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Mulberry Opening First Canadian Location in Toronto

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Retail Insider
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Mulberry Store Rendering

British luxury label Mulberry will open its first Canadian store at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre. It will be next to the recently opened Cartier store, across from the recently expanded Holt Renfrew. 

The store will be about 2,500 square feet. We speculate that the store will include Mulberry’s bags and accessories, along with women’s ready-to-wear and shoes (given that these are carried in other free-standing American Mulberry stores). We are unaware of the store’s opening date and we will inform readers when we get more info on Mulberry Yorkdale’s opening. 

A selection of Mulberry women’s handbags are available in Canada at Holt Renfrew in Toronto (Bloor Street), Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver. 

‘Pre-expansion’ Yorkdale Floorplan w/Mulberry’s Location.

The store will be about 2,500 square feet. We speculate that the store will include Mulberry’s bags and accessories, along with women’s ready-to-wear and shoes (given that these are carried in other free-standing American Mulberry stores). We are unaware of the store’s opening date and we will inform readers when we get more info on Mulberry Yorkdale’s opening.

A selection of Mulberry women’s handbags are available in Canada at Holt Renfrew in Toronto (Bloor Street), Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver. 

Image adapted from this Oxford Properties Floorplan

Mulberry has seven North American stores in five cities: New York City (three stores), Short Hills New Jersey, San Francisco and Tyson’s Galleria in McLean, Virginia. 
Thank you to a dedicated reader for directing us to the UrbanToronto Forum post (by ‘ACT7’) with this information. Information was obtained via a search on the City of Toronto Building Application site.

Mulberry website: www.mulberry.com
Yorkdale Shopping Centre website: www.yorkdale.com

Mississauga’s Square One Shopping Centre Undergoing Expansion/Renovation

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Retail Insider
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Rendering: Square One Shopping Centre

Oxford Property‘s Square One Shopping Centre in Mississauga (Ontario) is undergoing an $84million renovation and expansion. According to its website, the mall will complete renovations to its common areas including washrooms, entrances, and a newly expanded food court. The mall will also welcome a 164,000 square foot Target store, replacing the mall’s former Zellers store.

This is a link to a Youtube video of a ‘walk-through’ of the newly renovated mall.

‘FOOD Central’.

The mall’s food court will expanded and improved with ‘signature table wear’, ‘modern new decor’ and new food retailers according to the description on this website. It will include the name ‘Food Central’. Canadian shopping centres are finding it both beneficial and profitable to include expanded food offerings, which may keep shoppers in malls for longer and even act as anchor attractions in their own right.

Square One is the latest of many newly-announced Canadian mall expansions and renovations. Landlord Oxford Properties recently completed an expansion of its Yorkdale Shopping Centre, which we previously reported. Competing landlord Cadillac Fairview is spending billions to renovate mall properties across Canada to, among other things, welcome the arrival of Nordstrom to Canada.

Rendering: Square One Shopping Centre

*** Update*** We’re posting this article after Oxford Properties released this press release. It notes Square One does sales of $775/square foot.

Square One Shopping Centre website: http://www.shopsquareone.com

Could Canadian Apple Stores Expand in Size?

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Retail Insider
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Apple Store, Yorkdale Shopping Centre, Toronto

Apple is closing 20 stores to expand their square footage. The stores have become too busy and too crowded for their own good. 

Apple stores include the world’s most productive retail space. Each store location averages about $50 million in sales/year. Apple stores attract 10 million people/week at its 400+ retail locations. Apple store attained sales of $6.4billion last quarter, while stores saw about 370million visitors in 2012 (These numbers are from this source).

In a time where some question the viability of ‘brick-and-mortar’ retailing, Apple stores show that some retail stores are, indeed, still viable business models for some retailers. Apple CEO Tim Cook says he believes that Apple stores were a contributing factor to the quick adoption of the iPad, saying “I don’t think we would have been nearly as successful with the iPad, as an example, if it weren’t for our stores.” This, he explained, was because people’s image of tablet computers before the iPad was one of “heavy things no one wanted.”

Addressing the Apple store concept, Cook says: “I’m not even sure ‘store’ is the right word anymore – they’re much broader than that,” he said. “They are the face of Apple for almost all customers.”

Canada can expect at least two Apple Store flagship locations in the next couple of years. We’re keeping or ear to the ground to find their exact locations. 

[Article Source]

Target Canada Holds Two Designer Contests

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Retail Insider
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Photo: coutureinthecity

Target Canada has just held two designer contests, where winners get their merchandise in Canadian Target stores. 

The first award is called ‘The Target Emerging Designer Award’. The winner, Mélissa Nepton, was announced during Montreal Fashion Week on Friday February 8th.  Mélissa will create an apparel collection to be sold exclusively at Target stores in Quebec in 2014. She will also receive a $25,000 grant and will be featured in Elle Québec.

Target plans to open 25 stores across Quebec beginning in fall 2013.

The second involves the winner of the Toronto Fashion Incubator’s New Labels contest. This will be held in April, 2013, and the winner will have the chance to create a line for Target stores across Canada.

These contests show an interesting commitment by Target to Canadian design talent, and shows good faith that the retailer will support Canada and Canadians. 

[Article Sources: 1 and 2]

Target website: www.target.ca

West Edmonton Mall to Invest Over $100million on Continued Renovations

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Retail Insider
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West Edmonton Mall Expansion Rendering - GHA Design

West Edmonton Mall will invest over $100million to continue renovations, including more new marble flooring and new crystal chandeliers. Renovations commenced in early 2011 including some improvements to common areas, flooring and ceilings. These latest renovations will ‘finish the mall’ with more seating areas while it courts new, upscale tenants.

