Van Cleef & Arpels Opens 1st Freestanding Canadian Boutique

June 15, 2017

Van Cleef & Arpels 1 — Photo: Van Cleef & Arpels

Paris-based luxury jeweller Van Cleef & Arpels has opened its first freestanding Canadian boutique in Toronto, with a second location to open in several months in Vancouver. The company’s focus on Canada will also include the opening of a new partner boutique at Birks in Toronto, next year.

The 1,560 square foot Toronto Van Cleef & Arpels boutique boasts a corner location in the ‘luxury wing’ at Yorkdale Shopping Centre. The exterior features a dramatic gold-tone painted glass installation above the dark wood exterior, as well as a series of display windows carrying some six-figure-priced jewellery pieces. The store’s interior includes custom gold leaf hand painted wall coverings, sheer and velvet draperies, and crystal chandeliers, as well as a collection of black lacquered wood display vitrines, accented with metal and glass. The boutique features a private viewing salon at the back of the store for customers seeking privacy.

Alain Bernard, President and CEO of Van Cleef & Arpels Americas, explained that the company chose its Yorkdale space because of its prominent corner location, as well as its proximity to other luxury brands in the mall. Rather than choose a larger space elsewhere in the centre, the Yorkdale Van Cleef & Arpels was created by taking over two smaller retail spaces — until a few months ago, the corner formerly housed an 860 square foot Swarovski boutique, and Crabtree & Evelyn had a 700 square foot shop next door.

Van Cleef & Arpels is owned by luxury conglomerate Richemont Group, which is also opening four luxury watch/jewellery boutiques across the hall. This summer, in retail space formerly occupied by Williams Sonoma, Richemont will open boutiques for Piaget, IWC Schaffhausen, Officine Panerai, and Vacheron Constantin.

(CONSTRUCTION HOARDING WITH SIGNAGE. PHOTO: NORMAN KATZ, TAG)

(CLICK ABOVE OR BELOW FOR INTERACTIVE YORKDALE MALL FLOOR PLAN/DIRECTORY)

Vancouver will be the next Canadian city to see a freestanding Van Cleef & Arpels, and the flagship is currently under construction. Mr. Bernard said that the 1069 Alberni Street store is expected to open towards the end of the year, depending on when construction is finished. The Vancouver flagship will be a special location for Van Cleef & Arpels — it’s the first time that the brand has built its own building from the ground up, with Van Cleef & Arpels spanning more than 4,000 square feet over two levels. A glass facade will provide ample natural light, and Mr. Bernard explained that the store’s interior will be different than the new Yorkdale unit. Vancouver luxury retail is seeing exceptional growth, and international retailers are addressing the city’s high-spending demographic with VIP-oriented flagships with private viewing rooms and other luxury amenities.

Mr. Bernard explained that Canada will likely only house two freestanding Van Cleef & Arpels boutiques (Yorkdale in Toronto and on Alberni Street in Vancouver) so as to not oversaturate the Canadian market. Toronto will see a new ‘partner’ Van Cleef & Arpels boutique on Bloor Street West next year, however, when renovations to Maison Birks at the Manulife Centre are completed in 2018. The new Birks-housed Van Cleef & Arpels will feature its own exterior entrance facing onto Bloor Street West, with approximately 1,500 square feet of retail space. The current Maison Birks will be closing temporarily (for about a year) and will move into part of Manulife Centre’s former William Ashley space, while the existing Birks space is rebuilt into a state-of-the-art one-level retail space.

Van Cleef & Arpels has had a partnership with Birks for over 10 years, with licensed boutiques operating in the Toronto and Vancouver flagships. The Vancouver Van Cleef & Arpels shop-in-store expanded to 1,435 square feet in early 2016, and it also features a street-front entrance (onto Granville Street) as well as access from within Birks.

Founded in 1906 by Alfred Van Cleef and his brothers-in-law Charles and Julien Arpels on the Place Vendome in Paris, Van Cleef & Arpels is considered to be one of the world’s most prestigious jewellery brands. Van Cleef & Arpels currently operates 13 freestanding locations in the United States. Cities include New York City, Bal Harbour FL, Beverly Hills, Costa Mesa CA, Chicago, Las Vegas (x2), Manhasset NY, Houston, Miami, Naples FL, Palm Beach FL, and Short Hills NJ. Noticeably absent are large cities with plenty of luxury brands such as San Francisco, Boston, Washington DC, and Dallas. All of the latter four metro regions, with the exception of Boston, feature Van Cleef & Arpels shop-in-stores at Neiman Marcus.

