Welcome to Montreal Friday. Every Friday this summer, I will show you what’s new in Montreal, because Montreal is a fun and wonderful city to discover. Here are my two discoveries of the week.
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Bois & Cuir Westmount Store and Expansion
Montreal based home furnishings retailer Bois & Cuir just opened it’s third location in the hip Westmount neighbourhood, at 5014 Sherbrooke Street West. The store features a variety of products, including massive wood furniture pieces and luxurious Italian leather — making it a viable alternative to Restoration Hardware. This store is the latest for the retailer, which is initiating a Canada-wide expansion following its existing stores on Montreal’s Rue St Hubert and in Quebec City.
In October, Bois & Cuir will open another Montreal store on Atwater Avenue, in the former Harricana par Mariouche space. This winter, the retailer will open its first British Colombia location on Victoria’s tourist-heavy Government Street. Locations in Toronto and Ottawa are planned for next year, and Bois & Cuir is already looking at a U.S. expansion, targeting Boston and Chicago.
Food of the Week: ‘The Warehouse’ Opens 3-Level Restaurant, all Food $4.95
Popular Crescent Street is now home to a hip new restaurant. On three levels and with 300 seats, featuring a surfer type decor, The Warehouse features a well-priced menu and an interior inspired by surfing. Although the food might be cheap, it’s great quality and worth a visit.
Heading up the elevators to the 46th floor, the observatory features attention-grabbing 360 degree views. Decor is minimalist, drawing the visitor’s attention to the stunning Montreal vistas. The centre of this floor also features a small exposition featuring the history of Place Ville Marie.
On the 45th floor is an interactive exhibit called #MTLGO featuring 55 short videos with 11 themes, with unique-to-Montreal activities (such as climbing stairs at St-Joseph’s Oratory or riding a Bixi bike along the Lachine Canal). RFID bracelets allow visitors to ‘like’ videos — tapping the bracelet at an interactive station sends further information by text or email on how to experience their chosen “missions” in real-time in the city.
On the 44th floor is Les Enfants Terribles Brasserie, the highest restaurant in Montreal. The restaurant features 200 indoor seats and 60 outdoor dining spots, all with breathtaking city views. Prices at the restaurant are fortunately the same as at other Enfants Terribles in the city — though this one is certainly the most scenic. On the same floor is a four-seasons terrace that will open in August, which will be perfect for relaxing with its small urban garden.
For those interested in visiting the observatory, tickets are $19 for adults, $15 for students, $13 for children aged 6 to 12 and free for those under the age of six. Family packages for two adults and two children or one adult and three children are also available for $54. A general admission ticket allows you access to the observation deck, the #MTLGO exhibit and the terrace. Opening hours are between 10:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. from Monday to Saturday, and from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sundays until September 5. Visiting the retail store at the base of Place Ville Marie, however, is free. Fore more information, visit: http://ausommetpvm.com.
Toronto’s upscale Bloor Street West, particularly the stretch between Yonge Street and Avenue Road, is seeing considerable retail movement and redevelopment. This is the first of a series where we’ll be profiling some of Canada’s top retail streets, including what’s happening and what’s on the way. Bloor Street West is where we’re located, hence our decision to begin a tour in our own neighbourhood.
The portion of Bloor Street West between Yonge Street and Avenue Road is also referred to as the ‘Mink Mile’, reflecting the luxury retailers lining the street. Addresses on Bloor begin with number “1” at Yonge Street, ending with Strellson at the northwest corner of Bloor Street West and Avenue Road (at the base of the historical Park Hyatt Hotel)Â at number 170 Bloor Street West.Â
Below is a map of the area that we’ll be touring. The entire strip spans just 600 metres, or about 1,970 feet. You can click the map below for an interactive Google experience, including Street View if desired.
We’ll begin the tour at the corner of Bloor Street West and Yonge Street, and work our way towards Avenue Road where we’ll conclude the tour.
One Bloor Street East, currently under construction, will feature a 100,000 square foot commercial podium with several retailers. Nordstrom Rack’s first Canadian store is confirmed to be opening a 40,000 square foot store in the complex, with about 10,000 square feet on the ground floor and the remaining 30,000 square feet on the second level.
