Unique footwear brand Tanya Heath Paris has relocated its Canadian flagship in Toronto, as it prepares to expand its operations in this country. The brand is the first in the world to provide interchangeable heels and its following is expanding quickly, necessitating a broader distribution network.
Tanya Heath’s first Toronto store opened in October of 2014 on Old York Lane in the city’s upscale Yorkville area. The retailer recently relocated to a new 1,000 square foot retail space at 126 Cumberland Street.
The new store provides more sunlight as well as exposure on busy Cumberland Street, which also faces the Village of Yorkville Park which is often animated with events, according to co-owner Leslie-Ann Dominy.
Known for its high-quality shoes with interchangeable heels, Tanya Heath Paris was founded in 2009 by Canadian Tanya Heath, who now lives in France. Ms. Heath was born and raised in Ottawa and moved with her husband to France in 1996 where she studied business, specializing in strategy and new technologies. She struggled to find shoes that were versatile enough for her busy lifestyle — something fashionable enough for work, yet comfortable enough to take her children to school.
In 2009, with the help of 14 engineers and technicians plus several designers and master boot makers, Ms. Heath created a unique company that boasts the world’s first adjustable height shoe with removable heels.
The brand offers a range of shoe styles that can be paired with a wide selection of interchangeable heels, which can be attached and removed by the click of a button on the shoe itself. The benefits are twofold — the shoe’s appearance can be modified with new heels while also modifying the shoe’s height, depending on what the wearer desires.
Shoe styles are meant to be timeless, with heels that are designed in a range of colours and textures. Heels can be slid into place and removed with the click of a button inside the shoe.
There are seven types of heels that come in dozens of colours and textures, including:
Christophe: a 4.5 cm (1.7 inch) trotter that is perfect for walking,
Stéphane: a 6 cm (2.3 inch) kitten heel,
Daniel: a 6.5 cm (2.5 inch) heel that is super sturdy, visually graphic and is comfort personified,
Damien: a 6.5 cm (2.5 inch) stiletto heel for a feminine look in a comfortable height,
Patrice: a 6.5 cm (2.5 inch) heel that is gracious, elegant and sturdy and very good for all-day wear.
Denis: a strong and stable 8 cm (3.1 inches) heel that will ‘let you soar’,
François is a 8.5 cm (3.3 inches) stiletto.
In the Toronto boutique, Ms. Dominy also stocks a range of handmade leather bags from Toronto-based designer ‘uppdoo’, which has a standalone retail store on Bloor Street West just east of Ossington Avenue. There are also cashmere fashion items from Pam Willcox of Snapdragon Designs. The store’s walls feature chic designs from artist John Coburn. A unique design feature in the store is a ‘lego wall’ by Everblock at the back that speaks to the functionality of the product contained within.
Manufacturing for Tanya Heath Paris’s shoes is being moved to Portugal and as a result, prices on the shoes will be coming down substantially, according to Ms. Dominy. All heels are made in France in a factory owned and operated by Tanya Heath Paris. Now that the product is accessible to a wider range of clients, Tanya Heath is looking at expanding its operations in Canada that could include standalone boutiques as well as shop-in-stores and other similar configurations.
Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary are all strong markets that could see stores — the Tanya Heath Paris Canada website serves customers nationwide. Besides standalone stores, the company is also considering partnering with retailers to house a selection of shoes and heels in its stores, which could range from a display case to a full shop-in-store.
Tanya Heath Paris also operates stores in Paris as well as Porto, Portugal, Beirut, Lebanon, and is also available at upscale multi-brand retailers in Europe with new boutiques in Hong Kong and Tokyo that will be opening soon.
British luxury jewellery brand Links of London is expanding its network of standalone stores in Canada. The company has just opened its first freestanding store in Vancouver, and it has also secured a space at Mississauga’s Square One, with plans to open this summer. More stores will follow as Links of London continues to seek out retail space in Canadian markets, where the retailer is seeing considerable success.
“We are thrilled to expand our brick-and-mortar presence in Canada and bring our freestanding retail concept to the West Coast,” said Leela Petrakis, President of FF Group North America, the parent company of Links of London. “With British heritage playing a greater role in Canadian society than ever before, we’re excited to introduce Vancouver’s CF Pacific Centre customers to our whimsical British jewellery, and the storytelling elements that are at the heart of the Links of London brand DNA.
The Vancouver store features an innovative made-to-order bespoke service — a popular feature in the brand’s Canadian stores. According to Ms. Petrakis, customization and personalization is seeing considerable success amongst Links of London’s Canadian customers. The brand’s ‘Sweetie Stylists’ help customers design a personalized ‘Sweetie bracelet’ with their selections of diamond and gemstone rondelles, precious metals and keepsake charms.