Lightspeed Partners with Montréal’s 5th Annual MURAL Festival

Retail Insider

June 15, 2017

Montreal-based cloud-based point-of-sale platform Lightspeed has partnered with Montréal’s popular MURAL Festival, as the official retail and restaurant point of sale. The 11-day festival runs through until Fathers Day, June 18, on Boulevard Saint-Laurent.

Lightspeed’s omnichannel product, eCommerce platform and restaurant solution are powering all transactional aspects of MURAL Festival, offering the vibrant cultural event a seamless POS system throughout the Festival.

The event is being very well attended — MURAL Festival is one of the most vibrant displays of urban art, and it saw more than 1.3 million visitors in 2016. The Festival merges the best of the city’s booming arts, culture, and food scenes — from live murals, to musical concerts, to conferences and exhibitions, the festival brings together a global community in the heart of Montreal: Canada’s diverse arts, culture and technology hub.

“Lightspeed is proud to support the expansive arts and culture community in our home city of Montréal through this year’s partnership with MURAL Festival,” said Lightspeed Founder and CEO Dax Dasilva.

Pierre-Alain Benoit, Directeur general, Festival international d’art public MURAL said, “Lightspeed is a prominent fixture in our city, providing local independent businesses with the technology tools they need to thrive and grow. Through this partnership, Lightspeed will help us centralize our data, sell 365 days a year, and power all of our hospitality services during the festival.”

Lightspeed offers users a powerful cloud-based point of sale system. It’s designed for retailers to sell anywhere – in-store, online or both, with the help of Lightspeed’s omnichannel platform. Lightspeed powers more than 45,000 retailers and manages $15 billion in transactions across 100 countries, said founder and CEO, Dax Dasilva.

The company was founded in 2005 by Mr. Dasilva, beginning with four employees working out of a Montreal apartment. It now boasts over 500 staff in eight offices around the world. Lightspeed has quickly expanded its offering with a POS for restaurants, an eCommerce platform and an omnichannel selling solution, helping businesses streamline their operations and improve customer service by bringing together inventory, customer management, sales and analytics into a single platform.

LXRandCo Plans Major Expansion Under New Ownership

Megan Harman

June 15, 2017

Montreal-based vintage luxury accessories retailer LXRandCo is gearing up for a major international expansion following the acquisition of the company by an entity co-led by renowned fashion entrepreneur Joseph Mimran.

LXR sells high-quality pre-owned designer leather handbags and other accessories through a network of approximately 70 stores located in major department stores around the world, as well as through its e-commerce website. The company sells brands such as Hermes, Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Gucci.

The company was recently acquired by Gibraltar Growth, a special purpose acquisition corporation co-led by Mimran and former financial services industry executive Cam di Prata. As part of the acquisition, LXR has become a publicly traded company.

“We got very excited when we were introduced to the company,” says Mimran. “We are playing off of the two strongest retail trends that are occurring today: one is the luxury market continues to be extremely strong and buoyant and growing; and the second is, it’s also an off-price play.”

LXR was founded by Fred Mannella and Kei Izawa in 2010, and in the years since, it has achieved success with its store-within-store retail strategy. It has partnered with major department store retailers such as Hudson’s Bay, Lord and Taylor and Dillard’s, to establish boutiques within those retailers’ stores.

“We target an average age of 35 years old, and the average price point is about $750, so it’s very attainable,” Mannella says. “We’re targeting to do deals in mid-tier department stores.”

The company’s philosophy revolves around the mentality of recycling, which is a concept that resonates with many consumers today, Mimran says.

“One of the things we do see a lot of these days is the circular economy and the importance of that,” he says. “That’s what fascinated us the most [with LXR].”

LXR will continue to be led by its founders and its current management team. di Prata has assumed the role of executive chairman and director, and Mimran is now a director of LXR, as well as leader of its international expansion committee.

Growth is a key goal for LXR under its new ownership. Over the next five years, the company plans to grow its retail network to more than 500 stores around the world, including 20 to 25 freestanding flagship stores. The company is especially focused on growth in the U.S. and Europe.

