Hublot Vancouver at 1080 Alberni Street (Image: Hublot)
LVMH-owned Swiss luxury timepiece brand Hublot has opened its first freestanding Canadian boutique, in Vancouver. Located in the heart of the city’s expanding ‘Luxury Zone’, the 2,800 square foot store is one of Hublot’s largest globally.
The two-level store boasts of a wide assortment of watch styles, including several limited-edition models. Hublot watches are crafted to precision. From in-house watch complications, including award-winning minute repeaters and tourbillons, to revolutionary materials such as patented and scratch resistant Magic Gold, colored Texalium carbon fiber, and transparent sapphire cases to world class collaborations such as Ferrari, FIFA™ World Cup, and Italia Independent, Hublot characterizes itself through the “Art of Fusion” philosophy, ‘bringing tradition into the future’.
Hublot Vancouver at 1080 Alberni Street (Image: Hublot)Hublot Vancouver at 1080 Alberni Street (Image: Hublot)Hublot Vancouver at 1080 Alberni Street (Image: Hublot)
Hublot was founded in Switzerland in 1980 by Italian Carlo Crocco — a scion of the Italian Binda Group dynasty, best known for making Breil watches. Hublot is named after the French word for “porthole”, and the first watch that he created featured the first natural rubber strap in the history of watchmaking — a feat that took three years of research to create. In 1998, Hublot was acquired by French luxury conglomerate LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy), and it continues to operate as a subsidiary.
Hublot operates freestanding stores in a number of global cities. On a commercial level, the network of stores currently stands at more than 70 exclusive boutiques around the world. In the United States, Hublot stores are in New York City, Beverly Hills, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Dallas, Houston and Orlando, Florida. The Miami area boasts four Hublot stores — in Bal Harbour, Miami Design District, Boca Raton and in Palm Beach.
Last month, Toronto-based grab-and-go food concept Picnic opened its newest location at 120 Bloor Street East, to a crowd of new and familiar faces. Picnic’s third store is the latest iteration of the Picnic store concept and serves as the food retailers’ first street front location.
Picnic’s first prototype store opened in February 2014 in the underground concourse of the 60 Bloor Street West office tower, and its second opened a year-and-half later in Exchange Tower in the Financial District. This third location, however, marks the store’s first street front store, and provides some welcome exposure for the young brand. The new south facing location also aims to take advantage of Bloor Street’s day-time pedestrian foot traffic, generated by the neighbourhood’s high density residential, retail and office spaces.
“We needed to situate in a location that was highly demographic. Work, play, live spaces. For this space, being on the north side of Bloor where everyone exits the Hudson’s Bay Centre and walks east to their office, it was a natural progression to test a street front model,” said Jason Kaiman, President and CEO of Picnic.
The Picnic food concept fits neatly within the convenience health-food model, first popularized in Europe by grab-and-go concepts like Pret A Manger. Accordingly, the brand strives to meet the preferences of people seeking reasonably priced, healthy and freshly prepared food offerings, but who are also short on time.
From quinoa bowls to survival cookies, Picnic’s menu is meant to appeal to those riding the health food trend. Picnic smoothies, for example, typically include health trend ingredients like protein powder, almond milk and goji berries.
Indeed, nutrition is a critical component to the Picnic concept. Before opening his first Picnic store, Mr. Kaiman launched a chain of fitness clubs before eventually selling the business. When he opened Picnic in 2014, he brought with him an understanding of an active lifestyle demographic who are increasingly health conscious and whose lives are fast-paced.
Ideally, Picnic patrons spend about 3 minutes in the store, and while Picnic positions itself as a grab-and-go option, the store still strives to make a genuine connection. “We try to train our staff that people’s lives are very busy, but we want to give a 3-5-minute break during their day to get them away from their busy life,” said Kaiman.
The brightly-lit, almost 1,000 square foot space is furnished with bright wood panels and wooden benches. In total, 206 solid maple wood fixtures were used, all sourced from Montreal. And while this location is without Picnic’s signature 40-foot picnic table, the store’s airy and cheerful themes still shine through.
Picnic’s goal is to open 5 locations in the next year-and-a-half. To date there have been a number of requests for franchising, but for now, Mr. Kaiman is focused on consolidating and proving the Picnic brand through a corporate model.
Originally from British Columbia, Martin Owusu is currently studying towards a JD/MBA at Dalhousie University. He has a keen interest in the combined potential for sport and business to build community.
Prime Day 2017 has come and gone and, this year, it brought a few surprises with it. Now that the dust has settled and we’ve had a chance to sift through the data we gather from Amazon’s first-party sellers (i.e. any brand whose product descriptions read “Ships and Sold by Amazon”), we’ve noticed some distinct trends.
Prime Day is the quintessential deal day. The whole point of shopping on Prime Day is to take advantage of all the discounts offered by just about every major brand you can think of – no special occasion to celebrate, just the joy of finding a good deal. In the US, sales of items from first party brands grew by 15% to over $600 million and had 16,000 more promos than last year; when factoring in Amazon private brand items (e.g. Echo, Kindle, etc.) and sales from third party sellers, we estimate total US sales of roughly $1 billion. First-party sellers across the globe understood that to truly win on Prime Day they needed to make 2017 the best deal day ever. The countries that saw the largest YoY growth in sales also had the largest increases in promotions: UK had 11,000 more promos than in 2016; Canada, 5K more; and Germany 8K more. Globally, promotions were up 115%.
