Canadian apparel brand Kit and Ace continued its retail growth over the weekend with the opening of a new pop-up store at Toronto’s Bayview Village Shopping Centre and the reopening of its storefront at CF Market Mall in Calgary. The moves reflect the brand’s ongoing national expansion strategy, which has gathered momentum in 2025 under the leadership of CEO David Lui and Unity Brands.
The Bayview Village, the brand’s 12th location, spans 2,448 square feet and is designed to reflect Kit and Ace’s evolving retail philosophy. In Calgary, the 3,700-square-foot CF Market Mall store has reopened following a complete renovation that gives it a cleaner and more elevated aesthetic.
Bayview Village Pop-Up: A Full Brand Expression
While the Bayview Village store is a temporary lease, Lui emphasized in earlier discussions with Retail Insider that Kit and Ace never treats its short-term stores like watered-down pop-ups. The store includes blue walls, modern lighting, warm-toned hangers, and mannequins displayed in dynamic, movement-based poses that reflect the brand’s “for people on the move” philosophy.
Women’s apparel, which has been gaining ground within the assortment, now accounts for nearly half of total sales. This marks a significant shift for Kit and Ace, which in earlier years leaned more heavily toward menswear.
Bayview Village itself is undergoing a transformation. Landlord QuadReal is completing a major renovation of the centre’s common areas, which will include new stylized marble flooring and refreshed design elements intended to enhance the mall’s boutique-hotel-like atmosphere. Renovations are expected to wrap up by the end of 2025.
CF Market Mall Reopening in Calgary
The Calgary reopening underscores Kit and Ace’s investment in strong regional markets. CF Market Mall is one of the city’s largest shopping destinations, drawing from affluent neighbourhoods in the northwest. The new store design emphasizes a more polished presentation aligned with the brand’s repositioning under Unity Brands.
The large store offers ample space to showcase Kit and Ace’s men’s and women’s technical fashion collections. It also underscores the company’s preference for high-traffic centres that attract a broad demographic of shoppers seeking elevated yet functional apparel.
Expansion Across Canada Continues
The Bayview Village and Calgary openings add to a steady stream of new Kit and Ace stores launched in 2025. In July, the company debuted its largest location to date at CF Toronto Eaton Centre, spanning 4,100 square feet. That followed a May opening at The Well in downtown Toronto and a June launch at Metropolis at Metrotown in Burnaby, British Columbia.
Looking ahead, Lui confirmed that a permanent store will open in November at Park Royal in West Vancouver. He also noted that the company is carefully considering additional Canadian locations as part of its national rollout. “We are not rushing to open dozens of stores,” Lui said previously. “Each opportunity is being evaluated carefully on a case-by-case basis.”
New Product Categories on the Horizon
Beyond real estate, Kit and Ace is preparing to broaden its product offering. Lui said the brand plans to launch new categories with selected partners at a future date, though further details have yet to be announced.
The expansion of categories comes as Kit and Ace positions itself more firmly as a lifestyle brand rooted in technical fashion. This shift represents a continuation of its evolution from its early technical cashmere beginnings to a broader, fabric-driven approach that emphasizes comfort, versatility, and relevance.
Staying Focused on the Canadian Market
Although Lui acknowledged that Kit and Ace has received interest from U.S. landlords, he confirmed that the company’s priority remains Canada for now. The decision reflects the brand’s measured approach to expansion and its intent to solidify its home market presence before considering international growth.
Founded in 2014 by Shannon and JJ Wilson, Kit and Ace initially pursued a rapid global expansion that ultimately proved unsustainable. After retrenching in 2017, the brand has rebuilt under new leadership, with Unity Brands taking ownership in 2023. Today, it is regaining prominence by targeting high-traffic shopping centres and lifestyle-driven neighbourhoods across Canada.
Lui has been clear that Kit and Ace is not attempting to chase fleeting trends. Instead, the brand is positioning itself as on-trend—fashionable, functional, and aligned with the realities of modern living. “Our goal is to make clothes that people can live in, travel in, and work in,” Lui explained. Comfort, versatility, and ease remain at the core of the company’s design philosophy.
