Toronto-based Consonant Skincare, known for its 100% natural products, has opened its new flagship location on Toronto’s trendy ‘West Queen West’. The impressive, intimate retail space reflects an upscale positioning for the company, which includes a dedicated area for its Hydrextremeproduct line. Consonant has also moved its offices into the back of the new space, as the company embarks on a retail expansion that will include an enhanced focus on direct-to-consumer retail locations.
It’s Consonant’s third standalone brick-and-mortar location, following stores in Toronto’s Yonge & Eglinton area (2479 Yonge Street, opened in 2011) as well as on the PATH level at the Richmond Adelaide Centre in Toronto’s Financial District which opened in 2015.
Located at 819 Queen Street West, the new store occupies more than 1,700 square feet on one level. The space is sleek and modern, which is a contrast to the historical buildings in the area that are otherwise mildly gritty with a super-cool factor. Customer service is paramount in the new store, which features onsite Regimen Coaches who work one-on-one with shoppers to educate and otherwise assist.
Bill Barker
“Our mission at Consonant is to help our guests achieve their best self through a well-rounded Consonant life,” said Bill Baker, founder of ConsonantSkincare. “Our onsite Regimen Coaches are a great resource to help shoppers make healthier choices, whether it’s related to nutrition, lifestyle, skincare and more. We’re very excited for our guests to enjoy our new store and everything that it has to offer.”
Founded by Bill Baker almost 10 years ago, Consonant’s products are 100% natural and are said to be clinically proven. Products are, for the most part, made in Canda, and are made of the highest possible concentration of organic botanical ingredients. The idea is that formulations will work in harmony with one’s natural chemistry to improve the health of skin over time.
Consonant’s new Queen Street store isn’t just a retail space, however. It also acts as a community hub for guests seeking a holistic lifestyle, according to Mr. Baker. As a result, there’s ongoing community programming for healthy living and wellness initiatives that are hosted by industry experts and leaders.
A schedule of events can be found in the store where customers are able to further learn about wellness, not to mention how the Consonant brand can assist. Yoga, healthy eating and other educational programs are all meant to promote a healthy lifestyle, with Consonant’s skincare products helping enhance an overall healthy persona.
Premium product line ‘Hydrextreme’ wall in the new store.
Mr. Baker explained how direct-to-consumer retail spaces offer face-to-face feedback that often isn’t possible with wholesalers, or online. As a result, Mr. Baker said that he expects the Consonant brand to roll-out more retail locations to further engage with consumers and to promote the brand, though such an expansion would be careful and calculated. He noted that skincare is a competitive business, and that Consonant’s products will stand the test of time when compared to other brands that are also seeking a percentage of the market. Ultimately, getting the word out is important for a brand such as Consonant.
Standalone stores is a trend being seen amongst brands as of late, in a range of categories spanning from outerwear to footwear to jewellery. Beauty and skincare, as well, is seeing rapid growth in the opening of standalone stores, with companies such as Clinique, Deciem, Jo Malone and Valmont and others opening standalone stores to attract and retain clientele.
Consonant Skincare’s value proposition could see it expand its base of stores well beyond the Toronto market — with prices that are mid-range and quality that is unmatched, the brand anticipates gaining and maintaining loyalty by supplying exceptional products in friendly, attractive retail spaces.
Spence Diamonds has aggressive plans to expand its footprint across North America in the coming years.
Eric Lindberg, the company’s executive chairman, told Retail Insider that Spence Diamonds definitely has plans to grow the business to other places bringing its offering from the current 10 stores to up to 40 to 45 locations across Canada and the United States.
“There are a lot of diamond retail operations in North America already that are pretty well entrenched in all of these markets. There’s not an area where there’s an obvious gap in terms of the ability of diamond retail,” said Lindberg.
“But as we have taken a look over the course of the last three years, the diamond retail buying experience this is really one of the most retrograde retail experiences that still exists really sort of largely operating in a 1950s and 1960s approach – the very highly adversarial nature of retail that operated back then. And today outside of diamond retail, and probably used car lots and mattress stores, there aren’t a lot of other areas in retail that haven’t been turned into a positive experiential customer first environment.
“Our intention is to bring that level of modern retail experience . . . over the course of the next four to six years to every major market in North America.”
Lindberg said the company’s desire to grow its footprint is driven not by the need for more diamond retail in general but because it thinks the industry hasn’t adapted to serving younger customers, providing a great experience in the store and providing the types of products and services that modern customers expect today.
Spence Diamonds was founded in Vancouver in 1978. It currently has 10 stores – seven of them, the early generation stores, are in Canada with three in the Greater Toronto Area, two in Vancouver and one each in Calgary and Edmonton. Newer generation, experiential-focused, stores are operating in the Silicon Valley in California, Scottsdale, Arizona and Austin, Texas.
The American stores opened within a few months of each other about 18 months ago.
