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SHOEME.CA FOUNDER SEAN CLARK DISCUSSES HIS COMPANY’S PHENOMENAL GROWTH

By
Retail Insider
-
ShoeMe.ca Screengrab

We spoke to 32 year-old Sean Clark, founder of Vancouver-based online footwear retailer ShoeMe.ca. In this interview, Clark told us about his website’s phenomenal growth, and how his company allows those who live in remote Canadian locations the opportunity to purchase premium footwear. Sales are skyrocketing and forecasts predict sales of an impressive $30 million/year by 2015.

Clark may have gotten into this business at the right time – currently, only 2% of Canadian footwear sales are online. That number is expected to increase to 15% over the next five years, and ShoeMe.ca intends to capitalize on that growth.

Few may have heard of ShoeMe.ca, and that’s not surprising. The company was only started in August 2012 by this former employee of Clearlycontacts.ca, transferring some knowledge he gained by working with the popular online eyewear retailer. Clearly Contacts CEO Roger Hardy is now an investor in Clark’s company.

ShoeMe.ca‘s revenues are already projected to be an exceptional $5 million in 2013 alone. Sales forecasts for 2014 are in the $10 million area and in 2015, ShoeMe.ca forecasts sales of an impressive $30 million.

Photo: Sean Clark

One of our first questions to Mr. Clark was about online footwear purchasing and sizing: how can one buy shoes online without trying them on?

ShoeMe.ca has an excellent response. It allows for free returns as well as free shipping, and it stocks well-known, trusted brands whose sizing customers may be familiar with.

ShoeMe.ca has warehouses in Vancouver and Toronto with about 20 employees and thousands upon thousands of pairs of shoes. The company doesn’t compete on price – in fact, most of what it retails is at full price.

ShoeMe.ca competes with its vast selection of footwear sizes and brands, its customer service (hence its generous return policy) as well as the convenience of online shopping for those with limited access to footwear retailers. Interestingly, 40% of its customers live in rural parts of Canada where quality designer footwear is not easily found.

We’ll be watching ShoeMe.ca closely, as this new Canadian company is seeing exceptional growth.

[ShoeMe.ca website]


DIG360 Report: Almost 3/4 of Canadian Shoppers Avoided Black Friday Sales in 2013

By
Retail Insider
-

Despite the hype, almost 3/4 of Canadian shoppers avoided this year’s Black Friday sales. 

David Ian Gray, a brilliant Vancouver-based retail expert and founder of DIG360 Consulting Ltd, provided this press release including the following conclusions: 

  • Those who shopped did most of their shopping in Canada, 
  • US websites were preferred to cross-border stores, 
  • These figures corroborate anecdotal retailer reports.

VANCOUVER, BC (December 5, 2013) — DIG360 has released its findings of Canadian shopper behaviour around retail Black Friday 2013. Three-quarters (73%) of Canadians surveyed using AskingCanadians™ did not participate in Black Friday sales, substantially lower than many pre-event forecasts suggested. 

Interestingly, 28% browsed Black Friday promotions but in the end did not pull the trigger on a purchase. This aligns with DIG360 observations that Canadian retailers appear to be well organized on inventory levels and not so quick this year to be panicked into early and deep discounting. 

However, the good news for Canadian retailers is that most of those shopping for deals stayed in Canada. While it does not take more than a few hundred extra cars to back up a border crossing, only 2% of Canadians cross-border shopped US stores for Black Friday deals (similar to our findings in 2011 and 2010). A slightly higher number of Canadians (4%) shopped US websites. 

“According to retail executives with whom we spoke, the 20% of Canadians who shopped stores here at home generated a decent kickoff to the Holiday shopping period,” noted David Ian Gray, DIG360 Retail Strategist, “this is a good reality check rather than a disappointment.” Gray points out that Black Friday in Canada is less a reaction now to cross border spending, and more about encouraging Canadian consumers to begin their Holiday Shopping – particularly with fewer weekends in December this year. 

The survey was developed by DIG360 and completed by a representative sample of 1,005 Canadians 18 years old and over from the AskingCanadians™ online research community. The survey was conducted in English and French from December 2 – 4, 2013. 