Across Yonge Street at 1 Bloor Street West is Sam Mizrahi’s ‘The One’, which (if approved by the city) will feature one of North America’s tallest residential buildings above a multi-level commercial podium. Rumour has it that a large Apple Store flagship could open as the primary retail tenant, though parties won’t go on record to confirm.
Moving west on the north side of Bloor is the Holt Renfrew Centre, at 50 Bloor Street West. The Holt Renfrew store (with magenta awnings) is anticipated to expand and see renovations, though things haven’t been progressing as quickly as many had expected. The retail component towards the right in this photo will eventually be demolished for an approved 70+ storey residential tower, though there’s no timeline in place that we’re aware of.
Across the street from Holt Renfrew, at 55 Bloor Street West, is the Manulife Centre. Big things are planned for the building’s retail podium, which will see an expansion and several new retailers. Jeweller Birks has confirmed plans to renovate its existing location some time in 2017, as per the rendering below. Italian food concept Eataly (in partnership with Holt Renfrew’s owners) is expected to open a 39,000 square foot location on the second level of Manulife Centre, though it recently hit a snag when the mall’s primary restaurant provider exercised a restrictive covenant, winning an injunction and stalling these plans.
The above photo was taken from the northwest corner of Bloor Street West and Bay Street, looking south to 77 Bloor Street West. Construction shows Sephora‘s new one-level 8,900 square foot flagship under construction, replacing an existing store at 131 Bloor Street West. Landlord Morguard is renovating 77 Bloor’s retail podium, and Druxy’s Deli will open a location inside on the tower’s ground floor later this year.
Past Sephora’s construction on the south side of Bloor are several smaller retail buildings. Three of the five buildings in the above photo are currently for lease — Roots Kids at 89, the former Nine West at 93, and Town Shoes at 95 Bloor Street West.
Looking north towards the corner of Bloor Street West and Bellair Street is the 100 Bloor Street West retail complex (below the No. 10 Bellair Tower), featuring a freestanding Holt Renfrew Men’s store as well as existing locations for American retailers Williams Sonoma and Pottery Barn. Both Williams Sonoma and Pottery Barn will eventually close — the Williams Sonoma space was recently leased to French luxury brand Hermes, which will vacate its current 4,000 square foot 130 Bloor Street West location to build an almost 12,000 square foot two-level ‘maison’. Opening next year, the massive new store will be one of only several large Hermes flagships worldwide. The Pottery Barn/Pottery Barn Kids/Milli spaces at 100 Bloor are still for lease, according to brokerage CBRE.Â
131 Bloor Street West (south side of Bloor), also known as ‘The Colonnade’, features several top luxury boutiques. French luxury brand Chanel will vacate and relocate to nearby Yorkville Avenue next year, and we’ve been told that a number of other luxury brands are interested in Chanel’s current 7,300 square foot, two-level location.
Next to Chanel at 131 Bloor is a 3,000 square foot Coach store. The windows are papered over this week but it’s only temporary, as some work is being done to the space.
Two doors from Coach, and still at 131 Bloor Street West, is Toronto’s Prada flagship. The 5,890 square foot store is adding a second level, that will see it grow to an impressive 13,640 square feet next year, surpassing the size of a recently opened Vancouver Prada flagship.
Sephora’s existing 131 Bloor Street West location will close with the opening of the new 77 Bloor Street West store (mentioned above). The existing Sephora will be subdivided into two retail spaces, with one of them to be occupied by Italian luxury brand Moncler. A number of other retailers have shown interest in the rest of the Sephora space, and we’re told that landlord Morguard is particularly interested in securing another international luxury brand.
Looking across the street to 130 Bloor Street West is Hermes’ existing 4,000 square foot store, which will close when the new Hermes flagship opens nearby at 100 Bloor Street West next year.
Walking westward from The Colonnade is 151 Bloor Street West, on the south side of Bloor Street West (Across from Louis Vuitton and Tiffany & Co.). The building features four retail spaces, and two of them (Stuart Weitzman and The North Face) are currently for lease.
Northwest Atlantic Principal/Broker Dianne Lemm suggested that we check out the temporary four-stall summer market in front of Club Monaco at 157 Bloor Street West. The independent retailers provide food and beverage options in front of a fashion retailer, addressing a trend that we’ll be discussing in a separate article next week.
