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Canadian Retail Sales Cooling Off

By
Ed Strapagiel
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Last year, in 2017, total Canadian retail sales growth was up 6.7%, a 20 year high. But the latest numbers from Statistics Canada show that sales gained 4.1% year-over-year in the first 2 months of 2018, significantly less. In fact, this soft patch appears to have started last December. 

As a result, the 3 month growth trend (orange line in the chart above) has sunk to a level lower than at any point last year. The underlying 12 month growth trend (green line) has now peaked out and is due to soften even more going forward. Poor spring weather across much of the country does not bode well for retail sales results in the next few months.  

The 3 month retail sales trend in the Food & Drug sector has now sunk to a 4 year low. The underlying 12 month trend has been softening since late 2016, and is poised to deteriorate further as we go deeper into 2018. 

Retail sales at supermarkets & other grocery stores represent half of this sector, but they were up by only 0.6% for the 3 months ending February 2018. Specialty food stores are doing well, with double digit sales gains in recent months, but this group is too small to offset the slow growth at mainstream supermarkets and grocers. 

After enjoying some high retail sales gains in 2016 and 2017, health & personal care stores have slowed down considerably. Their sales were actually down 0.1% year-over-year for the 3 months ending February 2018. Health & personal care stores at one time were the champions of the Food & Drug sector, but it appears those days are gone. 

The Store Merchandise sector seems to have run into some strong headwinds at the start of 2018, after having posted strong retail sales gains over much of last year. The 3 month sales growth trend has slowed to 4.6%, which is historically “not bad”, but now is running decidedly below the underlying 12 month trend. At this pace, the sector is unlikely to repeat its strong 2017 performance in 2018. 

The laggards in this sector include furniture and home furnishings stores (retail sales were up a meagre 0.3% for the 3 months ending February 2018), clothing and clothing accessories stores (up just 1.5%), and general merchandise stores (up a below average 2.6%). 

On the other side of the coin, electronics & appliance stores gained a huge 20.1% year-over-year for the 3 months ending February 2018, while building material & garden equipment/supplies dealers gained 7.8%. 

Note that Statistics Canada is now suppressing the breakdown of general merchandise stores for confidentiality reasons. The figures in the table below are estimates based on previous trends. 

The Automotive & Related sector is also weakening after a hot 2017. The 3 month trend has dropped off dramatically in last couple of months, although sales gains are still above the overall retail average. 

The main change is in new car dealers. Their year-over-year retail sales gain was just 2.8% for the 3 months ending February 2018, which is less than a third of the 9.4% increase recorded for 2017. 

This was partially offset by gas stations, whose retail sales increased 9.9% during the same period. This gain is all due to rising gasoline prices. 

By The Numbers

Special Note: Statistics Canada has made updates to 2017 numbers, and has also moved retail storefronts of telecom companies out of electronics & appliance stores and into a non-retail category, Telecommunications (NAICS 513). Retail trade statistics have been revised back to January 2012. 

For definitions of store types, see Statistics Canada NAICS. 

Canadian E-Commerce Stats

StatsCan started providing ecommerce retail sales data in January 2016. While the amount of data is limited, some trends appear to be emerging. Here are some results. 

Overall, e-commerce represented about 2.% of total Canadian retail sales for the 12 months ending February 2018, including both pure play operators as well as the online operations of brick & mortar stores. Canadian consumers however also buy online from foreign websites, spending which is not captured in these numbers. 

Canadian e-commerce sales were up 12.8% year-over-year for the 3 months ending February 2018. This however is significantly less than the 27.4% annual increase recorded for 2017 over 2016, implying that e-commerce sales growth may be slowing down. 

Note that location based retail is the same as that in the preceding large “By The Numbers” table. It’s what’s normally reported as Canadian retail sales. Except that it isn’t. Location based retail excludes another section called Non-Store Retailers (NAICS code 454), which covers electronic shopping and mail-order houses, which in turn is where (mostly) pure play e-commerce businesses are. For the 12 months ending January 2018, electronic shopping and mail-order houses had an estimated $9.08 billion in e-commerce sales. 

But that’s not the only source of e-commerce, as (mostly) bricks & mortar location-based retailers also sell online. For the 12 months ending February 2018, this group had an estimated $6.93 billion in e-commerce sales. With electronic shopping and mail-order houses, there’s a grand total of $16.02 billion in e-commerce sales by Canadian operators over the year. Note that this does not include foreign e-commerce purchases made by Canadian consumers, but it does include purchases made by foreigners at Canadian e-commerce businesses. 

For electronic shopping and mail-order houses, an estimated 85.3% of their sales are allocated to e-commerce. For the (mostly) bricks & mortar crowd, it can be estimated that just 1.2% of their total sales come from e-commerce. 

In the final section of the above table, (mostly) pure play operators (namely, under electronic shopping and mail-order houses) generated an estimated 56.7% of all e-commerce sales in Canada, while (mostly) bricks & mortar location-based retailers’ share of e-commerce is 43.3%. 