Notable findings from the DIG360 survey, using AskingCanadians™: 

  • 73% did not purchase a Black Friday sales item (27% shopped, compared with the 47% projected in a widely circulated pre-event poll). 
  • Of the 27% who did buy, only 6% crossed the border and bought from US store (fairly similar to 2011); 13% shopped online from a US website (up from 2011). 
  • Or restated, 1.5% of all Canadians cross-border shopped a US store; 3.5% of Canadians shopped online from a US website. 
  • 20% of Canadians (or 73% of those participating in Black Friday shopping) did so from a Canadian bricks and mortar retailer. In 2011, 11% of all Canadians shopped a store in Canada for Black Friday items. 
  • 10% of Canadians (or 38% of those shopping Black Friday) bought from a Canadian website (4% in 2011). 
  • 28% of Canadians browsed the deals, but opted not to buy. 
  • Quebec residents had the lowest participation in Black Friday shopping (17%) and lowest awareness of the event (9% unaware vs. 3% overall). 
  • Retailers were reporting a growing trend this year of online orders and in-store pickup. 

About DIG360 

DIG360 Consulting Ltd. helps retail and “retail minded” executives focus or recharge sustainable growth through strategies that resonate with the right target audiences through better customer experiences and relationships. David Ian Gray leads DIG360; he is a recognized expert on shopper trends and retail strategies, producing high-impact business intelligence and original studies for and about the sector. DIG360 blends diverse professional backgrounds and personal beliefs full-circle, reflecting our strength in integrative thinking and making connections at all compass points around a challenge. 

About AskingCanadians™

AskingCanadians, a Delvinia company, was established in 2005 as an online data collection firm dedicated to helping market researchers gather high quality information from Canadian consumers. We own and manage the AskingCanadians online research community, and its French counterpart Qu’en pensez vous, which includes a panel of more than 250,000 demographically representative and profiled Canadians. The result is an average response rate that eclipses the industry. For more information, please visit

corporate.askingcanadians.com

NEW MOBILE APP ALLOWS SHOPPERS TO BYPASS LINEUPS VIA ‘SCAN, PAY & GO’ TECHNOLOGY

By
Retail Insider
-

A new mobile app called ‘SelfPay’ launches tomorrow in Edmonton. It allows shoppers to scan items in-store, then checkout from anywhere in-store on their own mobile device. After standing in long lineups in retailers recently, this news may come as welcome relief to many Canadians. 

Toronto-based company, Digital Retail Apps™, will launch its ground breaking mobile app, SelfPay®, at LUX Beauty Boutique in Edmonton. With SelfPay, shoppers can make payment and look up product information on their own devices, enabling shopper-controlled in-store checkout from anywhere within a brick-and-mortar store. LUX Beauty Boutique will host a SelfPay launch party at its store on Friday, December 6.

“Nothing stresses me out more than seeing frustrated faces in a slow-moving line,” said Jennifer Grimm, LUX Beauty Boutique owner and Chief Visionary Officer “We are thrilled to launch SelfPay in time for the holiday rush and offer clients the ability to skip the line during the hectic shopping season.”

SelfPay is a multi-retailer solution that enables shoppers at participating retailers to scan products in store, view pricing and information, and pay for their purchase from their own device. With the SelfPay mobile app, shoppers skip the checkout line and leave with their items in hand as soon as payment is completed. Retailers can use the patent-pending purchase verification method to ensure that all items leaving the store have been paid.

“With SelfPay, shoppers can simply scan, pay and go,” said Wendy MacKinnon Keith, CEO and founder of Digital Retail Apps. “It’s an exciting advance in mobile payments for both consumers and retailers. SelfPay allows independent retailers to outsmart big box stores by offering a seamless combination of both shopping and paying.”

To prepare for the LUX Beauty Boutique launch, Digital Retail Apps worked closely with Vend, a leading cloud-based POS provider, to fully integrate product information. The implementation of Vend ensures that LUX has one product database to maintain, and that shoppers do not see prices from competing retailers while in-store.

Beanstream, Digital Retail Apps’ payment partner and a Digital River company, was instrumental in the implementation, enabling LUX to remain with its existing payment processor and enabling SelfPay to perform consumer-led wireless payments. Consumer purchases made via the SelfPay platform are directed through the Beanstream gateway and are settled to LUX’s existing merchant payment account. Consumers only need to load their payment credentials once, and they can be used again at participating retailers.

Edmonton’s Lux Beauty Boutique, site of the Canadian launch of SelfPay [Image Source]

The SelfPay launch party will be located at the LUX Beauty Boutique and is open to the public. Digital Retail Apps’ CEO Wendy MacKinnon Keith will be in attendance.

