H&M‘s upscale fashion brand COS (stands for ‘Collection of Style’) has announced that it will open its fifth Canadian location this fall at Mississauga’s Square One. The store will span about 5,060 square feet on one level, and it will feature a clean, modern interior similar to its other four Canadian stores. When it opens, Square One’s COS will feature the brand’s autumn/winter 2017 collections.
COS’ four other Canadian stores are in Toronto (x2), Montreal and Vancouver. COS launched its first Canadian store in September 2015 in Toronto at 85 Bloor Street West (former Tiffany & Co. space), followed by a second store in October of 2015 at 1310 Sainte Catherine Street West in Montreal (formerly occupied by Le Chateau). A store at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre opened in October of 2016 and in March of this year, COS debuted its first Vancouver store at 18 Water Street in Gastown. Sources say that more Canadian COS stores are expected to follow.
Image: COS
Parent company H&M launched the COS store concept on London’s Regent Street in March 2007. The brand has a wide product range that is divided into a number of different concepts, incorporating fashion essentials, reinvented classics and modern trends for men and women. COS was created by an in-house team of designers and buyers. It has 209 stores in 34 countries worldwide (Europe, Asia, North America, Australia and the Middle East) and currently retails online to 19 markets. H&M also operates & Other Stories (which is expected to enter Canada before the end of the decade) as well as its most recent brand, Arket, which will soon launch a store in London, with more to follow.
The 120,000 square foot Target space in Montreal’s CF Galeries d’Anjou won’t be empty for much longer. Co-owners Cadillac Fairview and Ivanhoe Cambridge have announced that the space will become home to three major retailers, with that part of the mall to be renovated to house them.
Two of the three retailers will open this summer, and one will follow in the fall. In August, Hudson’s Bay Company-owned Saks OFF 5TH and TJX-owned Winners will open stores in part of the former Target space, and in October of 2017, Old Navy will join them. Target closed all of its Canadian stores and exited Canada in the spring of 2015.
Target’s space will be subdivided and a new corridor will be added, according to Brian Salpeter, Senior Vice President of Development at Cadillac Fairview. Each retailer will have an exterior entrance, as well as interior mall entrances from a newly built corridor. “These new leases demonstrate our ongoing commitment to providing our guests with best-in-class retail offerings, as well as our constant pursuit of remaining market leaders in a competitive industry,” he said.
Mr. Salpeter explained that the landlords weren’t in a hurry to lease the space after it became vacant, and that a proactive and thoughtful strategy was carefully developed to best serve the market.
While the three new retailers cater to the budget-concious (Saks OFF 5TH and Winners are off-price retailers, while Old Navy targets a thrifty demographic), the mall has a wide range of tenants and a broad range of price points at its retailers. Adding off-price retailers to mainstream malls is more common in Canada than in the United States — south of the border, most Saks OFF 5TH and TJX locations are either freestanding or situated in outlet centres.
CF Galeries d’Anjou La Baie D’Hudson (Image: Vitre Tout)
The massive CF Galeries d’Anjou has seen some positive changes over the past four years. La Maison Simons opened a dramatic 120,000 square foot store in the mall in September of 2013 and at roughly the same time, the mall’s 190,000 square foot Hudson’s Bay store also saw a refresh (as well as the addition of TopShop). The mall began an $86 million expansion and redevelopment in 2013, and improvements have been ongoing.
Sephora is one of the best-in-class retailers to have been added to the centre in recent years, and the mall also saw a beautiful new food hall debut in 2014, near Target. The mall is also home to some notable retailers such as Browns Shoes, Pandora, Rudsak, and soon, Bon Look and Squish Candies will be added to the mix. Retail Council of Canada’s Shopping Centre Study notes that the mall is one of the largest and most productive in the Montreal region.
There will be a bit of space on the first level of the former Target space that won’t be occupied by the three retailers, and Mr. Salpeter noted that several smaller retailers will be housed in that space, with announcements to follow.
Last week, Nike in partnership with Footaction (a Foot Locker subsidiary) launched North America’s second Jordan Brand store. The 9,000 square foot 306 Yonge Street Toronto location follows the successful 2015 launch of the Jordan Brand’s flagship store in Chicago. Toted as a landmark for basketball culture in Toronto, the new store seeks not only to be a world destination for Jordan brand apparel and sneakers, but a hub for Toronto’s vibrant basketball community.