As Club Monaco occupies the southeast corner of Bloor Street West and Avenue Road, this concludes our tour of Toronto’s ‘Mink Mile’. Feel free to suggest other streets we should profile in the comments section below, or email Craig Patterson (who took these photos on July 6, 2016) at: craig@retail-insider.com.
Structube at CF Shops at Don Mills (Image: Structube)
Montreal-based, affordably-priced contemporary/modern home furnishings/accessory retailer Structube plans to continue expanding its Canadian operations after considerable success. The company will enter the British Columbia market this year with three confirmed locations, and it will continue to expand into other markets to be close to its consumers — including a massive new Montreal flagship set to open this fall.
The family-owned retailer was founded in 1974 and currently operates 47 Canadian stores. The company originally specialized in tubular retail clothing racks, hence its name ‘Structube’, being derived from an abbreviation of the French term “structures tubulaires”. Its first home furnishings store location opened in Montreal in 1980, expanding into multiple Quebec locations before entering the Ontario market, followed by Alberta, Manitoba and Nova Scotia. Prices are competitive with other value-priced home furnishings retailers, and can be viewed on Structube’s extensive Canadian e-commerce site which launched in May of 2015. A U.S. e-commerce site also launched in November of 2015, in anticipation of a larger expansion.
Structube’s marketing director, Tony Trew, explained that the retailer is looking to expand into new markets to be closer to its clients. The retailer recently lowered its prices which resulted in a considerable spike in business, hence new growth plans. He noted that Structube has been in expansion phase for the past decade, after initially gaining brand awareness in Quebec.Â
Structube’s contemporary style furniture ranges from rustic wood and mid-century to sleek lacquer and glass, with both pre-assembled and easy-to-assemble products. The company caters to young professionals, condominium dwellers and even small businesses. Structube also recently tripled the size of its state-of-the-art Montreal fulfillment centre to an impressive 250,000 square feet.
New Zealand-based merino wool outdoor and sport clothing designer and manufacturer Icebreaker confirms that it will open two more freestanding Canadian locations this year, with plans for further growth in the years to come.
Icebreaker is the world’s largest merino outdoor apparel company, and was founded in 1994. The company is privately held and is headquartered in Auckland, with its North American operations headquartered in Vancouver. It’s products are now carried in over 5,000 outdoor and sporting goods stores in 50 countries around the world.
The company’s freestanding stores are called ‘TouchLabs’, while its shops-in-stores are called ‘TouchPoints’. Besides its extensive wholesale accounts/TouchPoint shop-in-stores, Icebreaker operates two Vancouver TouchLabs (in Kitsilano and at Park Royal) as well as single locations in Montreal (1515 Sainte Catherine Street West) and in Calgary (at CF Chinook Centre). Icebreaker also operates two Ontario outlet stores — at Toronto Premium Outlets, and at Outlet Collection at Niagara in Niagara-on-the-Lake.
Photo: Icebreaker
Icebreaker’s next TouchLab will open late summer/early fall at 278 Queen Street West in Toronto and according to head of stores, Bob Matheson, the store will measure about 2,070 square feet. The location is ideal, he explained, being near strong co-tenants Arc’teryx, Nobis and MEC — which will open a flagship nearby, next year. A 1,136 square foot Icebreaker outlet is also confirmed to be opening in August at McArthurGlen Designer Outlets, south of Vancouver.
Mr. Matheson explained that Icebreaker will carefully and selectively continue expanding its freestanding TouchLab concepts while being respectful to existing wholesale accounts. The company is looking to augment its wholesale business in North America with premium locations in underserved markets. The company will disclose more details soon.
According to Oberfeld Snowcap‘s website, Icebreaker seeks retail space in the 1,400 to 1,700 square foot range in enclosed malls, street-front and outlet centres, and is represented by Jannine Maginniss.
An Edmonton-based retailer has launched a unique e-commerce site geared towards homegrown baby brands. Called Baby Plum, the new site launched late last month.
The Baby Plum e-commerce store was founded by motherÂ-daughter team Pamela Freeman and Jenna Pryor who own Plum Home & Design – an interior design firm and home decor boutique located in Edmonton’s upscale 124th Street area. They created Baby Plum to showcase unique homegrown brands (as opposed to brands such as Disney) featuring ‘quality, integrity and purpose’.