Nearly 50 cents on every dollar was spent on a discounted item, amounting to more than 4.7 million items sold at an average of 24% off. These discounts drove a lift of over 1000% (10 times the sales!) compared to the pre-promo period and helped the following items cement their place as the bestsellers of the day:
Key Trends:
Lightning Deals are king, but are the new Alexa Deals better?
Even though Amazon offers brands “Prime Day Deal” promotions, Lightning Deals are still the bread and butter for first party sellers. Over 333,000 Lightning Deals were on offer on July 11th, plus another 100,000+ Prime Early Access Lightning Deals, compared to only 20,000+ Prime Day Deals. Experienced brands know that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
But Amazon did introduce something this year designed to be a game changer – the Alexa Deal. This promotion was targeted at Alexa users to encourage them to order deal items through Amazon Echo, and the discounts were made available exclusively to Alexa users one week early, on July 5th, then made available to all Prime members on July 11th. Though this initial trial of the promotion only included 169 items, sales were high on these deals with 4 of the items appearing in the top 10 most effective promotions, including the number 1 item. What is driving these high sales; however, is in question as the playing field is not level. Alexa Deals have the following distinct advantages:
An extra week to obtain sales;
Deeper manufacturer discounts;
Extra Amazon discounts to incent trial of Alexa; and
More advertising visibility from Amazon directly.
Furthermore, One Click Retail’s research has shown that fewer than 2% of customers are willing to buy a $25+ item using ONLY Alexa; rather, customers review the item online and then complete via voice to obtain the extra discount. This calls into question whether customers are willing to complete voice purchases without the added incentive.
Most Successful Promotions
The discount “sweet spot”
It may be counterintuitive, but discount levels do not directly correlate to sales lift. Too low and people aren’t interested, naturally, but if a discount is too high it has the same effect: items more than 70% are often passed over in favor of less discounted but more desirable items.
The sweet spot on Prime Day 2017 landed in the 30-35% range, with good results throughout the 25-45% range. Be careful: surprisingly, there is a null in the 20-25%, generating a very poor lift in sales. The null may be caused by this being the most popular discount bucket this Prime year, causing it to appear as merely an “average” deal and encouraging shoppers to seek deeper discounts.
1st party sellers have more competition than ever
It’s not all wine and roses for first-party sellers. Though the Instant Pot pressure cooker was a standout in 1P sales, it was beat by two other items: Amazon Echo and Amazon Echo Dot, Amazon’s proprietary voice-activated, Alexa-enabled speakers. And it’s not only private brands; third-party sellers performed much better than last year, when only 1 item sold more than $1 million, by offering good deals on cheap (under $10) items such as car mounts and USB extension cables and selling in high volume. In fact, the total promos offered by 3rd-party sellers unexpectedly surpassed those offered by 1P brands, a sure indication that these sellers now want their piece of the pie.
In 2016, first-party sellers were very much the stars of Prime Day, but it’s clear that others have now taken notice. Not only has Amazon’s private brands strategy really come into its own over the last 12 months, but third-party sellers have learned that they have just as much to gain by participating in Prime Day. Let this be a lesson to 1P sellers not to take Deal Days for granted – there’s more competition than ever.
Kitchen is the product group of the year
The standout product group of Prime Day 2017 was Kitchen – further evidence that millennial buying habits are shifting as they are settling down and becoming homeowners.
The top first-party item of the day by a wide margin was the Instant Pot Pressure Cooker, selling over 230 thousand units in the US and Canada alone—worth more than $30 million in sales even after a Prime Day discount of 31%. Overall, Kitchen was the highest-revenue product group with $60 million in sales and high growth rates across North America and Europe. Two thirds of the sales total was made up of promotional items with an average discount of 24%, generating a lift of 7000% (70 times the pre-promo sales!).
Prime day is going global
The final significant development compared to last year is that in 2017, Prime Day is clearly on track to become a global event. Originally a US phenomenon, now consumers are coming on board in Canada and throughout Europe with sales driven by Health & Personal Care, Kitchen and—especially in Canada—Beauty. Much of the 60% growth announced by Amazon came from outside the US, where the growth rate tends to be steeper. Brands can take advantage of this by cross-promoting their products on Amazon’s international marketplaces.
Germany
Germany’s Prime Day 1P sales reached €150 million, driven by growth in the Home Improvement (70%), Kitchen (60%) and Grocery (60%) product groups. With three items in the top 10, Samsung demonstrated their Amazon strategy prowess by offering the right type of deal and discount: the Galaxy S7 offered a 15-26% discount on a lightning deal, while the Galaxy Smartwatch and Galaxy A3 benefited from the brands 18-43% discount on selected Samsung Electronics. More evidence that lightning deals do work is Sodastream’s rise to the #2 top selling item, thanks to a 50% discount.
UK
The UK’s Prime Day 1P sales reached £70 million, driven by growth in the Health & Personal Care (140%), Kitchen (110%), Lawn & Garden (70%) and Apparel (70%) product groups. Like Samsung in Germany, Sony’s Prime Day strategy paid off as they captured two of the top 10 by offering the ideal discount of 23%.