Lindberg said there is speculative talk in the media that younger consumers are migrating away from diamonds as a mark of engagement, marriage or other activities. But he said demand for diamonds remains very, very strong.
The company’s success recently is due to its initiative to modernize its customer proposition.
“In 2017, when we deployed a whole host of improvements in the Spence experience, while the rest of retail was flat and declining, we saw a huge same store sales increase last year, particularly around our bridal sales,” said Lindberg. “You can generate tons of growth in retail if you’re obsessed with making your customers happy and with meeting their needs which is what our entire business has been changed into being focused on.”
Part of that includes Spence’s Artisan Created Diamonds. The company says it is the only diamond retailer in the U.S. and Canada to showcase both Artisan Created Diamonds, which are man-made in a laboratory setting, as well as earth-mined diamonds side-by-side, offering customers the most extensive diamond education and choice.
The Artisan Created Diamonds are indistinguishable from earth-mined diamonds. They display the same chemical and optical properties because the technology used to create them replicates how diamonds are formed in the earth.
Lindberg said Artisan Created Diamonds are always at least 25 per cent larger and are of a higher quality by two clarity grades than a similarly priced mined diamond.
He said Spence offers more than 2,500 engagement ring styles that can be made with both Artisan Created or earth-mined, or rings can be customized and designed from scratch.
“Our manufacturing studio in Vancouver can now make a customer any ring,” said Lindberg. “Spence very uniquely is vertically integrated and so we can, on the ring design side, make anything that a customer wants in about a 10-day period which is really unprecedented anywhere in mainstream diamond retail.”
He said the rest of the industry has had “its head in the sand” regarding the Artisan Created Diamonds as four to five years ago the science behind manufacturing diamonds finally reached the point where in a laboratory environment the industry was able to create diamonds that are of gem grade.
“The technology is really amazing. It is an extraordinary process by which over a 12-week period we’re now able to create diamonds that are indistinguishable that are physically identical to mined diamonds,” said Lindberg.
Starting about a year and a half ago, Spence made it a standard policy to encourage customers to look at all options of diamonds.
“We only began selling the Artisan Created Diamonds a year and a half ago and the customer adoption I would say has absolutely shocked us the degree to which both Canadian and U.S. customers when presented with those choices people have gravitated to the Artisan diamonds at a rate that I think is really unprecedented for any new product type like this . . . It is unbelievable how much consumers love the Artisan Created Diamonds.”
Upscale French bakery and sweets maker Ladurée has expanded its offerings at its first two Canadian locations in Vancouver, courtesy of the new purposely built Pastry Laboratory that has opened in the city. A Ladurée International Pastry Chef has relocated from Paris to Vancouver to oversee preparation of the world famous Ladurée cakes and pastries that, until now, were unavailable at Ladurée in Canada.
Chef Mickael de Monte is said to be a quintessential French pastry chef with 15 years of experience in pastry making and 5 years of experience with Ladurée. Until now Ladurée’s Canadian operations have stocked a selection of sweets such as its famous macarons, chocolates, teas, jams, accessories along with savoury and sweet menu items at the tea salons. Ladurée’s Canadian licensee Olesya Krakhmalyova explained that bringing Chef Mickael to Canada was the next step in the progression of Ladurée’s Canadian operations, which now includes three standalone locations — two in Vancouver and one in Toronto.
Ms. Krakhmalyova explained that Ladurée’s pastries are only made by Laduree’s International pastry chefs, hence the investment in talent as well as a commercial kitchen space which spans about 1,500 square feet. “We have been working towards this from the beginning,” she said. The Ladurée Pastry Laboratory will serve the Vancouver boutiques and tea salon, and a Toronto Pastry Laboratory is expected to follow next year to further serve the expanding Toronto operations.
LADURÉE ON ROBSON STREET, VANCOUVER
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The Pastry Laboratory investment is significant, she explained, with about 90% of the equipment in the kitchen being imported from France. That includes a special oven for baking Ladurée’s famous cakes and pastries, which have become known worldwide for their unparalleled taste, exquisite beauty and consistent quality and freshness.
As Laduree Canada Executive Pastry Chef, Mickael de Monte will oversee all aspects of operations and production of the pastry laboratory in Vancouver on a consistent basis. Vancouver will now have the same product selection as Ladurée locations in international markets such as Paris, London and New York City. Ladurée operates retail locations and cafes in many of the world’s global cities — an impressive feat for the company which was established in 1862.
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When Ladurée opened its first Canadian location in Vancouver at 1141 Robson Street in the spring of 2016, there were lineups for weeks to get in. That prompted a second Vancouver location to open inside of Holt Renfrew in the spring of 2017, located adjacent to the store’s expansive women’s footwear hall. In December of 2017, Toronto’s first Ladurée also saw lineups when it opened at Yorkdale Shopping Centre. The Toronto market has been receptive to Ladurée. “The Yorkdale location is doing exceptionally well,” according to Ms. Krakhmalyova.
