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CANADA’S 2ND MICROSOFT STORE OPENS TOMORROW AT WEST EDMONTON MALL

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Retail Insider
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Photo: Microsoft Store

Canada’s second Microsoft Store opens tomorrow at West Edmonton Mall. It’s located on the mall’s first level near the Ice Palace, as per the mall map below. The store is about 7,500 square feet.

Canada’s first Microsoft Store opened in November 2012 at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre. The Yorkdale Microsoft Store is 6,844 square feet according to the mall’s lease plans.

For those unfamiliar, Microsoft Stores sell the brand’s computers, computer software and consumer electronics. It has been compared to Apple Stores, which have been wildly successful at selling and servicing its various Apple products. There are currently 35 Microsoft Stores in the United States and one in Canada. Its first American stores opened in October 2009.

Microsoft stores employ ‘Technical Advisors’ to assist customers with questions and various issues. These might be compared to the ‘Geniuses’ at Apple Stores. Microsoft Stores also include ‘Specialists’ (or trainers) who show customers how to get the most out of their software. Our source for this information is partly from this article.

West Edmonton Mall has been securing many exciting new retailers. Two of its most recently announced additions have included jeweller Tiffany & Co. and the first non-Quebec location for the 118,000 square foot fashion retailer La Maison Simons.

[Microsoft Store website]

[West Edmonton Mall website]

WHITE HOUSE | BLACK MARKET OPENS FIRST CANADIAN STORE

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Retail Insider
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White House | Black Market at Yorkdale

White House | Black Market opened its first Canadian store yesterday at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre, and it threw a grand opening party the evening of Wednesday, October 23rd. Calgary-based blogger Ryan, aka Mr. Fab, provided us with the photos in this brief article, all from the store’s grand opening.

Ryan did some investigating and found that White House | Black Market alleges that it has no plans to open elsewhere in Canada, besides the three Toronto-area stores that we previously announced. We doubt this is true, as a national roll-out of the chain only makes sense given its popularity as well as its already costly efforts to open in Canada.

Canada’s second White House | Black Market opens October in Mississauga’s Square One Shopping Centre, and the third location opens November 12th at the Upper Canada Mall in Newmarket, Ontario.

We’ll update you when we learn of more possible White House | Black Market store locations.

White House | Black Market

Thank you to Ryan, aka Mr. Fab, for this article’s photos and investigation. You can find his blog here and also follow him on Twitter.

[White House | Black Market website]

DOWNTOWN MONTREAL DEPARTMENT STORE ‘LES AILES’ WILL CLOSE

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Retail Insider
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Les Ailes de la Mode

Downtown Montreal’s Les Ailes de la Mode department store will reportedly close in February 2014. At one time, Les Ailes was described as Canada’s answer to Nordstrom. After a decline, Les Ailes is now essentially a large discount store. We expect that, once closed, the adjacent namesake mall Complexe Les Ailes will also change its name. 

Downtown Montreal’s Les Ailes opened in August 2002. It was 223,000 square feet and occupied the lower four floors of a shuttered one-million square foot Eaton’s department store. Plenty of upscale designer labels were featured in-store. Les Ailes included a karaoke bar, art gallery, pottery-making studio, spa, a vodka bar, three restaurants and even featured an in-store piano player. The store employed over 1,000 staff and became known for its customer service. When it opened, downtown Montreal’s Les Ailes was expected to become the flagship location of a national (and possibly international) department store chain that would have been the Canadian equivalent to popular American retailer Nordstrom.

The company experienced financial problems as a result of the costs associated with opening this store, as well as an unsuccessful location in suburban Ottawa. In early 2004, the size of the downtown Montreal Les Ailes was reduced to about 77,000 square feet over two floors. The rest of the store’s space was configured into Complexe Les Ailes, the adjacent shopping centre. 

The store’s owner, San Francisco Group, went bankrupt in 2003. After emerging from bankruptcy a year later, the Group was renamed Groupe Les Ailes de la Mode. The company was sold to Fairweather INC Group in 2005, which proceeded to further run the company into the ground. 