The Vancouver store also offers in-house engraving, which was introduced to Canada’s Links of London stores when its Yorkdale Shopping Centre store opened in the summer of 2017 — all current and future locations will feature engraving, given its remarkable success.
A section at the back of the store includes seating, as well as a display of men’s jewellery items. The retail concept, which is inspired by the design of a ‘London townhouse’, is already seeing very strong sales, noted Ms. Petrakis.
The Vancouver store technically opened on November 15 of 2017 as a ‘Holiday Shoppe’ pop-up, which temporally closed after the Holidays for a full renovation to reflect the brand’s updated store design and showcase its extensive collections.
Towards the middle of the summer, Links of London’s fifth Canadian store will open at Square One in Mississauga. The 800 square foot boutique, which will be triangular in shape, will boast a 30-foot wide glass facade in the mall’s ‘luxury wing’ that was unveiled in the summer of 2016. At the centre of the store will be a bracelet bar, as is the case with its other Canadian locations. The Square One Links of London store will be located in the luxury wing, between retailers Stuart Weitzman and Urban Decay, and across from Jamie’s Italian and Harry Rosen, in a wing that also houses Salvatore Ferragamo, Tory Burch, Rolex, and Holt Renfrew.
Ms. Petrakis said that Links of London is looking to open more standalone Canadian locations, and is considering cities such as Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal and possibly Ottawa — though locations have yet to be secured. Another Toronto store is a possibility as well — Ms. Petrakis noted that despite the fact that the city already has three standalone stores, Toronto is also a very strong online market for the brand. Choosing a location, be it a major shopping centre or urban street-front, requires careful consideration, she noted.
Links of London currently operates five freestanding U.S. locations, with four stores in New York City and a store at Forum Shops in Las Vegas. The brand also has a successful partnership with Bloomingdale’s, operating concession shops at select locations across the country. Links of London was founded in 1990 and has grown to become a global luxury brand.. The name ‘Links’ originated from the brand’s first product — the iconic salmon cufflinks, which became the springboard for its unique jewellery, timepieces and gifts for women, men and children.
UK-based luxury footwear and accessory brand Jimmy Choo has opened its first freestanding location in Vancouver in the city’s burgeoning ‘Luxury Zone’.
The store is located at 1035 Alberni Street, spanning 1,549 square feet on one level. It’s Jimmy Choo’s second standalone Canadian store, following the August 2014 opening of a 2,250 square foot location at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre.
The interior of the new Vancouver store reflects Jimmy Choo’s latest design aesthetic, and the store carries some pricey lines that aren’t found in other Jimmy Choo stores. Some of the prices are into the thousands and according to staff in the new store, its target market is a high-spending Asian shopper that tends to frequent the cluster of luxury boutiques in the area. The store houses footwear and accessory collections for women, and not men.
Jimmy Choo replaced Montreal-based leather goods and fashion retailer m0851, which has operated its Alberni Street location since the spring of 2008. M0851 had said that it had secured a replacement location at CF Pacific Centre, though the company recently ran into financial troubles and is in the process of restructuring its operations.
The 1000 Block of Alberni Street is home to several pricey jewellery brands. Recent additions include Van Cleef & Arpels, IWC Schaffhausen, Hublot, Panerai and Rolex, joining locations for leading luxury brands such as Prada, Versace, Saint Laurent, Louis Vuitton and Burberry. On nearby Burrard Street, Hermes will open a large replacement flagship store at the corner of West Georgia Street and the current Hermes space will eventually be tenanted by Cartier.
Jimmy Choo, which was co-founded by designers Tamara Mellon and Jimmy Choo in 1996, has stores globally, including 33 in the United States. In Canada, the brand can also be found in select retailers such as Holt Renfrew, Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom.
Birks, Canada’s leading luxury fine jewelry brand since 1879, has launched the pilot program u·plan in Canada, allowing Chinese travelers to download QR Codes containing Birks promotions on their mobile devices.
When Birks launched the program this spring, it was the first merchant to join u·plan in both North and South America.
“U·plan is the world’s first open cross-border marketing platform that provides services in the fields of finance, travel and retail. Inspired by new technologies such as Geo-fencing, u·plan focuses on accurate marketing and instant discounts for cross-border consumption, permitting cardholders user-friendly and upgrading capabilities,” said Aynsley Knight Mariani, director of public relations for Birks Group.
BIRKS YORKDALE SHOPPING CENTRE LOCATION
BIRKS RIDEAU CENTRE LOCATION (OTTAWA). PHOTO: BIRKS
“As a growing brand, we believe that u·plan will benefit our customers – with a focus on our Chinese clientele – as we look to align ourselves with these technical capabilities while achieving our expanding objectives.”
She said the Chinese clientele is a large market for Birks and continues to grow and the program is currently available in all stores across Canada.