Laduree’s Owner and President, David Holder, visited Canada earlier this year, and was incredibly happy with Laduree’s growth and expansion in Canada. He said in an earlier interview that more Canadian locations could follow, with eyes to a second location in or near downtown Toronto at some point, while the Montreal market is also being explored. Yorkdale was something of a “teaser” for Toronto, said Mr. Holder, recognizing that the Greater Toronto Area has a population exceeding six-million residents, with a population that includes immigrants as well as many avid world travellers.
We’ll follow Ladurée’s progression as the company continues to expand its operations and offerings in the Canadian market.
A new study by eTail Canada, which was sponsored by Radial, provides insight and benchmarks relating to the complexities of Canadian retailers expanding internationally. The study notes that a significant number of Canadian retailers are either looking expand their operations internationally, or are already in the process of doing so. The report can be downloaded here.
More than one-third of Canadian retailers have started to expand their business into the Asia-Pacific region, as well as into Central and South America. With such expansions, Canadian retailers are engaging in new competitive markets with uncertainty — unfamiliar customs are the norm, though there are tremendous growth opportunities. Canada is a small country and opening business up to international markets can be lucrative, if done right.
As part of its analysis, the eTail Canada study recognizes that creating a great customer service experience abroad requires analyzing challenges to international expansion, building multi-location fulfillment strategies, and understanding cultural differences that will affect brand performance. The report discusses some of the most pressing challenges and strategies to combat the numerous challenges that present for expanding Canadian retailers. Some of these challenges include:
Centralizing distribution to reduce capital expenditure and gain better control over the supply chain,
Identifying unique consumer preferences in international markets, and
Finding global expertise to reduce operational costs and acquire customers.
Download the study to learn more. It’s full of interesting and useful information and can be used as a benchmarking tool for retailers that are contemplating an expansion, or have already initiated that process.
In a market that’s increasingly crowded with loyalty programs all vying for the same share of wallet, what opportunities – and options – do retailers across Canada have when it comes to offering customers more flexibility and choice in how they redeem their well-earned rewards?
Many major Canadian retailers are looking for ways they can achieve this, says Tim Mason, chief executive officer of Eagle Eye, a global loyalty technology and digital marketing company that enables retailers to create an intelligent, real-time connection with customers.
Loblaw, for example, recently merged two of Canada’s most-loved loyalty programs – PC Plus and Shoppers Optimum – to gain more insights into their customers and their behavior across multiple brands and locations. The consolidated PC Optimum program, powered by Eagle Eye’s AIR platform, allows Loblaw to personalize the offering based on individual shopper behaviours, then give customers the choice to earn and redeem through their preferred channel and location.
Eagle Eye, which works with many leading retail and grocery companies in the UK (most notably Tesco and Sainsbury’s), has expanded into both Canada and Australia this past year. The company specializes in loyalty and digital marketing solutions that deliver individualized rewards and messaging in real time, and help brands establish a deeper connection with their customers. Eagle Eye is one of the few companies with the capability to support an initiative on the scale of Loblaw’s PC Optimum program, which serves millions of members in 2,500 locations (soon to be 4,500).
The platform also provides secure, real-time issuance, management and redemption of digital promotions and rewards across all online and in-store purchases. With its sophisticated rules engine, the Eagle Eye AIR platform enables Loblaw to vary the proposition, points, or offer to the customer by division and product category. This in turn allows Loblaw to create truly personalized experiences for its customers.
Tim Mason
“Loyalty programs are successful when they deliver the right offer to the right consumer at the right time. Personalization is key for driving customer value and long-term loyalty, and by leveraging the Eagle Eye AIR platform to connect their customer data into one view, Loblaw can do just that,” said Mason.
Canadian Tire Shifts Gears
Mason also mentioned that Canadian Tire is the latest major retailer to expand its loyalty program across its various brands to provide a better loyalty redemption experience for its customers. Interestingly, Canadian Tire was one of the forerunners of the loyalty program concept, introducing Canadian Tire “money” in the 1950s.
But it wasn’t until the 1990s that retailers could capture customer data from a loyalty program and begin building a better connection with the customer. That process is still being perfected today, and according to Mason it’s more important now than it’s ever been.
“Providing a better redemption experience is obviously important. But for Canadian Tire’s program to grow in popularity, it will need to meet customer expectations of ongoing communication and lasting value,” continues Mason. “And that starts with connecting their data across all banners and channels in order to gain insights into shopper behaviours, which then enables greater personalization and ultimately relevancy.”
Shifting Canadian Loyalties
In the “Shifting Loyalties in Canada” survey and report Eagle Eye conducted with Ipsos late last year, it found that 87 percent of Canadians belong to an average of five loyalty programs or less — fewer than the average of 13 memberships per household reported in older surveys.
