Upscale American fashion brand Coach has renovated three key Canadian flagships with a new look. Coach’s Toronto (131 Bloor Street West), Yorkdale Shopping Centre and Vancouver (755 Burrard Street) locations recently saw overhauls, featuring modern interiors by a world-renowned design firm.
The new store design was developed by Coach Executive Creative Director Stuart Vevers, in partnership with creative firm Studio Sofield, led by Designer and President William Sofield. Interiors feature contrasting textures, and luxe materials, mirroring the company’s redesigned Beverly Hills Rodeo Drive flagship, which opened in late 2014.
Interiors consist of iron spot brick pavers, reclaimed heart-pine wood flooring with custom hand-tufted wool carpeting. Powder rooms have Roman brick wall tile and granite flooring. Handbag walls incorporate seasonal artwork as backdrops, and cabinetry is fabricated from natural and ebonized ash, blackened steel, antique bronze and mahogany trim. Mid-century furniture features custom steel and leather counter stools, shoe benches in tufted leather with suede details, pearl lamb shearling upholstery on club chairs, and Pullman cloth fabric on sofas.
BLOOR STREET. PHOTO: COACH
YORKDALE. PHOTO: COACH
The three flagships carry Coach’s ready-to-wear collections — a first for its Canadian locations. Each flagship also features a wide assortment of Coach merchandise for women and men including bags, small leathergoods, footwear, watches, weekend and travel accessories, scarves and jewelry.
NEW YORKDALE STOREFRONT. PHOTO: COACH
BURRARD STREET. PHOTO: COACH
“As the Coach brand continues on the path of transformation, I wanted to create something different – different for Coach and unique in luxury,” said Coach Executive Creative Director Stuart Vevers. “I believe the new incarnation of the Coach stores that William Sofield and I created will trigger a powerful change in the perception of Coach; it is sophisticated and refined, yet playful and authentic”, he said.
According to a 2015 study conducted by Accenture, consumers feel the in-store experience needs the most improving when it comes to retail. The retail experience has become fragmented over multiple channels with inconsistent pricing and experiences. From the same study, 30% of retailers indicated the seamless shopping experience needs the most improving – that is, the same experience when making purchases online, from a mobile phone, tablet, or in-store. Given that, more and more consumers are turning to online stores for their retail experiences. Brick and mortar stores simply cannot compete with e-commerce.
E-commerce has empowered the consumer with new experiences that need to be integrated into stores. In the past 10 years, one of the biggest changes to retailers is Amazon. Amazon has effectively changed consumer behaviour through intelligent recommendations, one-click checkout, rapid shipping, and an end-to-end experience that in-store simply cannot provide. Additionally, e-commerce allows busy consumers to do this from the comfort of their own home.
While the trend for retailers to take to online has been prevalent over the past years, many online retailers have subsequently gone from “clicks to bricks”. Retail-insider.com previously covered Frank & Oak opening physical stores across Canada, but clothing retailer Frank & Oak is not the only online store making a physical presence. Warby Parker and Clearly Contacts are two other examples of online retailers moving from clicks to bricks with their own stores across North America.
Retail is rapidly changing. E-commerce has acted as a disruptive technology into the retail space forcing retailers to consider how they acquire their customers. Subsequently, online stores are faced with the challenge of competing in both an online and offline space. As e-commerce and physical retailers find equilibrium between the two spaces, expect to continue to see more closures from physical retailers and more openings of physical stores from previously online exclusive brands.
About the Author
Kate Hiscox has over 15 years of experience working in e-commerce. Both of the e-commerce stores she founded had been acquired, with her first e-commerce acquired in 2006 for $1.2 million USD. Kate is one of five children; all entrepreneurs with their own company. She is a serial entrepreneur and the CEO of Venzee, a rapidly growing SaaS platformbased in Vancouver and accelerated by 500 Startups. Venzee replaces spreadsheets with real-time integration for SMB and enterprise customers in the retail industry.
SAKS FIFTH AVENUE QUEEN STREET (RENDERING: HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY)
Saks Fifth Avenue‘s Canadian stores will feature upscale restaurants, with one dining option spanning an impressive three floors. Saks Fifth Avenue’s first two Canadian stores open in early 2016, with as many as seven planned for this country over the next several years.