SelfPay can be downloaded from the Apple App Store or at http://appstore.com/selfpay. SelfPay can be used at LUX Beauty Boutique on iPhone 4, 4S, 5, 5C and 5S devices running iOS7. An Android version will be released in early 2014. SelfPay’s second retailer, Toronto, Canada based Gotstyle, will be featured in-app beginning January 2014.

Much of the above content was modified from this press release. 

[Digital Retail Apps™website]

UPDATE: NORDSTROM TO START RECRUITING CANADIAN MANAGEMENT TODAY

By
Retail Insider
-


nordstrom.jpgnordstrom.jpg

As of Today (Thursday, December 5th), job applications will be accepted for 30 management positions at Calgary’s new 

Nordstrom

store.

Nordstrom opens its first Canadian store

in September 2014.

You can apply at 

careers.nordstrom.com

and hiring begins in February 2014. In total, 360 employees will be hired for the Calgary store. Non-management employee hiring begins in July 2014. 

As we

reported last month

, Nordstrom will hire its Calgary department managers, train them in Seattle, and then allow these managers to hire Canadian store staff. Between April and June 2014, new managers will partake in a management program where their accommodation, food and travel will be paid for by Nordstrom. 

RELATED: 

[

Nordstrom Canada website

]

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HOLT RENFREW’S YORKDALE SHOE HALL OPENS TODAY

By
Retail Insider
-
Image: Holt Renfrew

Holt Renfrew’s 10,000 square foot Yorkdale shoe hall opens today. Included are boutiques for Christian Louboutin, Manolo Blahnik, Gucci, Salvator Ferragamo and Jimmy Choo. You can win a $1,000 gift card if you submit a well-shod self-photograph to Instagram with the tag @Holt Renfrew and with the hashtag #HoltsShoeHall. 

The opening is being hosted by blogger Jane Aldrige of ‘Sea of Shoes‘, from 6:30-9pm.  

RELATED: 

[Holt Renfrew website]

BREAKING: EDMONTON TO GET AIRPORT OUTLET MALL

By
Retail Insider
-
Rendering: Ivanhoe Cambridge



Exciting news for Edmonton: A new outlet mall will open beside the Edmonton International Airport. The 350,000 square foot mall will feature about 85 brand retailers. Details from developer Ivanhoé Cambridge:

Ivanhoé Cambridge and Edmonton International Airport (EIA) announced today that they have entered into a conditional agreement to lease approximately 45 acres of land to develop a retail outlet destination called “The Outlet Collection at EIA“, as part of the EIA’s Highway Commercial Project.
Ideally located directly adjacent to the Queen Elizabeth II Highway, south of Airport Road, Ivanhoé Cambridge’s The Outlet Collection at EIA will feature 32,500 m2 (350,000 ft2 ) of retail outlets offering value from over 85 renowned brands, all housed under one roof. The Outlet Collection at EIA will offer customers a comfortable environment and a new level of shopping experience that caters to all tastes and budgets.
“This project is an important step in the evolution of our new development program,”  declared Paul Gleeson, Executive Vice-President, Development, at Ivanhoé Cambridge. “With Vaughan Mills in Toronto (opened in 2004) and CrossIron Mills in Calgary (opened in 2009) successfully established, we have created the opportunity to evolve this value-offering into a pure outlet format for other dominant markets across Canada.  Branded as ‘The Outlet Collection,’ the first of these new projects, The Outlet Collection at Niagara, is to open to the public on May 15, 2014.”
“This is great news. It means more shopping, entertainment and hospitality options, not only for passengers, but forGreater Edmonton. The airport is a self-funded not-for-profit corporation, so airport revenue that is generated by leasing the land for this project will be reinvested into building better air service for the Edmonton Region. Ultimately, this will support more flights to more places”, said Myron Keehn, EIA Vice President of Commercial Development.
Edmontonians are the highest retail-spending citizens per capita in Canada. With 7 million passengers a year, EIA is the fastest-growing major airport in Canada. Airport traffic has increased by 60% over the last 10 years andEdmonton’s 1.2 million population is expected to grow by 15% over the next decade. 
Targeting a fall 2016 opening, both parties expect to be able to satisfy the mutual conditions of the agreement in the first half of 2014, at which time full project details will be announced. 
About Ivanhoé Cambridge
Ivanhoé Cambridge is a world-class real estate company that leverages its high-level expertise in all aspects of real estate including investment, development, asset management, leasing and operations, to deliver an optimal return for its investors. Through its multiple subsidiaries, its assets in more than 20 countries were valued at over Cdn$35 billion as at December 31, 2012. Ivanhoé Cambridge is a real estate subsidiary of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (lacaisse.com), one of Canada’s leading institutional fund managers. For more information, visitivanhoecambridge.com.
About Edmonton International Airport
Edmonton International Airport (EIA) is Canada’s fifth-busiest airport by passenger traffic and the largest major Canadian airport by land area. Canada’s fastest-growing major airport in 2012, EIA serves 7 million passengers per year and offers non-stop connections to more than 50 destinations across Canada, the US, Mexico, the Caribbeanand Europe. For more information about Edmonton International Airport, visit www.flyeia.com.