For more explanation on the e-commerce numbers, see Statistics Canada: Retail E-commerce in Canada. 

This analysis is updated monthly as new numbers are published by Statistics Canada. If you would like notification of when an update becomes available (and you’ve read this far), please connect with Ed Strapagiel on LinkedIn. 

Aeroplan’s Troublesome ‘Purity of the Country’ Survey is Nothing New

By
Retail Insider
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Aeroplan’s Troublesome ‘Purity of the Country’ Survey is Nothing New

Aeroplan, a popular Canadian loyalty program, found itself in hot water recently after launching a survey that asked participants about contentious issues, such as whether immigration “threatens the purity of the country” or whether men have a “natural superiority over women.”

CROP, the marketing research company that designed the survey for Aeroplan, defended the practice, stating that learning about consumers’ values can help companies predict their preferences and choices.

The loyalty program apologized and announced it was deleting all the data collected through the survey. But the move is not likely to placate consumers who are already angry with the company.

As a marketing professor who teaches consumer behaviour and researches loyalty programs, I believe consumers perceived the survey to be backwards on several distinct levels.

First, the scope of the questions seemed out of line with the mission of a travel rewards program.

Second, the questions were offensive to many respondents because they appeared to normalize intolerant views.

And third, there is the concern that simply asking such charged questions can change respondents’ attitudes and render them more xenophobic, prejudiced and sexist.

All information is precious

To many, these questions seemed completely irrelevant to Aeroplan’s mission and business model.

As a coalition reward program, Aeroplan sells its miles to a very diverse set of partners like Costco, Esso and TD. The partners hand out the points to their customers as a token of appreciation for their business and as an incentive to remain loyal.

Finally, the customers swap the miles they have accumulated for rewards offered by Aeroplan, like vacation packages or merchandise, thus closing the loop.

Consumer research has a long tradition of using rich, varied information that’s not limited only to dry demographic data to understand customers and their needs and preferences.

Back in the 1960s, researchers would use information ranging from the number of airplane trips one took to whether customers used hemorrhoid remedies to build consumer profiles for two competing beer brands.

Some of the apparently irrelevant characteristics turned out to distinguish between consumers with different types of lifestyles — somebody who spends a lot of time outdoors, for example, versus somebody who travels abroad frequently.

Furthermore, a consumer’s lifestyle was correlated with their propensity to drink one of the two beers — hence the relevance of the questions that seemed to have nothing at all to do with the product.

Different lifestyles, values, attitudes, interests and preferences tend to be clustered together — for example, Swiss consumers who are price-insensitive to wine tend to be older, well-informed, live in a single household and are more likely to prefer both Italian and German wines than other consumers.

The fact that different lifestyles are associated with clusters of attitudes and consumption patterns means that seemingly irrelevant details about a person can be diagnostic of their preferences in a wide variety of contexts. No surprise, then, that Cambridge Analytica was so keen on gathering apparently benign and trivial information, such as one’s Facebook likes.

In the era of machine learning, marketing researchers not only need more data, but they need more diverse, comprehensive data that contain new, non-redundant information. The contentious questions in CROP’s survey were precisely designed to tap into a fresh pool of insights.

No question is neutral

The contentious questions were framed in the affirmative, asking respondents about the extent to which they agreed with the statements. They could have just as easily been presented in the negative — for example, “immigration does not threaten the purity of the country.”

It may seem a superficial difference, but research shows that people are prone to acquiescence bias. That is, they tend to agree, rather than disagree, with statements presented in surveys. So the framing of the question will impact the way people respond to it.

Furthermore, respondents expect that “agree” is the correct answer, the one that questionnaire’s designers expected. Applying this logic to Aareoplan’s case, it appears that the company is implicitly backing the statements and thus legitimizing them.

We also know that measurement tools like surveys or interviews that are commonly used in social sciences can interfere with and change the attitudes that we are trying to measure. The concern here is that by floating these statements, the company may actually contribute to the creation and proliferation of bigoted and narrow viewpoints.

Humans like consistency

For example, if someone has no clear attitudes towards immigration, they might be more likely to agree with the statement that immigration threatens “the purity of the country” due to the way the question was framed and to acquiescence bias.

Since humans also like to maintain a consistency across time, the tiny act of having answered in the affirmative to this question may lead them to perceive themselves as the type of person who disagrees with immigration-friendly policies.

Of course, the chain of events I just described is probabilistic — based on a theory of probability and so subject to chance. But applied to a large number of respondents, the effects may still be material.

In the era of artificial intelligence, companies can capitalize on any type of information they gather on their customers or prospective customers. At the same time, consumers are becoming more sensitive about the data they share with merchants and also to the specific questions they are being asked.

It’s not a zero-sum game: Sometimes consumers can benefit by letting companies know more about what they really want. But finding that sweet spot where companies can learn about consumers without invading their privacy or offending them is not easy.

