Canadian luxury retail is becoming increasingly concentrated around a relatively small number of premier destinations, with brands placing greater emphasis on flagship stores, customer relationships and curated retail environments. Those trends are explored in Q2 2026 Luxury: Control, Concentration and the Rise of Canada’s Premier Retail Nodes, authored by Craig Patterson as part of Retail Insider Reports. Retail Insider Reports are designed to deliver executive-level insights across major retail sectors and can be accessed through the Retail Insider Report Hub.
The report examines Canada’s luxury retail market, including brands positioned at the highest end of the market and characterized by exceptional craftsmanship, heritage, exclusivity, prestige and premium customer experiences. Coverage spans luxury fashion, jewellery, watches, beauty, accessories and related retail developments, while exploring how investment, real estate strategy and customer engagement continue to evolve across the sector.
General Themes
Investment Concentrates Around Premier Nodes – Luxury brands are directing investment toward a select group of highly productive retail destinations rather than pursuing broad expansion.
Flagships Take Priority – Directly operated flagship stores are giving brands greater control over merchandising, pricing, inventory and customer relationships.
Luxury Geography Is Shifting – New mixed-use developments and established luxury districts are reshaping where international brands choose to invest.
Experience Drives Differentiation – Hospitality, clienteling and immersive store environments are becoming increasingly important competitive advantages.
Resale Continues to Mature – The secondary luxury market is broadening access while becoming a complementary part of the luxury ecosystem.
People Matter More Than Ever – Store execution, relationship building and product expertise continue to distinguish leading luxury retailers.
Canada Remains Attractive – Despite softer global luxury conditions, international brands continue to view Canada as a long-term strategic market.
Retail Insider Coverage
Retail Insider’s reporting throughout the quarter documented many of the developments that underpin the report’s conclusions. Coverage followed the opening of Vancouver’s Oakridge Park, expansions by Brunello Cucinelli, the continued evolution of luxury retail in Yorkville, the arrival of international brands including Chow Tai Fook, and Canada Goose’s new retail concept. The publication also examined changing luxury retail practices through features on store execution and staffing, illustrating how operational excellence has become central to premium retail performance.
Additional reporting covered developments in luxury resale through Mine & Yours and Angels Wear Preloved, digital expansion by luxury beauty retailer Rennaï, and major flagship investments across Canada’s leading luxury markets. Together, these stories reveal an industry placing greater emphasis on destination quality, customer relationships and long-term brand stewardship rather than rapid store growth.
Broader Industry Coverage
The report suggests that Canada’s luxury market is entering a more mature phase in which a handful of retail ecosystems command an increasing share of investment. Integrated developments that combine retail, residential, hospitality, dining and public spaces are becoming increasingly attractive to international brands seeking locations capable of supporting premium experiences and long-term customer engagement.
The findings also extend beyond luxury retail itself. They point to broader changes in commercial real estate, leasing strategy and retail operations as brands seek greater ownership of distribution, customer data and merchandising. At the same time, luxury resale, omnichannel engagement and elevated service expectations continue to influence how retailers compete for affluent consumers across multiple categories.
Editor’s Take
Luxury retail in Canada is becoming increasingly selective. Rather than measuring success by store count alone, brands are concentrating investment where they can achieve greater control over the customer experience and operate within highly productive retail ecosystems. Oakridge Park exemplifies this shift, while Yorkville, Yorkdale and emerging luxury districts in Calgary and Montreal demonstrate that competition is increasingly centred on quality of location, operational execution and long-term relationship building rather than expansion for its own sake.
Bakebe grand opening at CF Markville in Markham, ON. Photo: Hubert Hua, AWeek Marketing
Hong Kong-based Bakebe has officially entered the Canadian market, opening its first Canadian and North American location at CF Markville in Markham with a concept that reflects a broader shift in how shopping centres are evolving. Within days of opening, the interactive baking studio found that Canadian families had become its strongest customer segment, while custom birthday cake pre-orders exceeded internal projections by 40 percent.
The early response offers another example of how regional shopping centres are expanding beyond traditional retail by introducing tenants that encourage customers to spend more time at a property through interactive, experience-driven activities. Across Canada, landlords continue to diversify their tenant mix with concepts centred on entertainment, wellness, food, recreation, and social engagement, recognizing that many consumers increasingly value memorable shared experiences alongside shopping.
For Bakebe founder and CEO Venus Chi, the Canadian launch has reinforced the universal appeal of the concept, which has already expanded from Hong Kong into Malaysia and the Philippines.
“What surprised me most is how warmly local families have embraced us,” Chi told Retail Insider. “At first, I thought young adults might be our main guests, but we quickly saw so many parents and children signing up for baking sessions together.”
Founded in Hong Kong in 2018, Bakebe introduced an app-guided co-baking concept that allows guests to prepare cakes and desserts using interactive digital instructions at fully equipped workstations. Visitors choose a baking or decorating project, with all ingredients and equipment provided on-site while staff remain available to assist throughout the process. The model removes many of the barriers associated with traditional baking classes, making the experience accessible to beginners while still appealing to more experienced home bakers.
Bakebe’s Canadian expansion is being supported by Toronto-area-based Accencis Group, a brand development, investment and operating company that helps introduce international consumer and hospitality brands to the Canadian market. Bakebe joins a growing portfolio that includes brands such as % Arabica, Rumble Boxing, Midori Ramen and The Captain’s Boil.
Venus Chi speaks at Bakebe’s grand opening at CF Markville in Markham, ON. Photo: Hubert Hua, AWeek Marketing
Markham Offered the Right Foundation for Canadian Expansion
While the Greater Toronto Area represented a logical first step into Canada, Chi said CF Markville offered a combination of demographics, accessibility, and community that aligned closely with Bakebe’s long-term vision.
