CHANEL Opening at Yorkdale Mall in Toronto

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November 16, 2012

A Chanel Boutique will open inside of an expanded Holt Renfrew at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre. We’ve been told that the boutique will include women’s ready-to-wear, bags/accessories, jewelry and shoes. New Prada and Gucci shops will also open inside of the newly expanded Holt’s.

We previously reported that Holt Renfrew in Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre would be expanding to over 120,000 square feet. A new second-level is currently under construction and will include a new men’s floor with its own entrance.

Thank you, again, Adam Zendel for the photo and tip. He has an interesting twitter account and we follow him. It’s: @adamzendel. We are also posting a link to his Toronto Star blog: http://thestar.blogs.com/yourcitymycity/author-adam-zendel and his twitter: @adamzendel

We will update you on Yorkdale’s Holt Renfrew expansion as we receive more information.

CHANEL website: www.chanel.com

Holt Renfrew website: www.holtrenfrew.com

Yorkdale Shopping Centre website: www.yorkdale.com

Harry Rosen Doubling the Size of its Toronto Yorkdale Store

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Retail Insider

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November 16, 2012

Harry Rosen Doubling the Size of its Toronto Yorkdale Store

Harry Rosen will expand its current Yorkdale Shopping Centre store to almost 32,000 square feet by November 2013. This will be more than double the size of their current 15,026 square foot Yorkdale store.

It will be the second-largest Harry Rosen store in the chain after its 55,000 square foot Tororonto Bloor Street flagship, and will surpass the size of the 30,500 square foot Calgary Core store (opened Oct 2008), currently its second-largest.

Several new designers will be included at the expanded Harry’s. The Yorkdale Harry Rosen store does some of the highest per-square-foot sales in the chain, surpassing those of its flagship Toronto Bloor Street store.

Harry Rosen will spend about $100million adding about 150,000 square feet to its current 16-store chain by 2017. It is in expansion mode to compete with competitors Holt Renfrew and soon-to-arrive Nordstrom.

Harry Rosen Yorkdale. Image: http://explorecanadalikealocal.com

We’ll update you when we get more details. In the mean time, if you’re in Toronto, check out the 145,000 square foot Yorkdale mall expansion that we previously reported.

We just got a new email address. Got any retail insider info? Please feel free to send it our way: insider@retail-insider.com

Harry Rosen website: www.harryrosen.com

Yorkdale Shopping Centre website: www.yorkdale.com

First-Look at Hudson’s Bay’s Interior ‘New-Look’

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Retail Insider

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November 15, 2012

Hudson's Bay Yorkdale, jewelry dept. Image: Adam Zendel

Canada’s Hudson’s Bay stores are renovating with a ‘new look’. Substantial renovations have been underway at its Vancouver and Toronoto stores. Both flagships are still incomplete, while some interesting upgrades have been made to its Yorkdale Shopping Centre store in suburban Toronto.

Check out the store’s new jewelry department, image above. The look is clean, modern and elegant. Expect similar jewelry departments at Hudson’s Bay stores across Canada in the next couple of years.

We have been told that the new-build Oakridge Shopping Centre Hudson’s Bay store (in Vancouver BC) will adopt a similar look, while the Vancouver and Toronto flagship stores will see similar jewelry department designs for Spring/Summer 2013. We recently posted an article about the Oakridge expansion, including an entirely newly-built Hudson’s Bay store.

The image below shows an upgraded shoe salon and women’s contemporary clothing area. Again, a clean and modern look is highlighted with upgraded lighting and ceiling treatments.

Hudson’s Bay Yorkdale, women’s contemporary/shoes. Image: Adam Zendel

The photo below shows an upgraded women’s contemporary designer floor. The ceilings are smooth and modern, and we have been told that they will eventually upgrade all floor tiles from what you see currently at the forefront of this image.

Hudson’s Bay Yorkdale, women’s contemporary. Image: Adam Zendel

The three photos we used were taken by Adam Zendel. He has an interesting twitter account and we follow him. It’s: @adamzendel. We are also posting a link to his Toronto Star blog, below

We will continue watching Hudson’s Bay’s design strategy with interest. Hudson’s Bay’s interiors appear to be more modern than those seen at Nordstrom.