According to City of Toronto planning applications, Toronto-based restauranteur Oliver & Bonacini will operate restaurants in both the 150,000 square foot downtown Toronto Eaton Centre Saks flagship, as well as in the 132,000 square foot suburban Sherway Gardens Saks location.
Image: City of Toronto Building Application
According to the application above, Olivier & Bonacini will operate a three-level restaurant space at the downtown Toronto Saks, spanning the store’s basement level, ground floor and second level. Saks’ basement will also feature a Pusateri’s Fine Foods-operated grocery floor, which will look similar to the rendering below. Saks’ ground level will include leathergoods, handbags, accessories and cosmetics, while Saks second-level will feature Saks’ men’s store.
SAKS FIFTH AVENUE FOOD HALL. RENDERING: HUDSON’S BAY COMPANY
According to another planning application, Oliver & Bonacini will also operate restaurant space at Sherway Gardens’ Saks location. According to the application, the Sherway restaurant will seat in excess of 30 patrons.
Image: City of Toronto Building Application
Saks’ parent Hudson’s Bay Company has an established relationship with Oliver & Bonacini, the latter operating several food concepts within existing Hudson’s Bay stores. Oliver & Bonacini also operates some of Toronto’s finest restaurants, under nameplates Canoe, Auberge du Pommier, Jump, Luma, Biff’s Bistro, Bannock (connected to the Eaton Centre Hudson’s Bay), O&B Café Grill and O&B Canteen. The company was founded in 1993 by Peter Oliver and chef Michael Bonacini.
Saks Fifth Avenue plans to open as many as seven Canadian locations over the next several years. The company has confirmed intentions to open locations in Vancouver and Montreal, and it may also open a location in Calgary, according to sources at Saks.
YORKDALE SHOPPING CENTRE. PHOTO: OXFORD PROPERTIES GROUP
Canada is the sixth most attractive location in the world for retailers to operate, according to the recently published Arcadis Retail Operation Index (PDF). Canada scored particularly high in the index’s ‘ease of operating’ ranking, and scored strongly overall.
The Arcadis Retail Operation Index ranks 50 international markets according to five key factors that retailers consider when selecting retail locations. These include the following, with Canada’s rankings:
Infrastructure quality: Canada: 10
Ease of establishing a business and getting it ‘up-and-running’: Canada: 9
Market demand: Canada: 9
Economic environment: Canada: 10
Ease of operating: Canada: 3
The ten most favourable markets for retailers, according to the Arcadis Retail Operation Index, include:
Hong Kong
Singapore
United States
Japan
United Kingdom
Canada
Germany
United Arab Emirates
The Netherlands
Sweden
Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan, all in Asia, occupy three of the top five positions. Each country boasts governments willing to promote foreign investment, creating stability for potentially struggling retailers to improve operations. As well, each has growing middle-class populations seeking consumer goods.
Despite aging infrastructure, the United States and United Kingdom scored highly — particularly due to favourable regulatory environments and strong economic climate. Two Eurozone countries The Netherlands and Germany made the top 10, though retailers may reevaluate investment given recent issues with the Euro.
International retailers continue to enter the Canadian market. A substantial number of fashion brands enter Canada through Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre and in 2013, approximately one third of all new international retailers entered Canada through the Toronto mall. As well, a significant number of luxury brands entering the Canadian market over the next 24 months will open their first locations in Vancouver.
For reference, the ten least favourable markets for retailers to operate, according to the same index:
41. Vietnam 42. Indonesia 43. India 44. Uruguay 45. Russia 46. Pakistan 47. Paraguay 48. Argentina 49. Nigeria 50. Egypt
Antony Karabus, CEO of leading retail consultancy HRC Advisory, said: “Canada’s exceptional and transparent legal and regulatory systems and well-educated workforce contributes to its high overall rankings, particularly ‘ease of operating'”. He went on to say, “the significant growth in discretionary income levels and availability of high quality retail real estate make Canada an attractive market for international fashion and lifestyle retailers, as they continue to see opportunities for profitable growth in the Canadian market, despite increasing competition”.