Complexe Les Ailes is owned by landlord Ivanhoe Cambridge. We’re not sure what will happen with the department store space once it vacates, and we’ll update you when we learn of what will happen to Complexe Les Ailes. We suspect that once the mall’s anchor Les Ailes de la Mode leaves, the mall’s name will change as well. 

A partial source for this article is this article, in French, by Marie-Eve Fournier of La Presse. 

[Les Ailes de la Mode website (currently “under construction”)]

VICTORIA’S SECRET OPENS FIRST OTTAWA STORE

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Retail Insider
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Photo: Victoria's Secret

Victoria’s Secret opens its first Ottawa store this morning at the Bayshore Shopping Centre. A second location will follow at the Rideau Centre in Downtown Ottawa as part of the mall’s expansion. 

The Bayshore Victoria’s Secret is 13,372 square feet in size. Of that, 2,418 square feet are dedicated to its PINK line of collegiate-inspired bras, panties, loungewear and beauty products. 

The main store will carry the entire range of Victoria’s Secret products including lingerie, fragrances and body care collections. It will include a ‘bra salon’, a ‘panty boutique’, an area dedicated to beauty products, as well as collections by Victoria’s Secret Sport and a seasonal swimwear line.

We’ll update you when we learn of details of the future Rideau Centre Victoria’s Secret store.

[Bayshore Shopping Centre website]

[Victoria’s Secret website]

SAKS REACHES AGREEMENT WITH INVESTORS ON HUDSON’S BAY PURCHASE

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Retail Insider
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Image: Saks Fifth Avenue

Saks Fifth Avenue (Saks Inc.) said it reached an agreement to settle lawsuits by investors seeking to block the retailer’s $2.4 billion acquisition by Canadian department-store chain Hudson’s Bay Co.

The agreement decreases the potential termination fee from Saks to Hudson’s Bay if the deal fails, and shortens the period in which the Canadian company can match any alternative offer, Saks said today in a regulatory filing. The agreement will pave the way for the dismissal of the lawsuits, the company said.
Hudson’s Bay agreed in July to pay $16 a share in cash, a 30 percent premium to New York-based Saks’ closing price on May 20, the day before reports emerged that Saks was exploring alternatives. Investors including Thomas Jennings and Samuel Cohen filed suits against Saks, its directors and Hudson’s Bay. Jennings had said the proposed deal undervalued Saks.
The transaction would bring together the Hudson’s Bay, Lord & Taylor and Saks Fifth Avenue brands, creating a company with more than 300 stores and revenue of about $7 billion.
Reporter on this story: David Risser. Editor responsible for this story: Paul Jarvis. Source: Bloomberg

[Hudson’s Bay Company website]
[Saks Fifth Avenue website]

HUDSON’S BAY LAUNCHES NEW WOMEN’S CLOTHING LINE CALLED ‘424 FIFTH’

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Retail Insider
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424 Fifth Avenue, the address of HBC-owned Lord & Taylor's flagship store in Manhattan

The Hudson’s Bay Company has launched a new women’s sportswear line called 424 Fifth. It will be carried in all Hudson’s Bay stores, as well as American Lord & Taylor stores. It launches next January and will be 424 Fifth’s first spring collection.

Some Hudson’s Bay locations will carry the collection in dedicated shops-in-store, including the collection’s ready-to-wear as well as accessories.

The collection is named after the address of the flagship Lord & Taylor store at 424 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.

The Hudson’s Bay Company is looking to expand its private-label business. Private-labels account for about 9% of HBC sales and according to Womens Wear Daily, HBC wants to grow it to about 15% of sales within 3-5 years.

According to a press release, the collection will include pieces in the $29-300 range. For more details on the collection, click here for the press release. 

[Source: Press Release]

[Hudson’s Bay website]

VERDURA JEWELLERS OPENS FIRST CANADIAN SHOP IN TORONTO

By
Retail Insider
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Photo: Mindham Fine Jewellery Facebook Page

NYC-based luxury jeweller Verdura opened its first Canadian store location yesterday in Toronto. It’s a shop-in-store located within Mindham Fine Jewellery at 37 Hazelton Avenue in Toronto’s affluent Yorkville area.