“The finding illustrates consumers’ unwillingness to participate in programs they no longer find valuable, relevant, or easy-to-use,” explains Mason. “Programs that aren’t tailored to customers’ individual needs and habits will have a hard time staying in that ‘top 5’.”
Changes in the Canadian loyalty marketplace may be driven by consumer preferences, but they are not limited to consumers’ attitudes and behaviors. Major corporations that have relied on traditional approaches to loyalty for decades are changing their strategies to meet new customer expectations.
“The Canadian loyalty market is undergoing a sizable shift, particularly in the recent evolution of legacy loyalty programs. Air Canada announced the creation of its own loyalty program by 2020, Loblaw brought together two major programs to form the PC Optimum program and Canadian Tire has expanded its loyalty program across its various brands,” says Mason. “What’s consistent across these companies is the decision to merge, consolidate and bring their loyalty programs in-house. This is a trend we expect to continue across the retail landscape and different categories.”
Data, Insights, and Personalization
As companies bring their loyalty programs under their own roofs, they will be better equipped to track and analyze consumer behaviors across banners, channels and touchpoints. Retailers can use this data to inform marketing strategies and customer outreach. Mason believes this will be a significant competitive advantage for retailers that can execute these strategies well.
“The most successful retailers will connect their data and leverage the insights to create personalized offers based on each loyalty member’s individual shopping habits, preferences, and even in their preferred channels,” he said. “Gone are the days of generic offers and mass communications. Consumers expect greater value from the data they share, and retailers need to connect that data into one single customer view to engage with consumers wherever they are on their shopping journey, in real time.”
Loyalty, a Rewarding Experience
Loyalty programs are pivotal gateways for this customer data, according to Mason. Not only are they effective sources of data, they are also ideal vectors for delivering communications, offers and rewards that are personalized according to that data.
“And by personalizing it, brands make that communication more relevant and therefore make it more attractive,” he added.
If a brand is committed to personalizing offers and rewards, it should also expand its concept of rewards beyond the transaction. Eagle Eye’s “Shifting Loyalties in Canada” report found that Canadian consumers are interested in rewards for activities that do not necessarily require a purchase or financial outlay. This means retailers will need to extend rewards beyond the traditional cash transactions, enabling program members to earn non-transactional rewards—the kinds of experiences that create emotional loyalty for their favourite brands, such as:
Meeting consumers’ expectations is crucial to the success of a loyalty program, including understanding which customers will be motivated by non-transactional rewards. But to achieve this level of understanding, Canadian brands must have access to their customer data across all consumer touchpoints, and a technology partner that can connect all this data into one single customer view. Only then can today’s brands action their data effectively. This is where Mason sees Eagle Eye’s potential for growth in the market.
‘Market & Co' at Upper Canada Mall (Image: Oxford)
The Upper Canada Mall in Newmarket, just north of Toronto, will become home to a unique food market in September when it unveils ‘Market & Co.’ in a 40,000 square foot space in part of the mall’s former Target store. When open, a demonstration kitchen as well as 18 best-in-class local merchants and first-to-market eateries will enhance the overall shopping centre experience.
“With the growing popularity and prominence of urban food markets worldwide, we saw an opportunity to pioneer this concept within a shopping centre. Market & Co. at Upper Canada is a first of its kind food market that features a highly sought-after collection of first-to-market and local merchants and brands,” said Bradley Jones, Head of Retail, Oxford Properties. “We have designed the market so guests can purchase quality groceries and specialty items to take home, enjoy food experiences at the market and take part in special events at the state-of-the-art, built-in demonstration kitchen.”
Market & Co. will occupy about 40,000 square feet on the ground floor of the mall’s former Target space, with visibility to busy Yonge Street to the east. Sport Chek will relocate its Upper Canada store into a 65,000 square foot space adjacent to the new Market & Co., making it one of Sport Chek’s largest stores in Canada when it opens.
‘Market & Co’ at Upper Canada Mall (Image: Oxford)‘Market & Co’ at Upper Canada Mall (Image: Oxford)
A diverse culinary experience will characterize Market & Co., which will include a mix of food vendors and eateries, including full-service restaurants. The idea is that local vendors will be part of the mix and to that end, some of them will be opening their very first retail locations at Market & Co.
‘Market & Co’ at Upper Canada Mall (Image: Oxford)‘Market & Co’ at Upper Canada Mall (Image: Oxford)
Furthermore, Market & Co. will house three full-service restaurants, including Canada’s first MidiCi The Neapolitan Pizza Company (based in Los Angeles), Union Chicken (Chef Michael Angeloni’s celebrated Toronto, spit-fired, rotisserie chicken eatery), and Amano Kitchen (a seasonally inspired Italian restaurant also developed by Chef Michael Angeloni).