Barely 15 years ago, the retail offering at Toronto Pearson International Airport more closely resembled that of a low-budget 1980’s suburban strip mall. Chachka and tacky Canadiana, ranging from plastic CN Towers, to plush toy moose in RCMP uniforms were ubiquitous. Food court-quality burgers and fries, and day old heat-lamp chicken and veggies were some of the better food options on offer. The old, circular-shaped concrete bunker that was Terminal 1, with its low ceilings, poor quality florescent lighting, and musky odor was the main international terminal for Air Canada and most Star Alliance members.
When the new, and now current, Terminal 1 opened to the public in 2004, the retail offering still left much to be desired. More kitsch, more mediocre food, and a more questions about how Canada’s largest and busiest airport could build a brand new $4.5 billion terminal and leave the retail component so under-developed. Airports half the size, such as Vancouver International, had a retail offering that put Pearson to shame.
Anyone who’s ever traveled through Frankfurt, London Heathrow, Amsterdam, Hong Kong, or Dubai knows that an airport doesn’t just have to be utilitarian. Quite the opposite, in fact. Airports can, and should be retail destinations unto themselves. For decades North American airports seemed to have missed that memo. But in recent years, large North American hubs are finally starting to catch up to their European, Asian, and Middle Eastern counterparts. And Toronto Pearson is at the forefront of an airport retail revolution that has made, and will continue to make both Terminals 1 and 3 virtually unrecognizable from 10 years ago.
For those who think airport retail is a frivolous “nice-to-have while you wait impatiently for your flight”, make no mistake, shopping, and in particular luxury shopping, has become such a huge part of the airport experience that it now accounts for as much as 53% of total revenue in the case of Dubai, and 30% in the case of Pearson. The goal is to increase that to 50%.
Not to be ignored, Terminal 3 is next in line for a major overhaul, and is currently undergoing the same kind of retail transformation that Terminal 1 went through. Interestingly, back in 1991, Terminal 3 hosted North America’s only Harrods store. It was a mini-version of the iconic British department store, and it closed shortly after it opened as Toronto and the rest of the world plunged deep into recession. The closing of Harrods seemed to be a turning point in the direction that Pearson took with its retail development. Less risk, less innovation, and a whole lot more indifference to the benefits of airport retail.
As more and more of the world’s wealthy travel, Pearson, almost more-so than any other airport in North America, is perfectly positioned to reap the rewards of those who will inevitably shop more as they transit through the airport. As it stands right now, Pearson is the fourth largest port of entry into North America behind New York JFK, LAX, and Miami. Overall international traffic in North America is second only to JFK, and for the past four years Pearson has been the fastest growing airport on the continent. In 2013, the Mastercard Global Destination Cities 2013 Report ranked Toronto first in North America and thirteenth in the world for the city with the fastest air connectivity growth.
Air Canada is concentrating its entire long term growth strategy on Pearson as its global hub, and that strategy is paying off. Already passing the 38 million passenger mark in 2014, Pearson is well on its way to cracking the 40 million passenger milestone for the first time in its history. For some perspective – passenger volumes at Pearson are higher than Canada’s second and third busiest airports combined. Total passenger growth at Pearson is close to 60% higher than Canada’s next three busiest airports (Vancouver, Calgary, and Montreal) combined. International passenger traffic is higher than Canada’s next three busiest airports combined and international traffic growth volumes are over 80% higher than international traffic growth volumes at all three of Canada’s next busiest airports combined. In other words, passenger growth and volumes in Canada are disproportionately in Pearson’s favour. Most of that growth is coming from China, South America, and the Middle East, where wealthy travellers are fuelling a retail revival at airports the world over. Pearson is the first building most people travelling to or through Canada see, and it should represent not only the city of Toronto, but Canada as a whole, in the most positive way.
For Pearson, the goal is clear. Acquire a larger piece of the traveling pie and have more people connect through the airport. Roughly 33% of all passengers passing through Pearson are connecting passengers – the largest proportion in the country. Connecting passengers tend to stay longer and shop more than just “origin and destination’ passengers – so more connecting passengers means more retail options. In a recent interview with the Toronto Star, outgoing Chair of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA), Vijay Kanwar stated that Pearson “should have a Bloor St. inside our terminal”. Arguably, a reference to Yorkdale Shopping Centre would be just as appropriate.