“Birks looks forward to aligning issuers, acquirers, travel agencies and merchants into the same industry chain with the ultimate focus of making the shopping experience more user-friendly in Canada,” said Knight Mariani.
Jean-Christophe Bédos, President and Chief Executive Officer of Birks Group, said the launch of the program is of great significance to the brand.
Birks said cardholders will have the ability to utilize u·plan by accessing the exclusive QR code gift certificate coupon in the mobile apps of UnionPay International and Chinese issuing banks such as Bank of China and China Merchant Bank.
“Alternatively, cardholders can receive the gift certificate coupons that could be used at the destination promoted by the apps of UnionPay International’s partner travel agencies at the time of booking airlines or hotels. A reminder to cardholders of these discount coupons will also appear when they are in the vicinity of any Birks location,” said the company.
BIRKS YORKDALE SHOPPING CENTRE LOCATION (TORONTO). PHOTO: BIRKS
BIRKS CHINOOK SHOPPING CENTRE LOCATION (CALGARY). PHOTO: BIRKS
Birks said it looks forward to aligning issuers, acquirers, travel agencies and merchants into the same industry chain with the ultimate focus of making the shopping experience more user-friendly in Canada.
Birks operates 28 stores under the Birks brand in most major metropolitan centres in Canada. The company’s history dates back four centuries to Sheffield, England.
In 1879, Henry Birks opened a jewellery boutique in the heart of Montreal. Birks now has an international reach and its collections are available through select Mappin & Webb and Goldsmiths locations in the UK, in Mayors stores in the US and at select jewellery retailers across North America.
Former Allbirds storefront on Queen St. W. in Toronto. Image: Allbirds
San Francisco-based footwear brand Allbirds has opened in a retail space on one of the world’s trendiest areas — Toronto’s ‘West Queen West’, as the brand expands its Canadian presence after opening a Canadian online store in March of this year as well as two pop-ups at Nordstrom. The Queen Street pop-up is being used as a test to determine if the company’s next move will be permanent stores in Canada.
Allbirds was founded by Tim Brown and Joey Zwillinger in 2014 — Brown is a retired professional soccer player from New Zealand with a degree from the London School of Economics, and Zwillinger is a biotech engineer and renewable materials expert. A Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign in 2014 kicked-off the brand with the campaign reaching over $100,000 in sales in just four days. Mr. Zwillinger’s background helped design the construction of the rapidly growing brand while introducing additional sustainable materials such as a vegetable oil-based polyurethane insole.
In 2016, the business partners renamed the footwear brand as ‘Allbirds’ and introduced it to the world. Mr. Zwillinger explained that the Allibirds name is a historical reference to New Zealand having been so remote at one time that its only inhabitants were ‘all birds’. The company has since seen millions of dollars in venture capital for its expansion, with investors showing confidence in a brand that Time Magazine has named “the world’s most comfortable shoe”.
PHOTO: CRAIG PATTERSON
“We always try to find new uses for materials that naturally exist right in front of us, rather than relying on cheap synthetics like traditional footwear brands. With a focus on developing on what we call the ‘right amount of nothing’, we are taking the core function of shoes and distilling it to its minimum which results in shoes that look great and feel amazing throughout the day,” said Mr. Zwillinger.
Allbirds offers three styles of shoes and two materials for men and women, including the Runner, Lounger and the newly launched Skipper for $135, and ‘Smallbirds’ for children, priced at $80 per pair. Styles are minimalist and unisex.
The Wool collection including the Wool Runner and Wool Lounger, which uses ZQ-certified merino wool that is crafted in one of the world’s finest textile mills outside of Milan, Italy. The engineered one-piece outsole offers supreme cushioning and the brushed wool-lined insole stays soft to the touch. Mr. Zwillinger said that Allbirds, while being a shoe company, is also a technological innovator. Fine merino wool typically isn’t strong enough for footwear but Allbirds’ innovation has developed a product that is super-strong and breathable, not to mention extremely soft and comfortable.
CASH DESK WITH SHOE LACES DISPLAYED. PHOTO: ALLBIRDS
WALKING ‘DEMONSTRATION AREA’ — INCLUDED IS CONCRETE, A WOODEN BOARDWALK, AND STONES. PHOTO: ALLBIRDS
Allbirds recently introduced a new suite of products named ‘Tree’ made from its most sustainable material to-date. Crafted from a textile that Allbirds engineered using Eucalyptus pulp, the Tree collection creates a cooling effect by wicking away moisture and, in concert with a silky-smooth mesh construction, delivers remarkable breathability and supreme comfort. The Tree collection features ethically sourced Eucalyptus fibres, which use only 5% of the water and one-third of the land compared to traditional footwear materials.
