Winnipeg’s first H&M store will be located on the first level of Winnipeg’s Polo Park shopping centre. The 25,000 square foot store will be located off the mall’s Centre Court in a wing anchored by Hudson’s Bay. The floorplan below illustrates its location.
At 25,000 square feet, Polo Park’s H&M will also be one of Canada’s largest H&M stores. As a comparison, the largest Canadian H&M store measures 33,057 square feet at the Toronto Eaton Centre. The second-largest is Vancouver’s 31,437 square foot Pacific Centre store.
More on Holt Renfrew's new Bloor Street men's store
More details have been revealed about the new Holt Renfrew men’s store that will replace Roots at 100 Bloor Street West in Toronto. Holt Renfrew President Mark Derbyshire provided an interview to Women’s Wear Daily, and we’ll summarize the details.
The new Holt Renfrew men’s store is expected to open in the fall of 2014, and it will be about 14,000 square feet over two levels. It will utilize some of the innovations introduced in the new men’s store at Holt Renfrew’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre location, including a men’s lounge. In the Yorkdale store, the lounge (appropriately called ‘The Lounge’) features a black BMW motorcycle and foosball table. Services provided include free straight-razor shaves on vintage barbershop chairs, and free shoe shines. And despite what Women’s Wear Daily says about Holt Renfrew having no plans for any additional freestanding men’s stores, we’ve heard otherwise from sources within the company.
Mark Derbyshire is quoted as saying: “The stand-alone men’s shop will be a classic sartorial store and supports our growth plans to further enhance our luxury men’s wear and Holt Renfrew’s presence on Bloor Street — the destination for luxury.”
Sources tell us that H&M‘s upscale label ‘COS‘ is seeking Canadian retail space for free-standing COS stores. It has looked at several retail spaces on Toronto’s Bloor Street, though we’ve been told that no deals have been signed at this time. Sources tell us that Vancouver and Montreal are also on the list for possible new stores, while Edmonton and other Canadian cities may soon follow.
For those unfamiliar, COS is H&M’s upscale label offering higher-end materials and more ‘classic’ designs. COS’ designs have been compared to higher-priced fashion labels Marni, Jil Sander and Céline. Launched by Swedish apparel giant H&M in 2007, COS stands for ‘Collection of Style’. Its first store outside of Europe opened in June of 2013. COS currently has 82 stores worldwide and appears to be expanding aggressively as it has recently signed leases to open stores in the United States and Australia. Its first American location will open this April in New York’s Soho district.
We’ll update you when we learn the location of COS’ first Canadian store.
We’re currently working on our new website and fixing a few minor glitches. We’ll be back Tuesday, February 18th, with new article content. Thank you for your patience.
Happy Family Day to readers in Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan.
This weekend, we’ve teamed up with retailer Mathers & Co. to bring you an exclusive stock sale for Retail Insider readers only. Mathers & Co. is a philanthropic clothing brand based out of Vancouver and it was founded by 20-year-old Damien Mathers. With a tagline like “threads for humanity,” the aim of the brand is to help raise funds through the sale of its products. Proceeds directly benefit the philanthropic ideas and/or charities voted on by customers.
Mathers & Co. is a new company with an ambitious vision. We’re sure they would appreciate your support. If you would like to be part of their initiative, you may participate in their sale at the link below.
In an ambitious plan that took just a week to complete, 11 of Overwaitea Food Group‘s 16 PriceSmart Foods stores in British Columbia have been converted to the Save-on-Foods banner. The announcement was officially made on February 6th and the conversion is scheduled to be completed by today (Friday, February 14th, 2014).
The company will re-focus its PriceSmart Foods brand in its remaining five stores in British Columbia: Vancouver (two locations), Richmond, Surrey (the ‘Fleetwood’ store) and Coquitlam. These five locations will remain PriceSmart Foods stores, which will position the PriceSmart Foods banner “for future growth and evolution with a continued dual-focus on offering a low price platform with market-specific international food offerings” according to company press release.
Sobeys Inc. has signed deals to sell 30 of its stores in Western Canada for approximately $430 million. Sobeys purchased Canada Safeway in June of 2013. The Competition Bureau required Sobeys to sell 23 of its stores prior to granting approval for its Safeway purchase.
