LOFT by Ann Taylor’s first Alberta store will open this summer at West Edmonton Mall. The 5,500 square foot store will replace Children’s Place on the mall’s second level.Â
LOFT is a division of American womenswear retailer Ann Taylor. Established in 1996, LOFT is a relaxed version of Ann Taylor, generally catering to a younger customer with ‘upper moderate’ pricing. Ann Taylor was established in 1954 and its namesake stores appeal to career women.
La Maison Simons could double the size of its Les Galeries de la Capitale store in Quebec City. The proposed expansion would provide more space for the company’s private-label brands, as well as additional mens’s and women’s designer fashion lines. As a result of the expansion, this Simons store would be comparable in size to its newer locations.
The Simons store in Les Galeries de la Capitale is currently about 45,000 square feet. Sources tell La Presse that Simons could expand, doubling in size to about 90,000 square feet. Even with the proposed expansion, the store would still be slightly smaller than the chain’s 100,000 square foot flagship at Place Ste-Foy, though it will be similar in size to its new stores.
La Maison Simons stores have become larger, generally. In the past, most Simons stores have spanned about 45-65,000 square feet. Recently announced Simons stores have generally been in the 100,000 square foot range. These include a 113,000 square foot store at Square One in Mississauga (opening spring, 2016), a 105,000 square foot store at Park Royal in West Vancouver (opening fall, 2015), an 80,000 square foot store in Gatineau, Quebec (opening spring, 2015), and a 105,000 square foot location at Ottawa’s Rideau Centre (opening August, 2016). Its Les Galeries d’Anjou (opened August, 2013) and West Edmonton Mall (opened October, 2012) stores are the largest in the chain, occupying about 120,000 square feet each.
Interior of Simons, Les Galeries de la Capitale, Quebec City. Photo: La Maison Simons.
The expanded Simons would provide more space for the company’s popular private-label brands, which take up a considerable amount of space in all of its stores. A wider assortment of designer merchandise could also be sold in the store, as Simons now finds customers increasingly receptive to paying higher prices for designer goods. Many of the designers found at Simons, including Mary Katrantzou, Nina Ricci, and Jean Paul Gaultier are difficult to find elsewhere.
Les Galeries de la Capitale is the largest mall in the Province of Quebec. It will undergo a 150,000 square foot expansion, costing about $150 million. Next week we’ll provide further details on its expansion, which will include new luxury stores and a reconfiguration of its in-mall theme park.
A 5,000 square foot McEwan grocery store will open on the concourse level of Downtown Toronto’s TD Centre. The relatively small location will primarily feature ready-made food and beverages, unlike its more comprehensive 20,000 square foot suburban Toronto store. Scheduled to open in the spring of 2015, the grocer will be located across from Mark McEwan’s well-known restaurant, Bymark.
McEwan’s first grocery store opened at the Shops at Don Mills in the summer of 2009. Mr. McEwan is a TV personality and is known as being one of Canada’s top chefs. He operates four restaurants, a catering business and, soon, a second grocery store location.
Besides carrying a limited selection of grocery items, the store will feature a coffee bar service and prepared foods, as well as a focus on fresh sandwiches, salads and sides. It will also include “a kitchen serving up daily fresh offerings”, according to company spokesperson Jordie McTavish. Ms. McTavish indicates that a second Downtown Toronto McEwan grocery store is also in the works.
In early 2014, Mark McEwan indicated that he would open a Downtown Toronto grocery store location. Rumours of its possible location subsequently persisted, including it possibly replacing the scrapped 9,000 square foot Loblaw-owned Nutshell grocery store at 500 King Street West.
Canada’s first free-standing Jimmy Choo store will open at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre. Interestingly, a Jimmy Choo shop-in-store is already located steps away, within the mall’s Holt Renfrew store. More Canadian Jimmy Choo locations are expected to follow.
In December of 2013, a Jimmy Choo shop-in-store opened within Yorkdale’s Holt Renfrew. As can be seen from the floorplan in this article, the new free-standing Jimmy Choo will be mere steps away from Holt’s.