The Toronto pop-up, located at 700 Queen Street West, features a crisp white interior and plenty of seats to try on Allbirds’ shoes — Mr. Zwillinger noted that other pop-ups have been so busy that an issue is sometimes lack of space to try shoes on. Display areas showcase a variety of styles for adults as well as smaller versions for children, and a back area houses an innovative ‘demonstration area’ where visitors may try out shoes on diverse terrain that includes concrete sidewalks, a wooden boardwalk, and stones laid along the pathway.
The Toronto pop-up will be open until August and it’s located in an area that Vogue Magazine declared in 2014 to be ‘the second-coolest’ in the world. The ‘West Queen West’ area, as it’s called, features a mix of local, national and international brands, and is known to be a launch point for trendy retailers that want to open their first Canadian store in a place that isn’t Yorkdale Shopping Centre. The lease deal for Allbirds at 700 Queen Street West was handled by CBRE Toronto’s Arlin Markowitz and Jackson Turner. The pop-up was conceptualized and executed by Community Agency alongside the Allbirds team.
WALL SHOWCASING SHOES MADE FROM ‘WOOL’ AND ‘TREE’, WITH AMPLE SEATING. PHOTO: ALLBIRDS
The Queen Street pop-up will further allow Allbirds to test the waters in Canada, according to Mr. Zwillinger — Allbirds doesn’t wholesale in multi-brand retailers, instead opting for a direct-to-consumer retail model. Permanent stores could eventually open in markets such as Toronto and Vancouver, he noted. Similar pop-ups are currently activated in New York City and San Francisco, and those and other US markets could eventually see permanent Allbirds retail spaces.
FGL Sports-owned Sport Chek has opened its first location dedicated specifically to kids, and the concept could be replicated if it proves to be successful.
“Realizing the exponential growth in our kids’ categories across Sport Chek, we believe Sport Chek Kids is a great opportunity to showcase all our kids product in one location while bringing a completely tailored shopping experience for kids to our Sport Chek fleet,” said Kara Anastasiadis, Associate Vice President, Purchasing of FGL Sports. “Above all, we are excited to champion the healthy, active lifestyles of the younger generation in a store built just for them,” she added.
The store, located at Vaughan Mills near Toronto, spans about 6,930 square feet on one level. It caters to children from infant up to the age of 14, according to Ms. Anastasiadis, with a goal of creating a one-stop shipping experience for families that are looking to have kids active with a variety of activities.
Sport Check location at Vaughan MillsImage: Sport Chek Kids
Special kid-focused features include lowered footwear benches, cash desks, floor fixtures and inclusive, kid-sized mannequins.
The store, which has 22 staff dedicated to providing knowledge and personalized service to kids and their parents, is laid out in a ‘shop-by-activity’ configuration that offers targeted shopping areas based on activity of choice — be it hockey, running, swimming or other sports. Included is an expansive assortment of kids apparel, footwear and gear from top brands and new, unique brands, according to the company. The store boasts the largest footwear wall and preschool and toddler apparel selection available in the entire Sport Chek network.
“With Sport Chek Kids, our goal is to get kids active. Reaching out to kids through this new concept store was really important in making sure each child to young teen feels confident and well equipped with the right gear,” said Trish McFarlane, AVP, Visual Customer Experience of FGL Sports. “When designing this store, we worked with kids and their parents to ask them what store features were most important to them in the shopping experience to ensure we built a store that made them feel proud and comfortable.
Sport Chek Kids Footwear Wall. Photo: Sportcheck
Sport Chek has seen tremendous growth in its kids business, according to Ms. Anastasiadis, and learnings from the new Vaughn store may be used to enhance offerings in other Sport Chek stores. It’s also possible that more kids-only Sport Chek locations could open in Canada, though the company’s focus will be first on perfecting the Vaughan concept.
The location makes sense — Vaugahn is located in a suburban part of the Greater Toronto Area that includes many families with children, and the area is growing rapidly as new homes continue to be built in the area. Vaughn Mills is one of three ‘hybrid outlet centres’ that is operated by landlord Ivanhoé Cambridge — others are in suburban Calgary (CrossIron Mills) and Vancouver (Tsawwassen Mills). The massive Vaughan Mills, which spans almost 1.3 million square feet, sees more than 14-million annual visitors and is one of Canada’s most productive centres, according to Retail Council of Canada’s Shopping Centre Study.
Image: Sport Chek Kids
This isn’t the first time that Sport Chek has opened a store dedicated to a specific target market — in the spring of 2017, the retailer launched its first women’s-only store at CF Chinook Centre in Calgary. The 16,675 square foot store was “designed for women by women” according to Ms. Anastasiadis, and merchandise there is organized by activity in a similar fashion to the new Kid’s store. The women’s store also has a different “feel” from traditional Sport Chek stores, and offers unique services such as one-on-one bra fittings, dedicated personal shopper, and a ‘Community Manager’ who can connect shoppers with local studios, classes, and information pertaining to brand launches and other initiatives.