The origins of Toronto’s Jordan Brand store date back to 2016, when Toronto hosted the NBA All-Star Weekend. Amidst the basketball hysteria that took hold of the city, Nike aimed to build momentum for the store’s eventual launch through a pop-up shop experience.
“Pop-ups help generate interest and excitement, which provide momentum for a brand when launching a new concept or product,” says 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. “For Jordan – 306 Yonge, the initial success of their pop-up retail store during the NBA All-Star Weekend in Toronto in February 2016 has helped fuel their permanent store opening in the same location last week,” noted Ms. Farha.
(CUSTOMIZATION AREA)
Conceptually, the store pushes the boundaries of a traditional retail space. In addition to providing premium selections of Jordan apparel and sneakers, the 9,000 square foot store seamlessly integrates a state-of-the-art training facility, two shoe customization stations and an on-site barber service.
We coordinated a 3D tour of the Toronto Jordan store (below) 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’s three levels. 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.
(Click Image Below for 3D Tour)
Main Retail Floor: The 5,000 square foot main floor is primarily dedicated to retail, and features the best of the Jordan brand, from apparel to sneakers. Also included on this level is a customization space staffed with three customization technicians. Here, customers are given the opportunity to take on the role of designer, including being able to customize Jordan brand t-shirts and laser-etch Jordan brand footwear to their own specifications.
Besides offering the best of the Jordan brand, the street level floor offers customers an immersive basketball cultural experience. Adorning the walls are brand themed art and décor that draw inspiration from Toronto’s basketball culture. At the time of publication, the store displayed a total of nine art installations, including an Air Jordan shoe mural. Patrons can best experience the mural from the store’s very own consumer lounge.
Centre 23 Floor: Directly above the retail floor is the 3,000 square foot Centre 23 training facility. Staffed with two Jordan trainers, the centre provides a state of the art facility for player skill development. Facilities are open to local youth through training programs running Friday through Sunday, and include unique training features like the Jordan Standard interactive virtual training experience. This piece of technology integrates interactive media with traditional basketball skill drills to deliver an innovative training experience. Also included on this floor are three showers, washrooms and lockers for athletes to use post-workout. The floor also includes an on-site barber service.
Kids Floor: To complete the store’s 9,000 square feet, the lower concourse level houses a kids space. This lower level retail space is dedicated entirely to children’s apparel and sneakers. Similar to the main retail floor, this level features a customization space with dedicated technicians. However, keeping in line with its child-centric theme, this floor’s customization space is geared towards sneaker-heads 13 and under.
The store is accessible from both Yonge Street as well as on the concourse PATH level of the Atrium complex, giving customers a direct and convenient connection to the Dundas TTC subway station.
Martin Owusu
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.
From luxury stores to government buildings to Las Vegas hotels to your own home, plaster is an unassuming yet versatile building material that has quietly made its presence felt (physically, especially) and grown in use in the last few years. In a recent interview, we sat down with Vancouver-based commercial plaster artist Darrell Morrison, proprietor of Decorative Painting and Plastering Concepts Inc., to describe the growing use of this versatile eco-friendly building material.
Originally of combined Italian and German heritage, Mr. Morrison was born to a family of artisans and trades persons and started his own firm in 2000. “I’m as much of a solutionist as an artist”, Mr. Morrison tells us. With over 500 works during a span of 17 years, Mr. Morrison’s work includes providing bespoke finishes in a luxury residence at The Erickson building in Vancouver’s coveted False Creek area, and the free-standing Versace boutique that premiered in December 2015 on Alberni Street. Mr. Morrison gave us an overview of plaster as a material and its use in the construction and interior design industries.
As a building material, plaster in its liquid form is malleable and versatile, with the ability to form and fit most aesthetics. Much like paint but more durable in comparison, the layering starts with a primer base coat, which is then layered over with plaster and sealed with applications such as wax or penetrating sealers to make the material durable and seamless. The layer of plaster, depending on the finish is as thin as 1/8” to 1/16” in thickness, yet its presence is pronounced.
A natural product, plaster in its liquid form is caustic to human skin upon contact, but once it has dried out and hardened, it is a surprisingly eco-friendly natural product that can be easily discarded. Mr. Morrison tells us that plaster is the building material of choice for even sterilized environments such as hospitals. Due to its ecological friendliness, it is often used by developers to obtain LEED certification on commercial buildings, to align with the internationally-recognized U.S. Green Building Council’s environmentally-conscious standards.
