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Kartell Opens 1st Canadian Location [Photos and Video]

By
Craig Patterson
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Italian home furnishings retailer Kartell has opened its first Canadian location, in Montreal’s trendy Griffintown. A second Canadian store will follow soon after in Toronto, according to the company. 

Retail Insider’s Montreal correspondent Maxime Frechette visited the new Kartell store, providing photographs for this article as well as a video presentation of the new retail space. The 1,500 square foot Kartell store opened on Sunday at 1120 Wellington Street in Griffintown, alongside other home furnishing retailers such as EQ3, West Elm, Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams, Ligne Roset and others. Kartell features a front terrace that will be open from May to October, as well as an interior with soaring ceiling to display the store’s unique products.  

  • Transparent furniture pieces on display in the new Kartell store in Montreal. 

The company’s brick-and-mortar store strategy includes freestanding locations, as well as shop-in-stores within larger retailers. Kartell will utilize both, and will also soon launch a Canadian e-commerce site. 

Kartell was founded in 1949 and sells furniture, home furnishings, lighting and home accessories. The company collaborates with famous designers such as Philippe Starck and Eugeni Quitlet to create pieces, which are often colourful and unique. Plastic is used in innovative ways in many designs. The company has over 130 freestanding stores, 250 shop-in-shops, and can be found in over 2,500 retailers in 130 countries worldwide. 

Saks Fifth Avenue to Open Calgary Store

By
Craig Patterson
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American luxury retailer Saks Fifth Avenue will open a store at Calgary’s CF Chinook Centre in February of 2018, according to Saks President Marc Metrick. He made the announcement at Retail Council of Canada’s STORE Conference 2016 on the morning of Tuesday, May 31, in Toronto. 

Saks will replace a former Target store in the Calgary mall. Target exited that location in the spring of 2015 and before that, the 115,500 square foot space was occupied by a Zellers store. 

Saks will join Nordstrom and Hudson’s Bay as department store anchors at CF Chinook Centre. Nordstrom opened its first Canadian store in the mall in September of 2014, and Hudson’s Bay (owned by the same company as Saks) has seen interior improvements over the past couple of years, as well as the addition of more upscale brands. 

CF Chinook Centre has also become increasingly upscale in recent years, adding tenants such as Burberry, Tesla Motors, Tiffany & Co. and Kate Spade. Later this year, Ted Baker will open its first Calgary store in the mall, and more upscale tenants are expected to follow now that Saks has announced its Calgary location. 

Saks will compete fiercely with Calgary’s 150,000 square foot Holt Renfrew, which is located downtown at The CORE. Holt’s is in the process of renovating and expanding that store, including the addition of luxurious personal shopping suites and a new restaurant.  

Saks Fifth Avenue’s first Canadian stores opened in February of this year in Toronto. The 170,000 square foot CF Toronto Eaton Centre/Queen Street store opened on February 18, and a 143,000 square foot CF Sherway Gardens store followed on February 25. Hudson’s Bay Company has said that it is looking to eventually operate as many as eight full-priced Canadian Saks stores, with store announcements expected to be made for Vancouver and Montreal. 

Calgary is also confirmed to be getting at least one of Saks’ off-price Saks OFF 5TH locations, at CrossIron Mills. It will be one of about 25 Canadian Saks OFF 5TH locations, according to owner Hudson’s Bay Company. 

Sandra Aylward Named Recipient of Neighbourhood Pharmacies’ Len Marks Pharmacy Advancement Award

By
Craig Patterson
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The Neighbourhood Pharmacy Association of Canada has announced that Sandra Aylward, who has been involved in Canada’s retail pharmacy industry for more than 30 years, has been named the 2016 recipient of the Len Marks Pharmacy Advancement Award. The award will be presented at the Chairman’s Dinner, June 14, 2016, during Pharmacy EXPO 2016.

A respected voice for pharmacy and as a past Chair of the Canadian Association of Chain Drug Stores (predecessor to Neighbourhood Pharmacies), Ms. Aylward dedicated much of her time to working with associations to advance pharmacy practice, to engage with governments to improve scope of practice, as well as reimbursement models. She has also been heavily involved in negotiations with governments on pharmacy service agreements and drug pricing reform.