Top-selling UK 1P Items, Prime Day 2017
Canada
Canada’s Prime Day 1P sales reached $40 million, driven by growth in the Beauty (440%), Kitchen (140%) and Home (80%) product groups. Like in the US, the top selling item was the Instant Pot 8-quart pressure cooker. The Xbox One rose to #2 in Canada thanks to a sweet Amazon Daily Deal of 17% off.
France
France’s Prime Day 1P sales reached €20 million, driven by growth in the Grocery (40%), Health & Personal Care (30%), and Toys (30%) product groups. While the number one spot goes to the Microsoft Surface Pro, ASUS emerged as the winning brand with 3 of the top 10 items. But did they do anything differently than the other laptop brands? Thanks to Amazon’s multi-item promotion (up to 30% off on laptops: Acer, Asus, HP, Lenovo), French Prime Day shoppers scored on their preferred make and model.
Beyond being the day of the year with the single biggest sales potential for Amazon first-party sellers, developing a smart Prime Day strategy can capture the minds of innumerable consumers. A clever combination of Prime exclusive, early access, and Alexa deals can generate a lift in sales that will, as we witnessed last year and after other deal days, sustain itself long after the day is over.
One Click Retail is the industry’s most accurate source of sales data for the world’s top eCommerce marketplaces. With 98% accuracy, OCR delivers the best insights, analytics and strategies to their brand manufacturer clients, giving them a critical edge on online platforms. To catch a glimpse of the unique data and expertise OCR provides to its customers, subscribe to our weekly eCommerce insights blog, and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn. Additionally, if you are a brand manufacturer and would like to learn more about your Prime Day performance vs that of your competitors—or would like to see your market share and category growth insights—email us at info@oneclickretail.com for a free capabilities demo.
Canada Post’s ‘Drive-thru Parcel Centre’ has been named the ‘Retail Innovation’ winner in J.C. Williams Group/Ebeltoft’s 2016 ranking of most innovative industry concepts. The Canada Post initiative aims for convenience, utilizing automation and self-service technologies to create simpler and more efficient ways for consumers to receive and send parcels.
As originally published in this summer’s ’The Marketing Issue’ of Retail Council of Canada’s Canadian Retailer magazine, Canada Post’s three award winning spaces range from 2,000 to 7,000 square feet and are sleek, clean, modern and open. Each offers a unique variety of features suited to the customer needs within that particular area, like 24/7 access, self-service kiosks, a vending machine, a drive-thru for parcel pick-up and even a fitting room to try on online purchases.
Toronto-based retail consultancy J.C. Williams Group, in partnership with global alliance Ebeltoft Group, identified Canada Post’s Drive-thru Parcel Centre as an initiative that could revolutionize Canadian e-commerce. As a result, Canada Post won Ebeltoft’s 12th annual ranking of top global retail innovations.
Canada Post’s first Drive-thru Parcel Centre opened in Richmond Hill, Ontario, in the fall of 2015. An Edmonton location followed a year later and most recently, a downtown Vancouver Parcel Centre opened in November of 2016. All three are getting positive reviews, and successful elements will be incorporated into Canada Post’s network of 6,200+ stores across the country.
A number of innovations are proving popular with consumers, including:
-Service desks that eliminate the barrier between customers and staff, where staff and customers are encouraged to engage in a more familiar and accessible interaction,
-A philatelic wall displaying collector stamps and souvenirs for purchase, positioned alongside new format displays such as 14 digital screens and a large LED video wall that advertises Canada Post’s latest services,
-Self-service vending machines that eliminate lineups and the need for staff to assist with items such as stamps,
-The potential for pop-up retail units for online-only retailers, allowing for face-to-face interaction with consumers,
-A self-serve parcel kiosk is an automated all-in-one service that utilizes a ‘cubing device’ to scan packages for size and weight, so that postage can be calculated by the machine,
-An ‘induction box’ that allows a customer to submit their deliveries online and print their shipping labels prior to heading to the post office — once at the centre, consumers can simply scan their packages to drop them off, and
-A 50-square foot private fitting room, offering customers the ability to try on their apparel purchases as soon as they receive their parcels at the post office (Unwanted clothing can easily be returned immediately).
Image: Canada Post
In the Canadian Retailer article, J.C. Williams Group/Ebeltoft describes the concept as “Convenience 2.0”, with a “flash delivery” service experience. For example, customers don’t need to get out of their cars — instead, they can drive up to the store’s welcome kiosk, scan the barcode (either from a smartphone or paper pick-up notice), and drive up to retrieve their purchase.
Revenue per location stands at about $1.2 million annually, as opposed to $400,000 in traditional urban stores. Canada Post has effectively reinvented the modern post office with a focus on convenience according to Mr. Williams.
We will profile one of Ebeltoft’s top global retail innovations here on Retail Insider every two weeks, providing insight into significant industry trends that are worthy of discussion. For more information and to read the entire article written by Retail Insider’s Craig Patterson on the Canada Post initiative, head over to Canadian Retailer to read it, as well as other insightful articles in the summer Canadian Retailer Marketing Issue.
Pop-up retail is now more common in Canada than ever, and industry experts predict that the trend will continue in a big way into 2018. Pop-up retail is being seen in shopping centres, on urban street fronts, and even within stores — and it’s seeing success for various reasons.
David Ian Gray, retail consultant and head of Vancouver-based think tank DIG360, predicts that 2018 will be “the year of the pop-up” in Canada. While pop-ups aren’t necessarily a new thing, pop-up retail is now considerably more sophisticated, with landlords going out of their way to accommodate temporary tenants, he said. The phenomenon has been gaining traction over the past several years — pop-ups were originally intended for brands to engage with customers, he noted, and retailers quickly co-opted the idea, with considerable success.