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

Alina Nastasoiu is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at DeGroote School of Business and McMaster University  She received her PhD in Marketing at Ivey Business School at Western University and is currently researching consumer loyalty programs and teaching consumer behavior. Email: nastasom@mcmaster.ca

The Conversation

Chocolatier Jeff De Bruges Ramps Up Canadian Expansion 

By
Craig Patterson
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Image: Jeff de Bruges

French chocolate and ice cream retailer Jeff de Bruges is launching a Canadian expansion with plans for two stores in Quebec and possibly beyond. De Bruges is known for its chocolate creations and other product categories that are imported from Belgium. 

The retailer, which launched in 1986 and began franchising in 1988, introduced ice cream into the mix in 1990 under the direction of entrepreneur founder Philippe Jambon. Jeff de Bruges saw revenue over more than $330 million in 2017. The company boasts more than 500 locations across France with a mix of corporate and franchised stores, as well as 38 locations — one of which is in Canada. 

Jeff de Bruges opened its first Canadian location in Montreal in early 2014 at Place Montreal Trust in downtown Montreal. Plans for more locations were put on hold temporarily, and the retailer says that it plans on opening two more locations in Quebec — and as well, Ottawa and Toronto could be target markets if all works as planned. 

Stores are said to be “fun and fresh” with a modern turquoise and brown palette, as well as large windows to attract passersby. The overall feel is “industrial chic” and displays are creative — for example, stores feature a wall-mounted chocolate tablet. Packages are upscale and can be personalized in store with ribbons and keepsake boxes. 

Jeff de Bruges is working with brokerage Think Retail under the direction of Tony Flanz for its Canadian expansion. According to Think Retail, retail spaces for Jeff de Bruges will ideally be in the 700 square foot to 1,000 square foot range with a primary focus on super-regional malls. 

BRIEF: Old Navy Announces 3 Stores, SSENSE to Unveil 5-Storey Flagship

By
Helen Siwak
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BRIEF: Old Navy Announces 3 Stores, SSENSE to Unveil 5-Storey Flagship

3 Canadian Stores Part of Old Navy 60-store North American expansion

Old Navy Store (PHOTO: RETAIL IN ASIA)

Old Navy is expanding its retail presence across Canada by opening three additional stores in 2018. In 2017, the value-priced Gap-owned fashion retailer operated 78 stores in Canada and pledged to operate at least 100 stores by 2020. This new announcement is consistent with Old Navy’s real estate strategy which is to continue the expansion of the brand into non-traditional retail locations such as discount, urban, and outlet centres.  

Opening on May 2nd is a 12,500-square-foot location at Carrefour Angrignon (Lasalle, QC) and a 15,500-square-foot location at Outlet Collection at EIA (Edmonton, AB) followed in mid-June by a 10,200-square-foot location in CF Fairview Mall (Toronto, ON) 

In addition to opening stores, Old Navy is remodeling approximately 150 stores across the fleet in an effort to ensure existing stores represent the best expression of the brand. 

Vancouver-Based Build-Your-Own Pizza Chain ‘Assembli’ to Enter Toronto Market

Image: Assembli

Some delicious news for pizza and salad lovers in Toronto. Assembli, which has two locations on the West Coast, will be opening its third location in downtown Toronto anticipated this summer, with construction to be completed in June. Leading construction firm BUILD IT by Design is currently working on the space, and provided the images in this article. 

Assembli offers custom-made pizzas and salads, which is great for those seeking unique offerings or those that have specific preferences. Assembli uses high-quality ingredients as well as fresh, non GMO, hormone-free, antibiotic-free and local and organic when possible. There are more than 50 toppings to choose from and you can even order online to avoid waiting in line. Watch for this popular concept to expand its operations. Toronto’s location for Assembli will be downtown at 373 Church Street just south of Carlton Street, at the base of an upscale residential tower that is nearing completion on the site. BUILD IT by Design, which works with some of the world’s top retailers and restaurants on their Canadian store build-outs, have supplied photos showing the ‘before’ work that’s happening now, as well as the final product that will be finished this summer. The new space will have a mix of high-quality industrial interiors, colourful fixtures, and kitchen/prep areas that will wow customers. 

*All images are courtesy of BUILD IT by Design. 

Image: Assembli

Union Station Offers Cheeky Twist on Pop-ups

Home by thisopenspace (Image: Union Station)

After years of renovations, Toronto’s Union Station is well on its way to becoming a retail and cultural destination. With an average of 250,000 people passing through the transportation hub each day, this week’s opening of the ‘Home by thisopenspace’ pop-up store is an incredible opportunity for the participating eight online brands to get new ‘non-digital’ eyes on their products.

This two-month temporary retail space is also providing a taste of what the world of bricks-and-mortar retail is really like. Its ‘cheeky’ theme is inspired by the notion that almost everyone who passes through Union Station, are either ‘going home’ or ‘coming from home.’