Ms. Aylward has left her mark across the industry nationally and has been an outstanding leader in pharmacy. By promoting the role of the pharmacist as a frontline healthcare practitioner, and by engaging elected provincial politicians, Ms. Aylward has been instrumental in expanding pharmacists’ scope of practice across the country.

At Dalhousie University, Ms. Aylward took a leadership role in encouraging pharmacy students to become informed and active in professional advocacy issues, including the expanded role pharmacists can play in healthcare today. Ms. Aylward spent much of her career with Sobeys, where she worked with the Pharmacy Association of Nova Scotia, and other professional associations in Atlantic Canada in advancing pharmacy practice, in support of The Blueprint for Pharmacy and many other campaigns to increase implementation, access and funding for pharmacy services beyond traditional dispensing.

The Len Marks Pharmacy Advancement Award recipient is: Involved in supporting the development and excellence of pharmacy education at the university level, encouraging students to enter pharmacy as a career advance the standards of healthcare delivery; provides an environment ripe for education and training for pharmacy staff to advance the standards of healthcare delivery; and, promotes pharmacy as a community resource in the provision of pharmacy services and brings the attention of government and industry partners to the valuable contribution of community pharmacy. 

Past recipients of the Len Marks Pharmacy Advancement Award include: David Windross, 2013; Russell Cohen, 2012; Barbara Wells, 2010; Albert Falardeau, 2009; and Sean McKelvey, 2008.

Neighbourhood Pharmacies represents the owners and operators of Canada’s leading drug store brands, operating in corporate chains, banners and buying groups, as well as mass merchandisers and grocery chains with pharmacies. For more information on this year’s Pharmacy Expo, visit events.neighbourhoodpharmacies.ca.

Sephora Expands Operations with ‘Takeover’ Initiative

By
Craig Patterson
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SEPHORA AT CF TORONTO EATON CENTRE. PHOTO: RETAIL INSIDER

Paris based beauty retailer Sephora (operating under the LVMH corporate umbrella) is in the process of expanding its Greater Toronto Area (GTA) operations in an effort to dominate and gain market share. Sephora’s ‘Toronto Takeover’, as it’s being called, includes new store openings as well as store renovations and expansions. 

Last week we revealed Sephora’s relocation plans for its Toronto ‘Mink Mile’ Bloor Street flagship. Bloor Street is one of Sephora’s five Toronto ‘headquarter doors’, according to a source familiar with the company. Each of these ‘headquarter’ stores is or will be in the 8,000 square foot to 10,000 square foot range when completed. The four other GTA headquarter doors include Sephora’s CF Toronto Eaton Centre, CF Sherway Gardens, Mississauga Square One and Yorkdale Shopping Centre stores. The 8,985 square foot CF Toronto Eaton Centre Sephora (which sources say is the second-highest selling Sephora location in North America) recently saw renovations, with a grand ‘re-opening’ event held last week. The CF Sherway Gardens store is seeing a 3,000 square foot expansion this summer that will bring it to about 9,000 square feet, with sales expected to increase substantially as a result. Square One’s Sephora recently saw renovations and is receiving minor retrofits, and the Yorkdale Sephora is seeing an expansion from 5,730 square feet to about 9,220 square feet that should be completed within several months, as part of Yorkdale’s expansion that will see a new Nordstrom-anchored wing open this October. 

Sephora will open a further four new GTA locations in 2016 as part of its Toronto Takeover. A location at Vaughan Mills opened on Friday of last week, and this summer Sephora will open stores at RioCan’s Yonge-Eglington Centre (one of its largest in Canada at 10,459 square feet), RioCan Oakville Place in Oakville, and at Bramalea City Centre in Brampton. 

INSIDE THE VANCOUVER ROBSON STREET FLAGSHIP THAT OPENED IN LATE 2014. PHOTO: SEPHORA

Aurora Realty Consultants represents Sephora as brokerage in Canada.  

