’s warehouse in a series of boxes, owner Manual Bernaschek will oversee the assembly of the piano at the location. After the exhibition space is closed, the Fazioli will be moved to the lobby of the ‘Kengo Kuma’ building which is under construction at 1550 Alberni Street.
The exhibition is part of the transformation of Oakridge Centre, which is a 574,000-square-foot shopping centre, which sits on 28 acres of land in the heart of Vancouver’s affluent West Side. It will be transformed into a major 4.5-million-square-foot hub of retail, residential, workspace, parks, and civic space.
Included will be a massive community centre, public library, performance facility, dance academy, daycare, 100,000-square-feet of curated culinary experiences and an approximately nine-acre park — as well as office space and residential towers that will house about 6,000 people in more than 2,600 homes. Oakridge will anchor an up-zoned neighbourhood that is projected to grow by more than 50,000 people within a kilometre radius over the next two decades. QuadReal partnered with Westbank Corp. and together have engaged Henriquez Partners Architects, Tokyo-based interior design firm Wonderwall, and other design partners for this initiative that will be a model for future high-density retail mixed-use redevelopments globally.
Boucheron Parters with Holt Renfrew on Vancouver Pop-Up
Paris-based luxury jeweller Boucheron has popped-up at Holt Renfrew’s mega-productive Vancouver flagship at CF Pacific Centre. Boucheron could end up with a permanent presence at Holt’s if things work out as planned. It is also on display at the Yorkdale store in Toronto.
A source in the industry said that Holt Renfrew has an established budget of $5-million for Boucheron jewellery and will carry several millions more worth of “exceptional jewellery pieces in trunk shows across its top stores in Canada”. If Holt’s sells enough over the eight-month window, Boucheron could end up opening at least one standalone boutique in Canada, according to the source.
The tiny Vancouver Boucheron boutique is located on the store’s ground floor accessory hall, which is said to do astronomical sales numbers in its shop-in-store and concession environment. Vancouver’s Holt Renfrew is said to be selling about $400-million annually in its 188,000-square-foot space anchoring the north end of CF Pacific Centre.
Holt’s Vancouver store also recently launched a Givenchy shop-in-store and this fall, a Valentino accessory ‘hard shop’ will be opening as well — a first for Holts. Valentino ‘hard shops’ are also located at Nordstrom in Vancouver and Toronto (Yorkdale) as well as at Saks in downtown Toronto. In several weeks, Valentino’s first standalone store in Canada will open at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre.
The two photos below (Valentino and Givenchy) and the top image of Boucheron were taken by Helen Siwak last week.
WAXON Taps Laser Technology and Relaunches as WAXON Laser + Waxbar
After a year of planning and raising capital WAXON Laser + Waxbar, has added laser services at all 13 of their Canadian locations. With the introduction of Vectus Laser machines and providing state-of-the-art technician training for staff, WAXON now offers fast, convenient and pain-free permanent hair removal solutions for all skin and hair types in under 10 minutes a session.
In September 2018, MarketsAndMarkets Inc. reported that by 2023 the medical aesthetic market internationally would be worth 17.07 billion dollars. The transition from manual beauty services to technology-assisted offerings is how small business like WAXON will stay competitive in the increasingly lucrative beauty business.
The use of the laser provides clients with high volume permanent hair reduction in fewer sessions, saving time and cost. Each Vectus Laser comes with Skintel technology that reads skin melanin levels, which allows technicians to tailor the treatment to each client’s needs, achieving effective results on average within just four to six sessions.
In addition to single service pricing and interest-free financing options for laser treatments, WAXON provides flexible BAR TAB packages for both waxing and laser, giving the brand an additional edge in the hair removal industry.
Cashmere Collection Celebrates 15 Years of BT Couture for Breast Cancer
The 15th annual Cashmere Collection fund- and awareness-raiser for the breast cancer cause showcased Canadian designers with a theme of ‘crystal.’ This year’s collection was curated by Canada’s own Mosha Lundstrom Halbert; the New York-based internationally recognized fashion director, editor, writer, and stylist.