Hudson’s Bay website: www.TheBay.com

Adam Zendel’s Toronto Star blog: http://thestar.blogs.com/yourcitymycity/author-adam-zendel and twitter: @adamzendel

Yorkdale Mall Expansion Opens November 16th, Including Wayne Gretzky

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Craig Patterson

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November 13, 2012

On Friday, November 16th, the 145,000 square foot addition to Torotno’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre opens to the public. It reportedly cost $185 millon to build and will house first-in-Canada stores for Kate Spade, Ted Baker, Tesla Motors, Ann Taylor Loft and The Microsoft Store.

Holt Renfrew will also be expanded, as we previously reported. It will be one of Holt’s largest stores at about 120,000 square feet. The Holt’s expansion will open early 2013.

Wayne Gretzky and two other pro hockey players will be in attendance. According to The Toronto Star:

“The line will open at 2 p.m. for an opportunity to play Xbox Kinect with Wayne Gretzky at 6 p.m. at the Microsoft store (details at Microsoft’s Facebook page). The first 200 customers in line for the store, which opens at 9:15 a.m., will also receive two wristbands to attend the Microsoft concert, featuring the band Train, on Nov. 17 at 5 p.m. on the Yorkdale upper level parking deck, and will meet the band. The next 1,500 in line will get tickets to the show.”

Yorkdale Shopping Centre (Image: JPRA Architects)

NHL hockey legend Johnny Bower will meet customers at the Scotiabank Branch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Maple Leafs goalie James Reimer will be in attendance from 6 to 8 p.m.”

Other new retailers opening Friday include: Rolex @ Raffi Jewelers, Anthropologie, Best Buy Mobile, David’s Tea, JOEY Yorkdale Grill & Lounge, L’Occitane, Papyrus, Ta-ze, and Wilfred Boutique. Stores already in Yorkdale that will be moving into the new space include Apple, Bell, Bluenotes, Champs, Club Monaco, Hugo Boss, Lacoste, Lululemon, Mappins Jewelers, Scotiabank, Starbucks and TELUS.

Yorkdale Shopping Centre (Image: Oxford Properties)

Yorkdale has seen some significantly upscale new tenants join its retail roster, including Cartier, Burberry and Tiffany & Co.. We can expect more upscale tenant announcements in the coming months.

Yorkdale Shopping Centre website: www.yorkdale.ca

Toronto Star article: http://www.thestar.com/living/fashion/article/1286952–yorkdale-mall-enlists-wayne-gretzky-and-the-band-train-to-promote-expansion

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Vancouver’s TopShop/TopMan to Sell $25-30million in First Year, Opening Party Costs Almost $1million

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Retail Insider

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November 13, 2012

TopShop/TopMan Granville Street entrance, Hudson's Bay store, Vancouver BC. Image: Hudson's Bay

A retail analyst informs us that Vancouver’s 33,000 square foot TopShop/TopMan store is expected to ring-in $25-30million in its first year of business. The store is located on the basement level of Vancouver’s Downtown Hudson’s Bay store, and it includes its own dedicated Granville Street entrance.

Hudson’s Bay has opened TopShop stores at its Yorkdale Shopping Centre (15,000 sq ft) and flagship Queen Street W. store (19,000 sq ft). The Yorkdale store pulled-in about $11million during its first 12-months of operation.

TopShop/TopMan had an opening party on October 17th 2012 including a performance by Canadian rock indie group Metric. The party cost about $990,000 and of that, $300,000 was paid to Metric for their rather brief performance. Money well spent?

TopShop/Topman website: www.topshop.com

Hudson’s Bay website: www.TheBay.com

Upscale Mall Planned For Toronto’s Current Globe and Mail Headquarters

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Retail Insider

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November 9, 2012

Today we got word that a “unique and upscale” 500,000 square foot shopping centre is planned for the site currently occupied by Toronto’s Globe & Mail (newspaper) headquarters. The project would also include residential and office components, as well as a smaller hotel.

As we reported earlier, The Toronto Eaton Centre’s non-anchor square footage is 582,000 square feet (excluding Sears, Canadian Tire and Best Buy).

Toronto’s Globe & Mail will move into a newly-built building at the corner of Front Street West and Spadina Avenue. This will leave a large site to be redeveloped as described above.

We have been told that the developer will court a variety of retailers, both local and international. It will be targeted as being ‘upscale’, though we have been provided few details about possible retailers at this time.We received this information from a broker involved in a deal where Riocan Trust and Allied Properties REIT are finalizing a deal to purchase the current Globe & Mail site, shown on the map above. Once finalized, a development proposal will be presented to Toronto City Hall.