European, Asian, and Middle Eastern airports have long known that the airport experience is more than just a means to process passengers and get them on their way. An airport can be a destination unto itself. Airports such as Dubai and Hong Kong can barely be distinguished from high end shopping malls, but one thing is clear – everyone who travels through those airports can attest to the fact that it’s a memorable experience. Toronto Pearson’s goal to be the Hong Kong airport of North America is the right direction for the airport. And it just so happens that the current CEO of the GTAA, Howard Eng, ran Hong Kong airport for 17 years before joining Pearson.
The following is a list of 33 retailers which are either new to Canada, or expanding their operations nationally. Although some of these retailers have recently been discussed in Retail Insider, many are new and haven’t been mentioned until now.
The list is sponsored by Vancouver-based Peregrine, which custom designs and fabricates retail, display, furniture and architectural features for some of the country’s top retailers.
STORE NAME
LOCATIONS TO OPEN IN CANADA
NEW OR EXPANDING?
ESTIMATED # OF LOCATIONS POST-EXPANSION
Aesop
Montreal (2), Toronto, Vancouver (2nd locations in each)
New, now expanding
6+
Abercrombie & Fitch
Vancouver (Pacific Centre, opening soon)
Expanding
5
Ashley Furniture HomeStore
Alberta, Ontario (about 16 locations in total)
Expanding
Unknown
Bass Pro Shops
Dieppe (Moncton) NB (fall 2015), Tsawwassen BC (spring 2016)
Expanding
5+
Breitling
Toronto (Bloor Street East, details TBD)
New
Unknown
Brunello Cucinelli
Vancouver (Fall 2015/Winter 2016), Toronto site search ongoing
New
2+
Cabela’s
Abbotsford BC (fall 2016), Calgary (fall 2015), Moncton NB (May 28, 2015), Ottawa (Spring 2016)
Expanding
11+
Choices Market
Abbotsford BC
Expanding
10+
Christian Dior
Toronto (details TBA), Vancouver (now open)
New/Expanding
2+
De Beers
Toronto (fall 2015)
Expanding
2+
Detox Market, The
Toronto (2nd location now open)
Expanding
2+
Dollarama
Canada-wide (another ~450 locations)
Expanding
1,400+
Dollar Tree
Canada-wide (another ~700-750 locations)
Expanding
1,000+
DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse
Sherwood Park AB, Victoria BC, Moncton NB, Barrie ON, Toronto, London ON (all fall 2015)
Expanding
40-50
F21 Red by Forever 21
Ottawa (Place d’Orleans), Windsor ON (Devonshire Mall) both fall 2015. National location search continues.
New
Unknown
Gerry Weber
Calgary (Chinook Centre), Western Canadian store search ongoing, 8 GTA locations now open, as are 4 franchised stores nationally.
Expanding
15+
Gulf (Gas Stations)
Nationwide
New
100+
Indochino
Vancouver (Yaletown, replacing Water St. flagship), possibly Calgary, Ottawa, 2nd Toronto location
Expanding
Unknown
iStore
Edmonton (West Edmonton Mall), Toronto (Scarborough Town Centre) – both opening this fall, more locations to follow.
Expanding
Unknown
Jaeger Le-Coultre
Toronto (Yorkdale Shopping Centre, opening soon), Vancouver (1012 Alberni St., fall 2015)
New
2+
Judith & Charles
Toronto: Yorkville Village (formerly Hazelton Lanes), Sherway Gardens – both fall 2015
Expanding
Unknown
Kate Spade
Calgary (Chinook Centre, fall 2015)
Expanding
7+
La Maison Simons
Gatineau QC (August, 2015), West Vancouver BC (Park Royal, October 2015), Mississauga ON (Square One, March 2016), Ottawa (Rideau Centre, August 2016), Calgary (CORE, 2017) Edmonton (Londonderry Mall, 2017), Toronto, ON (Scarborough Town Centre 2018, Yorkdale Shopping Centre 2019), Richmond BC (date TBA), potentially Winnipeg, Saskatchewan & Halifax locations, according to CEO.
