JYSK Announces 6 Canadian Stores for 2017

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April 28, 2017

Affordably priced Danish home furnishings retailer JYSK has announced that it will open six stores in 2017 while renovating existing locations, as it continues to expand its Canadian operations. When all stores are open, JYSK will have 63 locations nationwide.

JYSK’s Canadian operations are headquartered in Port Coquitlam, BC, where it also opened its first Canadian store in 1996.

The new Canadian stores will be in Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia and Manitoba, including the following:

May 2017, Hamilton, ON – South Hamilton Square
June 2017, Brossard, QC – Greenfield Park, Place Greenfield Park.
June 2017, Laval, QC – Mega Centre Notre Dame
July 2017 — Sherbrooke, QB
August 2017 — Duncan, BC, and
October 2017 — Brampton, Shoppers World

JYSK’s Director of Marketing, Lynne Williams, says that the retailer will continue with plans to open between five and 10 Canadian stores annually. “Beginning with our new South Hamilton Square store in Ontario Spring 2017, we feel JYSK has a great story to tell. Sales are growing as customers increasingly trust our ‘Quality Design for Less’ mission.”

Ms. Williams explained how JYSK has also been renovating selected Canadian stores in order to highlight its new store concept. “Renovations in 2016 were undertaken to enhance our Customer’s shopping experience, highlight our unique Scandinavian products, and offer increased convenience for time-crunched consumers through its omni-channel retail operations. Stores are also laid out efficiently and are “not big boxes” so as to not overwhelm shoppers,” she said.

JYSK’s primary store format is in the 22,000 to 30,000 square foot range, though some locations can be smaller or larger. Larger stores are able to accommodate an expanded furniture selection, as well as house and display outdoor furniture inside stores, as opposed to outdoor displays that may be challenging for some retail locations.

E-Commerce is also picking up, she said, with JYSK’s website carrying over 2600 products that can now be either purchased or reserved online with Free pick up in-store.

JYSK celebrated 20 years in Canada last year, and it will continue to grow in various markets. Ms. Williams noted last year that the retailer is particularly looking to gain brand awareness in Quebec, where half of its openings will take place this year. Terry Addington (416) 809-7844), Director of Real Estate JYSK Canada, is a real estate contact.

JYSK was founded in Aarhaus, Denmark in April of 1979, and is now the largest Danish retailer operating internationally. The company operates over 2,400 store locations in 48 countries, and is expected to surpass 2,500 stores by the fall of 2017. It sells household goods such as mattresses, furniture, and interior decor, and also features seasonal furniture offerings.

3 Emerging Retail Trends That Will Improve Canadian Retailers’ Online Sales in 2017

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Retail Insider

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April 27, 2017

By Keith Hagen

While US retailers were quick to adopt a cataloguing culture, the Canadian online retail industry is still playing catch up. With more Canadians still choosing to shop with online retailers abroad, this gives Canadian retailers a prime opportunity to capture a slice of the online market.

According to one source, the Canadian online retail industry is expected to total nearly $40 billion by 2018. Here are three emerging ecommerce trends, according to Best-in-Class research by Inflow, (an ecommerce marketing agency), to help Canadian retailers improve online sales in 2017.

1) A website isn’t enough. It’s time to develop specifically for mobile.

Over 17% of Canadians reported making online purchases with their mobile device more than once a week. With this in mind, it’s time to start developing sites that are mobile adaptive.

By making the site as easy to read and navigate as possible on a small screen, users will have a more positive mobile experience. This is especially important for retailers who have no mobile specific site, or who are still using an older, responsive design.

While designing a mobile friendly site, it’s also important to consider the user’s mindset. Mobile shoppers are on-the-go, and typically have less time to complete their tasks than shoppers using a desktop. Thus, you must make it as easy as possible for them to get straight to the point, or in this case, checkout.

2) Nix the annoying e-mail popup.

You might have heard that the fortune is in the follow up, or for online retailers, in the email list. While this still rings true, it’s time to get rid of that annoying email popup that users encounter when they first visit your site.

Not only are first visit pop-ups ineffective for users who are new to your brand, but Google now penalizes sites with large pop-ups on mobile. Research shows that bounce rates also improve when these pop-ups are removed.