“CF Markville felt like the right place to begin our Canadian journey because it is surrounded by such a vibrant and family-oriented community,” she said. “Since Bakebe started in Hong Kong, it was meaningful for us to open in Markham, where many people already have a connection to Hong Kong culture and could understand the heart of our brand.”
Markham’s diverse population and strong family demographics made it an attractive launch market, while CF Markville’s established position as one of York Region’s leading regional shopping centres provides Bakebe with access to customers who already visit the property for shopping, dining, and leisure activities.
Rather than viewing the Canadian studio simply as another international location, Chi said the goal is to establish Bakebe as a place where people celebrate milestones and spend quality time together.
“We are creating a warm space where families, friends, couples, and groups can connect through baking,” she said.
Bakebe grand opening at CF Markville in Markham, ON. Photo: Hubert Hua, AWeek Marketing
Early Customer Behaviour Is Shaping the Canadian Business
The opening has already influenced how Bakebe approaches the Canadian market.
After observing guest behaviour during the launch, the company expanded activities designed specifically for groups, including parent-child baking experiences that previously proved successful in Hong Kong, along with colourful cupcake decorating sessions for couples and friends.
Bakebe has also broadened its food and beverage offering with fresh pastries from DUO Café and premium handcrafted drinks, encouraging guests to relax before or after their baking session.
Chi said Canadian customers have also shown strong interest in ingredient quality and allergy-conscious options.
“They care deeply about the details, from the recipes to options that feel safe and thoughtful for their families, such as nut-free and low-allergen choices,” she said.
The company believes these observations will continue shaping its Canadian operation as it introduces new programming and seasonal experiences.
Venus Chi with partners from Accencis group and family members at the Bakebe grand opening at CF Markville in Markham, ON. Photo: Hubert Hua, AWeek Marketing
More Than a DIY Baking Studio
Although Bakebe is best known for its app-guided workshops, the Canadian operation is built around multiple complementary revenue streams.
Free-style cake decorating workshops became the studio’s most popular offering during the opening period. These express sessions provide prepared cake bases, allowing guests to focus on decorating and creative expression instead of baking from scratch.
“Our free-style cake decorating workshops ranked number one,” Chi said. “Most guests don’t come here to produce a flawless cake. They just want to relax and enjoy themselves.”
The business also offers custom cakes through advance ordering as well as ready-made cakes available for walk-in customers. According to Chi, custom birthday cake pre-orders exceeded the company’s original expectations by approximately 40 percent during the launch.
Private events are expected to become another important component of the business. Bakebe is already hosting birthdays, family celebrations, and brand activations, with bridal showers, corporate team-building sessions, and other group events expected to contribute to future growth.
“What makes these events special is that guests are not just standing around or taking photos,” Chi said. “They are decorating, laughing, sharing ideas, and creating memories through a hands-on experience.”
For shopping centres, concepts like Bakebe offer advantages beyond individual customer visits. Birthday parties, corporate bookings, holiday programming, and repeat workshops create multiple reasons for guests to return throughout the year while often bringing groups of visitors to a property who may also shop or dine before and after their scheduled activity.
Bakebe grand opening at CF Markville in Markham, ON. Photo: Olivia Hon
Experiential Retail Continues to Expand
Bakebe’s arrival reflects a broader evolution taking place across Canada’s shopping centre industry.
As retailers compete with the convenience of online shopping, many landlords are introducing businesses that cannot easily be replicated digitally. Interactive food concepts, entertainment venues, fitness operators, and immersive attractions are increasingly complementing traditional retailers, helping transform shopping centres into destinations where consumers can spend an afternoon rather than simply complete a transaction.
Chi believes that shift is evident in customer behaviour.
“I think young people are looking for more than shopping when they visit a mall today,” she said. “They are looking for places where they can spend meaningful time with friends and loved ones.”
She added that Bakebe gives visitors “a reason to pause, gather, create, and enjoy something together,” turning a shopping trip into a shared activity that extends beyond a retail purchase.
Bakebe grand opening at CF Markville in Markham, ON. Photo: Olivia Hon
Growth Plans Focus on Building Local Connections
Looking ahead, Bakebe plans to strengthen its presence in the Greater Toronto Area before pursuing broader expansion across Canada. While the company has previously identified Vancouver, Montreal, and Calgary as potential long-term markets, Chi said the immediate priority is establishing a strong foundation in Ontario.
Expansion will involve more than opening additional studios. Bakebe plans to introduce seasonal workshops tied to holidays, collaborate with local brands and retailers, and develop relationships with schools, community organizations, and neighbourhood groups.
“Our hope is that Bakebe becomes more than a one-time visit,” Chi said. “We want it to become part of the community.”
The performance of the Markham location will likely help shape the company’s Canadian growth strategy in the years ahead. If the early response continues, Bakebe could become another example of how international experiential retail concepts are finding opportunities within Canada’s evolving shopping centre landscape while demonstrating that consumers continue to seek destinations that combine creativity, hospitality, and shared experiences.
Canadian retailers have spent years trying to make sure shoppers can find them online. Chris Parsons says the next challenge is different: making sure artificial intelligence can understand them.
Parsons, founder and author of Retail Rewired, has released a new report titled The AI Moment of Discovery, arguing that retail is entering a new stage in how consumers begin the shopping journey. The report is based on Canadian shopper research from Caddle in partnership with the Retail Council of Canada, and examines how AI tools are influencing product discovery, research and purchase decisions.
Chris Parsons, Image: retailrewired.ca
For Parsons, the shift is significant because the starting point of shopping is changing.
For years, shoppers searched by keyword. They looked for “running shoes,” “barbecue,” “plaid pants,” or a particular brand they already knew. Increasingly, Parsons said, shoppers are describing situations and asking AI tools for guidance.