Hosted by CTV News Anchor and breast cancer survivor Beverly Thompson with Toronto diamond jeweler Kimberfire generously donating more than 60,000 crystals to make this year’s collection sparkle, the audience of more than 200 Canadian fashion industry leaders, influencers, designers and media turned out for this eagerly anticipated annual runway debut. Produced by Kruger Products, the maker of Cashmere Bathroom Tissue, the collection is a heartfelt display of the brand’s commitment to nurturing Canada’s fashion industry while inspiring citizens to support and contribute to the breast cancer cause.
Wardrobe Apparel Joins Haberdasher & Co in Classy Colo
Gastown’s Wardrobe Apparel has moved to Yaletown, colocating in a 1600-square-foot space with men’s wear company Haberdasher & Co, with an official launch event planned for November 1, 2018.
The space boasts floor-to-ceiling windows, beautiful hardwood floors, and luxe furniture. Wardrobe Apparel focuses on clothing that is custom curated and personally styled for the well-travelled career woman, and Haberdasher & Co. offers a world-class custom suit program with a wide array of premium fabrics and details to make suits unique to each man.
Both business owners Alexandra Thompson (Wardrobe Apparel) and Bobbie Long (Haberdasher & Co) have developed, and maintain a VIP feel to their businesses, through appointment only fittings and custom orders with hand-selected designers and materials.
Wardrobe Apparel custom curates from top brands such as Canadian luxury designers Greta Constantine, award-winning London jeweler Imogen Belfield, and costume jeweler to the stars Alan Anderson, and much more. While Haberdasher & Co. curates Canadian made clothing from companies such as Coppley, and Paul Betenly.
Walmart Supercentre Takes Over Target Space at Burnaby’s Metropolis at Metrotown
Officially opened earlier this month, the new Walmart Supercentre occupies 2-floors and 118,000-square-feet in Metropolis at Metrotown in the space formerly occupied by Target in the east wing on ground level. This is the latest of the now 20 stores now open across the Lower Mainland with the location easily accessible by vehicle and by foot via the Metrotown sky train station.
On the ground level first floor – accessible from the mall entrance and Central Boulevard – shoppers can find groceries and fresh produce, home supplies, and seasonal items.
The second floor is accessible by escalators/elevator and is dedicated to bath and decor, clothing and footwear, entertainment, baby products and toys, and health and beauty.
Hey Archive! Launches Vancouver’s First Consignment Warehouse Sale
The first week of November will be exciting for those on the west coast with an interest in sustainability, especially in fashion. Randa Salloum (CIEL Creative Marketing) has partnered with Kelly Turner of Fall for Local Markets to create the city’s first and largest consignment warehouse sale – ARCHIVE to be held at WerkLab facility on Venables Street. Different from a market, which is defined by a vendor/kiosk arrangement, all pieces for ARCHIVE will be tagged and hung together in style categories for easier shopping by attendees.
Salloum, a well-known lifestyle influencer in marketing/PR, decided to partner with Turner in an attempt to access the thriving west coast market community to expose Vancouverites to a fun way to get involved in sustainable fashion and the circular economy of textiles.
On Friday, November 2nd, ticketholders are invited to ‘rethink retail’ at an evening event which includes a Vancity Credit Union moderated Shopping & Sustainability Panel with local bloggers and slow fashion advocates Elim Chu, Tijana Popovic, Laila Potvin, and Helen Siwak, with the opportunity to advance shop, and network.
Saturday, November 3rd from 10 am to 5 pm the public will converge on WerkLab to buy women’s and men’s apparel and accessories ranging from contemporary – think Aritzia and Lululemon – to designer luxury brands like Gucci, Jimmy Choo, and Dior.
Using edgy marketing techniques and social media to attract interest, the event capped consignor participants at 20 persons bringing over 1,000 items, plus two local retailers, and a special guest from an international luxury brand who will be selling from their personal collection.
The future of US fashion brand J.Crew in Canada is in question after it recently closed its CF Chinook Centre store in Calgary recently. The brand has closed several Canadian locations over the past couple of years in Toronto (CF Fairview and CF Markville) and at West Edmonton Mall, and sources are saying more closures are to come.
The brand is struggling south of the border, though it’s seeing some attention with news reports of celebs such as Megan Markle wearing the brand. Nevertheless, J. Crew terminated its Canadian PR contract last year and other retailers are said to be eyeing its valuable real estate — if there’s one thing J. Crew did well, it picked great retail spaces in malls and on high streets. Rumours persist that Canada Goose is looking at J. Crew’s CF Toronto Eaton Centre location, for example.
