Retail Insider is streamlining its Canadian retail news from around the web to include a handful of top news stories that can be viewed quickly during the day. Here are the top stories from the past 24 hours.
His journey to become the iconic Canadian brand’s owner and CEO began when he took a job in January 1987 at one of the Montreal locations to raise some money for school.
“I was actually working at BeaverTails as a summer job right after high school,” he said.
Image: Pino Di Ioia
Di Ioia was born and raised in Montreal. He went to high school at Loyola then went to McGill University for an undergrad in industrial relations and then an MBA.
“When I finished my undergrad at McGill, I did not think I was going to get into the MBA and on a bit of whim I said to the founder (of BeaverTails), how about I buy your first franchise and that’s literally what happened.”
The journey for Di Ioia began back 37 years ago when he didn’t get a summer job that he wanted at a clothing store in Montreal.
“So you apply for fast food. You can always get a job in fast food. I was on the student council and the newspaper. They came to place an ad and the guy who was running the ads wasn’t there that day. He was sick. And they said ‘who can take our ad, we want to place an ad for a management position’. I said ‘I guess I can take the information and I actually don’t have a job, I should probably apply’,” recalls Di Ioia of his introduction to the BeaverTails brand.
“I was President of the student council and they wanted people that were leaders or involved. And they said I totally should apply. It was at an amusement park. It was the second year they were there. Small, small beginnings and at the two stores (in the park) we had three employees.
“I remember they would not let me try a BeaverTail. When they first hired me, I had never had a BeaverTail. They were only on the Rideau Canal (in Ottawa) at the time. They said we’re not letting you try it until we’ve given you all of our management training.”
Image: Pino Di Ioia
Di Ioia said the day before opening at the amusement park they let him try the product.
“It was pretty good. I love dough. I love croissants. I love baguettes. I just love that stuff. For the first two or three years, we were giving away samples. It was really old school, elbow grease. Giving away samples, making people try it. Customer service 101. By the second or third year, I was about to finish my undergrad and I was telling my girlfriend, who is now my wife, and my brother who is now my business partner, my twin, this is weird. People line up. The park opens and they don’t go for the rides. They start coming to our store to line up.”
Di Ioia said for a little stand doing essentially “flat donuts” he sensed there was something more to it. In his two-year MBA, every second project, he laughs, was on BeaverTails.
“It was like an internship. You’ve got to do a project on a company. No problem. I’ve got the company. And away you go,” he said. “By the end of that, we knew. This is it. Let’s make something of it.”
Di Ioia bought that store at the amusement park which started his entrepreneurial journey. Another store opened later in Old Montreal. In the first year, police were guiding lineups because they were blocking the streets.
“At that point we knew, the vibe we were feeling at the amusement park was not coincidence. There’s something here. For the police to have to come, it was wild,” he said.
Di Ioia and his partners eventually grew their stake to about 14-15 stores including a few other concepts like ice cream parlors and Belgian french fry places.
Photo: BeaverTails
In 1998, he and his wife bought the BeaverTails rights in Quebec. In 2001, they were tapped to run the head office. Over a period of time, they started selling off stores as franchises. Today they only have one in old Montreal.
“The company actually had a few guys from the States, two groups, that wanted to buy the company. That fell apart partly because of 9-11. And then from that point the head office in Ottawa collapsed. It imploded. They were geared to build and sell, not to operate and that’s when the founder came and saw my wife, my twin brother and myself and said hey look if you guys could run this that would be great, otherwise we have a bit of a problem,” he said.
“And we were paid $20,000 a year for three of us, wasn’t that long ago, but we had share options and the share options in 2012 give or take was when we exercised the options and then bought the majority of the company.”
BeaverTails Niagara Falls (Image: Dustin Fuhs)
Today, there are just under 200 locations across Canada. It typically opens about 10 new ones a year.
Does he partake every day in a BeaverTail?
“You know (recently) they tried to do milk, chocolate and spicy peanut I think was the flavour. They no longer ask me my opinion. True story, swear to God. They no longer ask me my opinion because I love them all. I am a terrible taste tester,” said Ioia. “When they bring out the samples, I just try them all. I’ll have literally at least one a week and thank God our head office is not by one of the stores. I keep saying we should build an office next to one of the stores but at that point I think I would partake too many.”
As a son of immigrant parents, Di Ioia learned about the importance of perseverance as he grew up.
“I once read an article that followed a whole bunch of successful people and it wasn’t education and it wasn’t how much money you started off with, the number one lesson and the number one criteria was perseverance or tenacity,” he said. “You’re going to fail constantly. But it’s what you do with that.