“I will say I’m going to a specific event, like I’m going to be speaking on stage in Boston in August. What should I wear to this event?” Parsons said in an interview. “Now all of a sudden, it will give me a full wardrobe, and it could be a bunch of individual items from different retailers that I would definitely maybe not have considered.”
That, he said, changes the customer journey. AI can introduce products, brands and combinations that may never have appeared in a traditional search journey shaped by habit, brand preference or keyword behaviour.
“It is really a moment of discovery because you’re finding brands, you’re finding new locations, you’re taking your bias out of it,” Parsons said.
From Shelf to Search to AI
Parsons frames the change as the latest stage in a longer evolution of retail discovery.
The first major model was Procter & Gamble’s “First Moment of Truth,” which focused on the moment when consumers encountered products at the shelf. Parsons said that era was shaped by the store environment, packaging, displays and the shopper’s decision in front of the product.
He later lived through the shift to Google’s “Zero Moment of Truth,” which moved influence earlier in the journey. Consumers began researching products before visiting a store, and retailers had to focus on search engines, meta tags, backlinks, keywords and digital content.
Parsons said he recognized the current AI shift because he had already seen those earlier moments reshape retail.
“After living through those two periods, I felt like we were in this new moment, and I called it the AI Moment of Discovery,” he said.
The distinction, he added, is that AI is helping customers form a starting point. Shoppers are asking for direction, and the answer can influence which brands enter the consideration set before a traditional search ever happens.
In the report, Parsons writes that the question is no longer simply whether customers can find a retailer. The new question is whether the retailer is part of the discovery that guides the customer.
Canadian Shoppers Are Already Using AI
The Retail Rewired report cites Caddle and RCC research showing that more than one in four Canadian shoppers now use AI to help make purchase decisions. The report also says AI accounts for 13 per cent of how shoppers discover products, placing it close to channels such as retailer websites, apps and flyers.
Parsons said retailers should take the numbers seriously because adoption tends to begin with certain groups before spreading more broadly.
Men are currently over-indexing in AI usage, while Gen Z leads all generations in adoption for shopping, according to the report. Parsons said that pattern is consistent with previous technology shifts, including mobile commerce, websites and online purchasing.
“This happens with every generation,” he said. “The mobile adoption was faster with a younger generation. Search and websites and purchasing online was faster with another younger generation, and they all eventually become natives to these tools.”
The report also found that 73 per cent of shoppers using AI rate it as helpful for purchase decisions, suggesting that the behaviour is moving beyond simple experimentation.
The Shift From Keywords to Situations
One of Parsons’ central arguments is that retailers need to stop thinking only in product categories and start thinking about situations.
A traditional retail website is often built around categories: apparel, footwear, home improvement, grocery, electronics or beauty. AI-driven discovery works differently. Shoppers ask questions based on what they are trying to accomplish.
They may ask what to wear to a specific event, what to buy for a family camping trip, how to upgrade a kitchen, or which protein powder is best for their needs.
That change has major implications for retailers because AI tools need enough context to understand when a product is relevant. A product page that only lists basic specifications may not be enough.
Parsons said retailers should look carefully at their product display pages, descriptions, tips, how-to content and user-generated content. AI systems need clear signals from multiple sources to understand why a product should be recommended.
“As we consider AI, I think what we need to consider first is where are the opportunities,” Parsons said. “The opportunities are in our product display pages, the content that we provide, the usefulness, the tips on cleaning products or how to use a product.”
He said retailers also need to consider how their products appear outside their own websites, including forums, product listings, promotions, reviews, video reviews and influencer content.
“All of these create this flywheel of an ecosystem so AI can discover,” he said.
Content Becomes Critical Again
Parsons said the rise of AI should remind retailers of a lesson the industry often repeats and then forgets.
“For the 20-something years that I’ve been in retail, we always say content is king, and then we go through periods where we kind of forget about that,” he said. “Then a new technology like AI comes about and guess what’s king again? It’s content.”
The issue is not just writing more copy. It is creating useful, structured and specific information that helps people and AI systems understand a product.
For example, Parsons said retailers selling a barbecue should not only list the product as a gas Napoleon barbecue at a certain price. They should provide recipes, maintenance advice, cleaning information, cover recommendations and other content that helps explain how the product fits into a customer’s life.
“Tell the audience more so they can discover,” he said.
That same idea applies to apparel, grocery, home improvement, electronics and other categories where shoppers increasingly want guidance, not just product listings.
Parsons said retailers also need stronger foundational data. Product descriptions, sizing charts, specifications and use cases all matter more in an AI-assisted shopping journey.
“AI is only good to discover — it’s garbage in, garbage out from the retailer,” he said. “If we’re not holistically writing for these new search options, then we won’t be discovered.”
Reviews Are Becoming AI Signals
Customer reviews are also becoming more important in an AI-driven discovery environment.
The report states that 78 per cent of shoppers say customer reviews are important to their purchase decision, while 88 per cent agree that reviews improve AI recommendation accuracy. It also says 94 per cent of shoppers believe AI tools would be more useful with verified reviews.
That creates a new layer of importance for review strategy. Reviews are still read by shoppers, but they may also be summarized and interpreted by AI systems that influence which products appear in recommendations.
Parsons said this means retailers need authority from beyond their own brand voice. User-generated content, video reviews, influencers and strong ratings all contribute to how AI understands a product.
“It needs authority, and it needs authority from different users, not just the retailer,” he said.
AI Could Also Change Retail Operations
While the report focuses heavily on discovery, Parsons said retailers should also think about how AI can improve internal operations.
He said the conversation should not be limited to job loss. In many cases, AI can reduce repetitive work and allow teams to spend more time on higher-value activity.
“It’s the efficiencies versus replacement of people,” Parsons said.
One example is flyer production. Parsons said traditional retail flyer creation can involve a lengthy process over several weeks. AI could compress that timeline and free teams to build more engaging experiences, including richer digital content or video components.