“Over the next three to five years, we see a clear path to significant growth,” Mimran says.

The company plans to open its first freestanding store in 2019. Although the management team hasn’t decided on specific locations yet, Mannella says the company will concentrate on markets where LXR already has a concentrated presence within local department stores, such as Toronto and New York.

“Where we have some clusters and the brand is recognized, it would make sense to consider a bricks and mortar strategy down the road,” Mannella says.

E-commerce is also an area with growth potential for LXR. Online sales accounted for less than 5% of the company’s total net revenue in 2016, and Mimran expects that the company could grow that proportion to 20%-25% of revenue over the next three to five years.

The physical stores, however, are what sets LXR apart, according to Mimran.

“You’ll see a lot of competition in the online space, but nobody is doing this in the physical space,” says Mimran. In the pre-owned market in particular, he says a physical retail presence appeals to customers. “For some customers, it is a real advantage to be able to go into a physical store.”

The acquisition provides LXR with the capital necessary to pursue its aggressive growth plans, as well as valuable guidance from an experienced board of directors, Mannella says.

“This is a board that is very, very experienced,” he says. “That can really help us solidify business plans and help us grow the business.”

Minotti Launches Canadian Showroom Expansion

Craig Patterson

June 14, 2017

Minotti Storefront — Minotti Flagship on 102 Berkley Street

Upscale Italian furniture brand Minotti has launched a Canadian flagship showroom, with potentially more planned as the brand continues to establish itself in the Canadian market. Minotti recently opened at 102 Berkley Street in Toronto’s upscale King East Design District, joining a number of other high-end home furnishings retailers in the area.

Minotti was founded in 1954 in Brianza (a town on the outskirts of Milan, Italy) by Alberto Minotti. He initially focused on designing sofas, and the product line eventually expanded into various home categories as the brand gained in popularity. Minotti expanded internationally in the 1970’s and 1980’s and, remarkably to this day, the company is still family-operated by the fifth generation, and works out of Brianza. The company has 35 showrooms worldwide, and each piece of furniture is 100% made in Italy.

In 1999, Minotti opened its first authorized dealers space in Canada — Minotti by Interior Elements, in Toronto. The Davenport Road location was eventually joined by three other authorized dealers, including Minotti by Living Space in Vancouver, Minotti by Shaun Ford & Co. in Calgary and Minotti by Latitude Nord in Montreal.

Minotti’s new Toronto flagship showroom was opened under the direction of Roman Cholasta and Maryse Fafard — Roman’s family brought the brand to Canada almost two decades ago. The Berkley Street showroom is a relocation of the previous Minotti location on Davenport Road — the new space is roomier, and joins a number of new home furnishings retailers in the burgeoning King East Design District.

Managing Partner, Maryse Fafard, described how the couple decided to relocate onto Berkley Street. “Toronto needed a showroom like this: a more compact version of the corporate Minotti showroom in Meda, Milan, executed with the same attention to detail and quality in the finishes”. The showroom’s design was collaborative. “We worked closely with the Minotti family (specifically Roberto, Renato, Alessandro and Susanna Minotti and our Minotti agent Anna Avedano) and Rodolfo Dordoni, Minotti’s architect and artistic director, to create a showroom of this magnitude,” she said.

Ms. Fafard provided some interesting background on the way Minotti furnishes living spaces. “Minotti is the leader in creating living room compositions that bring together family and friends. This is thanks to signature Minotti finishing touches: layers with lower tables, very large daybeds, interesting seating arrangements,” she explained. “The idea is that family members can do different things (use their iPad, watch TV, do homework, etc.), all in the same room. The Lawrence Clan, new from the 2017 collection, is a perfect example of this.

Harry Rosen Completes Oakridge Centre Store Renovation [Photos]

Craig Patterson

June 14, 2017

Harry Rosen’s 10,400 square foot Oakridge Centre store in Vancouver recently completed a renovation, with a modern looking interior that reflects the upscale menswear retailer’s updated store design. Refreshed departments include men’s designer sportswear, a new dress furnishings area, as well as a complete refresh of the tailored clothing and made-to-measure departments.

