Popular British fashion brand Ted Baker will open its fourth full-priced Canadian location at Toronto’s Sherway Gardens. Remarkably, it will be the third Baker location for Toronto, making Toronto one of only three North American cities featuring three or more Ted Baker stores. 

Urban Toronto‘s ACT7 directed us to this City of Toronto Application for the new store, which will locate alongside popular brands such as Tiffany & Co., Tory Burch, Aritzia, Stuart Weitzman and others. 

Toronto will join New York City and Las Vegas as North America’s only cities housing three or more free-standing Ted Baker stores. 

In June, Ted Baker will open its third Canadian location at Vancouver’s Pacific Centre. It will be Baker’s first Canadian location outside of the Greater Toronto Area. Sources say that a Ted Baker Outlet may also open this summer at Vancouver’s McArthurGlen Designer Outlets. 

Ted Baker’s first Canadian location opened in October of 2012 in the newest expansion of Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre. The roughly 3,200 square foot store is across the hall from the recently expanded Holt Renfrew store. Ted Baker’s second Canadian location opened last November at Toronto Eaton Centre – spanning an impressive 3,800 square feet. Ted Baker’s only Canadian outlet store opened in August of 2013 at the Toronto Premium Outlets.

Ted Baker’s two full-priced Toronto locations carry both men’s and women’s ready-to-wear as well as footwear, accessories, and other Ted Baker products. Its Toronto Eaton Centre location takes the concept one step further, featuring a layout reflecting that of a British shopping arcade, complete with an umbrella shop, watchmaker, optician, jeweller, perfumery and tea shop.

Saks Fifth Avenue has launched a Canadian website, featuring renderings of its first two Canadian stores. Although the website is fairly minimal, it provides a glamorous web presence for the retailer’s Canadian brick-and-mortar entry, expected as early as next February. 

Featuring Canadian supermodel Coco Rocha, the Canadian Saks site provides renderings of Saks stores at Toronto Eaton Centre and at Toronto’s Sherway Gardens. Both locations are currently under construction. 

Saks’ 150,000 square foot Toronto Eaton Centre store will span four levels on the eastern side of the Queen Street Hudson’s Bay building Its concourse level will feature a 25,000 square foot grocery floor to be operated by Pusateri’s Fine Foods, while its top three levels will be dedicated to fashion and accessories. We recently wrote an extensive article on how the store will be configured, including a ground-floor restaurant and valet parking on Richmond Street. 

Saks’ 130,000 square foot Sherway Gardens store will be located in part of the retail space formerly occupied by Sears. We’re awaiting further details on the store’s layout, and it’s confirmed that Pusateri’s Fine Foods will also operate a roughly 25,000 square foot grocery department at Saks’ Sherway location. 

Saks has also started advertising management jobs for Saks in Canada. All are in Toronto. 

We’ll continue to update you as we learn more about Saks Fifth Avenue’s Canadian store expansion. 

Despite recent press reporting on numerous Canadian retail store closures and bankruptcies, some retailers are experiencing considerable success. Exceptional customer service is key, as is an integrated cross-channel customer digital and off-line strategy. Retail expert Antony Karabus, CEO of HRC Advisory, a leading retail consulting firm, recently discussed the topic on BNN in the video above.

Mr. Karabus discussed the importance of having a ‘tight’ relationship with customers, while understanding exactly how each customer wishes to interact with the retailer. Exceptional customer service, well-located stores, strong product knowledge, and ease of transaction are key. Mr. Karabus specifically mentioned Lululemon, The Running Room, Canadian Tire, and Harry Rosen as standing out. 

Mr. Karabus discussed Canadian Tire, which he says is probably Canada’s most iconic retailer. Canadian Tire stores are well-located and the brand has worked with the Olympics and Skate Canada, for example, to build brand awareness and create a “key bond” with Canadians. Canadian Tire’s convenience, breadth of product, and top-of-mind awareness has contributed to its exceptional sales growth, he said. 

Mr. Karabus discussed upscale menswear retailer Harry Rosen, and what makes it successful. Mr. Karabus said that trust is key for the male luxury consumer, and Harry Rosen has created it through often multi-decade relationships, as well as offering a lifetime maintenance guarantee on its products.

Mr. Karabus went on to discuss social media and online retail, and how it’s critical for retailers to communicate in the way that customers want, and to be where their customers are. Canadian consumers are increasingly online and millennials, especially, are on social media. Mr. Karabus said that a retailer catering to tweens millennials need to be “ferociously” on social media such as Instagram, for example, to engage with consumers who are already there. 

Speaking to the topic of smaller retailers, Mr. Karabus indicated that he feels strongly that they can effectively compete with behemoths such as Walmart and Amazon.ca with personalized communications regarding merchandise from brands that the boutique owner knows the specific customer prefers. He said that although smaller retailers may not be able to compete with Walmart on price, for example, boutiques would be well served to let customers know when a new product will arrive, tailoring the message to the customer’s preferences. ‘One-to-one’ relationship building can differentiate smaller retailers from Walmart, for example, which is focused on mass appeal not one-on-one service. 

About our Expert: 

Antony Karabus is CEO of HRC Advisory, a leading retail advisory firm. He has advised retailers on strategic and financial performance issues for over 25 years and has assisted numerous North American retailers to create significant shareholder value during this time. Mr. Karabus has advised numerous national retail chains in key sectors, including department store, specialty apparel and hard lines, big box, and grocery. He can be reached at akarabus@hilcoglobal.com.