“What have we always wanted to do? Where did we want to get creative?” he said. “Maybe it’s infusing flyers with more digital components, with embedding it with videos or richer content into it that you just never had the time to do because you’re just so busy doing it the old way.”
Parsons also pointed to the potential for AI to improve data analysis. Earlier in his career at Walmart, he discovered a relationship between tuna promotions and toothpaste usage through basket analysis. The insight was that shoppers buying products such as tuna could end up using oral care products more frequently.
That kind of relationship took significant time to uncover manually, he said. AI could make it easier for retailers to identify unexpected connections across categories, particularly where traditional merchandising structures keep teams separated.
“Can you imagine what AI can do looking through basket analysis and understanding these categories that, unnaturally, you wouldn’t look at together?” Parsons said.
Retailers Should Not Ignore the Shift
Parsons said some retailers may be tempted to wait, especially while AI tools continue to evolve quickly. He cautioned against that approach.
He compared the moment to the rise of Amazon, when some retailers resisted engaging with the platform because they feared it would harm their categories. Parsons said that strategy ignored where customers were spending time.
“If that’s where your audience is, you have to find a way to communicate with them,” he said.
The same logic applies to AI, he added. Retailers do not need to solve everything immediately, but they should start looking for practical ways to reduce friction for customers, improve content, strengthen product information and automate repetitive internal work.
“We can worry about all of the red herrings and the red flags, or we can start to take some opportunities that are low-hanging fruit,” Parsons said.
The report’s practical advice includes mapping products to real customer situations, aligning brands to use cases, building signals that feed AI systems, showing up early in the discovery journey and designing content for synthesis.
For Parsons, the most important point is that AI discovery is already beginning to influence how shoppers start the journey.
Retailers that understand this shift may be able to shape the customer’s first set of options. Those that do not may find themselves excluded before the shopper ever reaches a store, website or search result.
As Parsons puts it in the report, the next moment is not coming. It is already here.
Lack of Talent Causing Retail Staffing and Employment Conundrum in Canada: Interview
Canadian wholesale and retail employment increased in June, reversing part of the sector’s sharp decline from the previous month. The improvement, however, leaves the industry with substantially fewer workers than it employed one year ago and raises questions about how retailers are staffing stores while continuing to expand in selected markets.
Employment across wholesale and retail trade increased by 16,400 positions in June, according to Statistics Canada’s latest Labour Force Survey. The gain followed a loss of approximately 35,000 positions in May and brought employment in the combined sector to nearly 2.94 million.
Despite the monthly rebound, wholesale and retail trade employed approximately 71,900 fewer people than it did in June 2025, representing a year-over-year decline of 2.4 per cent.
The figures present a complicated picture for Canadian retail. Companies continue to announce new stores, expanded flagships and market-entry plans, while employment across the broader wholesale and retail category remains well below last year.
“We keep hearing about retailers opening stores and expanding, but where are the jobs?” Sears said. “Retail employment continues to diminish. When you look at the national figures, you have to ask where the employment associated with all of this expansion is actually showing up.”
The national figures do not mean every retailer is reducing its workforce. New locations must still be staffed, and hiring conditions vary considerably by company, category and market. Employment gains at expanding retailers can also be offset by closures, restructurings and workforce reductions elsewhere in the industry.
The scale of the annual decline nevertheless suggests that Canada’s broader retail employment base has contracted even as stronger operators continue investing in selected stores and markets.
Lean Staffing Creates Risks for the Store Experience
Labour is one of the most significant controllable expenses for a retailer, making staffing an obvious area for companies to examine when sales are uncertain or margins are under pressure. Sears said retailers risk reducing staffing to a point where the savings begin to undermine the customer experience they are trying to create.
“You cannot keep talking about quality service, customer experience and the finest products when there are not enough retail employees in the store,” Sears said. “Retailers may have beautiful stores and valuable merchandise, but they still need enough staff on the sales floor to deliver that value.”
Suzanne Sears
Canadian retailers have increasingly invested in larger stores, elevated merchandising, experiential concepts and improved presentation. Those investments still depend on employees who can welcome customers, explain products, manage fitting rooms, replenish merchandise and complete transactions.
A visually impressive store can accomplish only so much when customers cannot find assistance or the employees who are present are responsible for too many competing tasks.
“The easiest way to improve the bottom line in the short term is to reduce staffing,” Sears said. “But retailers continue to say that service and customer experience are priorities. There is a real issue when stores carry significant value and have very few employees available to serve customers.”
Lean staffing can also limit a retailer’s ability to convert store traffic into sales. Customers who cannot find assistance may leave without making a purchase, while reduced interaction can mean fewer opportunities for clienteling, cross-selling and building long-term relationships.
The consequences can be particularly significant for fashion, luxury, beauty, furniture and other categories where product knowledge and personal assistance remain central to the purchase.
“If you do not have enough retail staff in the store, you are going to lose sales,” Sears said. “You need employees who can speak to customers, understand what they are looking for and help move that interaction toward a purchase.”
Existing employees can face heavier workloads when stores operate with smaller teams. Over time, that can contribute to fatigue, lower morale and employee turnover, placing further pressure on employers already having difficulty recruiting for particular positions.
Sears described many Canadian stores as operating with increasingly lean teams and questioned whether some retailers have moved beyond efficiency into chronic understaffing.
“You cannot promise that you are service-oriented when you do not have enough employees on the sales floor to make that happen,” she said. “At some point, the customer notices.”
Payroll Data Show Losses Across Major Retail Categories
A separate Statistics Canada payroll survey provides more detail on where retail employment has been weakening.
Payroll employment in retail trade was down by approximately 20,300 positions in March compared with the same month in 2025. The largest declines were recorded among clothing and clothing accessories retailers, which employed 6,800 fewer workers, and department stores, where payroll employment was down by 6,500.