The new Baby Plum e-commerce site (an extension of the current Plum Home online boutique) features baby clothing, books, decor, toys and various other items, including many independent Canadian brands. Kids can be hard on products, so the founders sought out the hardiest brands as well. Brands include Mushy Books from Vancouver (designing artful, modern baby books), and So Young, a popular bag (including diaper bags) and accessories line based in Toronto. Many Edmonton made products can also be found in the Baby Plum online shop including PLANTiful, an organic skincare line, as well as goods from local artist and calligrapher, Justine Ma, such as engraved wooden wall hangings as unique decor for a child’s bedroom or nursery.
For those looking to inspect product prior to buying, Many Baby Plum products are available at the Plum Home & Design at 12407 108 Avenue in Edmonton.
Unique Toronto-based retailer Drake General Store has opened a new three level flagship store on Canada’s ‘coolest’ retail strip, replacing its original location across the street. The new store is about double the size of the previous location and includes several unique features. The store officially opens on Tuesday, July 5, though it held its soft opening on July 1.
Drake General Store began in 2008 as a ‘hotel gift shop’ as part of the edgy Drake Hotel, founded by Jeff Stober (CEO, Drake Hotel Properties), Carlo Colacci and Joyce Lo. The store is proudly Canadian, supporting homegrown artists and designers. Drake General Store describes itself as being “a traditional hotel gift shop, a classic general store, a flea market stand, and a museum shop all rolled into one”, going on to say “We love classic and modern goods that fill us with whimsy and nostalgia”. The company now operates five Toronto stores, as well as Hudson’s Bay partner concessions in downtown Ottawa and Vancouver. The Toronto locations include the new flagship at 2 Abell Street (at Queen Street West) and freestanding locations at 2607 Yonge Street (north of Eglinton), at Union Station, as well as shop-in-stores at Hudson’s Bay’s Queen Street/CF Toronto Eaton Centre store and 44 Bloor Street West/Hudson’s Bay Centre location.
CLICK ABOVE FOR INTERACTIVE GOOGLE MAP
ARTWORK BESIDE THE NEW STORE’S WEST WALL.
LOOKING BACK TOWARDS THE NEW BALANCE POP-UP ON THE SECOND FLOOR. BARBER SHOP TO THE RIGHT ON THE GROUND FLOOR.
The new Abell Street flagship is almost 5,000 square feet on three levels. The store’s ground floor features a variety of eclectic products as well as a coffee shop featuring Canadian roasters, customized chocolates by Brandon Olsen, and a one-seat barbershop by Toronto’s Crows Nest Barbershop. The second floor features rotating pop-up concepts and is currently a 300 square foot New Balance footwear shop-in-store. The store’s third floor is geared towards events, artisan workshops, performance art and whatever else can be imagined. The new store addresses the pop-up retail trend (which has never been more popular in Canada) by hosting regular events in partnership with retailers, brands, designers and artists.Â
See below for more photos. All photos by Retail Insider, taken July 2, 2016.Â
SELECTION OF COFFEE ACCESSORIES, HOUSEWARES, JUICES.
COFFEE/TEA BAR, FEATURING CANADIAN BRANDS.
LOCAL FLAVOUR CELEBRATED, INCLUDING A TORONTO PUBLIC LIBRARY SWEATSHIRT.
Upscale Swiss menswear brand Strellson recently hosted an opening event for its Vancouver flagship store, which opened earlier this year in Vancouver’s ‘Luxury Zone’. The party, which took place on the roof of the office tower above Strellson, saw several important guests, including heads of the company’s North American operations.
The Vancouver Strellson store is located at 1108 Alberni Street, at the base of the 745 Thurlow Street office tower, alongside recently opened Italian luxury brands Versace and Brunello Cucinelli, and across the street from Prada, Moncler, and soon-to-open Rolex and Saint Laurent stores. The 2,200 square foot Strellson store features the brand’s entire menswear collection, as well as accessories and fragrances. The company confirms that the Vancouver store is doing exceptionally well, prompting it to host the summer evening event.