A solid alternative to the first visit pop-up form is a push down ribbon or push up overlay. The key here is to offer the user something valuable in return for their name or email address. Discounts, or special loyalty rewards are usually a safe bet.

Zappos is a prime example of an ecommerce site using a push down ribbon, in lieu of a pop up, to capture email addresses.

3.) Make social engagement a no-brainer

The most successful ecommerce brands understand the importance of social engagement in the overall marketing strategy. But, for the rest of us, understanding the best way to do this can be a challenge.

Inflow’s research indicates that the best place to incorporate social sharing functionality is on ‘Product Details’ pages. Regardless of brand preferences, most shoppers develop an interest in a particular product versus a particular brand. Thus, social sharing is more effective when it comes to specific products, rather than your overall site.

Modern consumers will generally consider multiple options before making a buying decision. By curating some of your products on platforms like Pinterest (or making it easy for others to do so), you’ll stay top-of-mind when buyers are ready to make a purchase.

Ecommerce is the Future for Canadian Retailers

The time has come for Canadian retailers to jump onboard the ecommerce bandwagon. As a general rule of thumb, if a retailer is targeting a Canadian-only audience, it’s best to opt for a .ca web address, while retailers with a US based or world-wide audience should opt for a .com.

Even if it takes time to catch up with online retailers abroad in terms of web traffic, the opportunity is ripe for Canadian retailers to focus on ecommerce optimization and conversion to capture their piece of the pie.

Keith Hagen comes from the web optimization world, and has been gaining insights into what is and isn’t working with websites since 2002. Following his postgraduate studies, Hagen moved from his native Nova Scotia, Canada, to Colorado to work as an internet programmer. He then moved to the business side of the internet. In the corporate world, he has driven the improvements of more than 30 websites (eCommerce and B2B).

Zvelle Launches Brick-and-Mortar Strategy to Complement eCommerce

By

Craig Patterson

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April 27, 2017

Zvelle at Yorkdale Shopping Centre (Image: Zvelle)

Toronto-based women’s footwear brand Zvelle has launched into the realm of brick-and-mortar retail, after previously selling exclusively online. Combining online with physical retail is a win-win strategy for the company, says Zvelle’s founder, and the next step could be permanent boutiques.

Entrepreneur Elle AyoubZadeh founded Zvelle in 2015 as a pure-play online retail venture, selling high quality, stylish and practical shoes at an accessible price point. She says that she’s always had a passion for shoes and luxury craftsmanship, and that she’s spent considerable time studying and working in luxury retail at university — not to mention, she specialized in luxury marketing while at business school.

After about a year of studying the industry and testing prototypes, she set out to create her own shoe business. Zvelle initially launched three shoe styles in a variety of colours, and has since expanded to 13, with more in the works. Her target customer is ‘global’ in nature and in many respects, Ms. AyoubZadeh would be considered part of Zvelle’s target market — she was born in Iran, grew up in Dubai, attended high school and university in New Zealand, and worked in Australia before moving to Canada several years ago to work in finance.

Zvelle began as an online-only brand, selling directly to consumers in order to keep costs down. The goal was always to expand so when a temporary retail opportunity became available at CF Toronto Eaton Centre in September of 2016, Ms. AyoubZadeh decided to test out brick-and-mortar sales for a period of about three weeks. The experience was positive, and Zvelle moved into another temporary retail space at Toronto’s CF Sherway Gardens in November of 2016.

Zvelle at Yorkdale Shopping Centre (Image: Zvelle)

Ms. AyoubZadeh quickly learnt that omnichannel retail has advantages. She said that she sees both the offline and online channel as part of Zvelle’s future growth. “We want to be where our customers want to shop, whether it is in store, online or via a text message,” she said. “The advantage of offline is the ability to create experience and bring the customer in to your world and to showcase all your merchandise under one roof.” Customer service is key to Zvelle, she noted, explaining how there’s a level of personalization in face-to-face interactions with customers — especially repeat clients for which Zvelle has access to their purchase behaviour and style preferences.