This is the second recently-announced shopping centre for Downtown Toronto. Earlier we reported on the proposed Oxford Place near Toronto’s CN Tower.

Keep watching Retail Insider for updates. We’ve got the inside scoop on this exciting development!

Van Cleef and Arpels Opening Toronto Boutique

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Retail Insider

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November 8, 2012

Birks at Toronto Manulife Centre, Bloor Street. Image: 80bloorstreetwest.com

*UPDATE: Van Cleef & Arpels at Birks is now open: March 3rd, 2013*

Van Cleef & Arpels will open a branded-boutique inside Toronto’s Manulife Centre Birks Jewellers at 55 Bloor Street West. Construction will start soon. Birks has carried Van Cleef & Arpels in Toronto since 2005 and has finally decided to open a properly-branded Toronto boutique.

The Toronto Van Cleef & Arpels will be a small ‘jewel box’ of a store and will include Van Cleef’s newly-initiated darker-look interior (see image below of the Galeries Lafayette shop-in-store). The shop will include both jewellery and time pieces.

The Toronto Van Cleef & Arpels will be located on the ground-floor within the current two-level, 15,620 square foot Birks store. Birks is located in space B2 (ground-floor, as well as below) of this Manulife Centre floorplan below:

Birks has had a small Van Cleef & Arpels-dedicated shop in its 20,221 square foot Vancouver store since 2005. Birks also opened a branded Roberto Coin inside of Vancouver’s Four Seasons Hotel in October of 2011 and may open a free-standing Van Cleef & Arpels in Downtown Vancouver mid-2013. We’ll announce the proposed location shortly.

Van Cleef & Arpels Shop-in-Store. Image: Galeries Lafayette Paris

Watch our website, as Birks Jewellers will be opening other small branded luxury jewelry/watch shops in Canada. We’ll be doing our homework and posting on Retail Insider’s website, Twitter and Facebook page.

Birks website: http://www.birksandmayors.com
Manulife Centre website: www.manulifecentre.com

Sears Canada Re-Brands

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Retail Insider

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November 8, 2012

Sears Canada president and CEO Calvin MacDonald describes his vision for merchandising. A store is a “stage for products.” Photo by Vicki Gilhula.

Yesterday Sears Canada presented its rebranding strategy. It includes a modified Sears logo and a new marketing campaign including the commercial above. We’re not sure if Sears will win-over Canadians but we applaud their efforts. We think Sears would do best by surrendering their ‘better mall’ leases for Nordstrom (with ample compensation) and we’ll leave that decision to their CEO who is busy overhauling the company.

We are posting text from The Toronto Star:

“Sears Canada launches dramatic new rebrand

TheStar.com
Francine Kopun
Business Reporter
7 November 2012

Sears Canada launched a bouncy new rebrand on Wednesday morning, aimed at wooing back old customers and winning new ones using a mix of nostalgia and emotion.

The new tag line is Make Every Day a Great Day, and plants Sears firmly in the space discount retailer Target hopes to occupy when it opens its first stores in Canada in the spring.

The new campaign uses humour and emotion to reach out to customers.

Sears is celebrating 60 years in Canada. The new commercial features snippets of home movies submitted by Sears associates and plays on the relationship Sears has enjoyed in Canada as a general merchandise department store, selling everything from lawnmowers to lingerie, hockey sticks, hula hoops and bar stools.

The Sears logo isn’t revealed until the end of the ad, after a question pops up on the screen: “Today is a gift. What will you do with it?”

“When we started thinking about how we were going to refresh our position and talk to our customers, we really started with looking at what we sell,” said CEO Calvin McDonald, who took over the faltering retailer in 2011.

“We sell more wants than needs. What wants deliver is inspiration and emotion, happiness, and that was really the emotion we focused on for our brand and tag line.

“A lawnmower isn’t about cutting grass, it’s about making a soccer field . . . a toaster isn’t just a toaster, it makes a great morning.”

McDonald said he wanted to make the tag line a rallying cry for associates for delivering great service to customers.

The Sears logo will remain basically the same, although the blue has been lightened and a new font, designed uniquely for the rebrand, will replace the older one.

McDonald rolled out the new brand to associates at the Sears Eaton Centre location on Wednesday morning before the store opened for business.

Target has built strong success in the U.S. by focusing on a bright and fun customer experience and great prices for unique goods.

“I think this is a very different campaign, and very different position and tone. The tag is different, the tone, humour and emotion is different. Our service model is different, I think our value proposition is different,” said McDonald.