Attendees included Strellson’s North American President Mark Altow, North American Sales and Fashion Director David Altow, CTV anchor Mike Killeen, CBC‘s Fred Lee, Fashion Magazine’s Joy Pecknold, actors Jaime Calica (Wayward Pines), Richard Harmon (The 100), and Todd Talbot (Love it or List it Vancouver), among others.
Strellson currently operates three Canadian stores, including the recently opened Vancouver location. Its Toronto flagship, which opened in the fall of 2012, was recently expanded by 800 square feet to about 2,300 square feet. Strellson’s second Canadian location opened last year at Toronto’s Bayview Village, and recently moved to a larger space because of exceptional sales.
Founded in 1984 and owned by Holy Fashion Group (the original owner of German brand Hugo Boss), Strellson is Switzerland’s largest menswear manufacturer. It produces mid-to-high priced dressy and casual menswear, as well as accessories and related products. Its target market is men aged 25 to 40, and it retails in about 40 countries worldwide.
Construction continues on the new 300,000 square foot, $331 million ‘Nordstrom Wing’ at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre, which opens to the public in October of this year. We toured the construction site and have photos from our visit.
The wing will be occupied by a 196,000 square foot, three level Nordstrom store, which opens on October 21 of this year. About 30 other retailers will occupy the remaining portion of the new 112,000 square foot wing, which will see a number of unique and in some instances, first-to-market retailers. Yorkdale recently announced several of these new retailers.
Popular Japanese retailer Uniqlo will occupy over 24,000 square feet at the north end of the new wing (see lease plan above), with minimalist Japanese retailer Muji occupying space next door. Yorkdale’s Uniqlo will be the second in Canada, following the September opening of a unit at CF Toronto Eaton Centre, and Muji’s store will be a third for the region, as well as for the country.
Outerwear brand Canada Goose will open its first freestanding store in the world in the new wing, adjacent to the mall entrance to Nordstrom. Canada Goose will occupy about 4,500 square feet and will feature a façade as per the rendering below.
A number of existing retailers are also expanding as part of the new Nordstrom Wing expansion. Sephora is in the process of adding about 3,500 square feet to its existing 5,700 square foot store, which will result in its gaining a corner presence across the hall from Zara, which is overhauling its premises and is temporarily closed as a result. H&M is also expanding its existing store to create one of the company’s largest Canadian locations, measuring almost 34,000 square feet.
Premium features will be added to the new Nordstrom Wing, including a dedicated concierge service area between Uniqlo and the expanded Sport Chek, as well as a personal shopping office near the centre’s newest washrooms which will feature ‘selfie-friendly’ natural lighting via skylights. Yorkdale will soon announce a partnership as part of the new personal shopping area.
Flooring in the new wing will be the same as the rest of the mall, with its beige limestone blending seamlessly with the rest of the centre. The new wing’s design reflects the mall’s existing look which is bright, naturally lit, featuring dramatic high ceilings.
A massive five-level parking structure below Nordstrom is partially open and when it’s finished, Yorkdale will boast about 8,000 parking spaces. Access to the new parking will be via three elevator access points, including from within Nordstrom, which will also feature valet parking.
Yorkdale has partnered with The Brain Project to create a multi-faceted art installation, supporting care and research into aging and brain health at Baycrest Health Sciences. The exhibit “will combine beauty and brains” for the grand opening of Yorkdale’s newest expansion this October. Following a city-wide exhibition this summer, it will mark the first time that all brain sculptures (about 100 of them) will be displayed publicly in one location. The brains will be assembled in the new expansion for an exclusive preview event on Monday, October 17th, and remain on public display from Tuesday, October 18th through to October 31st.
The mall’s Nordstrom Wing isn’t the last expansion for Yorkdale, however. Construction is underway on a westward expansion towards Dufferin Street that will see Restoration Hardware and a number of other retailers open over the next several years.
*All photos are by Craig Patterson for Retail Insider.
Cushman & Wakefield has published a study ranking retail areas based on their ‘cool’ factor. The report examined 100 areas across North America, and several Canadian addresses made it on the list.
The study recognizes Millennial’s preferences for urban living, while also recognizing that some retailers are gravitating to trendy high streets to reach them, as opposed to shopping centres and busy commercial streets (such as Robson Street in Vancouver or Bloor Street in Toronto). The Urban Land Institute estimates that about 46% of Millennials would choose an urban setting, compared with 24% for suburban and 30% for rural environments.