Recognizing the benefits of brick-and-mortar retail, Ms. AyoubZadeh opened another pop-up this month at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre. The mall is Canada’s most productive, and it boasts exceptional foot traffic from a fashion-savvy clientele. Ms. AyoubZadeh says that she’s pleased with her space in the mall, which is in a central location and near a number of luxury brands.

Many experts agree that temporary retail space can benefit brands. “Pop-up retail is a brilliant move for online retailers to test the brick-and-mortar waters,” said Linda Farha, Founder and Chief Connector at pop-up go, an online platform that helps pair retailers with available temporary retail spaces, including a match service that provides access to the ever-growing pipeline of pop-up seekers. “Pop-ups allow retailers to try out new concepts, new neighbourhoods, and launch new products and build relationships with customers face-to-face — when a consumer knows something is temporary, that scarcity will have them coming in to ‘get it before it’s gone’, be it a product or service”, Ms. Farha noted.

That scarcity could also include product exclusives — Zvelle’s Yorkdale location, for example, is the only place where consumers can buy its beautiful new Egyptian themed styles, as well as their iconic ‘upside-down heart’ shaped designs (the ‘hearts’ are actually the Persian symbol for the number five).

Ms. AyoubZadeh explained that she’s pleased with her brick-and-mortar experiences so far, and is looking to take Zvelle to the next level. That could include permanent retail stores (in conjunction with expanded eCommerce) as the Zvelle brand expands into new styles, and potentially new product categories such as handbags. Ms. AyoubZadeh said that she has a vision of Zvelle becoming an international luxury lifestyle brand with permanent stores not only in Canada, but also globally.

Store photos were taken by Elaine Chan-Dow.

Inside Off-White’s 1st North American Store [3D Photo Tour]

By

Craig Patterson

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April 26, 2017

Luxury streetwear brand Off-White has officially opened its first North American store in Toronto’s upscale Yorkville neighbourhood. We sat down with Off-White’s founder and creative designer Virgil Abloh to discuss the new store, as well as how youth culture is changing the face of Toronto and other global cities. We’ve also included a 3D camera tour of the space, courtesy of Warren Vandal.

Known for its edgy fashions that are a cross between “streetwear and high fashion”, featuring thick diagonal stripes, Off-White’s Virgil Abloh (who is also Kanye West’s creative director) launched the brand online in 2013 and held its first Paris showroom presentation in January of 2014. In the summer of 2015, Off-White expanded from exclusively menswear into womenswear and remarkably, made it onto the shortlist of the 2015 edition of the LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers. The company is owned by Milan-based New Guards Group.

Off-White’s new Toronto store is located at 83 Yorkville Avenue, in an area that is rapidly adding luxury retailers. Virgil Abloh says that he chose Yorkville over other areas of Toronto for a few reasons. “The Off-White brand is an updated luxury concept,” he said. “I show in Paris because it’s about this younger generation’s influence on high fashion.” He snapped up the Yorkville space because of its proximity to other luxury brands, instead of locating on trendier but less affluent Queen Street West.

It all makes sense though — Yorkville is booming. French luxury footwear and accessory brand Christian Louboutin opened nearby at 99 Yorkville Avenue in the summer of 2016, and Chanel will launch its new Toronto flagship across the street some time this summer. Jimmy Choo is also confirmed to be opening next to Chanel in 2018, with more luxury brand announcements to follow.

Mr. Abloh spoke at length about how the younger generation is changing the world of fashion, as well as cities themselves. “Youth culture is a powerful thing,” he said, noting that the younger demographic is able to “rebrand cities and give them a different light, as well as create new impressions of cities that have been here for generations”. He noted that there’s a “passing of the baton” with youth “developing new ideas that are redefining cities, globally.”

About Toronto, Mr. Abloh said it is a “city that I love, and I travel a lot. I have a lot of friends here, and I see the nuances. Toronto is different than cities in the US.”

When asked if any other Canadian cities could see Off-White stores, Mr. Abloh said “probably. We’re looking at different Canadian cities,” noting that he’s “open to anything”. Retail Insider’s Craig Patterson suggested Vancouver as the next logical move for the luxury brand and Mr. Abloh said that it’s possible, though he sees there being “equal opportunity” for other Canadian cities, as well.