London-based Jimmy Choo is one of the world’s most well-known footwear and accessories brands. In Canada, it’s carried at selected Holt Renfrew stores. Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue stores will also likely carry Jimmy Choo when they open their Canadian locations. There are 26 Jimmy Choo stores in the United States, including three concessions within Bloomingdale’s stores. Â
JIMMY CHOO SHOP-IN-STORE AT HOLT RENFREW, YORKDALE. PHOTO CREDIT: JENNA MARIE WAKANI FOR TORONTO LIFE MAGAZINE.
A source familiar with the company informs us that Jimmy Choo will likely open at least two more Canadian stores. A Downtown Vancouver store is foreseeable as well as another Toronto location, either in the Yorkville area or at the Toronto Eaton Centre.
Upscale menswear retailer Harry Rosen will completely renovate its flagship Vancouver location. The Pacific Centre store upgrade is timely, as an unprecedented amount of competition is set to enter Vancouver’s upscale menswear market within the next 48 months.
To learn more, we interviewed Harry Rosen’s CEO, Larry Rosen. Mr. Rosen informed us that the interior of Pacific Centre’s Harry Rosen will be entirely renovated, and will include a substantially expanded footwear department. Men’s accessories will also expand, as both footwear and accessories have seen considerable growth within the company. Newly built shops-in-store for designers Giorgio Armani, Canali, Brunello Cuccineli and others will open. Plans for shops-and-stores and other details weren’t completely finalized at the time of our interview, so we’ll update you when we learn more.
Zegna boutique, located across the hall from Harry Rosen (for reference, see lease plan below)
Interestingly, Pacific Centre’s Harry Rosen achieves the second-highest sales in the company. Only its 54,000 square foot Bloor Street flagship in Toronto sells more. Mr. Rosen wouldn’t provide exact numbers, though he acknowledged that Vancouver’s Harry Rosen store sells “well over” $1,000 per square foot.
Lease plans provided by Pacific Centre’s landlord, Cadillac Fairview, show Harry Rosen occupying 21,645 square feet. A separate (and very successful) 5,000 square foot Ermenegildo Zegna store, operated by Harry Rosen, is located across the hall. Rumours of an expanded Pacific Centre Harry Rosen location were quashed by Mr. Rosen.
Pacific Centre’s Harry Rosen is only the fifth-largest in the company. Besides its 54,000 square foot Toronto flagship, its Yorkdale Shopping Centre store has expanded to almost 31,000 square feet. Its 22,000 square foot Montreal store will grow to about 33,000 square feet by the end of 2015, while its Downtown Calgary store spans over 30,000 square feet.
Lease Plan: Cadillac Fairview
Harry Rosen will face considerable new competition when Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue open in Downtown Vancouver. Opening in the fall of 2015, Nordstrom’s 230,000 square foot store at Pacific Centre will feature many of the same upscale menswear designers as Harry Rosen. A source informs us that Saks Fifth Avenue will likely occupy between 130,000 and 150,000 square feet of the Downtown Vancouver Hudson’s Bay building, and will possibly open in early 2016. About 20,000 square feet of Saks could be devoted to menswear. Holt Renfrew will also renovate and expand its Pacific Centre store, substantially expanding its 25,000 square foot menswear department. We’ll discuss Holt Renfrew’s expansion next week.
For those unfamilar, Vince Camuto is a fashion designer who co-founded popular women’s shoe retailer, Nine West. In 2005, he launched his namesake footwear line. The brand has since expanded into accessories as well as women’s and men’s clothing.
According to Yorkdale’s lease plan, Icon Shoes occupies about 1,365 square feet.
Toronto’s flagship Hudson’s Bay ‘Queen Street’ store’s renovated seventh floor officially opens in May. Toronto Shopkeeper takes us on a tour, highlighting its attractive renovations.
For years the seventh floor at the Hudson’s Bay Queen Street flagship was overlooked and housed only a small appliance department and stockrooms. All that has changed as the floor is being reborn with the addition of Kleinfeld Bridal and a brand new home department.