In 2017, Canadian shopping centres have been facilitating pop-up retail in a big way, with Mr. Gray describing how pop-ups are driving traffic to centres through hype and perceived scarcity, and how some shopping centres are now taking the lead in hosting pop-up spaces in their malls. Not only are individual retail spaces being filled on a temporary basis — at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre, for example, landlord Oxford Properties partnered with design firm figure3 to launch CONCEPT, a permanent 3,600 square foot multi-tenant space dedicated to pop-ups. Mississauga’s Dixie Outlet Mall has done something similar, but with a twist — ‘The Living Room’ as it’s been called, is a 3,100 square foot space that can be activated for free, and can be utilised for retail or other purposes. Not only is it popular, it has a waiting list.
GOOP POP-UP AT NORDSTROM AT CF TORONTO EATON CENTRE IN THE SPRING OF 2017. (PHOTO: RITCHIE PO.)
“All retailers should consider pop-ups from a strategic level” said Mr. Gray, noting that even luxury brands are in on the temporary retail phenomenon. In the spring of this year, Louis Vuitton hosted a pop-up at Nordstrom’s flagship in Vancouver. Department stores such as Nordstrom are hosting pop-ups in a big way, and the Seattle-based retailer operates permanent pop-up spaces at its Vancouver and CF Toronto Eaton Centre Centre flagships. Recently, Gwyneth Paltrow’s GOOP popped up at both stores, showcasing product hand-picked by the celebrity. A technology-themed pop-up has since replaced GOOP.
Pop-ups aren’t necessarily a new thing, noted Mr. Gray — for years, brands like Aritzia have hosted seasonal warehouse sales. But pop-up retail is now considerably more sophisticated, with landlords going out of their way to accommodate temporary tenants.
Prior to opening permanent stores, plenty of brands have launched by utilizing pop-ups — two Vancouver brands immediately come to mind, including ‘technical cashmere’ brand Kit and Ace and custom suit maker INDOCHINO.
GIVENCHY POP-UP AT NORDSTROM IN VANCOUVER. PHOTO: NORDSTROM
While some pop-ups may lead to permanent situations, some are also decidedly seasonal. Spirit of Halloween will soon start opening in retail spaces temporarily, selling costumes and related ‘spooky’ items. Smoked meat and gifts brand Hickory Farms will pop-up in Canadian malls again this year, utilizing a real estate strategy that includes kiosks as well as full-sized retail CRU’s on a temporary basis.
Demand for pop-up retail space is unprecedented, says Linda Farha, Founder and Chief Connector at pop-up go, an online platform that helps pair retailers with available temporary retail spaces, which also features a curated pop-up match service that provides access to the ever-growing pipeline of pop-up seekers looking for space. Pop-up retail wasn’t on the radar for the most part, she noted, and now business is booming. Downtown Oakville is a unique example — Ms. Farha’s pop-up go partnered with Bentall Kennedy to lease out 8 individual retail spaces on a temporary bases, ranging from three days to three months. The intention is to create interest and variety in the area in order to drive more traffic to the downtown core, with a rotating group of vendors that consumers know won’t be there for long.
Ms. Farha of pop-up go noted how perceived scarcity works in a pop-up retailers favour — if consumers know that something’s available for a limited time, they’re more likely to go before it’s gone.
‘CONCEPT’ AT YORKDALE — THE 3,600 SF SPACE HOUSES A ROTATION OF POP-UPS. PHOTO: CRAIG PATTERSON)
Pi Squared and Uncle Tetsu pop-up: ‘CONCEPT’ AT YORKDALE — THE 3,600 SF SPACE HOUSES A ROTATION OF POP-UPS. PHOTO: CRAIG PATTERSON)
“Pop-ups create an air of excitement due to their temporary nature, and also allow retailers to test out new concepts and new locations prior to opening permanent stores,” said Ms. Farha, who went on to explain how pop-ups allow retailers to test the market without being bound by long-term leases and costly tenant improvements, while also providing retailers an opportunity to establish a presence in the market prior to opening their permanent store in their ideal location. Pop-ups also provide e-commerce retailers the opportunity to test concepts in a physical form, and are also useful for ‘guerrilla marketing’ initiatives, she noted.
Ms. Farha explained, as well, that pop-ups are not only a tool to generate sales, but may also serve to create an experiential component that can bring a brand to life. “Pop-ups can also help brands understand their customer and serve as a form or market research,” she noted.
When asked if pop-up retail is reaching the saturation point in Canada, Robert Luciano, Principal at retail consultancy decisionSMART gave an unequivocal ‘no’. “Plenty of traditional retailers haven’t even scratched the surface in terms of exploring and utilizing pop-ups,” he noted, explaining that there is considerable opportunity for retailers of all shapes and sizes to utilize temporary retail in order to build buzz, as well as to drive sales.