According to Sobeys, Overwaitea and the Federated Co-operatives chain have received approval from the Competition Bureau and Sobeys anticipates the deals will close in March or early April. The sale of the Winnipeg Price Chopper store is subject to finalization of an agreement, as well as approval from the Competition Bureau.
Overwaitea has agreed to purchase the following 15 store locations:
Safeway: 2345 Beacon Avenue, Sidney, BC
Safeway: 1950 Foul Bay Road, Victoria, BC
Safeway: 3958 Shelbourne Street, Victoria, BC
Safeway: 1143 – 56 Street, Tsawwassen, BC
Safeway: 131 Signal Road, Fort McMurray, AB
Sobeys: 1000 Railway Avenue, Canmore, AB
Sobeys: 65 Bow Street, Cochrane, AB
Thrifty Foods: 270 East Columbia Street, New Westminster, BC
Safeway* 3756 – 10 Avenue, Port Alberni, BC
Safeway* 610 – 6th Street, New Westminster, BC
Safeway* 181 Trans-Canada Highway, Duncan, BC
Safeway* 108 – 3170 Tillicum Road, Victoria, BC
Safeway* 370 Trans-Canada Highway, Ladysmith, BC
Thrifty Foods* 18888 North Parallel Road, Abbotsford, BC
Thrifty Foods* 2000 Island Highway, Nanaimo, BC
* Additional stores not included in October Consent Agreement
Co-op has agreed to purchase the following 14 store locations:
Sources tell us that Eataly will open its first Canadian food concept in Toronto, likely in the city’s Yorkville area. Steph Chiu has written this analytical piece about Eataly and how it will affect local food retail if it opens in Yorkville.
By Steph Chiu
Yorkville is a popular destination in downtown Toronto, known for its upscale shopping, restaurants, and hotels. Gourmet grocery stores have also emerged in recent years as consumers have started to demand higher-quality food products. Currently, shoppers in the area can visit
Pusateri’s Fine Foods (57 Yorkville Avenue), the Bloor Street Market (Manulife Centre, 55 Bloor Street West) or Whole Foods Market (Hazelton Lanes, 87 Avenue Road) for all their grocery needs. However, consumers will soon have a fourth option to choose from: Eataly, a new Italian food concept coming in the near future to the Yorkville district.
Eataly is an Italian food market that first opened in Turin, Italy in 2007. Eataly was founded on Oscar Farinetti’s desire to combine elements of a lively, open environment with a learning centre to create a unique atmosphere where anyone could shop, taste, and learn about high-quality Italian foods.
Eataly goes beyond the traditional shopping experience and offers more than your average fine grocery retailer. Inspired by the European food-hall concept, its massive stores are populated with tasting areas and gourmet restaurants to complement the upscale food offerings. The intention is for customers to taste the artisan products, learn about them from educated staff, and then buy the ingredients to recreate Eataly’s restaurant food at home, at fair prices.
Not only do Eataly stores have dedicated departments for nearly every category of food imaginable (including unique departments like Chicago’s Nutella bar), they also offer a variety of unique classes that range from cooking lessons to wine tastings.
TYPICAL EATALY STORE INTERIOR
Overall, Eataly boasts 27 locations around the globe, with stores in Italy, Japan, the United States, Dubai, and Turkey. Eataly only recently entered the North American market with its two stores in the United States: a 50,000 sq. ft. emporium in New York City, and an even bigger 63,000 sq. ft. landmark in Chicago. The NYC store has quickly become one of the most visited tourist sites in the city and achieved nearly $70 million in sales in its first year alone. The larger Chicago location, with over 10,000 products and 23 eateries, was so popular in its first week that it had to shut down
because it ran out of food. Crowds continue to populate both stores daily, eager for a taste of the unparalleled gastronomic experience. If the success of these two stores is any indication, Eataly’s arrival in Toronto will likely be just as well-received.
The Eataly Chicago map shows just how big and extensive the store is in both size and product offerings
As we mentioned above, Eataly’s entrance into the Yorkville district will put it in direct competition with Pusateri’s and Whole Foods (and to a lesser extent the Bloor Street Market and local Rabba grocery outlets). But how do they compare to Eataly ?