Sport Chek operates a network of more than 200 stores across the country, in a variety of formats in a range of sizes — some stores are on the smaller side, while some are flagships spanning as much as 80,000 square feet. Parent company FGL Sports, which is headquartered in Calgary, is part of the larger Canadian Tire corporate ownership umbrella.
Innovation at FGL Sports comes at a critical time for sports retailers in Canada, as competition heats up from homegrown as well as new international entrants. The world’s largest sports retailer, France-based Decathlon, recently opened its first store in Canada in suburban Montreal and has already announced a second superstore in Quebec City. MEC Continues to open new and replacement stores in Canada, while companies such as Sportium and SAIL are also expanding their networks of Canadian stores.
Retail security expert Stephen O’Keefe says many independent retailers don’t really have a grasp on how to control loss prevention through theft and that’s hitting their bottom line.
Stephen O’Keefe
O’Keefe, President of Bottom Line Matters, a web-based loss prevention and risk management solutions company, based out of Toronto, for small to mid-sized retailers, has had many years of experience with some of the giant retailers in Canada and globally.
“There’s a lot of independent retailers which is what I am going to be focusing on now who don’t really have a grasp on how to control it because they don’t understand the magnitude of the problem,” said O’Keefe. “That’s something that every once in a while is a bit of a shocker. It’s the magnitude. It’s a $5-billion problem in Canada.
“The larger retailers – about 95 companies – have identified it and they’ve been able to put in loss prevention departments and so they spend the money because they know there’s going to be a return on investment from having a permanent loss prevention department. But that’s because of the size. So they’re able to afford it.”
For mid-size retailers, it’s a challenge. They don’t want to incur more of an expense than they’re going to get back because that in itself becomes a loss.
“Independent retailers are always looking for the silver bullet and there’s no one solution to the problem,” said O’Keefe. “But there is a common denominator with both of the categories. And the two categories specifically in terms of the crime part is internal theft and external theft. There’s another portion that’s administrative errors.”
Because there’s no silver bullet, O’Keefe tells independent retailers when it comes to external theft that they have to look at what’s causing the loss or why customers are being able to get away with it. The one thing that can prevent a customer from stealing is “aggressive hospitality” or customer service.
“And the reason why is because customers who are not professional shoplifters will steal when they find that there’s the unique circumstances where they don’t feel that risk of exposure. Where they feel that they can get away with the crime. And that’s opportunity,” said O’Keefe.
“So you have to remove the opportunity by putting in this fear of exposure and that’s eye contact, customer service basically.”
How do you combat employee theft?
“It’s this notion of engagement for the emotional connection, attachment, commitment that you have to another. In this case, an organization,” said O’Keefe. “Employees who are engaged and companies that measure engagement levels find that productivity goes up, profits go up, accidents go down because people are more diligent, and shrink goes down because people aren’t stealing from you because they’re connected to you.
“So if you want to use the term silver bullet, what’s the silver bullet for employees? Engagement. Keep them engaged . . . If you spend money serving customers and engaging employees, you will without doing anything have a reduction in your shrink.”
O’Keefe was Walmart Canada’s VP Loss Prevention & Risk Management for 15 years. He currently advises on loss prevention affecting shrinkage and profitability for retailers and has more than 30 years experience in retail theft prevention with some of Canada’s largest retailers.
He is considered a leading authority on loss prevention, security, risk management, health and safety and process improvement.
Before establishing his own consultancy firm, O’Keefe held a variety of loss prevention management positions with Sears Canada, Zellers, The Hudson’s Bay Company and Walmart Canada.
“Thanks to his deep understanding of retail loss prevention, Stephen was instrumental in helping enact legislation that assisted retailers in sharing relevant information relating to criminal activities. While doing so, Stephen involved all stakeholders to ensure the outcomes would benefit the communities we serve,” said Diane J. Brisebois, President & CEO of Retail Council of Canada, at the time of the award.
STEPHEN O’KEEFE.
“Throughout his career, Stephen has been a passionate advocate for retailers and a visionary leader, dedicated to fighting fraud in the retail industry. I can think of no one more deserving of this special honour,” said Rita Estwick, Director of security Strategy at Canada Post and recipient of the inaugural Loss Prevention Lifetime Achievement Award.
His LinkedIn profile says: “As an independent consultant, I leverage my experience and knowledge to help a number of companies achieve results. Clients range from non-retailers looking for guidance to serve their retail customer to retailers looking for quick solutions to unique and costly problems, right to the Industry Association.
“Unnecessary expenses related to crime, safety issues and non-compliance with regulations or operational standards can be devastating to any company. Learning from the experience of others has always been the secret to the success of many great companies. In this capacity, I bridge the knowledge gap and provide solutions that matter to my clients – just the bottom line.”