A wood-trim facade was replaced with a sleek black-and-glass storefront, similar to that seen in recently opened locations such as at Square One in Mississauga. The store’s bright interior features warm hardwood flooring, with patterned carpeting in some areas. One of the biggest changes was the addition of a significantly expanded shoe department to the store, boasting its own mall entrance, with leading brands such as Prada, Lanvin, Salvatore Ferragamo, Tod’s, Giuseppe Zanotti, Nike, and others.

“Thanks to all of these extensive upgrades,” said CEO Larry Rosen, “the impact is that of a brand new store.”

A new Hugo Boss shop was unveiled earlier this month, featuring suits and sportswear from the German brand. The hard shop reflects the design aesthetic of updated Boss boutiques worldwide.

Oakridge Centre is a fitting location for upscale Harry Rosen — the shopping centre is at the heart of Vancouver’s West Side, which boasts some of Canada’s most expensive real estate prices, not to mention affluent residents. The mall is considered to be one of Canada’s most upscale shopping centres, featuring stores such as Tiffany & Co., Max Mara, Stuart Weitzman, and the recently opened La Maison Valmont (only the 4th in the world). Oakridge was also ranked as Canada’s second-most productive mall with annual per square foot sales exceeding $1,500, according to Retail Council of Canada’s Shopping Centre Study.

Oakridge Centre is expected to see an expansion and renovations under its new ownership — QuadReal, who acquired the centre in January of this year, for an undisclosed sum.

Over the past several years, Harry Rosen has invested over $100 million in renovating, expanding and relocating stores, addressing competition from new luxury players. The company has a significant market share of Canada’s ‘better quality’ men’s fashion business. Next up, the company will embark on renovations to its 82 Bloor Street West flagship, which spans five retail levels and more than 50,000 square feet.

Yorkville Village Announces Tenants as Overhaul Nears Completion [Photos/Floor Plans]

Craig Patterson

June 13, 2017

Toronto’s Yorkville Village — the shopping centre component formerly named Hazelton Lanes — is approaching the home stretch of a multi-year overhaul. Landlord First Capital Realty has invested millions with the hopes that it will attract shoppers to the area, reinvigorating Yorkville as a premiere retail destination.

The aim is to create a strong mix of fashion, food and fitness concepts that will get both locals and tourists to frequent the centre. The Yorkville area is growing quickly, with thousands of condominium units planned for the immediate area. “This transformation is being driven by the demographic tailwind that will see a meaningful increase to the local population and consequently the evolution of Bloor-Yorkville as a larger, stronger world-class retail destination in which Yorkville Village is very well positioned,” said Adam Paul, President and Chief Executive Officer of First Capital Realty Inc.

First Capital Realty has revealed a number of new tenants confirmed to be opening in Yorkville Village this fall. Some of these we have discussed, while several are new.

Fashion Retailers

We recently revealed that two luxury brands will be opening at Yorkville Village this fall — UK-based Belstaff and Italian brand Eleventy will further elevate the centre, creating a destination for affluent shoppers seeking out these and other brands.

The 1,100 square foot upper-level Belstaff store will be operated by the Zappacosta family which, this fall, will also be opening multi-brand men’s retail concept Nanni next door. Entrepreneur Philip Zappacosta is also the founder of his eponymous men’s luxury retail concept philip, which opened over a year ago in the centre.

The 2,200 square foot upper-level Eleventy will be operated in partnership with fashion retailer TNT The New Trend, which will unveil an adjacent 6,000 square foot space called ‘TNT Concept’ that will include rotational shop-in-shop concepts in an innovative retail space unlike anything the city has seen. TNT will soon boast more than 17,000 square feet of retail space in the mall with the opening of TNT Concept — the retailer already has men’s and women’s stores in the mall, and some of its existing retail space has been renovated and expanded over the past several months.

Quebec-based footwear retailer Jean-Paul Fortin will open its first store outside of the province of Quebec this fall, across from Belstaff. The 2,400 square foot ‘Ontario flagship’ will carry both men’s and women’s designer footwear styles, with brands and styles catering specifically to the Yorkville demographic. Jean-Paul Fortin operates freestanding stores in the Quebec City and Montreal areas, and it is also currently the footwear concession for Montreal’s Ogilvy, which is in the process of merging with Holt Renfrew in an enlarged Sainte-Catherine Street building.