Furniture, floor covering, window treatment and other home furnishings retailers recorded a decline of 3,700 positions, while building material and supplies dealers were down by 3,100.
The payroll figures cover an earlier period than the June Labour Force Survey and are produced using a different methodology. They nevertheless demonstrate that employment weakness has extended into several important areas of consumer-facing retail.
The declines correspond with broader changes underway in the Canadian market. Department-store closures and restructurings have removed jobs, while apparel and home-related retailers continue to navigate uneven consumer demand and elevated operating costs.
At the same time, stronger retailers are investing selectively in flagship locations and high-performing markets. Visible expansion by some operators can therefore occur alongside a net reduction in employment across the industry.
Sears said the figures should also prompt a wider discussion about retail’s ability to attract and retain people who view the sector as a long-term career.
“People are looking at retail and asking whether it is still a career worth investing in,” she said. “When the workforce keeps shrinking and stores remain understaffed, that becomes a serious question for the industry.”
Retail has historically offered pathways from entry-level sales positions into store management, buying, merchandising, operations and senior leadership. A prolonged reduction in store-level employment could make those career paths less visible and place pressure on the industry’s future talent pipeline.
Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec Lead Annual Decline
The annual employment decline was concentrated in Canada’s three largest provincial retail markets.
Wholesale and retail employment in Ontario was down by approximately 37,000 positions from June 2025. British Columbia recorded a decline of approximately 31,600, while Quebec was down by about 13,800.
Collectively, the three provinces had approximately 82,400 fewer wholesale and retail workers than one year earlier.
Alberta moved in the opposite direction. Employment in the combined sector increased by approximately 7,100 positions year over year and by 4,800 in June.
Ontario recorded a monthly increase of approximately 9,100 positions in June, while Quebec added 2,900. British Columbia was essentially unchanged during the month.
The provincial differences may reflect varying population trends, consumer demand, operating costs and levels of business investment. They also demonstrate that the national result is not being experienced uniformly across the country.
The monthly improvement in Ontario and Quebec is encouraging, but it has not yet erased the much larger employment declines recorded over the previous year.
Fewer Jobs Do Not Mean Every Position Is Easy to Fill
The contraction in overall employment might suggest that retailers should have little difficulty finding workers. Sears said that is not always the experience of employers attempting to recruit for particular store-level roles.
“Retail employment is declining, but employers are still telling me they cannot find people to fill the positions they have available,” Sears said. “Those two things can happen at the same time.”
Part-time positions can be especially challenging to fill when they offer a limited number of weekly hours or require employees to work evenings, weekends and changing schedules.
“There is a tendency to dismiss employment growth by saying, ‘They were only part-time jobs,’ as though part-time work does not count,” Sears said. “Every second client I speak with is looking for part-time employees. They may need someone for 15 to 24 hours a week, and those are among the most difficult positions to fill.”
National employment totals do not reflect every local recruitment challenge. An industry can employ fewer people overall while individual businesses struggle to fill positions involving particular schedules, locations or specialties.
A short-hours position may not provide enough income for someone seeking full-time work. Evening and weekend schedules can be difficult for workers with family responsibilities, while suburban stores may be inaccessible to employees without reliable transportation.
Some retailers also require highly specific availability. An employer might need someone for evenings, weekends or a small number of peak trading hours, while candidates often require predictable schedules and enough weekly income to make the position worthwhile.
“Retailers may say they need part-time staff, but the schedule has to work for the employee as well as the employer,” Sears said. “You cannot assume there will always be someone available for a small number of hours at exactly the times the store needs them.”
Specialized sales positions can present another challenge. Retailers may need employees with product knowledge, established client relationships or experience serving a particular customer, narrowing the pool of suitable candidates.
This helps explain why the sector can report tens of thousands fewer workers while recruiters still encounter difficulty filling particular vacancies.
Retail Remains Canada’s Largest Employer of Working Students
The June report also highlighted the continuing importance of retail employment for young Canadians.
Employment among people aged 15 to 24 increased by 33,000 in June, with part-time positions accounting for most of the gain. Youth employment increased by 25,000 in part-time work and by 8,000 in full-time positions.
Among students who were employed in June and expected to return to school in the fall, 25.7 per cent worked in retail trade. That was the largest share of any industry, ahead of accommodation and food services at 23.3 per cent and information, culture and recreation at 13 per cent.
The figures reinforce retail’s longstanding role as an entry point into the labour market. Stores provide many young Canadians with their first paid positions and an opportunity to develop experience in sales, customer service, merchandising and workplace communication.
Conditions remain challenging for many younger job seekers, however. The unemployment rate among returning students was 15.3 per cent in June, still above the pre-pandemic June average of 13 per cent.
The difficulty was most pronounced among the youngest students. The unemployment rate among returning students aged 15 and 16 reached 30.6 per cent. It stood at 16.5 per cent among those aged 17 to 19 and 8.2 per cent among returning students aged 20 to 24.
Those differences suggest that older students with previous employment experience are having considerably more success finding work than teenagers attempting to enter the labour market for the first time.
Sears said part-time retail positions should not automatically be viewed as lesser jobs, particularly when they allow students to earn income while completing their education.
“These are real jobs that people need,” Sears said. “For students, part-time work can be what allows them to continue their education and pay their expenses. We should not dismiss those positions simply because they are not full-time.”
The importance of those jobs extends beyond the number of hours worked. A retail position can help a student pay tuition and living costs while providing experience that can support future employment.
Retailers also benefit from access to students who can work during evenings, weekends and peak seasonal periods, although competition for experienced and reliable workers can remain strong.
Retail Hiring Should Accelerate Ahead of the Holidays
The June increase may represent an early improvement after the sharp decline recorded in May, although one month of growth is not enough to establish a sustained recovery.