‘GIFTED’ BY AIR MILES POP-UP AT CF SHOPS AT DON MILLS. PHOTO: CADILLAC FAIRVIEW)
Streetfront pop-up retail is already huge in Canada this year. Toronto’s Queen Street West is a notable address for concepts seeking to gain exposure, particularly the stretch of the street between University Avenue and Spadina Avenue. Ikea recently opened a temporary cafe and retail space at 336 Queen Street West, featuring various games to enhance the overall experience. Up the street at 322 Queen, Sears Canada launched its current pop-up in the spring to showcase how its has ‘changed’, profiling its new private label fashions as well as ‘The Cut’, its new off-price concept. Nestlé Canada recently opened its Bär Häagen-Dazs at the Spoke Club at 600 King Street West in Toronto, which will remain open until Saturday, July 22. Bär Häagen-Dazs hosts ‘Häagen-Hour’ — the brand’s own play on happy hour, where those 19 and over can listen to music and enjoy specially curated ice cream alcohol-infused cocktails.
Sleep brand Casper (known for its ‘bed-in-a-box’) has just launched a pop-up on Ossington Avenue in Toronto, further engaging consumers face-to-face in an effort to build relationships. Founded as an online retailer, Casper has found that it can drive sales online by offering physical experiences, building on its ‘nap tour’ that the brand launched in Canada last year.
Joseph Gatto, owner and broker of the 202 Queen Street West space, is in talks with a number of interesting concepts to occupy his three-level space. Mr. Gatto explained while it’s ultimately the goal to get a long-term tenant at 202 Queen Street West, a number of interesting offers has him considering using it as a pop-up space for the short-term — if not longer.
Even Toronto’s ‘Mink Mile’ has recently seen pop-ups — several years ago, ice-cream brand Magnum set up a pop-up near the Yonge Street and Bloor Street West intersection, and several months ago The Body Shop opened a temporary location at 93 Bloor Street West (soon to be occupied by luxury brand MCM, which has leased the space long-term).
(PHOTO: CASPER)
IKEA POP-UP IN TORONTO, AT 336 QUEEN ST. W.
HERSCHEL POP-UP IN VANCOUVER’S DEEP COVE. PHOTO SUPPLIED
Ahead of its Canadian retail store launch, Vancouver-based accessory brand Herschel has launched a ‘lemonade stand’ in the Deep Cove area of North Vancouver, featuring a variety of product designs, as well as lemonade in a variety of colours, matching the product. The almost 300 square foot space features both cold-pressed lemon juices in four flavours — plain, strawberry, algae-infused Blue Majik, and Charcoal (priced from $4), and 100% of proceeds from the juices will be donated to Artstarts in Schools, a local nonprofit that works to increase access to arts-based education for youth across B.C.
For some brands, pop-ups are an important part of their retail strategy. Montreal-based Yoga and athletic brand Lolë has been utilising pop-ups for several years now to build brand awareness (Tony Flanz of Think Retail represents Lolë as broker in Canada), and pop-ups have proved to be a way to determine if a market might eventually support a permanent store.
Technology conference Dx3, in partnership with Oxford Properties and Retail Council of Canada, held a competition several months ago, where the winner won a one-month pop-up space at Yorkdale Shopping Centre. The winner was innovative footwear retailer Tanya Heath Paris, which artfully created a temporary space with a simple, chic facade that was created by painting a plywood temporary storefront. The Tanya Heath pop-up gained the retailer exposure in Canada’s most productive mall, complementing the retailer’s permanent store in Toronto’s downtown Yorkville neighbourhood.
TANYA HEATH PARIS POP-UP AT YORKDALE IN THE SPRING OF 2017. TANYA HEATH WON AN INNOVATION COMPETITION HOSTED BY DX3 IN PARTNERSHIP WITH OXFORD PROPERTIES AND RETAIL COUNCIL OF CANADA (IMAGE: CRAIG PATTERSON)
Landlord Cadillac Fairview notes that it uses pop-ups to provide an opportunity to broaden its retail offering, though it says that it focuses on the quality of the pop-up, rather than the quantity that open within its properties. “Pop-ups create a boutique-style shopping experience within the walls of our shopping centres, which supplements the offering of the larger national brands”, said Stephen Yau, VP, National Leasing at Cadillac Fairview. “There is a sense of uniqueness in finding products that you cannot find in other shopping centres and may not otherwise have the opportunity to interact with in an offline setting,” he said.
Furthermore, “Pop-ups have created an opportunity to work with new, upcoming brands that, due to a number of factors, may not otherwise be able to enter one of our shopping centres. The pop-up program allows these brands to test a market or a new concept, without committing to a long-term lease”. Mr. Yau noted that Cadillac Fairview’s end goal “is to incubate these retailers, with the intention of transitioning them into long-term tenants. Pop-ups provide a window of time to allow these retailers to establish a presence in the market prior to opening their permanent store in their long term location. We have seen that this is beneficial to both the retailer and the landlord.”
‘WE’ POP-UP AT CF RIDEAU CENTRE IN OTTAWA. THE STORE WILL BE OPEN UNTIL EARLY 2018. PHOTO: WILLIAM MITCHELL)
‘WE’ POP-UP AT CF RIDEAU CENTRE IN OTTAWA. THE STORE WILL BE OPEN UNTIL EARLY 2018. PHOTO: WILLIAM MITCHELL)
Cadillac Fairview has hosted a number of significant pop-ups over the past year including the recent launch of a temporary WE store, which launched last month at Ottawa’s CF Rideau Centre. The attractively designed WE space will remain at CF Rideau until early 2018, with the intention of promoting the charitable endeavour while also selling product with proceeds going to causes that the WE Movement supports. A number of other innovative Cadillac Fairview pop-ups that have operated over the past year have included:
· Zvelle (at CF Toronto Eaton Centre & CF Sherway Gardens in Toronto): The higher-end direct-to-consumer footwear brand was looking to increase brand awareness, (most notably known for being a shoe of choice for Sophie Gregoire Trudeau), and the brand currently operates out of a retail space at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre.