In July of 2015, Sephora launched its Canadian ecommerce site, sephora.ca, to facilitate its growing Canadian business. Prior to that, online purchases were routed through the United States. As part of its new Canadian ecommerce initiative, Sephora retained a third party logistics provider out of Mississauga to facilitate order fulfillment in Canada. Sales have been stellar on the website, surpassed only by annual revenues at the CF Toronto Eaton Centre Sephora flagship, according to the source (the same source provided but asked us not to publicly disclose Sephora’s current/projected store sales numbers in this article).

Sephora expects about 50% of all its Canadian revenue to come out of the GTA by 2017 as part of this initiative, according to the source. Sephora now accounts for approximately 20% of the prestige beauty market in Canada, and it’s looking to gain market share from competitors as diverse as Holt Renfrew and Shoppers Drug Mart. Sephora’s Toronto Takeover is also targeted towards Millennial consumers — a hot market being courted by many companies including cosmetics brand NYX, which we will discuss soon in a separate article. 

As we mentioned last week, Sephora Americas’ President and CEO Calvin McDonald (formerly head of Sears Canada) is speaking today at this year’s Retail Council of Canada STORE Conference 2016, being held May 31 and June 1. Mr. McDonald’s presentation is titled ‘Winning in a Digital Landscape’. For details, visit: www.storeconference.ca/agenda.

Dior Opens 1st Canadian Saks Concession [Photos]

By
Craig Patterson
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Christian Dior has opened its first concession within a Canadian Saks Fifth Avenue store. The shop-in-store is located on the ground floor of Saks Queen Street at CF Toronto Eaton Centre, featuring a variety of Dior handbags, jewellery, eyewear and other accessories. 

The beautiful new space features Dior’s new store design, inspired by Dior’s Peter Marino-designed Paris flagship, from walls to flooring to chairs. Toronto’s Dior features a salon at the back that features some exclusive pieces, including bags and jewellery. 

In September, Dior will open a women’s ready-to-wear boutique on the third floor of Saks’ Toronto flagship. It will be a first for Saks in Canada, and Dior’s second Canadian ready-to-wear location, following the opening of Dior’s first freestanding Canadian store last summer in Vancouver. 

Dior also operates accessory concessions within four Holt Renfrew locations. These include Holt’s Vancouver, Toronto Bloor Street, Toronto Yorkdale Shopping Centre and Montreal locations. Dior’s Montreal shop-in-store is expected to relocate inside an expanded/combined Ogilvy/Holt Renfrew location in early 2018. 

Dior joins other luxury boutiques on the ground floor of downtown Toronto’s Saks. Prada recently opened an accessory concession on the same floor, and Louis Vuitton opened its Saks concession when the 170,000 square foot main store opened on February 18 of this year. A Piaget jewellery boutique occupies one of the spaces at the south end of the main floor. Other non-concession ground floor accessory shop-in-stores include names such as Céline, Givenchy, Bottega Veneta, Chloé, Valentino, Saint Laurent Paris, Chopard, De Grisogono and Boucheron. 

Although it opened in February, Saks’ Queen Street flagship still has more to be finished. A beauty salon will be opening soon on the store’s second level and this summer, Oliver & Bonacini‘s new 11,000 square foot three level restaurant concept ‘Leña’ will open with its own Yonge Street Entrance. Also opening this summer will be a 25,000 square foot Saks Food Hall operated by Pusateri’s Fine Foods on the store’s concourse level. 

Real-Time Communications Drives Relationships & Business

By
Retail Insider
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By: Eric Nykamp, CEO, RAANGE Inc.

Customers are demanding more from your relationship – experiences, personalization and real-time information. 

This throws all of our learned notions and tactics into the garbage. We need to look past traditional, clunky communications and marketing tactics, and focus on refined personalized communications. 

Let Customer Relationships Drive Your Business

Retailers and brands can build a full-cycle relationship with customers on the foundation of Personalized Everyday Communications.