J. Crew still operates a network of full-priced stores as well as outlets in Canada, at least for now.
The global brand, which had been located in the downtown Holt Renfrew store for many years, will have its first standalone store in an enclosed mall in Canada based on the main level of the popular shopping centre.
“The long-anticipated opening of the Louis Vuitton store has set off a buzz in the Calgary luxe shopping community and complements an emerging high-end pocket of retail sizzle at the Chinook Centre,” said Michael Kehoe, an Alberta-based retail specialist and broker of Fairfield Commercial Real Estate in Calgary. “Chinook Centre has been pursuing luxe retail for several years. The Centre’s emerging higher-end tenant cluster led by the new Louis Vuitton store enjoys the synergistic traffic benefits of being nestled in by Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue.
“The retailing stars align with some of the basic elements in place at Chinook with the City’s only Canada Goose boutique and Tiffany store among others. Chinook has significantly differentiated itself from the other regional shopping centres in the Calgary market and potentially gaining an edge in luxe retailing over the downtown Holt Renfrew. The relocation of Louis Vuitton to Chinook Centre from the downtown Holt Renfrew will have little effect on Holt Renfrew. I would expect that space to be quickly re-leased to a notable international brand such as Fendi or Chanel. There is significant wealth in the energy capital of Canada and Calgary shoppers need to show it as the market experiences a modest growth in the luxury retailing segment.”
In a statement, Louis Vuitton said the new store will offer leather goods, accessories, fragrance and two new categories for Calgary, shoes and fragrance for both women and men.
“The dramatic façade, characterized by a large sweeping curve, will be composed of a combination of Lacewood in a stitch pattern with brushed copper and pale gold trim with an integrated flower pattern metal mesh,” said the company. “The mesh offers a semi-transparent, screen like quality that brings a softness to the large façade and allows light into the store. Louis Vuitton Calgary, crafted with the finest materials, also features a number of new and vintage design pieces from talents such as Carlo Mollino and Jens Risom.
Louis Vuitton – Chinook Centre Interiors
Photo: Courtesy of Louis Vuitton / Paul Warchol
Louis Vuitton – Chinook Centre Interiors
Photo: Courtesy of Louis Vuitton / Paul Warchol
Louis Vuitton – Chinook Centre Interiors
Photo: Courtesy of Louis Vuitton / Paul Warchol
“In the spirit of Louis Vuitton, the store will have a room dedicated to travel which features an on-site hot stamping machine, allowing clients to personalize their leather goods and watch the process. This room will also feature a rainbow of Louis Vuitton luggage tags. In 2017 Louis Vuitton released the British Columbia Travel Book featuring images shot by photographer Solve Sundsbo. The store will feature prints from the book.”
Louis Vuitton has been operating in Canada for 35 years.
Darryl Schmidt, vice-president of national leasing for Cadillac Fairview which operates CF Chinook Centre, said Louis Vuitton will occupy about 4,200 square feet in Chinook Centre.
“We relocated four clients to make way for them,” he said. “We’re excited because we get some consolidation of market share down to Chinook. And this is their first true free standing store in an enclosed mall in Canada.
“There’s no question it’s going to add new traffic. It’s going to expand our reach in terms of secondary trade areas and into our primary trade area. It’s a great lead tenant with which to build upon the existing luxury merchandising mix. We’ve got other groups, luxury players, that are looking at Calgary and looking at Chinook Centre as a result of the Louis Vuitton signing. So there’s no question they’re an industry leader, a market leader, and we can build on our merchandising mix based upon that tenancy.”
Chinese developer GR Investment Group unveiled a project at the ICSC Conference in Toronto this month that is unlike anything in Canada to date. Called ‘Paradise Walk’, the commercial centre is more akin to projects in Europe and the United States, according to the company, with an aim to attract more locals as well as the millions of tourists that visit the area annually.
Paradise Walk is part of a larger 484-acre mixed-use community called ‘Riverfront Community at Niagara Falls’, which will include homes as well as more than 200 acres of nature preserve.