· Gifted by Air Miles (CF Shops at Don Mills in Toronto): The seasonal (holiday) pop-up engaged with Air Miles collectors face-to-face, with the pop-up providing shoppers with a unique shopping experience and an opportunity to find thoughtfully curated Canadian products,
· L’Intervalle – (at CF Fairview Pointe Claire, CF Promenades St-Bruno & CF Rideau Centre) opened originally as a pop up footwear store, and now boasts permanent locations at these malls (watch for a new article on Retail Insider about L’Intervalle this month),
· B3 Athleisure (CF Market Mall in Calgary): The unisex athleisure is based out of Edmonton and boasts a heavy social media presence,
· The Greenhouse (at CF Market Mall in Calgary): The eco-friendly brand growing throughout western Canada, featuring bamboo clothing, essential oils, and handcrafted jewelry,
· Nespresso (CF Galerie’s D’Anjou, CF Promenades St Bruno, CF Fairview Pointe Claire, all in Quebec) – Cadillac Fairview says that this has been a huge success in its malls, and many have been or will soon be converting to permanent stores,
· A/MAZE (CF Fairview Pointe Claire in Montreal) a real life escape game rooms – the unique concept is exclusive to Cadillac Fairview, and
· Toyota (CF Carrefour Laval near Montreal) — featuring an experiential and interactive showroom pop up.
Pop-up retail is a phenomenon that has grown in popularity quickly, and experts are predicting that it will continue to gain momentum into early next year. Retail Insider will be following this trend and more regularly reporting on pop-up retail, as it has become an integral part of the Canadian retail industry.
First Capital Realty’s new luxury retail complex at 102-108 Yorkville Avenue has secured an upstairs anchor tenant. Towards the end of 2018, unique lifestyle concept Her Majesty’s Pleasure™ will unveil its second location in the newly constructed retail building that will house Jimmy Choo and two other luxury tenants, and will be beside a new 8,700 square foot Chanel flagship that is scheduled to open in November of this year.
Her Majesty’s Pleasure™ was founded by husband and wife team Sara Kardan and Jeff Armstrong, and its first location opened at 556 King Street West in late 2014. The concept is essentially a beauty salon, café, boutique and cocktail bar in one space, and the King Street location is immensely popular. Her Majesty’s Pleasure™ encourages a social experience where patrons may meet with friends, enjoy cocktails, and celebrate milestones while getting styled.
Beayty services include manicures, pedicures, blow-outs, facials, waxing, make-up and all-natural body-bronzing, offering special packages and unique experiences for groups including bachelorette parties, birthdays, bridal showers and corporate bookings.
The King Street lounge bar offers wines, champagnes and signature cocktails and espresso. The retail boutique includes a curated collection of brands from around the world, offering natural skin care, fashion, accessories, as well as health and wellness products for both women and men. Private event bookings may include corporate functions, client appreciation, PR launches and other celebrations.
Demolition began last week for the new Yorkville Avenue retail building. Her Majesty’s Pleasure™ will occupy about 2,400 square feet on the third floor, with an additional 900 square foot outdoor terrace overlooking Yorkville Avenue. Below it will be three retail CRU’s, with one of them which is confirmed for a two-level 2,400 square foot Jimmy Choo flagship, which will open towards the end of 2018.
Yorkville’s Her Majesty’s Pleasure™ will be accessed from a pedestrian laneway between Yorkville Avenue and Scollard Street (between new Chanel and Jimmy Choo flagships), and customers will be able to utilize either an elevator or dedicated stairway from the ground-level, as per the rendering below.
“Yorkville Avenue’s place in the Canadian luxury scene made it a logical focus for our expansion plans. After learning more about First Capital’s vision and commitment to the street of Yorkville Avenue, we solidified a partnership to build out our second location,” said Her Majesty’s Pleasure™ owners Jeff Armstrong and Sara Kardan. “With neighbours like Jimmy Choo and Chanel, we think our clients are going to feel right at home and with direct elevator access, street facing terrace and unique bar experience, we are convinced that our 102-108 Yorkville Avenue location will be a timeless gem in the Village of Yorkville. Watch for more announcements as we kick off construction in the Spring of 2018.”
Lounge bar + café at the King street Her majesty’s pleasure location
Eric Sherman, Senior Real Estate Manager at First Capital Realty said: “Her Majesty’s Pleasure™ is an extremely exciting addition to our redevelopment of 102-108 Yorkville Ave. This concept provides a diversified mix to the high-end luxury fashion that we are already bringing to this street. Her Majesty’s Pleasure™ provides the unique and exclusive service-oriented experience that perfectly embodies what the luxury-minded individual values today.” Mr. Sherman went on to say, “102-108 Yorkville will be a LEED Certified building, designed with well-dimensioned, column free spaces as well as efficient common facilities shared by all tenants. Construction has commenced and we are on target for spring/summer 2018 possessions. This is an extremely important piece in solidifying Yorkville Ave as Toronto’s premier luxury destination and will be followed by an iconic plan for the redevelopment of 101 Yorkville (across the street) that will be unveiled in the coming months.”