As a finished product, the versatility of plaster is ideal for commercial buildings and can be used to create desired aesthetics. Rather than using pure marble or concrete, brands have preferred to use plaster as a breathable, cost-effective alternative. Versace, for instance, has opted for a more uniform minimalist look incorporating waves and clean lines that recall classical Italian architecture, rather than bringing in marble to replicate Italian architecture in their worldwide free-standing shops. Due to its malleability in its purest form, plaster can be used to work around physical impediments such as weight restrictions and to create the “flowing” curved interior design favoured by Versace. The drywall can be manipulated to resemble concrete or the marble looks of Venice or ancient Rome, keeping in line with the Versace aesthetic without having to import actual marble. Other Italian brands that have similar aesthetics such as Gucci and Prada have also used these materials. Shoppers will likely have noticed that plaster use also helps stores and buildings create “flow” that is common to Feng Shui principles, especially noticeable to the “China Rich” shoppers that frequently flood luxury stores.
Since it is durable, plaster finishes have been used in heavy-traffic commercial areas such as luxury Las Vegas Strip hotels due to the ability of target repairs by a skilled installer, preventing the need to redo entire installations in certain situations. Whenever Mr. Morrison tends to one of his projects, the maintenance can be done in very little time for smaller commercial spaces under 10,000 square feet, as opposed to shutting down the store for a week to re-paint, thereby ensuring minimal interruption to business activity. Mr. Morrison even cites plaster finishes in public restrooms as an unexpected example of the little maintenance required for plaster finishing. From a cost perspective, plaster’s low maintenance also needs little additional “hidden costs” to literally keep up its appearance. Other brands in recent years to use plaster for their shops and concessions include H&M, Oak + Fort, OMEGA Watches, Holt Renfrew, Victoria’s Secret (New York) and Lululemon.
Plaster is also favoured for long-term projects where the project will be left unaltered for many years. Mr. Morrison’s next long-term project will be working on the interior 5-storey lobby of Vancouver’s ambitious 31-storey The Exchange commercial office tower. “They want no maintenance, and if there is maintenance, it must be very little,” Mr. Morrison said. “They want it to be durable. That’s why they chose plaster because it’s proven over time to be very durable in that situation.” Other Retail projects on the books for Mr. Morrison in Vancouver include Aesop on West 4th Avenue and Hublot luxury watches on Alberni Street.
The work often faces challenges with very tight timelines. For instance, Morrison recalls that Versace gave a tight time frame of three weeks to complete his firm’s work for the Vancouver free-standing store on Thurlow Street, but it was completed in a mere ten days due to round-the-clock work and 16-hour days. This is less of a product challenge, and speaks more to the expediency and skill set of the artist with which plaster can be installed from start to finish.
For more information and to contact Darrell Morrison, visit his website: italianlimeplaster.com
Canada is seeing an unprecedented number of new international eyewear retailers enter the country. American optical retailer SEE will be the latest, with its first Canadian location set to open this summer in Toronto.
SEE (‘Selected Eyewear Elements’) was founded in 1998 by optical pioneer Richard Golden, with an aim to provide consumers with affordably priced, fashion-forward eyewear. The company’s reasonable prices encourage shoppers to create a ‘wardrobe’ of glasses, with a variety of styles available. SEE is considered to be the first optical retailer to have created its own brand, and prices are kept reasonable by selling in-house designs directly to consumers. SEE has an in-house design team, and it also works with artisans from 17 countries worldwide (mostly from Europe) to constantly produce new styles.
Some SEE styles are considered to be trendy, with the company’s slogan being “hip without the rip”. Prices in SEE’s American stores start at US $169, including both single vision plastic and polycarbonate lenses. The retailer has 40 stores in 17 US States, and is headquartered in Southfield, Michigan — an upscale suburb north of Detroit, home to a number of corporate headquarters.