The campaign was created by the Unitas Reputation Agency, which began working with Sears in May.”

Sears Canada website: www.sears.ca

Upscale Vancouver Airport Outlet Mall to be Located on Skytrain Line

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Retail Insider

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November 8, 2012

Initial rendering of the 'Town Square' at Richmond BC's proposed McArthurGlen outlet. Image: Vancouver Airport Authority

Today it was announced that the proposed McArthurGlen outlet mall near Vancouver International Airport would be located within close proximity of the Templeton Skytrain station. This is a location change from a previously proposed centre further south on the Airport’s island. The proposed centre’s design and size is expected to change somewhat as well.

We have yet to see the new McArthurGlen designs as we have been told that they are ‘still in the works’. A phone call to the McArthurGlen London (England) headquarters was not returned at press time. We spoke to a prominent Toronto retail analyst who speculates the mall will include both ‘larger format’ as well as traditional outlet boutiques.

A representative at the Vancouver Airport Authority notes that it is unclear at this time what size the centre will be. Initially the proposal was for about 350,000 square feet, and we have been told that this new site could include up to a half-million square feet of retail as a new proposal is made to the Airport Authority for approval.

We got curious about the possibility of McAurthurGlen having a Nordstrom Rack. We called our Nordstrom insider in Seattle and they told us “Nordstrom can’t confirm a location in the new airport centre at this time. Nordstrom Rack is always interested in new retail opportunities and is actively seeking Canadian locations. We will make Canadian Rack location announcements shortly, and none of these currently include the Vancouver airport location you have mentioned”.

Soon after we spoke to our Holt Renfrew insider in Toronto who said, speculatively, that their new hr2 concept could be considered for the site but that this was only speculative as they would need to see site plan and tenant proposals to determine if McArthurGlen would be an appropriate location for hr2. Our Holt’s insider says hr2 will expand into the Lower Mainland but that no definitive locations have been secured.

We spoke to our Toronto retail analyst a second time, and he tells us he expects the new centre will include some upscale architecture, so as to cater to an affluent (mostly) Asian and tourist clientele expected to visit the centre. He says we might expect retailers such as Hugo Boss and Armani and possibly even Prada and Bottega Veneta.

We will be provided plans of the McArthurGlen centre when finalized, and we’ll post and analyse them for readers. Keep watching Retail Insider for McArthurGlen Vancouver updates.

McArthurGlen website: http://www.mcarthurglengroup.com

UNIQLO Coming to Canada. Vancouver Lease Negotiations Underway

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Retail Insider

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November 6, 2012

We’ve gotten word that Japanese cheap n’ chic retailer Uniqlo is coming to Canada, and is negotiating a lease for part of the sub-basement space in Vancouver’s Downtown Hudson’s Bay building, directly below the recently opened TopShop. We are waiting to hear about the store’s potential size and how many Canadian locations Uniqlo wants.

We previously reported Uniqlo’s potential Canadian entry with few other details.

Uniqlo has five American stores with several more on the way. The chain wants to open 20-30 American stores per year and ultimately wants to be the world’s top apparel retailer by the year 2020.

Please note that these lease negotiation talks are for space located within the Hudson’s Bay building and that Hudson’s Bay is not the organization bringing Uniqlo to Canada like it did with TopShop. That means Uniqlo could chose not to occupy this space and/or could choose other free-standing retail locations across Canada.

We’ll keep you updated on Uniqlo’s Canadian expansion. Also check out their American website, posted below, to get an idea what their clothing is like. We’ll be shopping there, guaranteed.

Be sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook (links below). We provide clues and post things not on this website!

Uniqlo American website: http://www.uniqlo.com/us

Retail InsiderCanada's Most-Read Online Retail Industry Publication.

CHANEL Opening at Yorkdale Mall in Toronto

Harry Rosen Doubling the Size of its Toronto Yorkdale Store

First-Look at Hudson’s Bay’s Interior ‘New-Look’

Yorkdale Mall Expansion Opens November 16th, Including Wayne Gretzky

Vancouver’s TopShop/TopMan to Sell $25-30million in First Year, Opening Party Costs Almost $1million

Upscale Mall Planned For Toronto’s Current Globe and Mail Headquarters

Van Cleef and Arpels Opening Toronto Boutique

Sears Canada Re-Brands

Upscale Vancouver Airport Outlet Mall to be Located on Skytrain Line

UNIQLO Coming to Canada. Vancouver Lease Negotiations Underway

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