Yorkville Village’s 5,735 square foot concourse-level Rexall drug store was recently renovated and expanded, and it’s now almost twice the size of the previous location. Being that it’s in Yorkville, Rexall took the opportunity to debut its first-ever high-end cosmetics section in the store, which includes a number of leading brands.

Food & Beverage

Enhanced food and beverage offerings will further draw consumers to the centre. The Chase Hospitality Group (The Chase, Kasa Moto, Colette Grand Café, and Planta), for example, will debut a new 2,100 square foot full-service restaurant concept called Palm Lane, which will have a strong focus on lunch but will also serve breakfast and dinner in both its take-out/café area and in the full-service seated area. We’re told that the concept will feature an eye-catching ceiling treatment.

On the ground floor facing Avenue Road, Alternative Café will open in a 925 square foot space this summer. The concept is the brainchild of celebrity chef Max Brenner, and it will serve espresso based beverages including Japanese Cold Brew, “Beer Latte”, pour over, smoothies, and more. Alternative Café will also serve fresh pastries, croissant sandwiches, and light breakfasts.

This summer, “sushi laboratory” Mi’Hito will open in a 300 square foot space on ‘The Oval’ — the mall’s central atrium which in a former life, housed a popular skating rink. Mi’Hito will serve poke bowls, sushi burritos, sushi tacos — as well as regular sushi.

Fitness: While it’s not news to regular Retail Insider readers, spin club concept SoulCycle will open its second Toronto studio this summer at Yorkville Village. The 4,150 square foot space will have access both from within the mall, as well as from an entrance facing onto Avenue Road. SoulCycle joins fitness club Equinox, which opened in Yorkville Village in the spring of 2016.

Yorkville Village is further animating its spaces by utilizing temporary retail to create interest, and diversity. A dedicated pop-up space on ‘The Oval’ has housed a number of different tenants, and The Oval itself will become animated regularly throughout the year. The Yorkville Avenue outdoor entrance hallway known as ‘The Lane’ features the Yorkville Village Summer Market every Wednesday until the end of August, and other vendors/activities will be featured depending on the season.

Over the past several years, First Capital Realty has invested approximately $600 million in the Bloor-Yorkville area with a portfolio that now includes 400,000 square feet of space. Included is the former Hazelton Lanes property which was rebranded as Yorkville Village last year, as well as street-front retail properties on Yorkville Avenue (including future locations for Chanel and Jimmy Choo) and the retail podium at One Bloor Street East (to house Nordstrom Rack). First Capital Realty’s aim is to create synergies between its mall and street-front properties, by driving traffic to each though a variety of retailers, food concepts and other amenities. We’ll update this article in the fall with a photo-tour of the completed Yorkville Village shopping centre.

Holt Renfrew Vancouver Pacific Centre Flagship Marks 10 Years [Feature]

Craig Patterson

June 12, 2017

Holt Renfrew’s Vancouver CF Pacific Centre flagship opened 10 years ago at 737 Dunsmuir Street. It replaced a considerably smaller 633 Granville Street location, a block south within the same retail complex. The new store, which recently annexed an additional 40,000 square feet of retail space, is nearing the completion of a major renovation that has added new departments, restaurants and, soon, an expanded collection of luxury shopping suites.

Holt Renfrew entered Vancouver in 1975 with a three-level Pacific Centre store that was just under 50,000 square feet in size. At the time, it was Holt’s second-largest store — the Toronto flagship, which was then located at 144 Bloor Street West, was about 60,000 square feet over several levels. Holt’s operated about 20 boutique-like stores of a variety of sizes during that period, with some being less than 9,000 square feet.

In its earlier days, the Pacific Centre Holt Renfrew store featured a small menswear area on the ground floor, with a handful of exclusive brands. Womenswear dominated much of the space which, in the early 1990’s, saw a ground floor expansion into the former trading floor of the Vancouver Stock Exchange in the adjacent 609 Granville Street building. A 700 square foot Tiffany & Co. shop-in-store opened in the expanded space in 1993 and a year later, menswear was expanded into a larger space on the store’s lower level, replacing women’s ‘bridge sportswear’ that occupied the space for more than a decade.