SEE’s first Canadian store location is currently under construction at 153 Cumberland Street, in Toronto’s upscale Yorkville area. The boutique will be a bit more than 800 square feet in size, and will be adjacent to upscale multi-brand fashion retailer, Nicolas. The 153 Cumberland Street premises is at the back end of the 130 Bloor Street West commercial building, which includes retail locations for Gucci, Intermix and Hermès on the Bloor Street side, as well as Nicholas, Aveda and Lululemon on the Cumberland Street side. Hermès is moving into a 12,000 square foot space at 100 Bloor Street West later this year, and its current 4,000 square foot Bloor Street space is available for lease.
Canada is seeing an unprecedented number of international eyewear brands enter the market. New York City-based Warby Parker opened its first Canadian location last summer on Toronto’s Queen Street West, and a second location followed in the fall at Yorkdale Shopping Centre. UK-based Ollie Quinn launched a Canadian expansion this spring with nine locations that were formerly licensed Bailey Nelson locations. Aussie eyewear brand Bailey Nelson is opening its first corporately-owned Canadian stores this summer, with plans for as many as 50 stores over the next several years. Trendy New York City-based eyewear retailer Illesteva also opened its first Canadian location this spring, in a skylit retail space on Toronto’s trendy ‘West Queen West’. Cutting-edge Hong Kong-based MUJOSH opened its first Canadian store this spring at West Edmonton Mall, with more to follow as part of a national rollout. With the exception of Illesteva, all of these retailers promote themselves as offering value-priced products.
The growth of optical retailers in Canada might not come as a surprise — according to Euromonitor International, Canadians spent over $4 billion on eyewear in 2016, with strong growth year-over-year for the past several years. The market has also been arguably under-served by value-priced eyewear retailers, and a number of homegrown retailers, particularly those selling pricier designer frames, could stand to lose business with these new international entrants.
Not to be outdone, a number of Canadian eyewear retailers continue to expand their operations. Toronto-based Hakim Optical, for example, continues to expand its operations nationally. A number of other more traditional retailers such as Lenscrafters also continue to maintain strong Canadian operations, and there’s one unique eyewear retailer that stands out in particular — Montreal-based BonLook, also known for its affordably-priced designs, plans to expand its base of stores to more than 20 locations coast-to-coast over the next several years.
A new fashion boutique in Laval, Quebec aims to provide a high-end shopping experience for young men and women, with merchandise straight from the world’s premiere fashion destinations.
The new store, called Fashion House, MC2520, launched in mid-April. It’s the latest venture from fashion entrepreneurs Mary Bitzilou and Chris Paras, who also own MC2520’s neighbouring shops: Boutique Rococo, a women’s fashion boutique; and children’s retailer Kid Biz. All of the shops cater to affluent customers seeking premium brands.
Having been in the children’s fashion business for 25 years, Bitzilou and Paras saw an opportunity to cater to a slightly older demographic.
“We realized that our clientele was getting older,” Bitzilou says. “They couldn’t find what they were looking for in the commercial market, therefore we decided to expand and make a big store called MC2520, which caters to a young women’s and young men’s market.”
MC2520 is geared to customers between the ages of 13 and 35 seeking the latest fashion trends. That adds a large new demographic to the customer base that Bitzilou and Paras have previously served.
Since all three of their boutiques are located within the same 17,000-square-foot complex in Laval, the new retail outlet creates a convenient shopping experience for families, Paras says.
“Now, we are pretty much catering to the whole family,” he says, “from kids all the way up to adult women.”
Compared to Bitzilou and Paras’ other boutiques, MC2520 offers a slightly lower price point, which reflects the trendiness of the styles in store. Many customers, Bitzilou says, are looking for new items to wear each week.
“It’s more affordable fashion, because it’s faster fashion,” she says.
The merchandise is selected and curated by Bitzilou and Paras, with an emphasis on styles from international trend centres such as Los Angels and Australia. Some of the brands available in the store include LVL XIII (an exclusive to MC2520), Blank-NYC, E7- Armani, Nana Judy (Australia) and Eleven Paris.
In a competitive retail environment, Bitzilou says offering the latest styles that customers are seeking is key to success.
“Product mix is very important,” she says. “When customers come to our shops and they see that what they just saw in Milan is hanging on our racks, they’re very impressed.”
Also critically important, she adds, is customer service. Bitzilou and Paras have high standards for the staff they hire, and expect their sales representatives to maintain a close rapport with their clientele.
“Customer service is key here,” Bitzilou says. “It comes down to knowing your client, knowing what they want, and being able to always come through for them.”