A highlight at Market & Co. will be ‘Kitchen & Co.’, a built-in demonstration kitchen that will host regular events, pop-ups and workshops that will educate visitors as well as help them get to know their local market merchants.
On July 28, Upper Canada is hosting a career fair to fill approximately 250 full-time and part-time positions. The one-day career fair will take place at Upper Canada in Yonge Court (near Entrance 3) from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm — there’s more information on Market & Co.’s new website: shopmarketandco.com. Oxford Properties has also already set up social media accounts for Market & Co. on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
“We are thrilled to introduce Market & Co. to the community, foodies and guests at Upper Canada. Upper Canada has invested $60 million to bring exciting new food experiences and 18 premium food brands and merchants to the centre,” said Bri-Ann Stuart, General Manager, Upper Canada Mall. “We look forward to celebrating our opening this September with special activities and promotions.”
‘Market & Co’ at Upper Canada Mall (Image: Oxford)
Ms. Stuart explained that one of the goals of the new food market is to enhance Upper Canada’s food offerings, which also include a recently renovated traditional food court area. “Food builds community,” she said, and Upper Canada is further looking to engage with the local community — York Region is the fastest-growing region in the Greater Toronto Area, and it’s also remarkably affluent, and is home to a diverse range of households.
The food market will also lend itself to authenticity with the addition of many local vendors, some of which have never had a permanent retail space. Others, such as Bake Three Fifty, got started operating as a food truck.
Upper Canada Mall is one of the most important regional shopping centres in the Greater Toronto Area, housing more than 200 stores in an enclosed centre which spans nearly a million square feet. Many popular national and international brands can be found in the mall, which is anchored by Hudson’s Bay. The centre boasts nearly 5,000 parking spaces and sees more than eight million visitors annually, and is one of the country’s most productive shopping centres in terms of annual sales per square foot, according to Retail Council of Canada.
The KNOWHOW Conference is a tactically focused learning event for brands and retailers aimed at developing the essential marketing skills needed to reach customers in today’s climate. The event will be a key component of KNOWSHOW – Canada’s premiere lifestyle trade show in Vancouver.
Perry Pugh, General Manager and one of the founders of KNOWSHOW, said the goal of KNOWHOW is to provide inspiring ideas and actionable strategies to help organizations find, engage, convert, and build solid relationships with key customers.
Perry Pugh
“We created a space for retailers and brands to connect and in the time that we’ve had the show so much about the retail world has changed. Technology and different formats of communication, along with the stresses and strains these small business owners face, from when they started their business, makes it a much different world today,” said Pugh. “At the pace, things are changing, we wanted to create a learning opportunity for these entrepreneurs to be able to sharpen their tools and stay on top of trends and best practices with a tactical focus . . . It’s about the x’s and o’s of how a small business person can take advantage of the technology.”
The conference takes place Monday, July 16, kicking off the summer KNOWSHOW which is an engaging B2B marketplace where leading lifestyle fashion brands unveil their seasonal products to Canadian retailers.
The bi-annual show, produced by Cube Business Media, takes place July 17-18 at the Vancouver Convention Centre, and it connects hundreds of unique retailers and the brands that they buy from in a concentrated showcase of upcoming trends, styles and products. The trade show began in 2006 and annually draws about 600 unique retailers throughout mainly Canada but some American retailers too.
The keynote speaker at the KNOWHOW Conference is Michelle Gault, Head of Product with Vancouver-based Herschel Supply, whose topic is Marketing, Today and In the Next 5 Years.
Since its inception in 2010, Herschel Supply Co. has followed a meteoric rise to prominence in the streetwear scene and continues to grow today through rapid expansion into new categories. As Head of Product, Michelle Gault has had a hand in the design, development, and manufacturing of an ever-expanding line of goods. In her keynote presentation, she will discuss how as an industry leader, Herschel Supply Co., is bridging the gap between product and brand, and how it is building impactful marketing programs that will speak to consumers today, tomorrow and in the future, say the conference organizers.
Gault is responsible for the entirety of the product at Herschel.
“The biggest things I’m going to focus in on is giving them the tools to understand their goals,” said Gault of her upcoming presentation. “Everything that you do in your business should work towards this.
“I think the biggest thing that’s missing with a lot of these retailers nowadays is the goal. And once they can figure that out the rest is really easy . . . Right now, especially with smaller retailers . . . they’re doing what they’ve always done. Those days are gone.”
Conference workshops also include: Cracking The Instagram Algorithm; 7 Facebook Advertising Tactics Everyone Needs To Know; and Digital Marketing: Where To Start.
There is also a panel discussion on Marketing Success Through Customer Service.