Occupying 350-square-feet and located on the lower level of the station, local brands like Pilot Coffee, Greenhouse Juice, Peace Collective, will co-exist with Canadian e-commerce brands including Sleepenvie, Permanent Vacation and Bibelot & Token. 

Doug Stephens, a retail expert and founder of Retail Prophet, says the idea of the Union Station pop-up is “fantastic,” and is part of a larger trend of bringing change to traditional retail spaces.

Home by thisopenspace (Image: Union Station)
Home by thisopenspace (Image: Union Station)

Hogan Pharmacy Innovates by Putting the Lockdown on Prescriptions

Image: Hogan Pharmacy

Hogan Pharmacy throughout southern Ontario are taking a leadership role in addressing two major health issues – the opioid epidemic and unintentional paediatric medicine poisonings. 

Hogan Pharmacy is the first pharmacy chain in Canada to offer SAFE RX® Locking Prescription Vials (LPVs™) for dispensing with the ability to encode the patients’ four-number lock right at the pharmacy. LPVs™ provide a more secure medication storage option for anyone filling a prescription and will help in preventing accidental access to medications and intentional pilfering, which is a leading source for teen prescription drug abuse and opioid addiction. This product is an affordable and sensible solution to keep medicine out of the wrong hands.

According to a recent Government of Canada report, there were 2,946 apparent opioid-related deaths in Canada in 2016. In only nine months, from January to September 2017, there were at least 2,923 apparent opioid-related deaths.

Walmart Canada Campaigns to Put 10 Million Meals on the Table in 2018

Image: Walmart Canada

Walmart Canada has launched its 2nd annual ‘Fight Hunger, Spark Change,’ national fundraising campaign. Running from April 5th to May 2nd, Walmart hopes to raise enough funds to secure 10 million meals for Canadian families in need through Food Banks Canada and its network of more than 550 food banks. 

Customers are invited to join in the fight against hunger. First by purchasing specific products – either in store or at walmart.ca – of select products, with participating brands donating a portion of the proceeds to Food Banks Canada, up to a maximum of $850,000. Partners include: General Mills, Kellogg’s, PepsiCo, KraftHeinz, Mars, Ferrero, Old Dutch, Maple Leaf, Unilever, Lassonde, Mondelez, and Starbucks. Second, by dropping non-perishable food donations in the donation bins located at the front of each Walmart store.

A ‘Donate at the Register’ opportunity ran from April 5th to 27th where customers were offered the opportunity to round up their purchase at the register to the nearest dollar. Walmart will be matching these funds to a maximum of $820,000. 

Walmart is also donating $100,000 to Food Banks Canada’s retail food program and donating $80,000 to support Food Banks Canada’s National Food Sharing System, which helps to move approximately 10 million pounds of food annually.

With more than 85,000 associates, Walmart Canada is one of Canada’s largest employers and has an extensive philanthropy program focused on supporting Canadian families in need, and since 1994 Walmart has raised and donated more than $300 million to Canadian charities.

Halifax’s Wicker Emporium Files for Creditor Protection

Image: Wicker Emporium

The Nova Scotia-based importer and retailer of solid wood furniture and home decor, Wicker Emporium, filed for protection under the CCAA on April 18, listing over $5-million in liabilities, including $865,000 to Accord Financial, according to publication Insolvency Insider. 

First opened in 1972, founder Madan Kapahi created Wicker Emporium as a way to share treasures from his home country of India with shoppers in eastern Canada. Growth for the company over the years has been successful and as of now, the company operates 23 bricks-and-mortar stores in Atlantic Canada and Ontario, as well as an online store. 

Due to changes in sale patterns in different locations, however, the company has experienced a recent decrease in profits from sales, particularly at stores located in more rural areas. As a result, the company has experienced difficulty in paying its suppliers, many of which are furniture manufacturers based in Asia. 

MNP was appointed monitor. Burchells is counsel to the company.

[Insolvency Insider website]

SSENSE to Open 5-Storey Montreal Flagship (on Thursday, May 3)

418 Saint-Sulpice

Montreal is buzzing right now, ahead of the opening of multi-brand retailer SSENSE‘s new Montreal flagship, which is said to be opening on May 3. While SSENSE won’t officially provide details on the new store just yet, we were able to put together a few relevant details ahead of the highly anticipated grand opening. 

The five-level Montreal store will be located at 418 Saint-Sulpice in a renovated heritage building in Old Montreal. Milan-based David Chipperfield Architects has been responsible for designing the space, which is expected to be groundbreaking in its design. 

SSENSE’s Montreal flagship is expected to be highly experiential and will include installations from artists as well as features to create ongoing interest — SSENSE, which operates from a current storefront in Old Montreal as well as online globally, sells products from a selection of independent, luxury and streetwear designers, also produces its own original editorial content. The company was founded in 2003 by three brothers (Rami Atallah, Firas Atallah, and Bassel Atallah) and the online platform currently serves 136 countries, operating in English, French and Japanese. About 80% of SSENSE’s clients are between the age of 18 and 34. 