The design of the new retail space aims to reflect the trendy and high-end labels within it. The store boasts a contemporary look that combines bold marble with rustic wood, dramatic custom-made chandeliers and a variety of other eccentric accents.
Bitzilou and Paras have no immediate plans to expand their boutiques outside of Quebec, however branching into new markets is something they intend to explore in the future.
Genesis Motors at 630 Queen Street East (Image: Genesis Motors)
Hyundai-owned Genesis Motors is launching its Canadian brick-and-mortar expansion this week with a location in Toronto. It will be the first of several locations to open in Canada this year for the South Korean luxury automobile brand.
Hyundai launched Genesis as a standalone marque in November of 2015 and in November of 2016, the company launched its Canadian eCommerce site.
“Genesis goes beyond offering exceptional vehicles by providing a human-centred purchase and ownership experience,” said Brand Director Michael Ricciutto. “Genesis delivers personalized service every step of the way with the Genesis-at-Home concierge service and now, with the first retail store in Genesis Downtown, luxury boutiques.”
Genesis Motors at 630 Queen Street East (Image: Genesis Motors)
The company’s new stores address consumer feedback. “Genesis Downtown is another touchpoint for our customers. Since launch, our customers have expressed a desire to experience the brand in a more traditional automotive setting,” said Shahin Alizadeh, Distributor Principal of Genesis Downtown.
This week, Genesis opened its first Canadian store, at 630 Queen Street East in Toronto, at the base of a recently completed condominium building, Sync Lofts. The 4,000 square foot retail space is the first of several set to open in Canada this year.
On October 1 of this year, Genesis is scheduled to open a 4,000 square foot showroom at Square One in Mississauga, followed by an October 15 opening of a 2,800 square foot location at CF Carrefour Laval, near Montreal. On October 15, as well, Genesis will open a 4,200 square foot store at 81 Rue Wellington in Montreal (corner of Duke Street), which will also have an adjacent 2,000 square foot service centre/garage area. Mr Ricciutto noted that consumers will be able to test drive vehicles at each of these locations.
Genesis Motors at 630 Queen Street East (Image: Genesis Motors)
Genesis Motors at 630 Queen Street East (Image: Genesis Motors)
Genesis will also be available in several ‘traditional’ automobile retailers, including locations in Vancouver and Quebec City. The brand also operates an ‘experience centre’ at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport, which has helped further enhance brand awareness.
By 2021, Genesis Motors anticipates operating 32 Canadian locations, according to Mr. Ricciutto. These will include freestanding stores (both mall and street-front) as well as showrooms in other dealerships. Genesis plans to have six new vehicle models by 2021, which the company expects to be a hit with its all-inclusive pricing, Genesis at Home concierge for sales and service, complimentary scheduled maintenance, and comprehensive warranty.
Musical performer Drake’s retail concept October’s Very Own (OVO) will open this summer at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre. It will be only the fourth location for the brand globally, as well as the second in Toronto and the first to be located in a major shopping centre.
*Update from August 2, 2017: Drake has announced that this store will open Saturday, August 5. According to a press release, it will feature “luxury apparel, capsule collections and exclusive drops from OVO.” The store opens in time for his OVO Fest, also happening the August long weekend (coinciding with Caribana Toronto).
A must watch, see video below: Cadillac Escalade and crew rolls through Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre while Drake performs “Gyalchester” — instantly turning Yorkdale it into an international tourist attraction.
OVO’s first location opened in December of 2014 at 899 Dundas Street West in Toronto. The small boutique was the brainchild of OVO’s co-founder Oliver El-Khatib, and it followed a summer of 2014 pop-up that was held in the same retail space.
In December of 2015, OVO opened its second store location at 130 N. La Brea Avenue in Los Angeles, spanning about 2,400 square feet. In December of 2016, OVO’s third store location opened at 54 Bond Street in New York City. All three of Drake’s stores feature simple white interiors, and carry a range of exclusive OVO-branded products as well as some designer collaboration pieces.
According to construction signage that went up this week, Yorkdale’s OVO store will be opening this summer in a retail space between Strellson and Oak + Fort. Mall lease plans indicate that unit CRU-521 has more than 1,600 square feet of space. The new store will be located in Yorkdale’s new 300,000 square foot Nordstrom-anchored expansion wing that opened in October of 2016.