Retailers will soon begin planning staffing levels for the back-to-school and holiday shopping periods. Sears expects hiring to strengthen as companies prepare for higher traffic and recognize the sales risks associated with operating stores too leanly.
“I think we are going to see a significant rehiring beginning in September because retailers will eventually realize that if they do not hire, they do not sell,” Sears said. “These new stores have to be staffed, and retailers need enough employees in place to convert traffic into sales.”
The timing and scale of that hiring will depend on consumer demand, retailer confidence and the performance of individual categories. Companies may continue relying on flexible scheduling, part-time employees and seasonal contracts to manage uncertainty.
Sears said the industry cannot indefinitely expand its physical presence without eventually adding the store teams required to operate those locations effectively.
“You can open the stores, but at some point you need retail employees working in them,” she said. “If retailers want those stores to perform, they will have to hire.”
June’s employment increase offers a measure of improvement, but it recovered less than half of the positions lost in wholesale and retail trade during May. The much larger year-over-year decline shows that the sector continues to operate with a reduced employment base.
The coming months will reveal whether June marked the beginning of a broader retail hiring recovery or a temporary pause in a longer period of workforce contraction. For retailers promising stronger service and more engaging stores, the answer will influence more than labour costs. It will help determine whether their investments can deliver the customer experience and sales performance they were designed to produce.
Canadian fashion retailers Aritzia and Group Dynamite are bucking broader retail trends with strong financial performance by focusing on affluent shoppers, disciplined execution and international expansion, says retail analyst Bruce Winder.
Winder said both companies have posted results that far exceed typical retail growth, with strong double-digit sales increases and improved profit margins at a time when many retailers are contending with cautious consumer spending.
He said Aritzia has benefited from carefully expanding its presence in the United States, where the brand was previously underdeveloped. That strategy, combined with strong digital performance, effective inventory management and well-received spring merchandise, has helped the company establish itself as an affordable luxury retailer south of the border, Winder said.
He added that Aritzia’s customer base has also provided a degree of protection from broader economic pressures because it caters to consumers with greater disposable income.
Group Dynamite, which operates the Garage and Dynamite banners, has followed a different but equally successful path, Winder said.
He said the Montreal-based retailer has elevated its brands by opening stores in marquee and more affluent locations while upgrading its merchandise assortment and price positioning. Those changes have helped expand margins and drive strong financial results, he said.
Winder said both companies have remained disciplined about identifying and serving a specific customer rather than trying to appeal to everyone.
He said each retailer targets younger, affluent women seeking premium fashion at prices below traditional luxury brands, allowing them to occupy a segment that has been more resilient despite economic headwinds affecting lower-income consumers.
Customer loyalty has also been a key factor, Winder said, pointing to consistent product quality, pricing, communication, in-stock merchandise and store experience.
International growth is providing another tailwind, he added, noting Group Dynamite’s expansion into the United Kingdom and the United States, including a planned Garage flagship store in New York’s Flatiron district.
Winder contrasted that momentum with lululemon, which he said has recently struggled to match the same level of execution across product appeal, quality and inventory.
A growing number of Canadians are beginning each pay period with much of their income already committed to bills, debt payments and regular expenses, according to the latest MNP Consumer Debt Index, which suggests persistent financial pressures continue to shape household spending and budgeting decisions.
The quarterly survey, conducted by Ipsos for MNP LTD, found that 61 per cent of Canadians say at least half of their income is already allocated before they receive it. One-third, or 32 per cent, say most of their paycheque is already spoken for, while 16 per cent say all of their upcoming income is committed or their expenses exceed what they expect to earn.
The findings point to ongoing financial strain despite a modest improvement in the MNP Consumer Debt Index, which rose four points from the previous quarter to 91. MNP said nearly half of Canadians remain financially vulnerable, with 46 per cent reporting they are $200 or less away from being unable to meet monthly bills and debt obligations. That figure is up three percentage points from the previous quarter. Meanwhile, 28 per cent say they do not earn enough to cover their bills and debt payments.
“Many Canadians are not just living paycheque-to-paycheque, they are entering each pay period with much of that paycheque already spoken for,” said Grant Bazian, president of MNP LTD, the country’s largest insolvency firm. “The difference is that the next paycheque is not a reset point. It is already assigned to bills, debt payments and regular expenses before it arrives. That may help people stay current in the short term, but it can also create a rolling shortfall, where each paycheque is used to catch up from the last one, leaving households more vulnerable when costs rise, income changes, or debt payments become harder to manage.”
The survey also found that financial pressures are affecting spending beyond essential household expenses.
Grant Bazian
Thirty-seven per cent of respondents said financial pressures are limiting their ability to make financial progress, while 35 per cent reported reducing spending on family and personal enrichment, including personal care, clothing and children’s activities.
More than half of respondents, or 57 per cent, said they are reducing spending on travel and experiences because of higher costs, debt obligations or global uncertainty. Within that group, 42 per cent said they are cutting back on travel or vacation plans, 40 per cent are spending less on concerts, festivals, sporting events and other entertainment, and 35 per cent are reducing weekend or day trips.
The survey found 56 per cent are also spending less on dining and social activities. Nearly half said they are cutting back on restaurants, patios, takeout or coffee shops, while others reported spending less on celebrations or hosting family and friends.
Nearly one-quarter of Canadians, or 23 per cent, said they have cancelled plans or chosen not to make them because of financial pressures, while nine per cent said they are relying on credit or borrowed money to maintain activities. Younger Canadians were more likely than those aged 55 and older to report cutting back across the categories measured.
“Canadians are not just tightening their budgets. Many are shrinking parts of their lifestyle to keep up with the cost of essentials,” said Bazian. “When people are cutting back on plans, using credit to maintain activities, or scaling back on the things that help them feel connected and supported, financial pressure can start to affect more than household balance sheets. It can weigh on overall quality of life and emotional well-being.”