As Vancouver grew in the 1990’s and could support more luxury retail, a number of prominent designers became housed in Vancouver’s Holt’s. In the spring of 1994, Giorgio Armani ‘A Milano Borgonuovo 21/Black Label’ collection gained a space in the store, in an area also accessible from the Four Seasons Hotel lobby. A number of other boutiques opened on the women’s floor, including Ungaro Parallele, Jil Sander, Prada, Calvin Klein and Donna Karan. In the mid 90’s, Hermès relocated its small 1005 Alberni Street shop-in-store at ‘Collections International‘ to a 1,000 square foot boutique in Holt’s ground floor accessories area.

Men’s footwear also became available in the early 1990’s, when Browns Shoes became the footwear concession for Holt’s in Canada (that arrangement lasted until early 2007). Prior to that, only a handful of Gucci men’s styles were available in the Vancouver store, carried at a small Gucci counter on the store’s main floor.

In the early 2000’s, the small store saw another relatively minor expansion, which involved creating retail space from part of the 3rd level office floor of the adjacent 609 Granville Street tower. The new women’s contemporary sportswear department was accessed via a ramp from the second level women’s floor, as the floors didn’t exactly line up. That expansion brought the store to about 68,000 square feet over three levels.

Sales were strong in 2005 (WWD noted sales were between $60-70 million annually during that time) and when an opportunity came to build a substantially larger Vancouver store, Holt Renfrew worked with landlord Cadillac Fairview to take over the entire ‘Pacific Centre North’ building for a new Holt’s flagship. Pacific Centre North featured a lower-level food court, a dramatic atrium with a fountain, and a collection of retailers that included Eddie Bauer and Old Navy. Building the new Holt’s involved displacing retailers and relocating the mall’s food court a block south in the same complex.

Following an extensive $50 million construction project, Holt Renfrew unveiled its impressive new Janson Goldstein-designed Vancouver flagship on May 31, 2007. The 137,000 square foot store boasted several entrances, including a 737 Dunsmuir Street main entrance as well as doorways onto Granville Street, Howe Street, and within Pacific Centre. The new store also featured a corner facade — something lacking at the former location, not to mention at the Bloor Street flagship. Vancouver’s Holt’s was now almost as large as the Toronto flagship, and was now also considerably larger than the Montreal Sherbrooke Street West store.

At first, the massive new Holt Renfrew store overwhelmed some Vancouver shoppers — the store was bright and airy and featured a central atrium, spa, concierge services, personal shopping suites and valet parking. The previous location was more intimate in scope, featuring a series of intimate boutiques with warm materials such as pebble and hardwood floors. While sales didn’t immediately take off, the new store eventually saw annual sales numbers grow more than twice that of the previous location.

The new store included a bright cosmetics department with Canada’s first Shu Uemura cosmetics counter, as well as an exclusive ‘colour studio’ unlike anything seen in Canada at the time. Accessories and jewellery were expanded significantly, with Tiffany & Co. opening a 1,300 square foot concession, and Louis Vuitton gaining a considerably larger space. Menswear was substantially expanded onto its own floor downstairs, featuring an expanded footwear offering, separate accessories and fragrance areas, and boutiques for designers such as Dolce & Gabbana, Prada, Tom Ford and Ralph Lauren Purple Label. The women’s floor upstairs debuted 600 square foot boutiques for Akris, Giorgio Armani Black Label, Gucci, Prada, Michael Kors, Marni, Dolce & Gabbana and Chanel — the Chanel boutique originally carried only leather goods and accessories, and it was expanded to carry ready-to-wear in the fall of 2010 when Chanel’s freestanding Vancouver store was shuttered.

An impressive 58,000 square feet of Greek marble flooring covered much of the new store, with mosaic tiling in cosmetics, and reclaimed distressed wood flooring in the women’s contemporary sportswear department on the women’s floor. Millwork reportedly cost $12 million. The store’s central atrium became a focal point, featuring a 60-foot high skylight diffused with a white grid. The store’s facade featured ‘pillowed’ glass that created a bubble-wrap effect, as well as 9,000 square feet of white Italian marble.

More recently, Holt’s Vancouver expanded its flagship space again by taking over about 40,000 square feet of retail space formerly occupied by sports retailers Sport Chek and Atmosphere. Holt Renfrew is now in the process of building out that space — in September of 2016, it debuted an expanded accessories hall on the main floor, followed by a new restaurant and men’s floor downstairs (the men’s floor features boutiques for Berluti fashions and Christian Louboutin footwear, among others). In February of this year, an 8,500 square foot shoe hall was revealed upstairs, featuring an expanded assortment and nine designer brand shop-in-stores. French bakery/restaurant Ladurée opened an 800 square foot café adjacent to the shoe area soon after.