OVO Yorkdale (Image: Craig Patterson)
Drake, who’s actual name is Aubrey Drake Graham, is known to collaborate with various designers for limited edition product roll-outs. We might expect the Yorkdale store to see lineups for new and exclusive product releases when the store opens this summer.
Toronto is a focal point for Drake’s music, and in April of 2016 he released his award winning fourth studio album ‘Views‘, which included a photoshopped image of Drake sitting on the edge of the CN Tower. Drake has had a number of hits (‘Hotline Bling‘ was a 2015 favourite), and the performer will maintain a Toronto residential presence with the completion of his under-construction 40,000 square foot mansion in the wealthy ‘Bridle Path‘ area — about a 20 minute drive from Yorkdale.
OVO will provide an extra element of interest for Yorkdale, which is already one of the most dynamic shopping centres in North America. Yorkdale recently unveiled its permanent multi-retailer pop-up space called CONCEPT, and a number of other exciting first-to-market retailers will be announced for the mall in the coming months. Yorkdale, which was ranked Canada’s most productive shopping centre in terms of sales per square foot by Retail Council of Canada’s Shopping Centre Study, will see a westward expansion wing open this fall, anchored by RH/Restoration Hardware and Sporting Life. Upon completion of the new wing, Yorkdale will become the country’s second largest mall in terms of size, with only West Edmonton Mall being larger.
Montreal-based cloud-based point-of-sale platform Lightspeed has introduced Lightspeed Analytics to its roster of products geared towards independent retailers. Lightspeed Analytics is designed to provide retailers with insights and recommendations into their sales, inventory, employee performance and customer behaviours, with an aim of providing retailers a competitive edge in their industry.
Lightspeed Analytics simplifies the gathering of data by making it accessible, understandable and actionable for business owners and store managers, and it provides insights into the following three aspects of a retail business:
Inventory management — by eliminating guesswork while offering insight into which products are selling fast,
Customer insights — by targeting customers based on their individual shopping history with relevant communications about new inventory, promotions and business updates, and
Employee optimization — understanding your staffing needs and share data-driven feedback with employees to help improve their performance.
Lightspeed is levelling the playing field by offering solutions addressing areas that have typically been optimized for larger businesses. Technology centred around customers is imperative in today’s world and allows for a better experience for both retailers and consumers. The most important aspects of successful retail involve consistent in-store and online traffic, managing inventory and having the insights to know what decisions to make to drive profit.
“Access to complete analytics and business insights will empower independents with the tools they need to effectively grow, allowing our customers to dream bigger about the future of their business,” said Lightspeed Founder and CEO Dax Dasilva. “Lightspeed Analytics is simple to navigate and makes the value of data easy to understand, which will give our customers the time and ability to make smarter business decisions.”
Acting as a store-side data consultant, Lightspeed Analytics also acts as something of a ‘store-side data consultant’, allowing business owners to answer day-to-day management questions such as:
Which items should I order more of, and which ones should I discontinue?
Which items have I had too long and need to be marked down?
What item am I out of stock in most often?
How often do my best customers shop? and
Do I have the right number of employees working on weekends?
“Analytics is going to save me a day a week of work,” said Jenifer Burnett, of Punchy’s. Mike Simmons of Bicycle Warehouse noted, “With Analytics, I now have the tools to successfully compete against the big box stores,” and “Lightspeed Analytics helps us see the overall health of our business,” added Mitsuko Osugi of Cook Culture.
Other notable Canadian Lightspeed customers who have recently adopted the Lightspeed Analytics tool include Skiis and Biikes (Collingwood, Mississauga, Toronto, Vancouver) and ETIKET (Montréal)
The cost is reasonable — Lightspeed Analytics costs US $150 per month, per location, and pricing varies based on number of stores. Devin Montgomery of Skiis and Biikes notes, “Once we saw how much time our buyers saved with Lightspeed Analytics, we were hooked. There was no way we weren’t going to invest in the solution.”
LAITH MURAD
The company has also just announced a new chief marketing officer — Laith Murad. Mr. Murad has more than 20 years of experience in the industry and most recently, he was the CMO at PIRCH — a luxury retailer with 10 locations in the United States. During his time at PIRCH, Mr. Murad’s work on the brand won several awards, including Retailer of the Year, the Davey Award for best branding, and others. Prior to PIRCH, he served as Vice President, Marketing at Yahoo, where he was focused on growth strategies, as well as customer acquisition and retention.