The survey found Canadians remain cautious about the impact of borrowing costs even as the Bank of Canada has held its key interest rate steady this year.
While 24 per cent said they would feel better able to handle a one-percentage-point interest rate increase and 22 per cent said they would feel worse, only 21 per cent said they could absorb an additional $130 in monthly interest payments. More than one-third, or 35 per cent, said they could not.
RDNE Stock project photo
At the same time, 62 per cent said they need interest rates to decline, while 53 per cent said they remain concerned about facing financial difficulty if rates increase.
“Stable interest rates may offer some predictability, but they don’t necessarily create relief when other financial pressures remain unpredictable,” said Bazian. “With households still navigating elevated living costs, debt-servicing demands, and broader economic uncertainty, even a modest increase in required payments can force difficult trade-offs, from cutting back further to relying more heavily on credit to stay current.”
The report says households managing by reducing discretionary spending, postponing plans, limiting savings or relying on credit may still be facing increasing financial pressure, even if they continue meeting their obligations.
The survey also found that expectations for future debt levels have improved modestly. Thirty per cent of Canadians expect their debt situation to improve over the next year, while 40 per cent anticipate improvement over the next five years.
The MNP Consumer Debt Index is based on an Ipsos survey of 2,000 Canadians aged 18 and older conducted between June 11 and June 16, 2026. Ipsos said the results have a credibility interval of plus or minus 2.7 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
The restaurant and accommodation industry has been the biggest net youth jobs creator of any sector since the start of the year, says Restaurants Canada.
While most other industries have been cutting youth jobs, the restaurant industry employed an average of 52,770 more youth during the first half of 2026 than during the same period in 2025, according to the latest Statistics Canada Labour Force survey recently released, said the organization.
“The numbers are clear—our sector has created more new youth jobs than all other industries combined,” said Kelly Higginson, President and CEO of Restaurants Canada. “As youth unemployment continues to be a major national concern, the restaurant industry continues to play an important role in ensuring young people have the opportunities they need to launch their careers.”
The restaurant and accommodation sector employed 543,000 youth in June, a 12% increase over last year. Restaurants account for 85% of employment in the sector. British Columbia saw the biggest increase of youth restaurant jobs (16,800), followed by Alberta (14,000) and Quebec (10,000), said the organization.
Restaurants Canada said it is committed to working with federal and provincial governments on workforce strategies to ensure that the restaurant sector continues to be the champion for youth employment.
Kelly Higginson
Restaurants are the fourth largest private sector employer in Canada, employing 1.2 million Canadians, 40% of whom are youth. The industry is facing significant labour shortages across the country, especially in roles requiring training, like chefs, cooks and management. At the same time, profits in the industry remain fragile, with 36% of companies operating at a loss or just breaking even, making investments in hiring and training difficult, it explained.
“We are the number one source of first-time jobs in Canada, and that hasn’t changed over the years. One in six youth jobs are in our industry,” added Higginson. “Today’s jobs numbers show that the restaurant industry is positioned to provide young workers the early career training and skills they need to succeed in any sector of their choosing. Governments should invest in us so we can continue to invest in our youth.”
Jersey Mike’s Subs is opening its first restaurant in Manitoba, marking the latest step in franchise operator Redberry Restaurants’ plan to expand the sandwich chain’s presence across Canada.
The Steinbach restaurant, located at 17 Market Blvd., is scheduled to open Wednesday, July 15. Redberry said it now operates more than 30 Jersey Mike’s locations across Canada as part of a plan to grow the brand to 300 Canadian restaurants by 2035.
The opening also launches a five-day fundraising campaign in support of Make-A-Wish Canada, part of a broader commitment announced in May to raise $1 million for the charity by 2030. The company said it has raised more than $270,000 for the organization since 2024.
Customers who receive a fundraising coupon distributed before the opening can make a minimum $3 donation to Make-A-Wish Canada in exchange for a regular sub during the campaign, which runs from July 15 to July 19. The company said customers must present a coupon to participate in the offer.
Customers without a coupon will be able to download the Jersey Mike’s app and receive a free regular sub after making their first in-app sub purchase during a limited-time promotion. They will also have the option to donate to Make-A-Wish Canada through a donation box located near the restaurant’s register.
Ken Otto
“As we’ve expanded throughout the country, we’ve received many requests to bring Jersey Mike’s to Manitoba, and we’re excited to open our first-ever location in Steinbach,” said Ken Otto, CEO, Redberry. “Steinbach is a vibrant community with a growing restaurant scene, and we welcome everyone in for a taste of ‘A Sub Above’ and to help make a difference through our fundraiser with Make-A-Wish Canada.”
The Steinbach location will serve Jersey Mike’s menu of fresh sliced and grilled submarine sandwiches. The company said its meats and cheeses are sliced to order and served on bread baked in-store, while cheesesteaks are grilled fresh for each order.
The restaurant will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Customers will be able to order in person, through the Jersey Mike’s mobile app, online and through national delivery platforms. Catering services will also be available.
Redberry, founded in 2005, operates more than 200 quick-service restaurants across Canada under the Burger King, Taco Bell and Jersey Mike’s brands. The company said its expansion has been supported through its partnership with Uncommon Equity.
Jersey Mike’s, founded in 1956 as Mike’s Subs in Point Pleasant, N.J., has grown to more than 3,200 locations across the United States and Canada.
Jersey Mike’s in Steinbach
Make-A-Wish Canada grants wishes for children diagnosed with critical illnesses and operates as part of an international wish-granting organization serving children in communities across Canada and in 50 countries worldwide. The organization said it has granted more than 40,000 wishes over the past 43 years, including 1,835 last year.