In the report, each neighbourhood is assigned a level on a ‘Hip-O-Meter’, which reflects where the neighbourhood is in its development. The study also provides ‘livability’ scores, rates ‘retail flavour’, provides retail lease rate ranges, and provides a summary of demographics that includes population, income, education, percentage of renters, and percentage of Millennials living in the area.
Here’s a discussion of the Canadian component to the study, broken down by city. The study ranked Toronto’s ‘West Queen West’ as being the ‘coolest’ in Canada, with Vancouver’s Main Street/Mount Pleasant ranking second.
Each image below is a screen capture from the Cushman & Wakefield study.
TORONTO, ONTARIO:
Toronto’s ‘West Queen West‘ came out on top in Canada, referencing a 2014 report in Vogue naming West Queen West as Number two on its list of the Top 15 Coolest Neighbourhoods in the World. On the stretch between Bathurst Street and Gladstone Avenue lies “Canada’s largest concentration of independent art galleries, an abundance of independent boutiques, a flourishing restaurant and bar scene, and a couple of new hipster, boutique hotels”. The study goes on to quantify asking rents ranging between $30 and $60 per square foot, compared to top rents of about $120 per square foot on Queen Street West between University Avenue and Spadina Avenue.
An astonishing 75.9% of the area’s population is between the ages of 20 and 34, which is higher than almost every North American area studied.
Toronto’s eclectic Kensington Market scored highly, though the study claims that the area has ‘gone mainstream’. Many would debate that this isn’t the case, though a number of chains have recently moved into the area, and redevelopment threatens its outer edges.
Toronto’s Distillery District is up-and-coming, according to the study, ranking it as ‘edgy cool’. The area will become busier with considerable new residential development nearby, as well as improved public transportation in the area.
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA:
The Cushman & Wakefield study ranked Vancouver’s Main Street/Mount Pleasant as being Canada’s second-coolest area. The report discusses how the area’s shift from working class to arts district began roughly 20 years ago, and that “this transition has been on steroids over the last five years”. Nowhere have the changes been more profound than near the intersections of Main Street and Broadway, says the report.
Asking rents range between $20 to $43 per square foot according to the study, but those rates “are increasing swiftly,” with Main Street as the epicentre of growth.
Vancouver’s popular Gastown, also its historic city centre, has a remarkably high number of Millennials living in the immediate area. New stores continue to open in Gastown, including edgy menswear, womenswear and high-priced furniture stores. Gastown is unique in how its north side is flanked by a busy waterfront port, while immediately to the south is Vancouver’s infamous Downtown Eastside, which is also Canada’s ‘poorest postal code‘.
MONTREAL, QUEBEC:
Montreal’s Plateau is consistently ranked as one of the hippest areas anywhere, which makes it surprising that the study saw it rank below areas in Toronto and Vancouver. Regardless, the area is popular with locals and tourists, and is known for its retail innovation and otherwise exceptional ‘cool factor’.
Montreal’s ‘Mile End‘ is also known for being hip, with the study ranking it as being ‘up and coming’. Watch for retail lease rates to rise as new retailers enter.
Montreal’s Little Italy area is ‘still cool’, according to the study. There’s a risk, however, that it could go mainstream.
OTTAWA, ONTARIO:
Ottawa’s Westboro area is the undisputed king of cool, in a city generally known for being a stuffy government town. Given its high ranking, its worth noting the rate of high home ownership in Westboro, as well as a population where only 21.1% is between the ages of 20 and 34.
Ottawa’s Hintonburg, west of downtown, is ‘still cool’ according to the study, though it risks losing that status as the area matures.
EDMONTON, ALBERTA:
Alberta’s capital city has the provinces ‘coolest’ retail street, according to the Cushman & Wakefield study. Whyte Avenue (82 Avenue) has a variety of stores, restaurants and bars. Renowned fashion and footwear retailer gravitypope began with a single store in the area in the 1990’s, and it continues to operate separate footwear and fashion locations. The area is beginning to see further development that, in the eyes of some, could threaten the historical nature of the area. At least Edmontonians can now boast that their street, and none in Calgary, made Cushman & Wakefield’s top 100 ‘coolest streets’ in 2016.