Helen Chang, Chairwoman of the board of GR (Canada) Investment Co. Ltd., is spearheading the project which will include international restaurants, a boutique hotel, hotel condos, and even a wedding facility. The site, she said through an interpreter, is the ‘best natural oxygen bar in the world’ health wise — its combination of high negative ion content and optimal humidity could, according to WTO reports, strengthen one’s immune system to ward off illness merely by being there.
Plans show a European architecture-inspired experience-based commercial area featuring a series of outdoor pedestrian streets with zones dedicated to different tenant types. Included will be several attractive public spaces with central areas that will house attractions such as street performers and a rideable carousel. About 50% of the commercial mix will be for food and beverage offerings (including restaurants, bars and coffee shops catering to different tastes from all over the world), reflecting a similar mix seen in commercial centres in major markets globally. Food and beverage will drive traffic while offering visitors an expansive array of global-inspired dining options to keep them there for a while.
The remainder of the proposed 100+ unit commercial centre mix would include about 15% dedicated to leisure (such as spas and art galleries), 15% to fashion boutiques, and the remaining 15-20% being for amenities such as grocery, flower shops and other day-to-day commercial venues.
Ms. Chang explained that she is an executive member of the council of global leisure industry as well as the China Tourism Association, and she has been involved with leisure industry development and research for decades. When the prospect of developing a site near the stunning waterfalls at Niagara Falls presented, she jumped on the opportunity to add an attraction in an area that lacked leisure tourism-related offerings for visitors to stay in the area for an extended period. She immigrated to Canada in 2011 and with her vast experience, she set out to build the 330,000 square foot Paradise Walk – a substantial investment in the area that will be positioned as an attraction unto itself with a goal to align it with the natural wonder that is Niagara Falls.
According to Ms. Chang, the aim of Paradise Walk will be to cater to overnight visitors, develop the local economy, and improve the image of local tourism. She said that it is her social responsibility to do so, given her background and the unique opportunity. According to a CBRE report, it is estimated that the Paradise Walk will attract at least 25% of the region’s estimated 14.5-million annual tourists. At the moment, the average stay for visitors in the area is 1.5 days and Paradise Walk’s goal is to extend that to 2-3 days.
Paradise Walk
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As part of the Paradise Walk proposal, a children’s science amusement park will become an attraction for youngsters as well, rounding out Paradise Walk as a family-friendly destination.
A stunning domed wedding facility will be an attraction for visitors looking to get married, overlooking a manicured rose garden as well as a water feature that will span through the property. An expanse of commercial spaces aimed towards restaurants, bars and related businesses will line the canal with outdoor patio opportunities, many of which will be south-facing for year-round sunlight. A beer hall in the plans will also face towards the new waterfront.
The commercial mix will be international, with one section specifically dedicated to tea merchants. It’s the one area of the centre that will be the most ‘Asian and European themed’, according to Ms. Chang, with a central Chinese tea garden framed by several international tea-themed businesses. It’s part of an effort to make Paradise Walk more ’experiential’ in order to attract and retain guests.
About 3,400 on-site residences, including condominium units as well as bungalows geared to seniors, will add a permanent population that will have access to an on-site grocery store as well as other commercial offerings, in an effort to create a mixed-use community that in itself will be self-sufficient.
The goal of Paradise Walk is to be accessible to the general population and as such, it will not be positioned as a luxury centre — rather, it will include a democratic offering in an upscale and attractive-looking environment.
The project will be an economic generator, creating an estimated 3,000 permanent jobs and 10,000 indirect jobs for the region.
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Access will be key, and Paradise Walk will be innovative. Existing roadways will provide vehicle access to the site which will have about 2,400 on-site parking spaces available, and shuttle-bus transportation offerings are also in the works. An eco-friendly commuter train, using an existing under-utilized rail line, will transport visitors and residents from the city of Niagara Falls directly to Paradise Walk. This could become an attraction unto itself and achieve a lower carbon emission and reduction of environment pollution, according to the developer.