2018 Global Retail Trends and Innovation: Trend Two: ’Interaction’ [Video]
This is the second of four videos describing some of the world’s top retail trends, as presented by John Williams and Maureen Atkinson, Senior Partners at J.C. Williams Group. The topic is ‘Interaction’ and several interactive global innovations are included in the discussion.
The video is less than six minutes long and is easy to watch.
What’s interesting is some of these concepts, which currently aren’t available in Canada, could work here — Mini Migros out of Switzerland, for example, could translate across most global markets because of its highly interactive, kid-friendly experience.
J.C. Williams Group is part of the bigger Ebeltoft Group, which has now released its 2018 Global Retail Trends & Innovations Report. This book highlights some key insights into what innovative retailers are doing around the world. The release includes these video discussions as well as a free downloadable version of the book, available here.
Feel free to comment below the video, and next week we’ll showcase the 2018 Global Retail Trends & Innovations Report’s third of four ‘hot trends’ for 2018 that will include a discussion of ’Emotional Retail’.
As well, directly below are two videos — an introductory video which announced the ‘Retail Innovation of the Year’ winner of the 2018 Global Retail Trends & Innovations Report (San Francisco-based b8ta). As well, the other video discusses Trend One: ‘Smart Shopping’.
Douchanglee Crosses the Ocean to Set-up Shop in Park Royal
Taiwanese fashion brand Douchanglee recently opened its first Canadian location at West Vancouver’s Park Royal. Launched in 1995 by Dou Teng-huang and Zhang Li Yu-jing, the duo presented their first concept store in 2003.
Canadian licensee Jack Wang brought Douchanglee to Canada after encouragement from his wife, who is a fan of the brand. He said that she found it challenging to find clothing from other brands in the Lower Mainland with a similar fit, quality and styling, prompting the entrepreneur to strike a deal with Taiwan’s Douchanglee to enter the Canadian market. It helped that Wang and his family are friends with the husband-wife duo behind the brand Ten-huang and Yu-jing.
The 2,500-square-foot store has elements of avant-garde and retro chic throughout with the use of stainless steel, acrylic, velvet, and leather, as its key visual elements.
Stocking the Spring/Summer 2018 offerings the new location in Park Royal will also have a selection from previous collections; fans of this elegant and unique line enjoy the versatility of the pieces for day/night wear.
Douchanglee currently operates several stores throughout Taiwan (5 boutiques, 9 department store ‘corners’ and 4 franchises), and will soon open in Paris, France.
Marquess Jewellers Unveils Impressive New Retail Space
Family-owned Marquess Jewellers in Toronto, known for its custom jewellery designs as well as exceptional repairs, has renovated its retail space at 12 St. Clair Street East on the lower level of the St. Clair Centre, just off of Yonge Street.
Third-generation Marquess Jewellers has been in business since 1983 and it carries a wides selection of affordably-priced gold and silver earrings and necklaces that are sources from Italy, New York City, Los Angels and Montreal. The retailer also appraises jewellery and can do custom engraving, and it also offers on-site watch battery replacement, watch repair, and metal and leather watch bands are available.
The store is located in one of the best locations in Toronto, with some of the city’s wealthiest neighbourhoods close by — Rosedale, Forest Hill, South Hill and Moore Park are within walking distance.
Mississauga-based BUILD IT by Design overhauled the space with an extensive renovation that has created an essentially new store. Custom light fixtures were imported from California and LED lights were custom made to match the colour temperature of the light fixtures throughout the space. Custom imported wall tiles, measuring 48” x 48” were installed in the space. BUILD IT by Design also created intricate display cases that were made in-house using three mixed elements — glass, metal, and wood, featuring custom hardwood turned legs.
Be sure to check out the newly reopened store when you’re in the area, which is part of the St. Clair Centre which is also seeing some exciting changes to coincide with the rebirth of the entire area.
Judith & Charles Splits from the Mall and Hits Granville Street
Montreal-based women’s fashion brand Judith & Charles brought its unique client experience to a new and exciting downtown setting when they recently opened a new store at 640 Granville Street in Vancouver.
Laid out over 2293-square-feet, the location opened with a low-key event for style bloggers on May 1st. Embodying Judith & Charles’ upscale experience, this new store promotes fashion and art in a gallery-like setting. The interior adheres to the brand’s ‘less is more’ aesthetic and showcases clean lines, natural materials, and a neutral palette.
The latest collections are displayed next to Jane Carr scarves, exclusive to Judith & Charles, as well as the artwork of Montreal-based sculpture artist David Umemoto. His minimalist sculptures are influenced by geology, the repercussions of time and weather, and made out of concrete.