EILEEN FISHER LOOKS TO OPEN MORE CANADIAN STORE LOCATIONS

By
Retail Insider
-
[Image Source]



American womenswear designer/retailer Eileen Fisher is reportedly looking for more Canadian store locations. It currently has two Canadian stores and it’s seeking further store space in Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa. Eileen Fisher’s Canadian distribution is carried out by a franchise license holder, Se Ce Apparel.

For those unfamiliar, Eileen Fisher’s prices are in the ‘bridge‘ range and the brand is known for having simple, comfortable designs. 


Canada’s first Eileen Fisher store opened on Vancouver’s upscale South Granville shopping strip in August 2011. Its second location opened in July 2013 at Calgary’s Chinook Centre. 


We’ll keep you updated when we learn of future Eileen Fisher store locations in Canada. 

Source: ACT7 of Urban Toronto, who forwarded us this article by Women’s Wear Daily. 

RELATED: 



[Eileen Fisher website]

TESLA MOTORS TO OPEN SECOND CANADIAN STORE ON VANCOUVER’S ROBSON STREET

By
Craig Patterson
-
Tesla Motors, Yorkdale Mall Toronto

Though still unconfirmed, sources tell us that Tesla Motors will open its second Canadian store location at 929 Robson Street in Downtown Vancouver, replacing skincare retailer H2O Plus. It is expected to open sometime in the spring of 2014. Tesla has been placing most of its stores in popular shopping malls, making a Robson Street location somewhat unusual for the company.

For those unfamiliar, Tesla Motors Inc. is a California-based company that designs, manufactures and sells electric vehicles and their powertrain components. It was started in 2003 and has gained popularity to the point of becoming profitable. Canada’s first Tesla Motors retail store opened in November 2012, within an expansion of Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre. The Toronto store is about 2,500 square feet according to the mall’s lease plans. 

Tesla will bring even more vibrancy to Robson Street’s 900 block, which recently saw the opening of the world’s second-largest Victoria’s Secret store.

Clearlycontacts.ca has also opened a retail store next to the future Tesla. We’re not aware of the exact size of the new Vancouver store, though we expect it will be almost as large as Toronto’s Tesla. 

Former H2O Plus 929 Robson Street, soon to be Tesla Motors. Photo: Colin Arber

Interestingly, Tesla’s website had initially indicated that its Vancouver store location was to be at Pacific Centre. This was subsequently amended to Robson Street. We were able to confirm that Robson Street will, in fact, be the location of Tesla for Vancouver, though neither landlord Bentall Kennedy nor Tesla will confirm Tesla’s new Vancouver address as being 929 Robson Street. 

Thank you to spm2013 of Vancouver Skyscraper Forum who directed us to this source discussing Tesla’s possible Vancouver store location. 

We’ll update this article when we can 100% confirm Tesla’s tenancy, and we’ll also let you know of any future Tesla Motors store openings in Canada.  

[Tesla Motors website]

A SIGN OF WEALTHIER TIMES? MERCEDES-BENZ CANADA REPORTS RECORD-BREAKING NOVEMBER SALES

By
Retail Insider
-
[Image Source]



Are Canadians getting wealthier? We’re certainly shopping like we’re rich. First we got confirmation that Saks Fifth Avenue will open Canadian stores including a massive Toronto flagship, and now we’ve got word that Mercedes Benz’s Canadian November sales were its highest ever. 