This month, SSENSE acquired fashion community Polyvore and immediately closed the platform without warning. 

Stay tuned for more details on SSENSE’s Montreal flagship, as the company is expected to make an announcement very soon. 

Chloé to Open 1st Standalone Canadian Store

By
Craig Patterson
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Paris-based women’s luxury brand Chloé will open its first Canadian standalone store at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre this summer. The boutique will be the first in North America to feature the brand’s newest concept.

The Yorkdale Chloé will be located between two other luxury brands —  Saint Laurent and Mr. and Mrs. Italy, and across from David’s Shoes and the mall’s recently opened Ladurée salon. The 2,200 square foot Chloe boutique is expected to open in the middle of June, and the store is currently under construction. The Yorkdale boutique, being the Canadian flagship for Chloé, will carry the brand’s entire offer of ready-to-wear, leather goods, handbags, accessories, sunglasses and footwear. Vergo Construction is building the new Yorkdale store. 

Chloé has been growing its presence in Canada over the past several years through its wholesale accounts, which includes upscale retailers such as Holt Renfrew,  Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom. In less than three years, Chloé has opened several shop-in-stores in Canadian locations for Nordstrom and Saks, beginning with separate ready-to-wear and accessory boutiques at Nordstrom in Vancouver in September of 2015. In February of 2016, Chloé boutiques opened at both of Saks Fifth Avenue’s Toronto stores (CF Toronto Eaton Centre and CF Sherway Gardens) and in October of 2016, Chloé shop-in-stores opened along with Nordstrom’s beautiful location at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre.

CHLOÉ WOMEN’S READY-TO-WEAR – NordsTROM Boutique during 2016 opening

Yorkdale will be Chloé’s eighth standalone store in North America. In the United States, Chloé operates boutiques in New York City (850 Madison Avenue and at 93 Green Street), Las Vegas (Forum Shops at Caesar’s and Wynn), Los Angeles (Melrose Place), Costa Mesa CA (South Coast Plaza) and in Miami at the Bal Harbour Shops. 

Chloé will join other luxury brands in Toronto’s Yorkdale shopping centre, which is Canada’s top mall in terms of annual sales per square foot. The clustering of luxury brands at Yorkdale is of the same caliber as what’s found in downtown Vancouver and in downtown Toronto and in some instances, some luxury stores only have one standalone location in Canada at Yorkdale, such as David Yurman, Vacheron Constantin and Longchamp. Yorkdale continues to attract wealthy shoppers and because of this, Holt Renfrew is also in the process of expanding its highly productive store at the mall. 

Chloé is part of the Richemont Group conglomerate, which includes some of the world’s top luxury brands. Esteemed designer Natacha Ramsay-Levi joined the company as Creative Director in the spring of 2017. Several of Richemont’s brands already operate at Yorkdale near the new Chloé boutique, including Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, IWC Schaffhausen, Jaeger LeCoultre, Montblanc, Panerai, Vacheron Constantine and Piaget. Chloé, which was founded in Paris in 1952, has stores globally as well as a network of concessions and wholesale partnerships that include a presence in some of the world’s top multi-brand stores. 

Thai Retailer ‘Lemongrass House’ Launches Canadian Expansion with 1st Store [Photos]

By
Mario Toneguzzi
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Lemongrass House is bringing the experience of Thailand to Vancouver, opening its first retail store in Canada.

The flagship store, located in the city’s historic Gastown neighbourhood, recently opened its doors and offers consumers natural, handmade, premium spa products from the global brand.

Maxine Druker and Ben Horne are co-owners of the store.

Druker said the products are hand-produced in Thailand and all of the products are signed by the people who made them.

“They’re a real artisan product,” she said.

“It’s everything you need for your body from head to toe.”

Druker said the store was specially designed to bring some of the beauty, style and delights of Thailand to Vancouver. It engages the senses and charms the spirit from the moment a customer walks through the door.

The store carries about 1,200 products “for every body because we have products for kids and pregnant moms – even dogs,” she said.

This is the first time that the Lemongrass House brand has been available for purchase in Canada. Along with retail stores in 17 countries around the world, Lemongrass House products are being used in some of the world’s top hotels and spas, said Horne.

“Although we sell to spas and hotels, the concept is that people can take their own spa products home with them,” said Druker.

“We are the first retail outlet Lemongrass House in North America,” added Horne.

The spa and personal care products are all-natural and handmade, created by Thai artisans.

“The products are safe for the human body and safe for the planet,” said Druker, adding that the brand is a natural fit for Vancouver.

“Our goal is to have a retail presence across Canada basically in big cities. But obviously we’re starting out and this is our first store and it’s a new brand so we can’t expand too quickly,” said Horne.