The exhibition of Umemoto’s work will be held until August 2018. Fifty percent of each sale will go towards Charlie’s Foundation, an initiative launched in 2015 by the Le Pierrès. The foundation is a non-profit organization that teaches Dominican youth the English language, connecting them with the wider world and improving their future career prospects.
CBRE broker Michael Mylett acted on behalf of the landlord in the Granville Street lease deal.
OpenRoad Auto Group Pops Its Cork at New Rolls Royce Showroom
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Vancouver, part of OpenRoad Auto Group, marked the official grand opening of the brand’s new Vancouver showroom on West 5th Avenue, with two Moet drenched events. The first Champagne tower was poured for media and the second later in the evening for VIPs and over 200 Rolls Royce owners. The new location is also Canada’s first stand-alone Rolls-Royce retail facility. The evening was doubly exciting for luxury car fanatics as the company also revealed the highly anticipated Cullinan SUV, marking the first time the luxury automaker has held a new model debut in Canada.
The 4,500-square foot, two level luxury automotive retail centre offers an elegant showroom featuring high-end finishes, premium architectural details, a snow machine, and space for up to six Rolls-Royce models. All other Canadian stores combine Rolls-Royce with other luxury car brands like Karma or Lamborghini.
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Vancouver is currently the top Canadian volume dealer and one of the top-selling Rolls-Royce dealerships in the world. OpenRoad Auto Group acquired the Vancouver Rolls-Royce retail store in 2014.
After 15 Years of Service to Beauty, Victoria Radford Opens Radford
Beloved Toronto-based make-up artist and aesthetician, Victoria Radford has launched her first salon aptly named Radford, in Toronto’s premier lifestyle shopping destination Yorkville Village.
With 15 years of expertise in beauty and holistic medicine, Radford wants to create a new approach to make-up and skincare. The opening of the salon is the first step in sharing her philosophy with a wider market.
The new Radford salon, located in the Upper Oval, offers a wide selection of luxury services to make guests look and feel glamorous. Radford offers in-studio make-up applications, hair styling, cutting and colouring, in addition to customized skin treatments to target any skin type effectively.
In addition to an array of principal services, Victoria Radford’s personal beauty line is available for purchase at the salon.
Interesting note – Yorkville Village is currently undergoing Phase 2 of the redevelopment, continuing through 2018 and will welcome prime new retailers, including several first-to-market luxury brand introductions to the Bloor-Yorkville neighbourhood. We cannot wait to announce more retail launches as they happen.
Perverted Ice Cream Bringing Dairy Deviance to Vancouver
Tinted windows and black walled interiors have replaced the pretty pink décor of Cupcakes on Thurlow Street. Perverted Ice Cream opened on May 16th and encouraged patrons to play it up with the hashtag #everytimeicomeicecream.
The soft-serve ice cream is made with organic milk and no artificial stabilizers. Black charcoal waffle cones are handmade every day, and embellishments include bacon bits, gold leaf, pink roxy dust, salt & vinegar crumble, toasted French fries, and torched cheese curd.
Incredibly, in our no-fun city, Perverted ice cream lovers will be able to enjoy a cone during a Robson Street stroll until 2 am on weekends! (Photos above are from Perverted Ice Cream’s Instagram account).
Rocky Mountain Soap Company to Lather-up Toronto with 3 Summer Pop-ups
Rocky Mountain Soap Company, the Alberta based nature-sourced bath and beauty brand, brings three new pop-up shops to Toronto this summer to serve up their toxin-free products to the people, and to test out the east coast market for future expansion.
The retail locations will pop-up in July at CF Toronto Eaton Centre, with PATH and Yorkdale Shopping Centre in August. The storefronts will be stocked with Rocky’s full product range for the whole family and invite customer interaction, allowing shoppers to lather up with soaps and scrubs at wash stations, test face and body lotions and learn more about the brand’s more than 200 natural products.
As a female-led and values-based enterprise, Rocky Mountain Soap has maintained its growth and loyal following by focusing on natural, simple ingredients, environmentally-conscious processes, and community.
Did you know that natural beauty products are the fastest-growing segment of the beauty industry? Rocky Mountain Soap Company is fortunate enough to have benefited from this trend as is everyone who is switching to natural products!
Is Railtown the Future of Retail in Space Challenged Vancouver?
With the relatively recent ‘Creative Products Manufacturing I-4’ zoning in Railtown, the 400 block of Railway Street will be redeveloped by architects OMB (Office of Mcfarlane Biggar Architects + Designers) on behalf of client Niels Bendtsen. Affected by the redevelopment will be Bendtsen’s companies Inform Interiors and Bensen, both long established in this area.
The new mixed-use development will be six-stories in height, just under 112,000-square-feet and consist of recessed storefronts, a restaurant, a glassed-in central atrium with open walkways, two rooftop terraces, and three levels of underground parking.