KNOWSHOW runs two seasonally-focused events each year with a winter show in January and a summer show in July. Also, new this year at KNOWSHOW is the expanded the TableTop Market with a curated selection of local and international accessory brands. Organizers say the Market aims to create a more functional sales space for accessory and gift brands that are complementary to Lifestyle Fashion Retail. Categories at the Market include: Jewelry; Fashion Accessories; Craft Pantry Items; Home Goods; Men’s Grooming Products; and Bath and Body Products.
Italian luxury brand Versace will open its Canadian flagship store in early 2019 in a purpose-built retail complex on Yorkville Avenue in Toronto. It will be Versace’s second store in Toronto and its third in Canada, and will be the latest addition to Yorkville Avenue, which is finding its place as one of Canada’s leading luxury retail addresses.
The two-level Versace store will span 3,000 square feet over two levels at 106 Yorkville Avenue, and will be located between new Brunello Cucinelli and Jimmy Choo stores in the 102-108 Yorkville Avenue building that is currently under construction. The Versace store is expected to carry its iconic fashion collections for both men and women when it opens and will also be LEED Certified.
First Capital Realty is developing the 102-108 Yorkville Avenue block, now fully leased, which will also feature a location for chic entertainment concept Her Majesty’s Pleasure on its top level. A high-end Japanese restaurant will also be announced for the lower level in the coming weeks. Brunello Cucinelli will span about 8,200 square feet over three levels at address 102-104 Yorkville, and Jimmy Choo will occupy 2,250 square feet at 108 Yorkville Avenue, which is across a laneway from luxury brand Chanel. Chanel opened its store at 98 Yorkville Avenue in November of 2017 and the beautiful 8,550 square foot store features a heritage facade that was once part of the Mount Sinai Hospital (First Capital Realty also owns that building, as well as several neighbouring properties).
“We are very pleased to welcome Versace’s Canadian Flagship to its home in Yorkville,” said Gregory Menzies, Executive Vice President, First Capital Reality. “Yorkville has long since been the city’s go-to for luxury fashion, and the neighbourhood’s ongoing revitalization makes it the perfect community for a globally-known brand like Versace. 102-108 Yorkville will be a destination to experience a growing list of iconic brands, restaurants and retail.”
Across the street from Versace and the other retailers is Canada’s only standalone store for French luxury brand Christian Louboutin, which opened at 99 Yorkville Avenue in the summer of 2016. The entire Yorkville Avenue is seeing an influx of luxury brands — pricey streetwear brand Off-White opened at 83 Yorkville Avenue in early 2017, joining the likes of Kiton and Richard Mille, which recently relocated to a stunning second-level space at 135 Yorkville Avenue.
Mr. Vyriotes and Mr. Wedemire of brokerage DWSV have been instrumental in transforming the area into a luxury retail destination. They represented Chanel in the deal that saw it move into 100 Yorkville Avenue, and they represented Jimmy Choo and Brunello Cucinelli to move into retail spaces next door. They also represented high-end streetwear brand CNTRBND when it relocated to 135 Yorkville Avenue last year.
Versace’s first standalone Canadian boutique, spanning 2,820 square feet, opened in the summer of 2014 at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre, in the mall’s original ‘luxury run’ which is tenanted by the likes of Tiffany & Co., Moncler and Jimmy Choo. Versace’s second Canadian store, measuring 1,875 square feet, opened in December of 2015 at 747 Thurlow Street at the base of an office tower at the edge of the city’s Alberni Street ‘Luxury Zone’ that also houses Canada’s first standalone Brunello Cucinelli store. Mr. Vyriotes and Mr. Wedemire represented both Versace and Brunello Cucinelli in the Vancouver deals.
The Versace brand, which was founded by the late Gianni Versace in 1978, is seeing a resurgence globally that also includes an expansion of its home furnishings division. In the summer of 2014, Versace partnered with a local Vancouver group to open the world’s first Versace Home flagship store in Vancouver’s Gastown area at 310 Cordova Street. A licensed Versace shop-in-store has also operated at multi-brand luxury store Leone at the Sinclair Centre on West Hastings Street in Vancouver since 1987.
Founded in 1978, the Gianni Versace S.p.A. is one of the leading global fashion design houses. Under the Artistic Direction of Donatella Versace since 1997, the Gianni Versace S.p.A. designs, manufactures and distributes fashion and lifestyle products including haute couture, women’s and men’s ready-to-wear, jewelry, watches, accessories, fragrances and home collection.
Minimalist Japanese retailer Muji opened its first store in Western Canada at Metropolis at Metrotown in suburban Vancouver in August of 2017, and the store is said to be doing so well that it is already being expanded by more than 50%. When complete, the 7,770 square foot store will grow to an impressive 12,305 square feet.
That will make it the second-largest Muji store in North America, trailing the downtown Vancouver Robson Street flagship which opened in the fall, spanning more than 14,500 square feet on one level.
Muji is said to be so successful in the Vancouver market, that other store locations are said to be under consideration for expansion. Retail sales in British Columbia are among the highest in Canada, and locals have clearly embraced the Japanese brand.