Renovations to Vancouver’s 188,000 square foot Holt Renfrew continue and, soon, a new 7,000 square foot personal shopping area, complete with a VIP ‘Apartment’, will be unveiled on the store’s uppermost level — the space was originally earmarked to be a restaurant when the store opened ten years ago, but because of zoning oversights, it remained an area for staff and storage uses until recently.

Canadian Designers to be Honoured at VMSD’s 2017 International Retail Design Conference [IRDC]

Retail Insider

June 9, 2017

Three Canadian designers will be honoured at this year’s International Retail Design Conference (IRDC), taking place in New Orleans September 5-8. The award will be presented on September 5 as part of VMSD’s 2017 ‘Designer Dozen Award’, which recognizes the best and brightest young designers in retail design.

The New Orleans IRDC conference will be held at the Ritz-Carlton New Orleans, with the conference now in its 17th year. A different city hosts IRDC each year and last year, it was held in Montreal.

VMSD’s 2017 Designer Dozen winners will be presented the awards at IRDC’s September 5 Opening Reception. Canadian recipients include the following:

Chad Webre, Director of Architectural Design, Freshii, Toronto (age 35),
George Bevan, Visual Display Specialist, Kit and Ace, Vancouver, BC (age 27), and
Meghan Pitt, Project Designer, JOEY Restaurants, Vancouver, BC (age 31).

“This year’s winners demonstrate an exceptional level of talent, dedication and initiative to evolve the customer experience at retail,” VMSD Editor-in-Chief Jennifer Acevedo said. “From interior designers to architects, visual merchandisers to experiential artists, our Designer Dozen are actively engaged in creating branded environments that delight shoppers and earn their loyalty.”

IRDC is considered to be the premier educational and networking event for the store design and visual merchandising community. Presented by VMSD (Visual Merchandising + Store Design) magazine, IRDC combines educational sessions, roundtable discussions, interactive workshops and networking events into three productive days, drawing 400+ attendees from the U.S. and abroad.

Canadians are encouraged to come down to New Orleans to attend the IRDC event. The city, affectionately known as ‘The Big Easy’, offers a unique mix of African, Native American, Spanish and French cultures that are reflected through its people, music, art and food, and makes for a destination filled with energy and inspiration. It also has terrific architecture, unlike any other place in the United States.

The 2017 conference program also features sessions on such timely topics as designing the brand experience; creating experiential spaces; selling innovation through the organization; Australia’s mixed-use footprint; designing for a sustainable future; international retail design; and many more cutting-edge issues.

Additionally, this year’s event will feature more interactivity, including more panel discussions, more engagement with IRDC presenters, and added networking opportunities to connect with retail design peers.

Speakers confirmed to date include retail design leaders from Hudson Jeans, Cadillac, REI, Whole Foods Market, Capital One, CB2, The Kroger Co., SoulCycle, Hallmark, Indochino, The Source, Vino Volo, Ariat, and more. IRDC Speakers will share perspectives and strategies for creating disruptively good brick-and-mortar experiences.

Retail-Insider readers receive an exclusive $250 USD off the individual registration rate by using the discount code RETAIL2017. Offer expires August 1, 2017. [REGISTER HERE]

For more information on speakers, sessions, networking events, sponsors and the conference hotel (The Ritz-Carlton New Orleans) visit: irdconline.com.

[Sponsored. To work with Retail Insider, email: craig@retail-insider.com]

Retail Insider Kicks Off Retail Real Estate Tours

Craig Patterson

June 9, 2017

Retail Insider will now be regularly including online tours of retail real estate, including shopping centres, urban streets and neighbourhoods. The first mall property to be profiled will be Toronto’s Bayview Village Shopping Centre next week, to be followed by a major retail street in Vancouver.

Tours will include insight from local players including brokers, landlords, retailers and BIA heads (where applicable), and will discuss components that make the locations unique, as well as what’s on the way.