Mercedes-Benz Canada President and CEO Tim A Reuss says: “November was another record-breaking month in Canada for Mercedes-Benz, and I would like to express my sincere gratitude to each employee and everyone from our national retail network for a job well done. Our dynamic, continually expanding product range and the ongoing support of our partners at Mercedes-Benz Financial Services are certainly two key factors in our success, but it is also extremely important to recognize that these stellar results would not be possible without the hard-work and collective commitment from our talented team of professionals who tirelessly uphold the core values of our brand every day.”


The following is content from a press release by Mercedes Benz Canada: 


Mercedes-Benz Canada and its national dealer network reported today that the company has achieved its best November sales results ever by delivering 3,147 Mercedes-Benz, Sprinter and smart vehicles throughout the month. This represents a month-over-month increase of 6.0%, and has helped push overall growth ahead of last year by 1,788 units with a grand total of 33,899 vehicles sold year-to-date.


Mercedes-Benz passenger cars and luxury light trucks recorded the best November ever with 2,745 units retailed. This is 13.8% or 332 units ahead relative to the same period from the previous year. In total, 28,696 Mercedes-Benz vehicles have been delivered by the national network of corporate retail stores and private dealers, which is up 1,490 units or 5.5% compared to 2012 results.


A notable 1,742 passenger cars were delivered for the month, which represents a substantial increase of 34.3% or 445 units. Passenger car sales are ahead by 7.4% or 1,126 vehicles on a year-to-date basis with 16,254 vehicles registered. Particularly strong demand for the B-Class, CLA-Class, C-Class and E-Class helped contribute to November’s outstanding sales results.


With 1,003 units sold, the highly coveted range of Mercedes-Benz luxury light trucks continued to be very popular through November. Overall, luxury light truck sales are up 3.0% this year with 12,442 vehicles sold.


The diesel take rate for luxury light trucks was 75.6% for the month, while permanent all-wheel drive 4MATIC™ units accounted for 78.1% of overall passenger car and light truck sales in November (excluding smart).


smart reported an increase of 8.6% this month with 165 vehicles delivered. Brisk smart fortwo electric drive sales of 62 units significantly contributed to November’s results, demonstrating sustained customer demand for this intelligent, zero-local emission transportation solution. smart has delivered a total of 2,073 vehicles so far in 2013.


The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter division recorded 237 vans sold for the month. This brought year-to-date sales to 3,130 vehicles, which is up 412 units or 15.2%.


The Mercedes-Benz Pre-Owned division reported 916 retail deliveries throughout November. A total of 12,341 Certified Pre-Owned vehicles have been registered by dealerships from coast-to-coast year-to-date.


Walmart.com Has its Best Sales Day Ever on Cyber Monday 2013

By
Retail Insider
-

Walmart today announced that Cyber Monday 2013 was the biggest online sales day in its history. The five-day period from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday is the highest five-day stretch in online sales for the retailer to date, and Walmart.com processed more than 1 billion page views during that period.

The top-selling items at Walmart.com on Cyber Monday included the following:

  • LG 50″ 1080p 60Hz LED HDTV
  • Apple iPad 2 16GB with Wi-Fi
  • Fisher-Price Power Wheels Red Ford F150 Raptor 12-Volt Battery-Powered Ride-On
  • Mega Bloks First Builders Build ‘n Learn Table Plus Bonus Play Set
  • TRIO Stealth G2 10.1″ Tablet Dual Core with 16GB Memory (mobile top-seller)
  • Tilting Wall Mount for 37″ to 70″ Flat Panel TVs, with HDMI Cable (mobile top-seller)

“We had an all-time record sales day yesterday as the momentum we saw on Thanksgiving carried through to Cyber Monday,” said Joel Anderson, president and CEO, Walmart.com U.S. “We’re committed to giving our customers the best savings on the gifts they want most this holiday season, and we’re offering 200 online specials every day through Friday so customers can make the most of their budgets.”

Cyber Week continues as Walmart.com will offer 200 online specials every day through Friday, Dec. 6. Throughout this holiday season, Walmart.com is also offering free shipping on all orders of $35 or more – nearly 99 percent of Walmart.com items are eligible.  Online orders can also be shipped to local Walmart stores and in many instances, be picked up as early as the same day.    

B-roll of Cyber Monday orders being fulfilled and executive sound bites available at: http://news.walmart.com/media-library/videos/b-roll-cyber-monday-2013-resultsSOURCE WalmartCopyright (C) 2013 PR Newswire. All rights reserve

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