CROWDS LINE UP FOR THE OPENING OF THE NEW METROTOWN MUJI ON THE MORNING OF SATURDAY, AUGUST 26. PHOTO: MUJI
The Metropolis at Metrotown Muji is located on the mall’s ground level, which is down the hall from anchor Hudson’s Bay. Three retail spaces were joined to create the large store, which features exterior windows as well as a mall-facing entrance.
The Metrotown Muji will be expanded further by annexing 4,535 square feet of retail space, which includes merging three separate spaces surrounding the existing store.
Muji says that it will reveal new services and products to be carried at the store at a later date, with an opening set for the fall of 2018. The goal is to replicate the flagship Robson Street store experience both in product selection and retail footprint.
Muji now operates three stores in the British Columbia Lower Mainland. Besides the Metrotown and Vancouver Robson Street flagships, Muji also operates a 6,355 square foot store at CF Richmond Centre, which is said could also be in line for an expansion, given its exceptional sales.
Muji’s first Canadian store opened in Toronto in November of 2014 at the Atrium, which is a multi-use complex featuring retail at its base as well as retail above. The original 4,400 square foot MUJI store at the Atrium has temporarily relocated while the permanent space is expanded both outwards and upwards into an 18,000 square foot leased space which will become the largest Muji location outside of Asia when it reopens later this year.
MUJI’s second Canadian location, spanning 5,225 square feet, opened at Mississauga’s Square One in November of 2015, followed by the October 2016 opening at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre (6,375 square feet) and the Summer 2017 debut of a 6,000 square foot space at CF Markville, north of Toronto. Most recently, MUJI unveiled a a 6,800 square foot store at Scarborough Town Centre, which was its fifth in the Greater Toronto Area.
Last year, MUJI’s Canadian President, Toru Akita, said that he expected MUJI to operate between 15 and 20 stores in Canada by the year 2020, and a source working with the company says that the retailer has already mapped out many of the locations where it plans to expand, which may include malls as well as urban street front locations.
Safeway at Lougheed mall is one of two Burnaby locations that will close for good on May 5. The other location is at Kingsway and Royal Oak Avenue. Photo: BurnabyNow
10 Metro Vancouver Safeway Stores Close as Owners Look to Discount: Ten Safeway stores in Metro Vancouver are closing in July which will impact many communities and as many as 1,000 employees.
Affected are the Lougheed Town Centre and Royal Oak locations in Burnaby, Sunwood Square in Coquitlam, Point Grey and City Square Shopping Centre stores in Vancouver, which will close permanently. All but the City Square store closed on Thursday, July 5.
The other five stores that closed but could be relaunched as FreshCo stores, are Blundell and Broadmoor in Richmond, Newton Town Centre and Strawberry Hills in Surrey, and the Safeway in Mission.
There is speculation that these five stores may reopen under the FreshCo brand depending on whether the unions representing the grocery store workers (UFCW 1518, UFCW 247 and the bakers’ union), can negotiate a new collective agreement.
Sobeys owners Empire Company has been researching buying patterns in the Canadian west and finds that ‘small box’ discount and the Sobeys FreshCo discount supermarket chain are more in-line with shoppers wants.
Enticing Sub-Lease Opportunity on St. Catherine’s Street for High Traffic Lover: Situated in the center of Montreal’s retail universe, the 2,406-square-foot location at 1253 St. Catherine Street presents an unprecedented opportunity to position your banner amongst the world’s top luxury boutique brands.
1253 St. Catherine’s is the strongest retail corner in downtown Montréal—at the intersection of renowned Rue Sainte Catherine and De La Montagne—1253 places you in the international spotlight and epicenter of activity and traffic. This location provides an unprecedented opportunity to be in the heart of luxury, and with lucrative flexibility on terms due to this unique sublease opportunity.
As part of a multi-story retail building located next to Forever 21, The North Face, Armani Exchange, Steve Madden, Guess, Anthropologie and many other boutique retailers and restaurants.
1253 St. Catherine Street’s availability is 30-60 days, with TMI (2018 Est) of $85.82/square-foot.
Nearby is the brand new Four Seasons Hotel (163 rooms alongside 18 “exclusive private residences,” 3 restaurants, 6,000-square-foot ballroom) and the re-development of the Ogilvy department store which includes a new Holt Renfrew (250,000-square-feet and includes iconic high fashion brands such as Chanel, Fendi, Dior, Hermes, Louis Vuitton, Prada, and Tiffany & Co). The location will also include a new beauty hall of 23,000-square-feet, women’s footwear department of 8,000-square-feet, and leather goods shop of 20,000-square-feet.
St Catherine Street is about to witness a game-changing retail facelift with this iconic destination and an immense surge in the numbers of visitors and shoppers in Montreal drawn to this specific location.