To kick off the online tours, Retail Insider’s founder and Editor-in-Chief, Craig Patterson, physically toured a group of retail professionals though Toronto last week, ahead of and in partnership with Retail Council of Canada’s STORE Conference. The tour began with a retail technology presentation at Microsoft Canada’s downtown Toronto offices, where retail innovations from Microsoft and Architech were featured. Attendees then boarded a bus that went up Yonge Street past exciting recent developments around CF Toronto Eaton Centre (including new Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom, and Jordan Brand stores), and then up to the Yorkville area, which will be seeing a multi-billion dollar overhaul over the next decade. The tour then took attendees down to trendy West Queen West, where patrons debarked to check out unique local retailers such as Bite Beauty, Warby Parker, Anthropologie, John Fluevog, and several other terrific retailers that make the area unique. The tour concluded with cocktails at the trendy Drake Hotel.

More of these tours are expected to follow — thank you to sponsors Interac (presenting sponsor), Microsoft and Architech (contributing sponsors) and supporting sponsor, Canada Post.

On the Retail Insider website, various properties will be featured in articles throughout the year, including shopping centres as well as various shopping streets and neighbourhoods. Toronto’s Bayview Village will be the first mall to be featured in our online tour, and a number of important streets and malls will also be featured in regular segments. Retail Insider will be traveling to different locations throughout Canada to see what’s new, as well as to learn what makes various retail locations worth visiting.

Stay tuned for more announcements around Retail Insider’s online tours and as well, there may be partnership and sponsorship opportunities available for a series of physical tours in different Canadian cities.

Eleventy to Launch North American Store Expansion in Canada [Renderings]

Craig Patterson

June 8, 2017

Eleventy Rendering — Yorkville Village Rendering (Photo: Eleventy)

Italian luxury fashion brand Eleventy will open its first freestanding North American store this fall, in Toronto’s Yorkville Village. It’s the latest boutique announcement for the upscale shopping centre, which is seeing a substantial overhaul and the addition of exciting new tenants.

The 2,200 square foot store will be the first on the continent to carry both men’s and women’s Eleventy collections, and will be operated in partnership with local fashion retailer TNT The New Trend. Eleventy’s new Toronto store will be designed by Parisotto + Formenton, who provided renderings for this article.

Eleventy was founded in 2007 by Marco Baldassari and Paolo Zuntini, and is particularly known for its upscale casual fashion design with a soft sartorial style. It has a network of 19 mono-brand boutiques in Europe and Asia, and is sold in over 500 specialty and department stores worldwide. The line is relatively new to North America — Eleventy USA launched in 2016, and it’s carried in upscale retailers such as Holt Renfrew, Nordstrom, Hudson’s Bay and Saks Fifth Avenue. Earlier this spring, an Eleventy men’s shop-in-store opened at Calgary’s Holt Renfrew, in a space previously occupied by Prada.

According to Geoff Schneiderman, President of Eleventy North America, the brand’s quality is on par with some of the world’s top luxury brands, but at prices that are 1/3 to 1/2 that of pricier competitors. Eleventy strives to provide “the best possible quality at the best possible price,” he said. Collections are made in Italy, including fashions, footwear and accessories.

Mr. Schneiderman explained that Eleventy first chose to work with wholesale partners for its North American expansion, and that its partnership with Toronto-based TNT resulted in the opportunity for a 50-50% partnership to open a freestanding boutique — a model that could be expanded to other cities. The Toronto store will feature warm interiors with imported Italian-made fixtures and millwork.

While there are no other Canadian Eleventy locations currently planned, that could change if appropriate partnerships present. Mr. Schneiderman explained that Canada represents an impressive 35% of Eleventy’s North American business, and that even despite challenges to the Calgary economy, Eleventy’s value proposition has been well-received, for example.

Toronto’s Yorkville Village is nearing the completion of a substantial multi-million dollar overhaul, that includes new interiors, new retailers, and a variety of services catering to affluent shoppers in the area. Eleventy is the second freestanding luxury brand to be announced for Yorkville Village — UK-based Belstaff recently announced that its first Canadian store will be opening in the mall this fall, in partnership with the Zappacosta family (who also operate philip and Nanni locations at Yorkville Village). We’ll be profiling other substantial changes to Yorkville Village soon, as the shopping centre will become unlike any other in the country in terms of its tenant and service mix.

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