Broker Patricia Scrivener of Northwest Atlantic represented Her Majesty’s Pleasure™ in the lease negotiations with landlord First Capital Realty.
*Renderings courtesy of First Capital Realty. Photographs via Her Majesty’s Pleasure™.
Upscale downtown Oakville is seeing a unique and innovative pop-up initiative that will see 8 dedicated retail spaces animated with a variety of temporary tenants.
Property Manager Bentall Kennedy, which manages the commercial properties in the Lakeshore Road East area, has partnered with innovative connector pop-up go (spelled lowercase) to lease out the spaces to a variety of unique tenants.
The collaboration is meant to provide consumers with spontaneous and engaging experiences. “Although a lot of planning is involved in creating a pop-up, the element of surprise is what keeps people coming back for more,” said Linda Farha, Founder and Chief Connector at pop-up go. “Engagement is increasingly important and so is piquing the curiosity of the consumer.”
Downtown Oakville is already a lively shopping and cultural district, and boasts upscale retailers such as L’Occitane en Provence, Ron White Shoes, Anthropologie, James Perse, Maska Mode, Kit and Ace, Roots, and a number of other prominent national and international tenants. Ms. Farha noted that adding pop-ups to the area means new brands can test the marketplace and long-term tenants reap the benefits of increased foot traffic.
These temporary tenants may occupy Bentall Kennedy’s spaces anywhere from three days to three months. “Pop-ups enhance consumer foot traffic and word-of-mouth, but they also have an economic ripple effect,” said Domenic Imbesi, Regional Director of Marketing, Retail Services at Bentall Kennedy. “We see this partnership as a tremendous opportunity for brands to test the area, and for merchant neighbours to capitalize on the novelty.”
Mr. Imbesi noted how unusual multi-unit street-front pop-up retail is, and how the property manager is seeking to create a unique shopping experience in the affluent town of almost 200,000 people on Lake Ontario. While being less than a 40 minute drive from downtown Toronto, Oakville feels a world away with its picturesque landscapes, historic quaint feel, and sprawling lakefront mansions.
Toronto-based retail consultancy JC Williams Group conducted a study on downtown Oakville, noting that the demographics of the geographic area adjacent to the downtown core has contributed to Downtown Oakville’s upscale retail that targets affluent women over the age of 40. As baby boomers retire and change spending habits, however, local retailers are adjusting to appeal to new socio-economic realities including young adults who live west of downtown, the ‘moms/daughters’ segment, and men. Pop-up retail could target this expanding demographic.
A variety of specialty tenants are being sought for the spaces, including jewellery, one-of-a-kind fashion, food, and even technology uses. “It’s a great opportunity for entrepreneurs to profile their businesses in an area with an established, affluent demographic,” explained Mr. Imbesi.
Downtown Oakville’s pop-up retail is expected to bring traffic to the surrounding shopping area, providing benefit to existing tenants. The “surprise and delight” element is an added bonus, explained Mr. Imbesi. Many of Bentall Kennedy’s retail units have a heritage feel, with historical architecture and an attractive streetscape that is sure to attract interested retailers. “This will benefit the downtown community at large,” noted Mr. Imbesi.
Bentall Kennedy partnered with pop-up go to activate its 8 retail spaces. Mr. Imbesi explained how interested retailers can go to pop-up go’s website to search out spaces by searching specifically for downtown Oakville geographically, then narrowing down which space(s) work best — there’s a luxury of choice.
Space seekers can quickly select spaces of interest and connect with landlords/property managers (like Bentall Kennedy) directly on the pop-up go website (www.popupgo.com).
As well, offline, pop-up go offers two services: POP-UP MATCH and MAKE IT POP (both spelled all-caps). POP-UP MATCH is a bespoke offline match service that provides the perfect curated pipeline of tenants for landlords and locations for space seekers, while MAKE IT POP offers customized marketing strategies and full-circle communications support specifically for the pop-up industry.
The third annual study highlights how community engagement, relationship management, and the customer experience that brands offer consumers influence their overall trust. A total of 6,560 consumers were asked to score 294 Canadian companies and brands. The study measures the performance of brands and companies in 26 industry sectors on a range of brand value measures.
“Trust plays a vital role in our community, economy, and collective mindshare as Canadians,” says Saul Klein, dean of the Gustavson School of Business. “We have witnessed multiple breakdowns in trust over the past year, which we see reflected in our research. This year’s ranking confirms a decline in consumer trust amongst companies that have faced service mishaps in the past year.”
The most trusted brand was retail cooperative MEC (aka Mountain Equipment Co-op), which also ranked top in last year’s study. The 2017 top 10 list includes the following, with last year’s ranking in brackets:
Costco Wholesale ranked third in the study — the warehouse club is immensely popular in Canada, with about twice the store penetration per capita when compared to that of the United States. Swedish home furnishings retailer Ikea saw a jump from 22 to 5th place between 2016 and 2017, and Chapters/Indigo books also saw an impressive gain from the year prior. Loblaw private label President’s Choice saw a drop from first place to 7th between 2016 and 2017, and payment processor Interac saw a jump from 11th spot in 2016 to the 8th most trusted brand this year.
The Gustavson Brand Trust Index was established to raise awareness of the role trust plays in the minds of consumers when making purchasing decisions and measures the relationships between social equity, trust, and advocacy for brands in Canada. The initiative highlights Gustavson’s goal of educating and championing responsible leadership.