Expanding
25-30
Longo’s
Toronto (Imperial Plaza, St. Clair Avenue)
Expanding
28+
MEC
Kelowna BC (spring 2016), Toronto (North York, summer 2016), Toronto (replacement location, Queen Street West, fall 2017)
Expanding
19+
Microsoft Store
Vancouver (Pacific Centre, August 6 2015)
Expanding
7+
Moncler
Vancouver (748 Thurlow Street, opening fall 2015)
Expanding
2+
Neal’s Yard Remedies
Calgary (Southcentre, November 2015), possibly Toronto, Vancouver, and 3rd Calgary store
Expanding
10+
Prada
Vancouver (1098 Alberni St., early 2016), Toronto Bloor St. W. Expansion (early 2016), Mississauga ON (Square One, concession, spring 2016)
Expanding
8+
Rudsak
Calgary (Market Mall, fall 2015), Ontario, Quebec. Ultimately looking to open a further 20-25 locations nationwide.
Expanding
50+
RYU
Vancouver (September, 2015), Toronto (2016)
New
Unknown
Save-on-Foods (Overwaitea Group)
Saskatchewan, Manitoba
Expanding
~40
THECloset YVR (theclosetyvr.com)
Vancouver (360 Carrall Street in Gastown, August 22, 2015)
This week, Tiffany & Co. will relocate its Montreal Holt Renfrew concession to the nearby La Maison Ogilvy. The move signals a southward shift in luxury brands in Montreal, as Holt Renfrew on Sherbrooke Street West prepares to shutter in order to merge with an expanded Ogilvy on Ste-Catherine Street West.
Tiffany & Co. will continue to operate a 2,000 square foot free-standing unit at the base of the Ritz Carlton Hotel, located directly across Rue de la Montagne from Holt Renfrew’s Sherbrooke Street location. No city in the world boasted two Tiffany stores operating within such close proximity, and Vancouver is the only other Canadian city to feature two downtown Tiffany & Co. locations.
Both Holt Renfrew and Ogilvy are owned by parent company Selfridges Group. The Ogilvy building, located at the northwest corner of Ste-Catherine Street West and Rue de la Montagne, will expand from a current 160,000 square feet to about 220,000 square feet before the end of 2017. Ogilvy, which generally operates at lower price points than Holt Renfrew, already features a number of premium branded concessions including Louis Vuitton and Christofle. After Ogilvy’s expansion is complete and Holt Renfrew closes, Holt’s concessions such as Chanel, Giorgio Armani, Hermes, Dior and Prada are expected to move into the expanded Ste-Catherine Street store which will formally be called Ogilvy, part of the Holt Renfrew & Co. collection.
Sherbrooke Street West, once considered to be Canada’s most prestigious shopping street, has seen a decline in luxury retail over the past two decades. As recently as the 1980’s and 1990’s, brands such as Cartier, Ungaro, Sonia Rykiel, Versace, Polo Ralph Lauren, and others lined its storied sidewalks. All brands have closed, though the street continues to serve affluent shoppers with its free-standing Tiffany & Co. and Escada locations, as well as the existing Holt Renfrew unit. When Holt Renfrew shutters, Escada and Tiffany & Co. at the Ritz will be the lone luxury holdouts. Immediately south of Sherbrooke Street West, however, Rue de la Montaigne continues to house a number of luxury retailers as it extends towards Ogilvy, including names such as Montblanc, Chateau d’Ivoire jewellers and, soon, Canada’s largest Suitsupply location.
Upscale Swiss menswear brand Strellson will expand its Canadian flagship. When completed, the ‘Mink Mile’ location will be Canada’s largest Strellson location. We spoke with Mark Altow, President of Strellson Canada, to learn more about his plans for the Toronto store.