Customer Lifecycle Management (CLM) is a strategy for managing relationships and interactions with customers: from consideration, to purchase, to loyalty. It increases the success rate of starting, growing and fostering long-term relationships. Placing Personalized Everyday Communications and Consumer Preferences at the heart of the CLM process will convert consumers into your next generation of trusted brand ambassadors. 

Connect Brick-and-Mortar to Online Channels

CLM is an omnichannel experience providing retailers and brands with quick and easy tools to attract new clients. Motivate customers to take action with real-time incentives. Build relationships with new acquisitions by connecting brick-and-mortar to online channels. Give consumers a reason to return with purposeful personalized communications and offers and deals shared in real-time. 

It’s about getting consumers the information they want, using their preferred channel of communication and delivering it at the right time. 

CLM Elements

Reach – Get Their Attention.
Communicate – Secure Them As A Client.
Engage – Build A Relationship.
Retain – Keep Them Interested & Loyal
ReCapture – Recover Opt-ed Out Contacts

The Results

Database Growth Potential
Upswing in Sales
Reduction in Opt-Out Rate
Higher Conversion Rates

RAANGE’s robust technology and offerings can implement core CLM elements into your customer experience, to improve communication touch points from consideration to purchase to loyalty.

Attending STORE 2016? Register for your sweet surprise and demo at the conference

For more information contact matt@raange.com

Nordstrom on Track for 2 Fall Store Openings

By
Craig Patterson
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Seattle-based Nordstrom is preparing to open its next two Canadian stores this fall, and the retailer has launched social media accounts for each location. As well, one of the two new stores has removed mall hoarding, revealing three separate store entrances and the facade to Nordstrom’s popular coffee bar. 

Hoarding at the mall entrance at the 220,000 square foot CF Toronto Eaton Centre Nordstrom was recently removed, revealing two store entrances as well as a facade for Nordstrom’s coffee concept, Ebar. Although hoarding is up on the exterior of the building, some parts of the store’s interior construction can be seen at night through some openings — revealing an interior that looks very similar to Nordstrom’s CallisonRTKL-designed Vancouver flagship which opened last September. Vancouver’s Nordstrom store features bright interiors with wood ceiling treatments in some areas, exposed ceilings in selected departments, and smooth white ceilings in most main areas. Both the CF Toronto Eaton Centre and Vancouver CF Pacific Centre flagships are located in former Eaton’s retail spaces (more recently occupied by large Sears stores), resulting in soaring ceiling heights, particularly on each store’s ground level. Because of the configuration of Toronto Eaton Centre along sloping Yonge Street, Nordstrom’s ground floor is technically on the mall’s third, and top retail level. 

The three level CF Toronto Eaton Centre Nordstrom flagship is scheduled to open on September 16 of this year, with a charity gala hosted by the retailer two days prior. Nordstrom’s 196,000+ square foot Yorkdale Shopping Centre location will open on October 21, and progress continues on the three level retail space that will also see a charity gala hosted two days prior to opening.

In anticipation of these store openings, and keeping consistent with social media accounts at other Canadian locations, Nordstrom has launched social media accounts for each of its CF Toronto Eaton Centre and Yorkdale stores. The CF Toronto Eaton Centre has the Twitter handle @NordstromEaton, as well as its own Facebook page (www.facebook.com/nordstromeaton) and Instagram page (www.instagram.com/nordstromeaton). The Yorkdale store also has its own social media accounts, including Twitter handle @NordstromYKD as well as Facebook (www.facebook.com/nordstromykd) and Instagram (www.instagram.com/nordstromykd). 

For those interested, Nordstrom has also begun accepting employment applications for positions at both of its new Toronto stores. For more information and to apply, visit this link. The company is hiring for about 1,600 positions in both stores, and will begin interviewing qualified candidates at the end of June. 