“We want to concentrate on the retail presence in Vancouver but also an online, ecommerce presence. Having said that, we’re selling an experience. We’re selling a smell. We’re selling a shampoo. The retail store in Vancouver is an opportunity to introduce people to the brand and the concept and building on the success of that store we will be expanding. We’d like to open a store in Toronto. We’d like to open a store in Edmonton.”

Founded by Bobby and Palita Duchowny, Lemongrass House has grown to become a leading provider of handmade spa products to the world’s top hotels and spas, the company says on its website.

“Bobby was born in Malibu, California, and in 1996 he came to Thailand on a movie location assignment, fell in love with the country and decided to stay. He was introduced to an organic farming project and, using his background in aromatherapy that he acquired in the U.S., became interested in extracting pure plant oils from their crops,” says the website.

“Bobby and Palita started making small batches of natural insecticide, using Neem Oil, in the kitchen of their apartment and sold it at the Chatuchak Weekend Market in Bangkok. UNICEF in Thailand heard about them and placed large orders for their signature mosquito spray for use by their teams working in the field. Riding on this success, they relocated to Surin Beach in Phuket and in 2000 started providing premium spa products to the local hotel operations.”

The company says Lemongrass House is a major manufacturer of spa products for some of the world’s top hotels and spas such as Four Seasons Resorts, Hilton Hotels, Banyan Tree and Le Meridien, in 30 countries.

It has more than 50 retail stores in 17 countries. All products are blended and produced in a facility in Cherng Talay, Phuket.

Editor’s note: Vancouver-based Cutler designed the Vancouver store. 

PayBright Expands its E-Commerce Financing Solution in Canada

By
Mario Toneguzzi
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exc-5ad9305f03ce64794bd91c3d

Canadian fintech lender PayBright’s instant e-commerce financing solution is now available to more merchants and consumers.

Recently, the Toronto-based company announced its financing solution has expanded to e-commerce merchants operating the IBM Websphere Commerce and Salesforce Commerce Cloud platforms.

PayBright was the first company to launch instant consumer financing for e-commerce purchases in Canada in 2017. “Until then, Canadian retailers and consumers did not have access to a payment method that is becoming common in the U.S., Europe, and other parts of the world,” said Wayne Pommen, President & CEO of PayBright.

He said PayBright’s e-commerce solution integrates with merchants’ e-commerce platforms and provides Canadian customers with an additional payment option at checkout. After selecting PayBright as a payment method, customers can finalize their purchases in a matter of seconds. Merchants receive their funds directly from PayBright the next business day with no credit risk. Customers then pay for their purchases in affordable monthly installments over time, with interest rates as low as zero per cent.

“PayBright is now fully integrated with a number of e-commerce platforms, such as Shopify, Magento, WooCommerce, Solidus, Salesforce Commerce Cloud, IBM Websphere Commerce and SAP Hybris. Merchants using any of these platforms can rapidly deploy PayBright as a payment option for customers. We are also developing additional platform integrations in 2018.”

“We do it about as quickly and easily as you will find anywhere through an instant approval and paperless process. In addition to providing in-store financing, we’re the only company in Canada that’s offering financing for e-commerce transactions in a significant way. Until recently, Canadians were not able to be instantly approved for an installment loan if they were buying something online. E-commerce is the fastest-growing retail channel in Canada and our installment payment solution for online checkout fills a key gap in the Canadian marketplace. We are seeing adoption by small and large merchants in a number of categories,” said Pommen.

“The uptake of PayBright’s offering by our retail partners’ customers shows that instant financing is resonating with Canadian shoppers as well. Our e-commerce merchant partners are seeing growth in customer traffic, increases in checkout conversion of 10-25 per cent, and average order values that are as much as 80 per cent higher than orders that do not benefit from financing. Overall, offering installment payments drives significantly higher revenue per visitor.”

The company was founded in 2009 in the healthcare space. About 18 months ago, the new brand – PayBright – was launched in the retail space.

PayBright says it has approved over $300 million in consumer credit since inception and is funded by major Canadian financial institutions including iA Financial Group and CWB Financial Group. It is also partnered with more than 3,000 merchants in 10 Canadian provinces.

PayBright says it provides consumers with virtual credit accounts they can use to make purchases at participating merchants. Each purchase is paid for with a straightforward, easy-to-understand installment payment plan. Unlike other financing options, PayBright does not require consumers to sign up for a credit card and does not charge hidden fees or punitive interest rates, it adds.

“Customers really benefit when they are making a larger purchase and can break the cost down into monthly payments. We will instantly approve a customer for as much as $15,000. They can then use this approval for multiple purchases over time. And as they make repayments on their purchases, they free up their credit to be used again,” said Pommen. “It’s a win for the customer and a win for the retailer as well.”

CF Toronto Eaton Centre to Restore Facade/Expand Yonge & Queen Heritage Building

By
Craig Patterson
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2 Queen Street West Rendering

Cadillac Fairview has announced that it will expand and restore the facade of the historic 2 Queen Street West building in Toronto, which is connected to CF Toronto Eaton Centre. The building’s facade will be retained and restored, while new commercial space will be added over several levels. 