Mr. Abloh explained the store’s design as featuring “overgrown nature” and having a “landscape that equates to the vibe” of the store. The store houses the brand’s entire collection for men and women, including clothing, footwear, leather goods and accessories. He explained that every Off-White store is different and that’s because they’re “not like a franchise, or McDonald’s. Each store reflects the city I’m in, which comes from my background in architecture”.

We coordinated a 3D tour of the Toronto Off-White space with Warren Vandal of GEOmarketing Solutions, who uses an innovative Matterport platform to photograph stores to make it appear that one is walking through the live space. Mr. Vandal is expanding his 3D photographic business to include retail stores, with a unique feature — products within the store can be tagged in the photo tour, with a link connecting them to an e-commerce site or other page. It’s a unique merger of brick-and-mortar and online that retailers may use to profile both store spaces as well as products.

Mr. Vandal is now also able to create Google Street View tours, allowing the world to come and virtually tour a store within Google Maps.

Off-White’s Toronto store includes a ground-floor space measuring about 2,400 square feet, as well as a further 2,150 square feet of space located in the building’s basement, according to marketing materials. CBRE‘s Arlin Markowitz and Jackson Turner acted on behalf of the landlord in a lease deal with Off-White.

Cominar Launches Innovative Multi-Purpose Mall Space

By

Craig Patterson

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April 25, 2017

Landlord Cominar has launched an innovative multi-purpose retail space at Mississauga’s Dixie Outlet Mall, which is free of charge. It’s part of a trend where mall landlords are adding space for pop-up retail and non-conventional uses to malls, to keep things fresh and to keep customers coming back.

The new 3,100 square foot space is called The Dixie Living Room. Cominar repurposed the space into a multi-use community space that can be booked for pop-up shops, corporate meetings, events and other uses, completely for free. Dixie Outlet Mall’s Marketing Director, Cristina Avila, says that the new space is already seeing considerable interest after advertising its availability.

“Transforming a vacant unit into a beautiful community space is just one of the ways we are working to reinvent the retail experience,” says Ms. Avila. “By sharing our resources, we hope to inspire our friends and neighbours to welcome more diverse uses into our shopping centre for our guests to enjoy.”

The bright, open space features storefront windows, as well as a minimalist industrial décor that lends itself to a wide range of functions. The Living Room is open during the mall’s regular operating hours and is available for short-term occupancy or multi-day use. The space is equipped with free Wi-Fi, tables, chairs and lightweight movable wall dividers to transform the space to suit various uses. It has a standing room capacity of 100 guests.

Ms. Avila said that demand for the space is substantial, and that it’s available on a ‘first come’ basis. They’ve already had over 150 booking requests from community members and small retailers.

“Adding experiences to shopping centres is attracting consumers, which is a necessity at a time when eCommerce is growing rapidly,” said Farla Efros, President of consultancy . “Millennials and Generation Z will particularly be attracted to this new initiative, and Dixie Outlet Mall will stand to gain against competitors if it continues to add additional reasons to visit the centre — which will ultimately lead to increased revenue to existing retailers, not to mention an overall higher productivity for the landlord,” she said.

The Dixie Living Room at Dixie Outlet Mall (Image: Cominar)

Other landlords are adding similar retail spaces to their malls, in an effort to differentiate their properties as well as offer consumers a reason to repeatedly visit their centres. Oxford Properties, for example, recently launched CONCEPT at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre. CONCEPT spans 3,600 square feet and currently houses six food vendors, with its tenant mix to change periodically to feature a variety of different retailers. Unlike The Living Room at Dixie Outlet Mall, however, tenants at CONCEPT pay to be there.

To kick-off The Living Room’s official opening, Dixie Outlet Mall hosted a three-tiered event in the space, including a one-hour fitness class, a health-focused presentation, and a social media course. On Saturday, April 29 between 12:00pm and 4:00pm, Canadian performer and YouTube sensation Joey Kidney will be on-site to meet fans and share his latest project, ‘Stay You’. Throughout the day, as well, social media star Andrew Quo will be in attendance, and there will also be musical performances by Cam Bogle and Alexander Stewart. Both events are free to the public with a donation of a non-perishable food item, in support of the Mississauga Food Bank.