The seventh floor is meant to be a one-stop destination for housewares and help cement the retailer’s reputation as gift registry experts (they maintain the country’s largest gift registry).
The china and glassware department has begun the move from their former fifth floor location, and other home departments will move in the coming weeks. Windows have been uncovered creating a modern, open, and light-filled space.
Brides visiting the adjoining Kleinfeld Bridal boutique will be able to shop and create gift registries all on the same floor.
Whereas previously home departments were scattered throughout the large store, now they will be found together on the seventh floor (with furniture and appliances one level below).
he grand opening for Kleinfeld Bridal and the rejuvenated seventh floor is set for May.
Canada’s grocery business will see increased online competition as Vancouver-based Overwaitea Food Group introduces online grocery shopping. The company will offer both in-store pickup and home delivery of groceries purchased online. Competitors have already started testing the concept and it appears that Overwaitea is taking the competition seriously by initiating its own version.
A dilligent reader directed us to Overwaitea’s posting of two employment positions for its new online grocery initiative. The job descriptions reveal that both in-store pickup and grocery delivery will be a part of the new initiative.
Loblaw recently announced that it will run a test on ‘click-and-collect’ grocery sales at three of its stores in the Toronto Area. Click-and-collect will allow customers to purchase groceries online, and pick up their order in-store. Click-and-collect is generally considered to be a more profitable way for grocers to sell food online, as opposed to delivering door-to-door.
Overwaitea appears to be taking Loblaw’s concept one step further by also offering grocery delivery to its online shoppers.
Canada’s grocery industry is already characterized by high competition and relatively low profit margins. Online shopping is a relatively new frontier for the industry. Amazon introduced online grocery shopping in Canada for ‘dry groceries’ in October of 2013. Walmart also offers selected grocery items for Canadians online. It will be interesting to watch as competition for Canada’s grocery dollar continues to expand online.
Discount footwear retailer DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse (DSW) has purchased 44% of Canadian footwear retailer Town Shoes, paving the way for DSW to enter Canada. Town Shoes had originally planned to open similar stores in Canada, though these plans have since changed. DSW has wanted to open in Canada for some time, and it will now have the necessary means to make it possible through its partnership with Town Shoes.
For those unfamiliar, DSW is hugely popular in the United States, with 407 stores in that country. Its name indicates its business model – it sells designer shoes at discounted prices. Stores average at around 22,000 square feet and each store carries about 24,000 pairs of shoes. The company has hundreds of millions in cash and no debt. We’ve posted a brief video below explaining the store’s concept.
DSW paid $62 million for its 44% stake in Town Shoes, with the option to buy the rest after four years. Town Shoes is already familiar with the Canadian retail market, and it may be able to help DSW set up its retail locations as well as other operations, including logistics. Town Shoes is Canada’s largest footwear retailer, with 182 stores and $291 million in annual sales in 2013. Namesake ‘The Shoe Company‘ also operates under Town Shoes’ control.
In the winter of 2013, sources informed us that Town Shoes/The Shoe Company had intended to open DSW-like stores in Canada. It appears that those plans may have changed, now that DSW itself will operate in Canada via Town Shoes.
Sobeys is threatening to sue the Alberta College of Pharmacists over a reward points ban. The Alberta College of Pharmacists adopted a resolution prohibiting patients from collecting rewards points on pharmacy purchases, starting May 1st, 2014.
According to a survey conducted in 2012 by Research Now, 73% of Albertans believe a ban such as this to be unfair. Sobeys Inc. will file a legal challenge on behalf of both Safeway and Sobeys pharmacy operations in an effort to overturn the ban. Sobeys’ has a rewards points program called Club Sobeys.
“We strongly disagree with the College’s decision,” said Sandra Aylward, Vice President, Professional and Regulatory Affairs, Sobeys Inc. “Studies show that loyalty programs build stronger bonds between patients and their pharmacies, and encourage better patient adherence to prescription medication, which is in the best interests of patient health care.”
Sobeys is encouraging pharmacy patients to contact their MLA to express concerns over the ban.