“A beautifully restored 2 Queen Street West would serve as a gateway from Yonge Street to the south entrance of the CF Toronto Eaton Centre,” said Rory MacLeod, Vice President, Development, Cadillac Fairview. “This project complements our ongoing investment in the CF Toronto Eaton Centre complex, most recently demonstrated by our announcement with BMO to develop an innovative new workspace in the former Sears office space, construction of the new Queen Street pedestrian bridge and the opening of Saks Fifth Avenue at the Hudson’s Bay Queen St. location.”

2 QUEEN STREET WEST – CLICK TO EXPLORE INTERACTIVE GOOGLE MAP
LOOKING EASTWARD ALONG QUEEN STREET WEST FROM THE ENTRANCE OF HUDSON’S BAY/SAKS FIFTH AVENUE TOWARDS 2 QUEEN STREET WEST.

He went on to say, “Cadillac Fairview is absolutely committed to our responsible investment in the heritage properties under our stewardship. Built in 1885, this building’s beautiful façade is currently obscured having undergone several renovations, but today, we are proud to be restoring 2 Queen Street West to its original glory.”

The project will include 22,011 square feet of retail space/storage and 23,150 square feet of office space. The top floor will house a first-in-class restaurant with an exterior terrace, according to Cadillac Fairview. The existing building will see three new floors added. 

RENDERING LOOKING PAST 2 QUEEN STREET WEST TOWARDS THE HUDSON’S BAY BUILDING (AND ITS PEDWAY), TOWARDS THE CN TOWER.

The 2 Queen West building has stood at the northwest corner of Queen Street West and Yonge Street since 1885, and housed a Woolworth’s store from 1913 until 1980. At one time, department store chain Eaton’s operated a flagship store that surrounded 2 Queen Street West — interestingly, Eaton’s never secured the corner space to expand its massive store. Most recently, an Atmosphere sports store occupied the retail component of the existing building with a Goodlife Fitness upstairs. In the 1990’s, the building housed a Tower Records superstore and decades before, changes to the building saw the facade obscured with aluminum panelling. 

The Yonge and Queen corner now includes luxury department store Saks Fifth Avenue, which operates its Canadian flagship in the Hudson’s Bay building that is connected via a stunning new pedway to CF Toronto Eaton Centre. The Hudson’s Bay building once housed the flagship location for the Robert Simpson & Co. department store chain, which Hudson’s Bay discontinued in the early 1990’s. 

AN EARLIER PROPOSAL FOR A 65-STOREY RENTAL TOWER ON THE SITE.

In 2013, Cadillac Fairview proposed adding a 65-storey rental tower to the site, with 2 Queen’s heritage facade being incorporated into a podium at its base. The 475,000 square foot building would have included 580 residential units, as well as retail at its base. 

With more than 50-million annual visitors, CF Toronto Eaton Centre is North America’s busiest shopping centre, according to Retail Council of Canada’s Shopping Centre Study. The centre is also one of the country’s top-selling in terms of sales per square foot, as well as one of the largest with more than 2.1 million square feet of retail space that spans the CF Toronto Eaton Centre retail complex (anchored by Nordstrom) and the Hudson’s Bay building across Queen Street, which houses Canadian flagships for Hudson’s Bay and Saks Fifth Avenue. 

*All renderings are via Cadillac Fairview

Cadillac Fairview Commences Repurposing Sears Spaces

By
Mario Toneguzzi
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Image: Sears Canada

Vacant Sears space in the CF Champlain shopping centre in Dieppe, New Brunswick is being transformed into a TD Corporate Office.

The space will house the bank’s new Finance Operations and Business Services Centres.

Cadillac Fairview, which operates the mall, will invest $25 million to transform the current space “into a visually appealing, comfortable, efficient and modern workplace,” it said.

The new office will open January 2019 in the mall which has more than 140 retailers and food vendors.

TD will open regional offices at CF Champlain near Moncton, NB.

The transformation is also an indication of what’s happening across the country as landlords look at creative and different ways to fill the thousands of square feet of empty space created with the collapse of the former retail giant, Sears.

”Today’s top employers are redefining traditional workspaces, building innovative office spaces in amenity-rich environments to meet the evolving demands of their employees,” said Brian Salpeter, Senior Vice President, Development, Cadillac Fairview.

He said TD took up the entire former Sears site of 109,000 square feet on one level.

Cadillac Fairview is a national developer, owner and manager of mixed-use assets, including some of the biggest and most productive shopping centres in Canada.

BMO will open offices above CF Toronto Eaton Centre’s Nordstrom store, in a space that once housed Sears Canada’s flagship.

The company said this is not the first time it is introducing an innovative office component to one of its shopping centres. It said it is leading a trend to transform some retail locations into highly sought-after office uses with similar, successful transformations across its portfolio.