“We are thrilled to welcome Laith to the Lightspeed team as a leader for our marketing and communications divisions, and a champion of our customer-centric approach,” said Lightspeed’s Dax Dasilva, “Laith’s vast marketing experience in the retail and technology sectors, make him an exceptional asset to the team as we expand our current marketing strategy and continue to engage thousands of new customers, on a global scale.”
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. In 2016, Lightspeed launched its omnichannel product, seamlessly merging in-store POS, eCommerce and mobile, allowing its customers to sell anywhere, at any time. In addition to retail solutions, Lightspeed Restaurant provides simple and efficient cloud-based software for cafés, bars, and full-service dining. Most recently, the company celebrated its 12th anniversary.
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.
A new study conducted by HRC Retail Advisory shows that more than 90% of Canadian Generation Z say that a strong wi-fi signal is important to them and their overall shopping experience and furthermore, emerging in-store technologies and positive social media feedback are among the top priorities for both Generation Z and Millennial consumers.
The survey also revealed a generational shift in how these consumers shop for beauty products, and it represents the first in a series centred around Generation Z and Millennials’ attitudes, behaviours, and shopping preferences.
To obtain the findings, HRC Retail Advisory surveyed a targeted sample of two distinct demographics: Millennials (ages 18-41) and Generation Z (children ages 10-17). The sample size was 675 per group and the survey was fielded from March 9 – 21, 2017.
“Millennial and Generation Z’s use of technology in-store, their need to stay connected to friends via social media while they shop, and how they’re shopping beauty trends is changing consumer spending patterns. While the latter generation was born with a smartphone in hand, it doesn’t keep them from shopping – and even preferring to shop – in brick and mortar stores, as long as they have access to their ever-important social network,” said Farla Efros, President of HRC Retail Advisory.
Ms. Efros went on to say, “Generation Z is not only powerful on their own, but they are the ones dragging their Millennial parents (who prefer to shop online), back into the mall as well. Understanding these consumer segments and how they apply to a retailer’s business will be essential, as both of these generations will be crucial to retail strategies going forward.”
• Magic Mirrors Keep Consumers Connected. When asked if they would use a “Magic Mirror” in dressing rooms to send images through social media, 66% of Millennials aged 18 to 34 said they would be at least somewhat likely to use the technology, which is 50% more than those aged 35 to 41. Generation Z and Younger Millennials were found to embrace emerging technologies, particularly if they enhanced a connection with their social network or streamlined the shopping experience.
• Retail Apps Favored Over Traditional In-store Payments. 68% of Millennials, and 64% of Generation Z state that they would likely use a retailer’s app to make an in-store payment. The number of consumers favoring apps over traditional payment methods climbs to 78% among Millennials aged 25 to 34.
Social Networks Drive Purchase Decisions
• Facebook and YouTube Dominate Social Media. Nearly 60% of respondents (both Millennials and Generation Z) use Facebook daily, with as high as 72% of Millennials age 25 to 34. YouTube ranks second amongst both demographics, with over 55% using the platform daily.
• Social Media is Essential for Feedback. More than half of respondents (both Millennials and Generation Z) said they use social media to solicit opinions while shopping, and more than 40% of respondents said they have made a decision based on feedback from their network, which consists primarily of their peers. Additionally, 25% of Millennials say they have returned items based on feedback from social media sites, and Generation Z’s return rate is as high as 62%.
Discounts & Influencers Are Key to Shopping Beauty
• Amazon & Discount Stores Top Traditional Beauty Stores. With new beauty trends constantly emerging, both Generation Z and Millennials look to Amazon and Discount Stores (e.g. Walmart) to shop for products over traditional beauty stores (e.g. Sephora, Department Stores, etc.). In fact, when asked where Generation Z has purchased beauty products in the last 6 months, 55% said Discount Stores and 35% said Amazon. For Millennials, 49% said they shop Discount Stores and 45% on Amazon.
• Friends & YouTubers Influence Gen Z Beauty Buys. While Millennials are primarily influenced by the store experience when shopping for beauty (34%), Generation Z cites Friends and YouTube Beauty Gurus as their primary influence when shopping (54%). Store experience is significantly less important to Generation Z in Beauty purchasing (11%).