Deciem Marks the PATH

By

Craig Patterson

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April 25, 2017

Toronto-based Deciem, the self-proclaimed ‘Abnormal Beauty Company’, will open a store in July in Toronto’s PATH, in the retail component of the Exchange Tower in the heart of the city’s Financial District. It will be Deciem’s sixth location in the Greater Toronto area, as the beauty brand secures diverse retail spaces in an effort to gain maximum consumer exposure.

The store will be Deciem’s largest in the GTA, at 1,413 square feet. It will be seen by many thousands daily as they pass through the city’s busy underground PATH system. The PATH links downtown office towers with hotels and retail, and is considered to be the world’s longest underground shopping network. It boasts over 30 kilometres of connected walkways and over 4-million square feet of retail space, rivalling West Edmonton Mall in size. On weekdays, the PATH network sees over 200,000 people passing through its halls and its estimated 1,200 stores.

Stan Vyriotes and David Wedermire of DWSV Remax Ultimate Realty Inc. represented Deciem in its lease deal with landlord Brookfield.

Deciem’s first store in the world opened in July of 2016 at 881 Queen Street West, in the heart of Toronto’s hip ‘West Queen West’ area. Street-front locations followed when Deciem opened stores in Cabbagetown (242 Carlton Street), Kensington Market (285-A Augusta Avenue) and in Yorkville, at 1240 Bay Street, fronting onto Bellair Street. A Mississauga location opened last month at Square One, marking the brand’s first store within an enclosed mall.

Deciem’s real estate strategy now includes trendy urban street front units, a major suburban enclosed shopping centre and soon, a unit in the heart of Canada’s Financial District. Last year, Deciem’s founder Brandon Truaxe explained that part of the company’s strategy is to gain brand awareness from establishing several store locations in each city, before moving into new markets. Since last summer Deciem has also opened five international stores, including two stores in Australia (Sydney and Melbourne), as well as locations in Seoul, South Korea, Mexico City, and soon, in London, UK at the Old Spitafields Market.

Entrepreneur Brandon Truaxe founded Deciem in 2013, and its products are carried at more than 20,000 stores in 18 countries. The United Kingdom is currently Deciem’s largest market (in the summer of 2016, only about 3% of its sales were in Canada), though that will change as it opens more Canadian stores. Deciem features nine beauty brands under its corporate umbrella, ranging in price-point and focus.

Bebe to Close All Canadian Stores

By

Craig Patterson

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April 24, 2017

San Francisco-based women’s fashion brand Bebe is closing all of its store locations, including eight units in Canada. The company will continue operating as an online-only retailer. Bebe has signed a deal with liquidator Tiger Capital Group to sell all of its remaining inventory, and all stores will shutter before the end of May.

Bebe originally announced that it would close just 21 of its stores, following four years of losses amounting to about US $200 million. The company is reportedly mulling bankruptcy if it can’t get out of its leases.

The fashion brand was founded in 1976 by Manny Mashouf, an Iranian immigrant who has made a fortune in retail. His first Bebe location opened in San Francisco 40 years ago, and the chain grew to more than 175 stores globally. Of those, Canada is home to six full-priced Bebe stores and two Bebe outlets.

Bebe’s Canadian stores are in some of the country’s most productive malls. Locations confirmed to be closing include units at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre, Square One in Mississauga, CF Chinook Centre in Calgary, West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton, Metropolis at Metrotown in Burnaby and at CF Pacific Centre in Vancouver. All six malls ranked highly in Retail Council of Canada’s Shopping Centre Study, which also noted that these are among the country’s largest and busiest malls. Bebe outlet locations confirmed to be closing include Vaughan Mills north of Toronto, and at Outlet Collection at Niagara in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Bebe’s first Canadian store opened in the spring of 1999 in Vancouver. The 5,000 square foot, two-level store was located at 1000 Robson Street, on the southwest corner of Robson and Burrard Streets. The store closed in early 2014 and its space was demised and leased to L’Occitane en Provence and ECCO.