Ms. Chang is a veteran in the leisure tourism industry with more than 30 years of experience in designing leisure-based experience centres in conjunction with CBRE commercial consulting in China. Since the year 2001, she has also carefully studied and visited about 60 leading mixed-use pedestrian-friendly commercial destinations globally to see what works best. She explained that she wanted to create a ‘man-made wonder’ for the world to correspond with the natural wonder that is Niagara Falls, going on to say that she has worked on similar successful projects in China and she is confident that her Paradise Walk project in Niagara Falls will also be successful.
GR Investment Group is seeking retailers interested in being part of the Paradise Walk project and is offering retail spaces ranging from as small as 280 square feet for a food vendor to over 25,000 square feet for the proposed grocery tenant. She said that the grocer might ideally be an organic chain that would keep in line with the overall theme of ‘health’ that will be present throughout the centre. In all, the 484-acre site (which will include some preserved forest area as well as adjacent residential development) will include a commercial area of 500,000 square feet with a leasable area of about 280,000 square feet and a boutique hotel measuring about 50,000 square feet. The anticipated opening date is in the fall of 2022, though GR says that it will do its best to break ground earlier in partnership with the city with a targeted grand opening in the fall of 2021.
Contacts: Jeremy Schott: Tel: 1-416-726-6562, email: jschott@gr-gp.com
Welcome to the next evolution of family medicine in Canada.
Toronto-based HomeMD is a revolutionary medical app for families in Toronto providing unlimited medical house calls, walk-in clinic visits and video consultations – described by Alon Birshtein, CEO of HomeMD Technologies Inc., as “family clinic 2.0.”
ALON BIRSHTEIN. PHOTO: LINKEDIN
Birshtein said the unique platform is designed to make people’s lives easier and healthier.
“We have basically three different services. We do house calls. We do telemedicine and we have a physical clinic in Yorkville,” he said. “What our app allows users to do is not only access and book all three of those things including having the telemedicine within the app as some part of our platform but equally as important it also allows the users full visibility into their health records in real time. So all of your prescriptions, all of your encounter notes from every appointment, all of your referral notes, diagnostic labs. Everything that is part of your health record you have it in the app available in real time.”
The company was incorporated in January 2016 and officially launched about January 2018.
Birshtein said the powerful new software is the next step in patient-centered care, reflecting the company’s goal to design family practice around the patient and to provide the treatment the patient needs, when and how they need it.
“We plan to expand nationally and then internationally eventually,” he said. “Anybody that’s been part of the Canadian healthcare system knows that we’re amazing in many things but we’re not amazing in many other things. Basically what we’re trying to do is bridge the gap between them. For example, our consultations, nobody’s ever rushed. We actually take our time to do exactly what we need to do to give the patients the best care. Follow ups are very important to us.”
Image: HomeMD Technologies Inc.
The company uses three nurse practitioners. Birshtein said the use of NPs is really for two reasons: “first, we know that while doctors study disease and how to cure them, nurse practitioners study people and how to heal them. And second, NPs make ideal primary care providers because of their holistic approach with clients which includes health education, risk identification and reduction, treatment of illness and preventive care through healthy lifestyle choices. For these reasons, NPs bring a comprehensive perspective to healthcare.”
“Their vision is aligned with the level of care we’re trying to achieve and in practice we’ve actually seen that materialize,” said Birshtein.
“Let’s just say you need to talk to your practitioner. You open up your app. You book one of three appointments. We usually start with telemedicine. That’s kind of like your first point as it’s the most efficient and then for whatever reason we can’t address the problem on telemedicine and then the patient has the choice of either we come to you or you come to us – whichever is more convenient to them. And everything is included within our monthly subscription model.”
The charge is $50 a month for adults and $25 a month for children under the age of 18.
Image: HomeMD Technologies Inc.Image: HomeMD Technologies Inc.
The app was “soft launched” in October of 2017 and in January it was opened up to the public. Birshtein said the company started its marketing campaign in March of this year.
HEAD NURSE PRACTITIONER TARA MCLEOD
The app is available for people within the Greater Toronto Area.
Patients can access their health records, immunization records and notifications regarding upcoming immunizations. They can schedule a video consultation for all their health-related questions instead of going to a clinic. The app entitles people to unlimited visits to its state-of-the-art medical clinic or unlimited medical home visits.
Birshtein said the idea for HomeMD came after a personal experience where his daughter was getting ear infections. Over the course of a few months he had numerous visits to the doctor’s office.