Later this month, the company will unveil Coco Chanel’s original early-1930’s Maltese Cross cuffs, created by Verdura. It will be available at the Toronto store. 

The Mindham Fine Jewellery store occupies a former home and is across the street from Hazelton Lanes, a shopping centre that will see an expansion and renovation to include more luxury retailers. The store’s owner, Miles Mindham, is also a jewellery designer. The store includes his designs as well as designer timepieces by the likes of Franck Muller and Bedat & Co.

Verdura operates one retail location in Manhattan, and is distributed through selected retailers including Neiman Marcus.

Thank you to Retail Insider ACT7 of Urban Toronto for providing us with this article’s tip.

[Mindham Fine Jewellery website]

[Verdura website]

NORDSTROM COULD OPEN IN THE TORONTO EATON CENTRE WITH NEW SEARS CEO

By
Retail Insider
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Photo: Toronto Eaton Centre

Nordstrom could open at the Toronto Eaton Centre, now that Sears Canada has a new CEO who’s reportedly willing to sell store assets. 

On Friday October 18th, Sears CEO Douglas Campbell told the Globe & Mail that he would consider selling Sears’ Toronto Eaton Centre location for the right price. This could open the way not only for Nordstrom, but  also for redevelopment that could include multiple retailers as well as possibly a second anchor store such as La Maison Simons. 

The Toronto Eaton Centre Sears store is about 816,000 square feet over several floors. Though it’s unlikely that the top levels would be used for retail, a substantial amount of space could become available that could create an exciting cluster of new retailers in the mall, including possibly Nordstrom’s Canadian flagship store.

In the past 14 months, Sears Canada has sold off several of its leases to mall landlords. In the summer of 2012, Sears sold its leases in Vancouver, Calgary and Ottawa, paving the way for Nordstrom’s first Canadian stores. Sears subsequently sold two leases in the Toronto area, resulting in speculation that La Maison Simons may move in. Sears also announced a $1 billion project to redevelop its Burnaby BC real estate at Metrotown. 

Our source for this article is this article by Marina Strauss of the Globe & Mail.

[Toronto Eaton Centre website]

[Sears Canada website]

[Nordstrom website]

RETAIL INSIDER READERS CAN RECEIVE A DISCOUNT ON RETAIL ASSEMBLY’S ONLINE COURSES/WORKSHOPS

By
Retail Insider
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Retail Insider and Retail Assembly

Retail Assembly is offering a discount on its online retail-related courses and workshops to our readers, available until October 31st. 

Being that they’re online, these programs are created with accessibility and convenience in mind: all courses and workshops offer the flexibility of taking them from anywhere, anytime. Therefore, those who might be too busy or inconvenienced by attending scheduled classroom courses can benefit from this education.

Retail Assembly’s educational materials are designed by industry professionals and experts who appreciate the business side of retailing, and who want to educate others in this very competitive industry. 

Retail Assembly has a variety of courses and workshops. We direct you to this link which includes a list of courses as well as a discount for you readers.

[Link to Retail Assembly’s discounted courses and workshops]

[Retail Assembly website]

WORLD’S MOST EXPENSIVE BOTTLE OF WINE SELLS AT TORONTO’S SUMMERHILL LCBO

By
Retail Insider
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Summerhill LCBO in Toronto

A $168,000 bottle of wine has sold at Toronto’s Summerhill LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario) store, according to the Toronto Star. The Summerhill LCBO is located in Toronto’s affluent Rosedale area. 

The Penfolds Ampoule is a limited-edition Australian wine, one of only 12 handmade bottles ever produced. This is only the third bottle in the world to sell – the first two sold in Hong Kong and Singapore. 

Interestingly, the purchase price will include a visit from a senior member of the Penfolds wine making team, who will personally attend a special opening ceremony. 

Thank you to Retail Insider Karim Rashwan for directing us to this Toronto Star article about the wine’s purchase. 

[Penfolds Ampoule website]

[LCBO website]

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