Ride Cycle Club Launches Canadian Expansion

By

Craig Patterson

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April 24, 2017

Vancouver-based spin studio Ride Cycle Club has just opened its second location in Toronto, and more are expected to follow, according to one of its founders. The concept was founded by Ashley Ander, Moe Samieian Jr., and JJ Wilson — Mr. Wilson is the son of Lululemon founder Chip Wilson.

Ride Cycle Club provides participants with a full-body workout in a candlelit space featuring loud, pumping music. The nightclub-like vibe motivates participants, according to co-founder Ashley Ander. A single session costs $26 in Vancouver and $28 in Toronto, and Ride Cycle Club also offers package deals and unlimited deals, which are currently transferable between the Vancouver and Toronto studios. Prices include showers, use of towels and clip-shoes.

Ride Cycle Club locations also feature retail spaces — currently, Ride branded Lululemon product is available, and Ride Cycle Club will soon be expanding into its own clothing line that will be cycle-specific. Product will include tights, sports bras, shorts, sweatshirts, and other technical gear specifically branded for Ride Cycle Club.

Ride Cycle Club’s first location opened in October of 2014 in Vancouver’s Yaletown. A second studio has just opened at 98 Ossington Avenue in Toronto, a short walk north of trendy Queen Street West. CBRE was involved in brokering the deal with landlord Hullmark for the 3,500 square foot space, and Toronto-based BUILD IT coordinated its construction from start to completion. “They took the right steps to ensure that it opened on time,” said Ms. Ander, noting that BUILD IT handled much of the project from start to finish. “I would recommend them”, she said.

Simon Shahin, President and CEO of BUILD IT, explained some of the challenges involved in building out the Toronto space. Boasting a powerful sound system, soundproofing was mandatory in order to ensure that Ride Cycle won’t disturb its neighbours, which include Lululemon’s first men’s store next door, as well as a theatre upstairs. Mr. Shahin explained how BUILD IT coordinated hiring a designer, architect and engineer, in order to work with the complicated space. A demising wall and subsequent soundproofing was built by BUILD IT, and the project ended up hitting a potential road block — the City of Toronto turned down an application for Ride Cycle’s main entrance to be in an alleyway so instead, the landlord worked with parties to create an Ossington Street-facing doorway for Ride Cycle. What’s resulted is an elongated hallway lit by candlelight that creates almost a ‘ride runway’ into the main reception and spin area, accessed from the street.

Mr. Shahin explained the complexities of working around existing architecture and heritage buildings, noting that some buildings might not conform. In the case of Ride Cycle’s Ossington premises, BUILD IT had to bring the building to code by building fire walls around staircases, installing new sprinkler and HVAC systems, not to mention coordinating plumbing and fixtures for Ride Cycle’s high-end change rooms, which are something of a post-workout retreat. “If you want a great location, you’re limited to what’s available,” said Mr. Shahin — and the hip Ossington area is perfect for Ride Cycle Club.

More Canadian Ride Cycle Club locations are expected to follow the Ossington Avenue location, according to co-founder Ms. Ander, and the company is seeking space in major Canadian cities. The company’s third location will open this summer in North Vancouver, in the Lonsdale Quay area.

Ms. Ander said that Ride Cycle could eventually operate somewhere between 12 and 15 Ride Cycle Club locations in this country, though that number could change depending on circumstances. A U.S. expansion could happen as well, she said, and if it did, Seattle could be its first targeted market — which makes sense, given its proximity to Vancouver.

*Photos in this article are of the new Toronto Ride Cycle club, and were supplied by BUILD IT.

Promenade Shopping Centre Acquisition Concludes

By

Craig Patterson

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April 21, 2017

The Serruya family and Liberty Development Corporation have completed the purchase of the Promenade Shopping Centre in Thornhill, Ontario, from Cadillac Fairview. The regional mall is now owned by a newly formed entity called Promenade General Partner Inc., and Centrecorp Management Services Ltd. has been retained to manage Promenade Shopping Centre.