This development will bring sorely needed retail, restaurant, parking, and residential units to an area of the city that is desperately lacking in amenities. [Download PDF Plan]
Hype City 3 Sneaker Convention is Kicking into the Harbour Convention Centre
The call has gone out for all ‘sneakerheads’ to get ready for what is going to be the calendar event of the year – Hype City 3.
Two Facebook groups – Vancouver Sneakerheads Group and Vancouver Streetwear Community are bringing the third incarnation of Canada’s largest sneaker and streetwear event to the Harbour Convention Centre on June 3rd. This new location allows for much-needed growth and accessibility for both vendors and attendees.
Hype City 3 will bring in some of the world’s highest streetwear and fashion commodities for sneakerheads to shop. Passes will get attendees access to over 75 tables of rare vintage, luxury (including the largest Supreme collection in Canada) including Yeezy, limited edition hype pairs, art, and collectibles all with the sneaker theme.
You can also take part in interactive activities and learn about the history of sneakers like the Air Force 1 at Hype City. Attendees will have the chance to win prizes with raffles and give-aways happening throughout the event.
Costco Thorncliffe Park Confirmed and Ready to Roll Out the Cart
American membership-only warehouse club Costco is about to open its fourth location in Toronto at the former Coca-Cola Refreshments Canada head office and bottling plant located at 42 and 46 Overlea Boulevard.
Initially slated for a February launch, apparent weather-related construction delays have kept Thorncliffe Park behind schedule, but Costco has officially confirmed the location opening in June. Eager bulk shoppers have been purchasing their new Costco memberships from a white trailer in the parking lot.
The massive 165,800-square-foot warehouse store will also offer an incredible 18-pump vehicle fuel station.
Rockport Financial Struggles
Rockport Blocker and Rockport Canada et al. (collectively the “Rockport Group”), subsidiaries of Rockport, based in West Newton, Massachusetts, is a global designer, distributor and retailer of comfort footwear in more than 50 markets worldwide. This month, the company brought a motion under the CCAA to recognize in Canada the US Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings that the Rockport Group filed on May 14, according to Insolvency Insider. The company partially blamed the separation from its previous owner, Reebok, which sold the company in 2015, for its financial difficulties.
The Rockport Groupcurrently owes approximately $53.4 million (USD) under its revolving credit agreement. If the lenders were to require repayment in full of the amounts owed by Rockport Canada, as a co-borrower and under its guarantee of the US debtors’ obligations under the agreement, it would be unable to repay the full amount owed. Rockport Canada itself has 64 unsecured creditors that are owed approximately $760 million (CAD).
The company has entered into an asset purchase agreement to sell substantially all of its assets to CB Marathon Opco, an affiliate of Charlesbank– a private equity group. To facilitate the cooperation between the US and Canadian Court, Rockport Blockerrequested that it be recognized to act as foreign representative. Richter was appointed Information Officer. Canadian counsel is BLG for the Rockport Group,Stikeman Elliot for Richter, Gowling WLGfor Charlesbank and Goodmans for the senior secured noteholders. [Subscribe to Insolvency Insider]
Toronto’s Church-Wellesley Village Business Improvement Area (BIA) is looking to fill some available spaces with pop-up stores, in an effort to fill area vacancies while adding to a sense of community. Several temporary retail spaces are available and businesses are being sought to market to the local community.
The goal is to add more vibrancy, excitement and a sense of community to the diverse area, eliminating empty storefronts that may lead to undesirable results such as vandalism.
It’s the first time that a Toronto BIA has taken on such a unique initiative in an effort to reduce area vacancies, if even just temporarily. The BIA is specifically looking to fill some of the spaces with affordable, non-permanent entrepreneurial or small business endeavours.
The BIA conducted a survey with the surrounding community, and 93% of respondents said that they take pride in supporting local businesses, restaurants and services at least twice a week. Respondents from the survey were also asked for ideas on what to fill the empty spaces with and some of the key findings were: bakeries, LGBTQ/women friendly spaces, clothing stores, independent retail and cafes/coffee shops.
In the Church-Wellesley Village, an unprecedented amount of residential development will see thousands of new residents added to the area that spans a few blocks around the intersection of Church Street and Wellesley Street. With all of the new residents, increased density will also lead to increased foot traffic for local businesses.
Pop-ups are a great way for retailers to test concepts, as well as build buzz. Pop-up retail is a significant trend amongst retailers in Canada, with many mainstream retailers now adopting the idea as part of their overall strategy.
Applications for the Church Street Pop-Up Initiatives are being accepted until June 1st, with the expectation that spaces be filled in the weeks to come. Interested parties are encouraged to act quickly — June is Pride Month in Toronto, with the 2018 Pride Parade taking place on June 24.[Apply here]