Rising costs and supply chain volatility are putting massive pressure on consumer goods brands—but the real issue may be happening behind the scenes. In a new study, DOSS surveyed 230 U.S. CPG (Consumer Packaged Goods) operations leaders to uncover where workflows are breaking down across product launches, manufacturing, and retail readiness.
Key Takeaways:
one in two CPG leaders shipped products with incorrect labeling or packaging due to miscommunication
one in four product launches were delayed, costing brands an average of 2.4 weeks
36% made major business decisions using outdated or incorrect data
44% of teams say their operations are primarily reactive
Only 14% say AI has meaningfully improved efficiency—despite 40% already using it.
The findings point to a growing operational gap as brands scale—where fragmented systems, manual work, and poor data visibility are driving costly mistakes. As retail expectations tighten and margins shrink, these inefficiencies are becoming harder to ignore.
Question: The study found that one in two CPG leaders shipped products with incorrect labeling or packaging because of miscommunication. Why are these errors still happening at such a high rate despite advances in supply chain technology?
Answer: While most of today’s consumer brands have invested heavily in operations technology, they have not unified it, creating silos between different parts of their businesses. Critical product information lives in spec sheets from Walmart and Target, shipping and compliance requirements from each retailer, format templates from contract manufacturing partners, and internal artwork files. None of those sources talk to each other. The issue is usually less about a lack of software and more about the brand, the contract manufacturer, the warehouse and logistics partner, and the retail partner working from different versions of the truth.
The breaking point is often coordination with contract manufacturers, the partners who physically produce the product. Around a third of the errors we see trace back to a brand sending one spec, the manufacturer interpreting it against a slightly older template, and the finished product arriving at the retailer’s warehouse with the wrong barcode, product identifier, or pallet setup. Product launches move quickly, packaging changes mid-flight, and retailer compliance requirements update quarterly. When those updates travel through disconnected workflows, the error rate compounds.
Q: With one in four product launches delayed by an average of 2.4 weeks, what are the biggest operational bottlenecks slowing brands down today?
A: The biggest bottlenecks are usually coordination and visibility problems rather than a single manufacturing issue. Modern product launches involve dozens of moving parts across suppliers, contract manufacturers, retailers, and internal teams. When one step slips, such as a Walmart shelf reset, a mapping via electronic data interexchange (EDI) that lags behind a new retailer requirement, or an accounting sync that breaks the order-to-payment cycle, it triggers a chain reaction across every downstream workflow.
Another major challenge is the ongoing dependence on manual processes. Our findings show nearly 40% of workday time is spent on manual data entry, including re-keying purchase orders, reconciling inventory counts between the warehouse and financial system, and building packaging templates for each new retailer. That slows decision-making and increases the chance of errors during already compressed launch timelines.
Q: The report suggests many companies are still making decisions based on outdated or inaccurate data. How much of this is a technology problem versus an organizational or leadership problem?
A: Both, as they’re interrelated.
On the technology side, most consumer brands run a stack of fragmented systems that cannot communicate with each other. An enterprise resource platform (ERP) used for business operations that was not built for consumer goods, a separate system at the warehouse, spreadsheets for manufacturer coordination, and a forecasting tool that does not reconcile to actual on-hand inventory. Teams spend a lot of time reconciling data together across systems before they can make a decision.
On the organizational side, departments optimize for their own goals. Procurement focuses on cost, operations focuses on keeping shelves stocked, finance focuses on closing the books, and the data degrades at every handoff. Leadership teams increasingly recognize this issue, which is part of why we’re seeing more investment in operations technology that solves these silos with a unified view of the business.
Gustavo Fring photo
Q: Many companies have already adopted AI tools, yet only 14% say AI has meaningfully improved efficiency. Are businesses overestimating what AI can solve without fixing underlying workflow and data issues first?
A: Yes, and that’s one of the clearest findings from our research. AI is only as good as the data it sits on top of. If a brand is still running on fragmented systems, spreadsheets, and inconsistent product data, AI just surfaces the same inefficiencies faster.
Most businesses started layering AI tools before fixing the underlying processes around documentation, system integration, and product data standardization. So the model produces a forecast or a recommendation that no one trusts, because the inventory data feeding it is three days stale and reconciled by hand. We have seen this play out enough that some consumer goods operations leaders, especially those managing fast-changing demand patterns, have started to distrust AI forecasting outputs, which becomes its own problem.
The brands seeing real AI gains tend to be the ones with clean inventory data, integrated order flows, and standardized product information already in place. Everything else is building on a weak foundation.
It all comes down to the ability to make decisions efficiently by accessing a unified source of truth in real time.
Q: As retailers demand faster launches, better forecasting, and fewer errors, what operational capabilities will separate successful consumer brands from those that struggle over the next few years?
A: The strongest brands are building one operational system that connects inventory, procurement, production, fulfillment, and financial data in real time. When a retailer changes a spec, a manufacturer flags a delay, or a shipping route gets disrupted, the right teams can see it immediately without manual reconciliation.
What separates the winners is increasingly purpose-built consumer goods operations software rather than generic ERPs. A $100K+ NetSuite or SAP implementation was not designed for production tracking, manufacturer coordination, retail compliance, or the packaging and labeling cycles that define consumer goods. Brands that try to bend a generic ERP into that shape end up with the same fragmentation problem they started with, except more expensive.
Ultimately, the companies that win will be the ones that reduce operational friction before customers and retailers experience it.
Welcome to the Daily Synopsis by Retail Insider. We hope you enjoy the 8 articles we published covering key developments in Canadian retail.
Mondetta returned to physical retail in years at Holt Renfrew with a pop-up store as it plans a network of about 20 permanent locations across Canada starting in fall 2027. The Canadian Health Food Association launched The Greenhouse program to support emerging wellness brands with exhibition opportunities and growth resources during CHFA NOW in Toronto.