The mall is courting retailers like Burberry, Tory Burch, Microsoft Store, Ted Baker, Free People, Kate Spade, and (rumour has it) Tiffany & Co., among others. Upscale retailers are sought partially due to an increase in shoppers from the affluent ‘oil-North’ regions like Ft. McMurray, where a (mostly male) population of affluent shoppers may holiday at the mall which includes hotel rooms, a casino, waterpark, amusement park and other attractions.

According to the Globe & Mail, The mall now spends almost 10% of its marketing budget targeting shoppers in Ft. McMurray, 50% more than just three years ago. Ft. McMurray shoppers make up about 15% of mall shoppers, while about 50% of all West Edmonton mall shoppers are tourists. Alberta also has no sales tax, making it a destination for some big-ticket purchasers.

We previously reported on the opening of La Maison Simons in West Edmonton Mall, the first Simons location outside of Quebec. We have been told Simons’ Edmonton store is doing ‘gangbusters’ sales.

Photo of new mall renovations, including seating areas: [Image Source]

West Edmonton Mall is a privately-owned complex owned by the Ghermezian family. Private ownership means it is sometimes secretive with its future plans and tenancy. We did some homework and found that the mall is still keen on securing Edmonton’s first Nordstrom store, as we previously reported, not to mention numerous other upscale tenants like those we mentioned above.

We’ll keep you updated on developments at North America’s largest shopping centre.

(Some information for this article was obtained from this article in the Globe & Mail)

West Edmonton Mall website: http://www.wem.ca

Starbucks’ Biggest Canadian Expansion Ever: 150 Locations in 2013

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Retail Insider
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Image: Starbucks Canada

Starbucks will open about 150 Canadian locations in 2013, an all-time record. The main reason, though, is Target‘s Canadian debut.

Starbucks will open outlets inside of many of Target’s 124 soon-to-open Canadian locations, though we don’t have an exact number.

The new locations will increase Starbucks’ Canadian store count to about 1,300.

Starbucks has had other successful shop-in-store locations in Canada, including concessions at Chapers/Indigo bookstores.

[Article Source]

Starbucks website: www.starbucks.ca

Ralph Lauren Looking for More Canadian Retail Opportunities

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Retail Insider
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Image: Ralph Lauren

We got word that Ralph Lauren is looking to further expand its labels in Canada, including the possible opening of multiple Ralph Lauren-branded stores as well as its less expensive ‘Ralph Lauren Blue Label’ for women.

The company’s Ralph Lauren-branded shops (one is pictured above) tend to concentrate on its most expensive Ralph Lauren ‘Black’ and ‘Purple’ labels. These stores are located world-wide and there are currently no Ralph Lauren stores in Canada.

The company’s ‘Polo Ralph Lauren’ label for men is carried at many Hudson’s Bay stores across Canada, as well as at selected Holt Renfrew stores. Ralph Lauren Black Label is carried at selected Holt Renfrew stores and in ‘The Room‘ at Hudson’s Bay in Toronto and Vancouver. ‘Denim & Supply’ by Ralph Lauren is carried exclusively in Canada at Hudson’s Bay.

Ralph Lauren website: www.ralphlauren.com

Senior’s Discount Boost Shoppers Drug Mart Earnings

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Retail Insider
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Image: Shoppers Drug Mart

Canadian senior citizens are partly to thank for Shoppers Drug Mart‘s recent successful earnings. Revenues are up 4.4% while fourth-quarter pharmacy sales rose 3.7% and front-of-store sales (cosmetics, food and other stuff) rose 5%.

Once per month, seniors are offered a 20% discount on regularly-priced merchandise at Shoppers Drug Mart. Shoppers recently lifted its $2 co-payment fee on prescriptions for seniors in Ontario, increasing pharmacy sales. Shoppers’ sales also grew in Western Canada with recent pharmacy acquisitions.

Canada’s drug store business is becoming increasingly competitive with next month’s Canadian arrival of Target and increased efforts by Walmart Canada and London Drugs in Western Canada, among others.

[Article Source]
Shoppers Drug Mart website: www.shoppersdrugmart.ca

Target ‘Red Card’ Comes To Canada

By
Retail Insider
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Target Red Card

Canadians can now apply for Target’s ‘Red Card’ online. The card provides 5% off store purchases. It is a debit card that links with the cardholder’s existing chequing account and is for Target stores, only.

A Target credit card will also be issued by the Royal Bank of Canada. The Target RBC Mastercard will have no annual fee and cardholders are eligible for additional rewards towards Target gift cards, as well as purchases not made in Target stores.

[Article Source]

Target Red Card site: Target.ca/redcard

Tory Burch Opening its Third Canadian Location in Vancouver

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Retail Insider
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Photo: Tory Burch

Tory Burch will open its third Canadian store on Alberni Street in Vancouver. The store is expected to open in September 2013, according to their store manager in Calgary.

Tory Burch’s current Canadian locations are at Chinook Centre in Calgary, and at Yorkdale Mall in Toronto.

Tory Burch is a popular New York City-based designer brand that is also carried in Canada at Holt Renfrew. The label includes women’s clothing, shoes and accessories.

Tory Burch with Boo! [Image Source]

We had to post an image of Tory Burch with the world’s cutest dog, Boo. Thank you to Retail Insider Amitis for the pic!

Follow our Facebook and Twitter, as we post lots of insider information not posted on this website. We even give away some insider info beforehand, and some astute readers guessed this brand’s Alberni Street tenancy last week after we posted a ‘blind item’.

Tory Burch Website: www.toryburch.com

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