Nordstrom will open a third Toronto location in the fall of 2017, at CF Sherway Gardens. The store will be smaller than Nordstrom’s other two Toronto stores, measuring about 138,000 square feet. The Sherway store will anchor the mall’s south wing, which will see improvements to create clearer sight-lines from the mall’s centre court. Nordstrom will join anchors Hudson’s Bay and Saks Fifth Avenue in the mall, which recently saw the addition of a new retail wing which today, is hosting the grand opening of a new concept Indigo store. The same retail wing will see more construction later this year after Holt Renfrew closes, as part of its relocation to Mississauga’s Square One Shopping Centre this summer. 

MEC to Open 1st Tri-Cities Location

By
Craig Patterson
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Vancouver-based large format outdoor membership-based consumer cooperative MEC is continuing its Canadian store expansion with a new location in Kitchener, Ontario. The 18,000 square foot store will open at Fairway Plaza at 10 Manitou Drive in the spring of 2017, a property owned by First Capital Realty. Construction has already begun, and is expected to take about nine months to complete. 

The store will be centrally located near CF Fairview Park Mall and a future ION rapid transit station, and it will feature key elements of MEC’s renewed architectural brand, including a floating canopy at the store’s entrance. Ample wood and other natural materials will be used in the new space, which will feature a full-service bike repair and ski-tech shop as well as an equipment rental program for boats, skis and camping gear. A community meeting room will be available for use by local outdoor clubs and environmental organizations.

“The Tri-Cities is one of the fastest growing regions of Ontario, with many millennials among the area’s newcomers,” said MEC CFO Sandy Treagus. These are young, active tech-savvy individuals who we believe are well-disposed to MEC’s unique retail offering. We are keen to welcome new and existing Tri-Cities members to MEC’s ‘tent’,” he added.

Kitchener will be MEC’s seventh Ontario store location, following the opening of a large location in Toronto’s North York. The company is also relocating its London, Ontario store to a larger premises. MEC’s downtown Toronto location will also be relocated to busy Queen Street West in 2018. 

MEC is seeing considerable success in Canada. Sales topped $350 million for the first time in 2015, while more than 225,000 new members joined its membership fold. Formerly known as ‘Mountain Equipment Co-op’, MEC boasts over 4 million Canadian members and 18 storefronts. The company donates 1% of revenues ($3.4 million donated in 2015) to Canadian non-profit organizations that help conserve ecologically and recreationally important areas.

2016 International Retail Design Conference (IRDC) to be Held in Montréal on September 13-15

By
Retail Insider
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Registration is now underway for VMSD Magazine’s 2016 International Retail Design Conference (IRDC), taking place September 13-15 at Le Westin Montréal in Montréal. It’s the 16th year for the very popular event, and there’s a $350 savings off the regular individual registration rate available through June 1. 

Montreal is the third Canadian city to host IRDC, following successful events in Toronto in 2010 and Vancouver in 2013. “One of the many interesting dynamics we’ll explore during this year’s conference is the mutual desire on the part of both Canadian and U.S. retailers and designers to learn from each other’s expertise,” said conference chair Jennifer Acevedo, Editor-in-Chief, VMSD. “We will navigate consumer trends, shopping behaviour and desires in their home countries. And, though we are close in proximity, the distinct cultures of these two nations are critical to comprehend for those hoping for success in either (or both).”
 
IRDC 2016 includes several sessions related specifically to Canadian retail, including: 
 
Breakout Session: “Trading spaces: Crafting a seamless experience that blurs the lines between the physical store and the online retail”

This panel discussion, moderated by Aedifica’s Stéphane Bernier, will compare how two local Montreal-based retail brands–Aldo Shoes, a 40-year-old retail brand with stores in 57 countries, and Bon Look, a young startup online brand–have each crafted an omnichannel retail experience that blurs the line between virtual and physical. Discussion will include how it has impacted their new store designs, and what role the physical retail store can play in building customer relationships and gaining the consumer’s trust in an omnichannel environment.
 
Breakout Session: “Maison Birks: How can a luxury retail brand engage with Millennials?”