Mr. Altow explained how Strellson is seeing exceptional sales in Canada, and how the current 1,500 square foot Bloor Street location warranted more space to meet increased consumer demand. The Bloor store opened in the fall of 2012 at 170 Bloor Street West, as the base of Toronto’s Park Hyatt Hotel. Construction on the roughly 800 square foot expansion will commence shortly, with fixtures manufactured by leading retail store fixture company Canada’s Best Store Fixtures, facilitated by Norman Katz, Director of New Business Development. The expansion will be particularly unique, as it will provide Strellson with an interior entrance to the hotel for guests, complimenting the store’s existing exterior entrance onto Bloor Street.
Strellson currently operates two free-standing Canadian stores — the 170 Bloor Street location, as well as at Bayview Village. It also stocks almost 20 shops-in-stores at selected Hudson’s Bay locations. Canada’s third free-standing Strellson store will open this fall in downtown Vancouver, in the same retail complex as luxury brands Versace and Brunello Cucinelli. The Vancouver store will be only slightly smaller than the Bloor Street store, measuring just over 2,200 square feet.
Founded in 1984, Strellson is Switzerland’s largest menswear manufacturer. Owned by Holy Fashion Group (the original owners of German brand Hugo Boss), it produces mid-to-high priced menswear (both dressy and casual), accessories and related products, targeting men in the 25 to 40 age range. It retails in about 40 countries.
Mr. Altow explained how he plans to expand the Strellson brand nationwide, with multiple free-standing locations. He will also expand the brand into the United States, and we’ll discuss this further soon, in a separate feature article.
The retail component of Toronto’s iconic Toronto-Dominion Centre was recently ranked Canada’s 19th most productive shopping centre by this publication. It’s especially exceptional, considering that the centre operates limited hours and only five days a week. We spoke with General Manager David Hoffman to gain insight into the mall’s remarkable success.
Many know the mixed-use Toronto-Dominion Centre as one of the few Canadian buildings designed by the late, storied architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. The 151,000 square foot retail component features 58 retailers, and it located at the base of six office towers housing a daytime population estimated to be about 20,000. The centre’s office component spans 4.3 million square feet, and is located in the heart of Canada’s financial and banking centre. Construction on Toronto-Dominion Centre began in 1964, and it was completed in 1969.
With sales of $819 per square foot annually, Toronto-Dominion Centre is particularly exceptional given that its stores operate from 10:00am to 6:00pm on Monday to Friday, with stores closed weekends and holidays. The retail centre sees an estimated 50,000 visitors per day from nearby office towers, residents and other visitors.
Mr. Hoffman, who explained how the centre’s success is based on its mixed-use, and how its retail component benefits from thousands of office workers above, as well as from adjacent office towers and nearby attractions. Toronto-Dominion Centre links into Toronto’s extensive PATH underground pedway system, the largest of its kind in the world. Mr. Hoffman also explained how retail sales continue to increase as new condominium towers continue to be built downtown – Toronto’s condo boom is now one of the world’s largest, with new towers particularly locating south and east of nearby Union Station.
Mr. Hoffman described how Toronto-Dominion Centre benefits from landlord Cadillac Fairview‘s strong retail experience, leasing team, and relationships with retailers and suppliers. He also revealed that the centre’s retail and office components are both almost 100% leased – an exceptional feat in light of considerable new construction in Toronto’s downtown core. The centre features a variety of retailers including a florist, toy store, dry cleaner, post office, and even a chaplaincy. It also features Canada’s first Noodles & Company restaurant and last week, Mark McEwan opened an upscale 5,500 square foot grocery store within the complex.
Toronto-based luxury firm WINSTON Collective is looking to hire a visionary to create brand-building, inventive window displays. You will bring unique and innovative ideas to the position, and will have creative freedom to design original windows which will get people talking.
The position involves interfacing with creative and operational partners of WINSTON Collective, including a retailer and a wholesale which has multiple, substantial windows boasting exceptional traffic and visibility. You will have access to cutting-edge European mannequins, and clients are open to props and displays of all kinds, providing that they make a cohesive statement and enhance the brand’s products. Brand-building is an essential part of the position.
There is room for growth in this part-time position, as WINSTON Collective has a number of partners requiring similar services. Previous window display experience is essential, and salary is open to discussion, commensurate upon experience. If you feel that you would qualify, and you are interested, please email your resume and cover letter to: info@winstoncollective.com