By Eric Nykamp CEO of Raange, Inc., Guest Columnist
Communications has changed since I built my first business, TAARGA, a Confirmation Marketing platform, back in 2007. Back then, marketing was still dominated by traditional channels like TV, radio and physical ads, when the number of potential viewers was the key metric. No way to track who the campaign touched, or engagement levels. The deal was all done by a handshake, wherein you trust that the broker would hit your agreed upon audience and metrics.
One of my clients at the time was focused on ad acquisition on a well-known “professional networking platform,” which compared to today’s standards, offered a terrible experience for advertisers – you couldn’t track conversions! You would hit send and in less than a week receive an email saying the impressions goal was met…. That was it. We paid tens of thousands of dollars for a couple of hundred thousand impressions.
Old habits die hard
Today, mobile has become the holy grail of marketing because of its promise of bidirectional engagement, guaranteed open rates and personalization.
However, I still see brands pushing the same message across multiple channels, throwing words and offers at a wall to see what sticks. This whole scorched earth approach to marketing is terrible for business and most importantly for the consumer.
You know what I’m talking about, the agency that convinced a company to spend $500,000 to plaster every communications channel in Southern Ontario to target female millennials. With hopes of a 3-5% conversion rate.
Do we ever stop to think of the other 95%? Isn’t it our responsibility to make sure customers have a good experience when interacting with our brand?
Think of the young male millennial that receives an advertisement for women’s hygiene products because of his taste in music on Youtube.
We just write it off as a means to an end.
How do you differentiate from the noise?
We need a new vision for advertising and marketing. We CAN send consumers the right message. At the right time. On their prefered channel. Messages unique to the person and based on selected and validated interests, preferences, not predictive or assumptive algorithms.
Instead of sending a single offer to your database of 500,000 consumers, wouldn’t it make more sense to collect additional data on those same consumers by simply asking a few questions, and then narrowing down that same database to a list of 25,000 consumers who want that particular product. Isn’t that marketing?
Now think of the budget you would save, and the 10X increase in conversions on campaigns. You could unlock resources currently wasted on the other 95%, and invest it in additional priorities, or campaigns for which you otherwise wouldn’t have had the budget.
Once identified and analyzed, you could even share a message with these consumers when they’re walking past your store – the right message to the right audience at the right time. Beautiful.
Communications is still broken between retailers, brands and consumers, and it’s hurting brick-and-mortar businesses the most.
This is a problem we’re going to solve.
Eric Nykamp is CEO of Raange, Inc., Founder at Mamoth-Group, TAARGA, RAANGE and Mamoth-Labs! Internet Strategist, Entrepreneur, Inventor, Investor, Husband, Father, Insomniac.
My goal is to elevate traditional brick & mortar retailers to quickly and easily transition to the latest marketing concepts and communication channels, so as to rebuild trusted dialogue with past, present, and future customers.
Canadian fashion brand RW&CO has officially launched a new look for its stores, with the unveiling of its renovated unit at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre. The concept will be rolled-out with the renovation of stores in Canada’s top malls, as the brand seeks to attract its target demographic.
The relaunched 3,650 square foot Yorkdale store features a considerably more open and transparent facade, showcasing product from its corner location. RW&CO worked with New York City-based design firm MNA (which has worked with Bergdorf Goodman and Ralph Lauren) to create a retail space of “discovery,” featuring distinct environments throughout the store. RW&CO explains how the designers “looked to residential design that spoke to materiality and workspace projects, which helped them to create the communal aspects of the project.”
The store’s interior includes ample use of natural materials, including stone floors, marble tabletops and wood in various fixtures. Whimsical antiques are placed throughout the space, providing character rarely seen in new store design. Digital signage in the store, highlighting product and concept, were created by Stingray Business.
(THEATRE-INSPIRED CASH DESK)
(HISTORICAL PERIODIC TABLE IN THE MENSWEAR AREA)
RW&CO President Lori Tisi explained that adding antiques was part of the design to make the store look as if it was ‘already there’, and is a play on the juxtaposition of old and new. RW&CO’s VP of Marketing and Visual Presentation Marketing director Michele Slepekis explained how the store incorporates a periodic table as part of its ‘Pantology’ campaign — RW&CO is particularly known for its bottoms, utilizing the slogan “we have the formula for your perfect pant.”
“Discovery” is key to the store’s design. Instead of the store having a clear path down the centre, Yorkdale’s RW&CO has products hung and laid throughout — customers navigate the store and find new product at every turn. Antiques add a further element of interest to the space, addressing experiential retail design which is a trend among many successful retailers.
Dressing rooms at the back of the store are spacious and modern, featuring clean design elements, flattering lighting and ample mirrors. A salesperson pointed out a unique feature — a cup holder in one of the dressing rooms for those shopping with a beverage.
It’s all part of the experience in the new store, and RW&CO will begin renovating stores in top Canadian malls to reflect the new design aesthetic. The company’s CF Sherway Gardens unit also recently saw the same refresh, with more to follow, according to Ms. Tisi. Walter Lamothe, President of Retail and Chief Operating Officer, Reitmans Canada Ltd. (RW&CO is owned by Reitmans) said that there will be more exciting news about the company’s various banners, as it looks to innovate in order to address increased competition.