“Countless and countless hours. The last time I just thought to myself there’s got to be a better way to do this so it’s efficient for the parents, it’s efficient for the children, more efficient for everyone,” he said. “From that kind of point slowly but surely we materialized it to a well-rounded service that we offer. There’s a statistic that about 70 per cent of things people go to their family clinic for can be handled using telemedicine.”
Toronto-based sport and fashion retailer Sporting Life has opened its first store in the province of Quebec with the opening of a one-level store at Quartier DIX30 in suburban Montreal. It is Sporting Life’s 11th store location as the company looks to double its store count over the next several years.
The impressive looking store, which is located in the ‘Square DIX30’ part of the commercial complex, carries a wide assortment of sporting goods and related fashion products from an array of designers, some of which are quite high-end. The store’s interior is similar to that of other recently opened Sporting Life stores, which feature attractive bright lighting and warm interiors with accents of wood and other natural materials. This article includes several photo galleries that were supplied by Sporting Life.
Quartier DIX30 is a unique outdoor ‘lifestyle’ shopping complex that is a combination fashion mall and power-centre. The centre is gigantic, occupying more than 2.7 million square feet of retail in the suburban community of Brossard. The centre boasts more than nine-million visitors and more than 10,000 parking spaces, and houses approximately 300 retailers and restaurants. Major anchors include Walmart, Canadian Tire, Rona and Cineplex.
Oxford Properties owns and manages Quartier DIX30 and Sporting Life’s move into the centre marks the fourth Oxford Properties-managed centre to feature Sporting Life as a tenant. Other Oxford malls housing Sporting Life stores include Hillcrest Mall in Richmond Hill, Ontario (October of 2016), Southcentre Mall in Calgary (October 2016) and most recently, Sporting Life unveiled an impressive store at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre in the fall of 2017.
Besides the four locations currently operating in Oxford malls, Sporting Life operates stores on Toronto’s Yonge Street (2665 Yonge Street and ‘Bikes & Boards’ at 2454 Yonge Street) as well as at Toronto’s CF Sherway Gardens (which relocated to a new space in September of 2015), Collingwood ON (222 Hurontario Street), Markham ON (CF Markville), Vaughan ON (Vaughan Mills), Ottawa (Lansdowne) and at CF Market Mall in Calgary, which opened in the fall of 2017.
Sporting Life will further expand by opening stores in Quebec — Maxime Frechette informed us that, at the opening of the Quartier DIX30 store last Thursday, the company said that more Montreal-area stores are in the works and that a location at CF Carrefour Laval, north of Montreal, had already been secured.
In a previous interview with Sporting Life’s President/CEO/co-founder, David Russell, he said that Sporting Life will look to eventually operate about 20 stores Canada-wide. He explained that the Sporting Life brand will become truly national as it expands into the Vancouver/British Columbia market in 2019, with plans for three store locations in the Lower Mainland. While the Calgary market is adequately served with its two stores, an Edmonton location was a goal for the company, he said, though a deal for a downtown ‘ICE District’ location is said to have since fallen through. The Greater Toronto Area has room for between two and three more Sporting Life locations, according to Mr. Russell, and the Montreal region could eventually see as many as three stores as well. Store locations will ideally be in the 44,000 square foot range, he said.
In an interview last year with Marina Strauss of the Globe & Mail [Paywall], Mr. Russell revealed that Sporting Life’s current annual revenue is about $160 million annually (a quarter of which is said to be from the Canada Goose brand), and that the company intends to eventually see sales numbers of about $400 million from its 20 or so stores. Sporting Life is profitable and store sales are increasing at low-single-digit rates. E-commerce currently makes up about 15% of sales and Mr. Russell told Ms. Strauss that he expects that number to reach about 20%.
Founded in 1979, Sporting Life sells apparel and footwear, as well as equipment geared towards runners, cyclists, skiers, snowboarders and hikers. It has a large selection of outerwear, fleece and coats from popular brands Moncler, Canada Goose, Arc’teryx and The North Face, among others. It also carries a mix of high-end and casual clothing brands such as Barbour, Bogner, Hugo Boss, Mackage, John Varvatos and others. Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. bought 75% of Sporting Life in December of 2011.
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