Pusateri’s Fine Foods is a Toronto-based family business known for leading the revolution in fine foods in Toronto, opening its first store in 1986 on Avenue Road. Its stores offer an extensive selection of products from around the world, including their renowned olive oil bar, and are designed to resemble a European marketplace in ambiance. There are currently three Pusateri’s locations in Toronto: Avenue Road, Yorkville, and Bayview Village.
Whole Foods Market is a well-known chain of grocery stores that originated in Austin, Texas in 1980. Whole Foods is a purveyor of fine natural and organic foods and has strict quality standards for the foods it allows to be sold in its stores (for example, Whole Foods does not sell anything containing ingredients named on its “Unacceptable Ingredients for Food” list). The store design resembles a standard grocery store environment, but with a higher-quality selection. The chain expanded to Canada in 2002. There are now 371 locations worldwide, with stores in the United States (355), Canada (8), and the United Kingdom (8). Whole Foods expects to open another 40 Canadian stores in the coming years.
In comparing the two grocery stores to Eataly’s store concept, it would appear that Eataly has the edge with its comprehensive value proposition. While all three are very comparable in product quality and variety, neither Pusateri’s nor Whole Foods have added services like restaurants and classes, and the atmosphere inside an Eataly store is undeniably unique. Consumers will no doubt be intrigued by what Eataly has to offer.
We are very excited for Eataly’s imminent arrival in Toronto, which we predict will cause quite a disturbance in the growing luxury grocery scene. Although further details cannot yet be released, stay tuned for more updates on this developing story and to find out exactly when and where it will be located.
Industry note:
The specialty food industry in Canada has been growing rapidly in the last decade, with 7.5% growthfrom 2012 to 2013 according to Stats Canada , making it the fastest-growing segment in food and beverage retail. Although the definition of ‘specialty food’ varies considerably, from “anything that is above average in quality or price” to “products that exemplify quality and innovation…often made by small manufacturers, artisans, and entrepreneurs,” it is clear that this is a distinct and emerging segment of the grocery industry. 2012 reportby Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada outlined consumer trends in healthy, natural, and unique products, driven by increasing ethnic diversity, as key reasons for the growth in specialty foods. Specifically in the gourmet and artisan food space, demand continues to grow as consumers become more affluent as well as interested and informed about their food choices.
Roots has confirmed new leases for two flagship stores in Toronto and one in Vancouver, and it is committing several million dollars in major renovations to these stores. A third flagship on Toronto’s Bloor Street West will relocate.
According to lease plans, the Toronto Eaton Centre Roots store is 7,665 square feet. It enjoys a high-profile location adjacent to a mall entrance, and it will neighbour the mall’s flagship Nordstrom store which is scheduled to open in the fall of 2016.
Roots’ Vancouver flagship store. Photo: Google Streetview screenshot
“We’re particularly excited about these three flagship stores,” says Roots co-founder Michael Burdman. “Each one provides an ideal showcase of the entire Roots brand for both our Canadian customers and the many foreign tourists who visit our stores in Toronto and Vancouver. Despite the phenomenal growth of our online business in recent years, our retail stores remain the ultimate, defining experience of our company.”
The new Bloor Street store will replace its former 15,000 square foot flagship, located a block west. The store’s 6,500 sq. ft. layout is “more ideally suited to the needs of Roots in the Bloor-Yorkville area, Canada’s preeminent shopping district,” according to the press release. It opens in May, 2014.
At the Eaton Centre in downtown Toronto, Roots will reportedly conduct a major renovation of its multi-level store, known as ‘Roots Central’. In Vancouver, Roots will be expanding and renovating its Robson St. flagship store. We’re awaiting further details of the Vancouver expansion and we’ll report more shortly.
Interestingly, Roots is also enjoying significant growth in Asia. Thanks to a partnership with Taiwan-based partner, Branded Lifestyle, Roots now has 118 stores in Taiwan and China. Branded Lifestyle plans an extensive retail expansion for Roots in Asian to take place over the next three years.