Current figures for the area include a population of 36,417 persons with a daytime population of 144,825 persons, 7M+ trade area metro traffic, 30,751 trade area vehicle traffic, an impressive 100 transit score, and 99 walk score.
Revlon to Host Weekend Pop-Up in Toronto: Another pop-up is happening at Toronto’s 202 Queen Street West, and this time beauty brand Revlon will be showcasing its wares over the weekend (Friday, July 13 4:00pm-8:00pm and Saturday, July 14, 12:00pm-6:00pm). Best of all, admission is free.
Revlon will showcase its latest product launches that will include entertaining activations and beauty tips from skilled beauty experts. Pop-up facilitator thisopenspace brokered the deal for the 202 Queen Street West activation.
Photo: Jillian Schecher
Mother Daughter Duo Pamela and Jenna Do Design Right at Oliver Exchange: On July 6th, Edmonton mother-daughter business duo Pamela Freeman and Jenna Pryor celebrated the reopening of their home decor and design boutique, Plum Home + Design. It will be the first business to open inside the redeveloped Oliver Exchange building in the Oliver neighbourhood, and they will soon be joined on the main floor by Culina to Go, Brio Bakery, Odd Company Brewing, and Iconoclast Coffee Roasters.
The new location is more than double the size of Plum’s previous home on 124th Street, with nearly 2,000-square-feet of independent retail featuring home decor, furniture, baby clothing, fine jewellery, and more.
In designing both their retail space and upstairs design offices, Jenna and Pamela have preserved some of the heritage details of the building—originally built in 1913—by incorporating original windows, doors, and hardware salvaged from the historic building.
Ivan Beljan of Beljan Development has carefully brought together independent Edmonton businesses to ensure there will be community feeling within the Oliver Exchange Building.
Photo: ECCO
ECCO Canada Defies the Death Knell of Retail Doomsday Prediction: Contrary to what you may be reading in the mainstream media, Canadian bricks and mortar retail is not on its deathbed! ECCO Canada is going strong in 2018 with the opening of its 35th Canadian location in the lower level of CF Pacific Centre in Vancouver.
This is the fifth ECCO Canada boutique to open in 2018 and one of the smallest at 842-square-feet, but it is the biggest in on-trend ‘hygge’ warmth, highly curated product offerings, and a design ethos which embraces simplicity, functionality, and elegance.
Fun Fact: ECCO owns and manages every aspect of the value chain from tanneries and shoe manufacturing to wholesale and retail activities. ECCO’s products are sold in 88 countries from over 2,000 ECCO shops and more than 14,000 sales points. ECCO is family-owned, founded in Denmark in 1963, and employs more than 20,000 people worldwide.
BC Hydro Electrifying BC, One Phase at a Time: BC Hydro has announced that it has completed the second phase of its electric vehicle fast-charging network, allowing drivers to travel across BC from the Alberta border to Tofino – and the next phase will connect drivers north. Which is fantastic news to the 9,000+ electric vehicle drivers currently occupying the roads in BC.
The second phase rolls out just in time for drivers to fully enjoy the summer in BC with 28 new stations, in addition to the 30 that were completed in 2016. There are 13 new stations in the Lower Mainland and two new stations at the Britton Creek rest area on the Coquihalla Highway, allowing drivers to quickly charge up before heading to the Southern Interior – or to the Kootenays. The stations also connect drivers from Horseshoe Bay to the west coast of Vancouver Island.
BC Hydro’s fast-charging network can charge an electric vehicle’s battery to 80 per cent in 30 minutes or less. The network is designed to provide drivers with charging options when they need them – helping reduce the ‘range anxiety’ many drivers feel about long road trips.
BC Hydro is planning its next phase, which will connect drivers to the north from Kamloops to Prince George – and eventually to Prince Rupert.
256 Jobs Lost in Canada as Calverton Brands, parent company of Jacques Vert Folds: British womenswear maker Calvetron Brands, which is behind labels such as Précis, Eastex and Jacques Vert, is shutting its operations after filing for bankruptcy protection last May. The company failed to find a buyer, according to administrators Duff & Phelps.
As a result, about 256 jobs in Canada will be lost — Calverton operates concessions in Canada, including multiple Jacques Vert boutiques at Hudson’s Bay stores nationwide. Hudson’s Bay also carries the Précis Petit and Eastex lines of womenswear.
Employees have been told that their employment will end by September of this year. In all, about 1,400 jobs will be lost in the UK, Ireland, and Canada.
Luxury resale – buying and selling of preowned luxury goods – is a booming business that is fuelled by digital businesses that are also opening brick-and-mortar storefronts.
The first-of-its kind cutting-edge retail space will be used as a prototype for the chain as it embraces the future of experiential retail. Innovations allow visitors to see a vast assortment product not actually in the store by using augmented reality, video walls and touchscreens.
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