The 900,000 square foot Promenade Shopping Centre, which is anchored by Sears, T&T supermarket, Sport Chek, Old Navy, H&M and Imagine Cinemas, features more than 150 stores including popular brands such as Coach, Aritzia, Lululemon Athletica, Browns Shoes, Roots, Aldo, Urban Planet and Pandora. The mall is situated on a 50 acre site located close to the 407 ETR highway, and the nearby Vaughan Metropolitan Subway Station, which is due for completion in late 2017. The mall opened to the public in August of 1986, with former anchors including Eaton’s and Bretton’s. The area has since grown substantially and now boasts a trade area in excess of one million residents.

The Promenade is also home to Sears Canada’s latest retail concept, ‘WTS’, featuring a minimalist interior with concrete floors, an amended product selection, and a reduced footprint. The new store concept opened in the mall in the fall of 2016.

While under Cadillac Fairview’s ownership in 2009, the mall underwent a $45 million upgrade that included the redevelopment of the food court and common areas. The mall’s name was converted to ‘CF Promenade’ as part of Cadillac Fairview’s mall rebranding in September of 2015 — the ‘CF’ is now officially dropped with the mall’s new ownership.

The Serruya family, which has extensive business and real estate holdings, might be best known as the founders of popular yogurt and smoothie retail concept Yogen Früz. The frozen yogurt and smoothie retailer was founded in 1986 by local teenage brothers Michael, Aaron and Simon Serruya, and the company has now grown to more than 1,400 locations in 46 countries.

Michael Serruya explained the significance behind the deal. “Promenade is where my brothers and I started our business careers as teenagers with the original Yogen Früz concept over 30 years ago,” he said. In 1986, the three brothers decided to open a location for their new yogurt concept in the mall. George Budahazy, then a senior vice president of leasing at Cadillac Fairview, took a chance and leased the Serruya brothers a 230 square foot retail space. The concept took off and spearheaded the family’s wildly successful business empire, which continues to grow to this day. The brothers maintained a positive relationship with Mr. Budahazy over the years, and Michael Serruya revealed that the family has brought Mr. Budahazy out of retirement by hiring him as a consultant to further improve Promenade’s offerings.

While some have speculated that Promenade’s acquisition was for residential redevelopment, Michael Serruya explained that the mall will continue to operate as it is. “We are thrilled to now be in a position to invest in this property to ensure it reaches its full potential as a central hub for the Thornhill community. This is an important investment for us, but it also represents a deepening of our commitment to the community we call home,” he said. The Promenade “has more parking than is necessary”, he noted, saying that there’s a possibility that the site could include some residential intensification at some point in the future. The new owners will focus on improving the mall in the meantime, recognizing its commercial potential in a booming suburban community.

eTail Canada Releases Conference Attendee List

By

Craig Patterson

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April 20, 2017

The attendee list for the , taking place in Toronto on May 16-18, has just been revealed. The conference will feature high-level networking and extensive thought leadership programs, as well as an impressive speaker faculty from the top retailing brands in Canada and the United States.

Space is filling up quickly in an event that many consider to be an industry leader in the realm of eCommerce. To purchase tickets to eTail Canada, taking place at downtown Toronto’s Hyatt Regency Hotel, .

*****

Below is the full list of attendees for this year’s eTail Canada Conference:

As a lead up to the conference, eTail Canada also recently published an eCommerce benchmark report that received considerable media attention.

To purchase tickets to eTail Canada, taking place at downtown Toronto’s Hyatt Regency Hotel May 16-18, .

*Partner content. For more information, contact Craig Patterson at: craig@retail-insider.com

Retail InsiderCanada's Most-Read Online Retail Industry Publication.

JYSK Announces 6 Canadian Stores for 2017

3 Emerging Retail Trends That Will Improve Canadian Retailers’ Online Sales in 2017

Zvelle Launches Brick-and-Mortar Strategy to Complement eCommerce

Inside Off-White’s 1st North American Store [3D Photo Tour]

Cominar Launches Innovative Multi-Purpose Mall Space

Deciem Marks the PATH

Bebe to Close All Canadian Stores

Ride Cycle Club Launches Canadian Expansion

Promenade Shopping Centre Acquisition Concludes

eTail Canada Releases Conference Attendee List

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