Founded in 1879, Maison Birks is an iconic Canadian luxury jewelry brand. Under the leadership of CEO Jean-Christophe Bedos, the retailer has undertaken a vast reengineering of its brand, its collections and its identity to develop a new modern, young and refreshing expression while staying true to its long-standing heritage of luxury and craftsmanship. Hear about the process that was developed to define the brand’s new retail approach. Learn what luxury retail can offer to a vastly younger demographic, leveraging their need for interaction, storytelling and authenticity.

IRDC 2016 will also feature keynote speakers and other presenters, as well as a wide range of sessions, from professional development and management  to technology. 
 
Opening Keynote Speaker, riCardo Crespo: riCardo Crespo is best known in the creative/design+branding industries as a creative ronin, driven by the applied ethos of intelligently provoking and delivering against a brand’s promise through innovative thought leadership and compelling communication. As a globally seasoned and celebrated executive creative, he continues to deliver his passion for excellence to many high-profile retail brands through his integrated strategic plans and one-voice branded communications. 
 
Closing Keynote Speaker: Welby Altidor, Executive Creative Director, Cirque du Soleil, titled: “Creative Courage: Challenge the Status Quo and Make Big Ideas Happen”: Welby Altidor is a firm believer that, whether we realize it or not, we all have access to a unique creative genius in all of us. It takes courage—creative courage—to welcome and unleash that inner force. Drawing on his experiences as Director of Creation for Cirque du Soleil’s hit Las Vegas show Michael Jackson ONE, Altidor focuses on engagement, motivation, focus, authenticity, and leadership. There are no dumb ideas, he says, just platforms to build upon. We have to give everyone a voice, and collaborate to access an idea’s full potential. We should seek feedback early—essentially scheduling failure—to improve. Businesses and organizations need to be more creative and innovative, he argues—and a creative mindset can help us solve problems, challenge the status quo, and be more successful than ever.

For more information on IRDC 2016 and to register, please visit: irdconline.com. 

Canada Goose to Open 1st Freestanding Store

By
Craig Patterson
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YORKDALE STORE. RENDERING VIA CANADA GOOSE

Popular Canadian cold weather outerwear brand Canada Goose will open its first permanent freestanding store in October at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre. The Toronto store will be one of two initially for the brand, with another location set to open in New York City’s Soho area in November. 

Canada Goose will occupy almost 4,500 square feet at Yorkdale’s new Nordstrom wing, which is scheduled to open on October 18 of this year. Nordstrom, itself, is scheduled to open on October 21, with an in-store charity gala to be held two days prior. 

Canada Goose will be located next to Nordstrom’s mall entrance in the expansion wing, as per the lease planS below, via Oxford Properties. 

Yorkdale’s Canada Goose store will join a number of other recently revealed retailers for the 300,000 square foot, $331 million expansion wing. Japanese retailer Uniqlo will occupy about 24,000 square feet at the north end of the new wing, alongside locations for Muji, Mackage, Strellson, Wolford and others. 

Farla Efros, President of leading retail consultancy HRC Advisory, praised the new store location but cautioned about potential brand over-saturation. “Clearly Yorkdale continues to amaze with the lineup of new stores, and they keep coming” she said, noting that Canada Goose’s location in the mall is strategic, given its proximity to Nordstrom which is expected to drive considerable traffic. She noted that Canada Goose owner Bain & Company has grown and differentiated the Canada Goose brand through capital investment, carving out a niche both in Canada as well as internationally. Ms Efros noted that the new store might best serve Canada Goose as a marketing and testing tool for the brand — though unless product is somehow differentiated from wholesale accounts, Canada Goose could risk saturating/cannibalizing its own sales, particularly as it’s also carried at nearby retailers such as Holt Renfrew, Harry Rosen and possibly Nordstrom when it opens at Yorkdale this fall. 

Toronto-based Style Democracy first reported in February that according to one of its tipsters, Canada Goose will open at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre. They confirmed the tip via an application to the city of Toronto. We were asked not to report on the matter at the time, though it now appears to be public information as Canada Goose provided an interview to the Globe & Mail and Women’s Wear Daily on the new Toronto store. According to the Globe article, more locations could follow in markets “where there are large concentrations of Canada Goose fans”, according to CEO Dani Reiss. 

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