It recently announced BMO’s Urban Campus will open in CF Toronto Eaton Centre’s former Sears space. Also, CF Pacific Centre in Vancouver saw the former Sears building transformed into a unique office space for Sony Image Works, Microsoft and Miller Thomson.

The trend of converting former Sears space into office use simply makes sense. Shopping centres offer great amenities from retail outlets to personal services to parking.

“We looked at all our properties and decided what is the best mix for everything,” said Salpeter. “It’s not going to be the same for every single property but this is one where CF Champlain really is in the Maritimes the premier shopping destination and it’s part of a strategy in our retail centres to bringing in different uses and different uses that are going to have great synergies.

“This is a great office space. It serves two purposes. One it serves to help transform the centre into more a mixed-use destination so it’s still focused on the best-in-class retailers with a large retail component, food and beverage component. But this also now brings in a great modern workplace with TD as a great employer who wants to create a great space to attract top talent and this is really going to be a great office presence for them and they’ll be a nice complement to CF Champlain and all of our retailers there. So it’s a really nice mix.”

The former Sears store at CF Pacific Centre in Vancouver now houses Nordstrom, several smaller retailers, as well as offices for microsoft and Miller Thomson.
ONE OF SEVERAL EXAMPLES: SEARS’ FORMER SPACE AT CF FAIRVIEW IN TORONTO WILL SEE NEW TENANTS IN A REDEVELOPMENT THIS YEAR. PHOTO: GOOGLE STREET VIEW

Other former Sears space in the Cadillac Fairview portfolio is being looked at on an individual basis and the same strategy that was pursued at CF Champlain may not be the case for other shopping centres.

“What we’re seeing now is a trend towards companies who are seeing what a modern workplace is. And there’s a need for everything. Employees want a mix of everything. So that’s why they want collaborative work space and that’s why this space (CF Champlain) is really nice because of the shape of it and how it’s going to be built out – creates a really collaborative work space for the employees and in a hub,” said Salpeter.

“Employees do want that convenience to be located next to all those amenities . . . but also public transportation. Our shopping centres are often hubs of public transportation as well and CF Champlain is no different. It’s a major bus hub as well.”

Retail Council of Canada Announces 2018 Excellence in Retailing Awards Lifetime Achievement Recipient

By
Retail Insider
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exc-5adf99f1352f53208718761e

Retail Council of Canada has announced that Lee Valley’s Robin Lee and the Lee Family will be awarded with the 2018 Retail Council of Canada Excellence in Retailing Awards Lifetime Achievement Award. The award will be given at this year’s Excellence in Retailing Awards Gala, taking place during the evening of Tuesday, May 29. [Register to attend the gala].

The Excellence in Retailing Awards Gala is part of the two-day Retail Council of Canada Store 2018 Conference, taking place May 29-30 at the Toronto Congress Centre. Registration is now open. 

Retail Council of Canada’s Excellence in Retailing Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes a family or an individual in retail who has demonstrated outstanding business success and community service throughout their career, and who has left an indelible mark on the industry through innovation and commitment to customers and employees. 

For the past 40 years, Lee Valley has been selecting hard-to-find quality tools that help people do what they love. Its unique products, a “customer-first” philosophy and a commitment to integrity, fairness and respect for all has helped Lee Valley grow the brand. In the 15 years since Robin Lee took over as President and CEO, Lee Valley has expanded from being recognized for high-quality woodworking and gardening tools, to now include new lines of products for outdoor, home, kitchen, leather working, cabinet hardware and power tools. Today, Lee Valley has more than 1,000 employees who serve a growing brick-and-mortar presence, as well as a substantial, highly engaged online community.

“Retail Council of Canada is honoured to recognize Robin Lee and his family with this Lifetime Achievement Award,” said Diane J. Brisebois, President & CEO, Retail Council of Canada. “Lee Valley has kept a visionary approach to retail for more than 40 years. Like his father Leonard, Robin has upheld the tradition of personally approving the highest-quality products and investing significantly in staff to ensure they are highly knowledgeable, supportive and able to create life-long loyal customers. This commitment is evident in Lee Valley’s continued success.”  

Robin Lee joins a distinguished list of past recipients from across Canada, such as Founders of Roots Canada, Michael Budman and Don Green; Founder of The Brick Warehouse Corporation, Dr. William H. Comrie; Founders of Canadian Tire Corporation, the Billes Family; and most recently, former Vice-Chairman of the Hudson’s Bay Company, Bonnie Brooks.

The Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Robin Lee at Retail Council of Canada’s Excellence in Retailing Awards Gala on May 29, 2018 at the Toronto Congress Centre, from 5:30pm to 8:30pm ET. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.retailawards.ca/tickets.

The Excellence in Retailing Awards Gala will close the first day of Canada’s biggest retail conference, STORE 2018, which will feature more than 80 speakers and attract more than 2,500 retail leaders from across North America. Media are also invited to attend STORE 2018, from May 29 to May 30, 2018. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit https://www.storeconference.ca/register.

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