“Interestingly my wife and I read a great book, father-daughter psychologists who wrote a book together, one was What Happy People Know and the other one was What Happy Kids Know. They basically say curiosity goes hand in hand with tenacity because if you’re curious, you’ll ask yourself what do I do when life gives me the proverbial lemons? A bit of that is mindset too.
“It’s funny, our neighbour at the office makes heart stents. And they have the same red branding as we do. I said to them, we should have a joint slogan on the main door that says ‘we clog them and you unclog them’,” he laughs. “We don’t make anything that is life saving obviously but we tell a story and during COVID our clients were telling us ‘I had a chance to have a BeaverTail and it was the highlight of my week’. Well that storytelling goes a long way . . . We’re very fortunate in that we sell a warm feeling more than anything else.”
McGill Presentation (Image: Pino Di Ioia)
Like all entrepreneurs and business executives, Di Ioia spends a lot of time at the office and working on the business. To relax, he loves to cook.
“BeaverTails is only dessert,” he laughs. “I love to cook. My wife loves to cook. We teach our kids, we have three young kids we adopted from Korea, and I’m teaching them about Italian cooking. In fact, my daughter at Christmas made homemade gnocchi with my mom.
“We’re all living in craziness. Sometimes we’re just too busy to notice. I was never much of a studious kid. I was never academic. But God bless them (the Jesuits who ran the high school) they instilled in me a curiosity. I read two or three books a month. I must listen to summaries of another 10 or 15 a month. I give presentations at the universities. I’m on the board at my college and my high school. I was on board of my university too. For a non-academic guy I’m surprised how much I’ve been involved in the school system. I think I would have been a teacher if I wasn’t an entrepreneur. I love going back and sharing those books. I can’t teach them about anything except marketing and branding and business. But that is my outlet.
“The real outlet is I’m curious to learn. And as I learn more I like to share that. I guess that’s the essence of teaching.”
Cineplex and Cadillac Fairview’s long standing partnership is looking to expand further and to innovate new ways to attract shoppers. The collaboration aims to enhance the consumer shopping experience by integrating immersive digital displays and personalising advertising with key data-driven insights – changing the retail landscape in Canada. Fab Stanghieri, executive vice president and general manager at Cineplex Digital Media, and Jason Anderson, the senior vice president of CF, discuss the progression of digitalization in shopping, the current state of digital screens, and plans for the future such as increasing interactive technology and personalisation.
Reshaping the shopping experience in Canada’s leading malls, the state-of-the-art and interactive directories are a strategic tool designed to personalize and transform the consumer journey. By using advanced data-driven advertising and AI, the partnership aims to deliver targeted and engaging content – influencing shopping behaviours and purchases.
The digital transformation goes beyond consumer experiences; it opens new avenues for retailers within CF properties to engage more meaningfully with consumers. Despite the challenges of keeping up the pace with the rapid technology advancements, the partnership between CF and Cineplex is looking to create advancements. Digital screens in malls can have a huge impact on consumer behaviours such as what shoppers are buying. These screens also showcase sales throughout the mall, and can help with navigation.
CF Sherway Gardens (Image: Cadillac Fairview)
Fab Stanghieri
“We have had a long term partnership with CF as we opened at the Toronto Eaton Centre with 18 screens in 1979. We have been in the mall and media business for a number of years and CF chose us based on our approach. We are experts in location-based digital signage solutions and are very different from our peers. We provide end-to-end digital signage experiences and in-store retail media networks for some of the leading brands,” says Stanghieri. “If you look at the emerging technologies now, we think advertising in the shopping experience is set to become even more targeted and personalised – and that is the bigger opportunity. Is it not just about technology, it is more about how we can work with advertisers; using data-driven insights to deliver increasingly relevant and personalised messages to shoppers that create highly engaging, targeted campaigns that resonate with individual shoppers and ultimately – influence their journey.”
Stanghieri says the screens have been improved to be more attention grabbing, bright, can be anywhere from 65 to 85 inches, and have evolved over time. As the costs today are more affordable than before, Stanghieri says there are more opportunities for businesses to target audiences and increase personalization. Anderson says the digital screens act as a digital directory and are two sided: one is about helping customers find where they need to go, and the other side is large digital screens which will be upgraded over the next year to get them to be more immersive and entertaining for consumers.
Jason Anderson
“We are constantly thinking about how we can create more entertaining experiences for our customers, and digital media plays an important part of that. Being able to leverage digital screens throughout properties, helps bring people together and creates this really interesting dynamic place where we can add to the experience. And we can also have the opportunity to bring brand new brands and advertisers into our centre that want to tell a story to customers,” says Anderson.
Expansion into Digital Media
Cineplex and CF are taking advertising to the next level as they are going to be rolling out a massive expansion of digital screens across Canada’s top malls, such as 200 digital display screens in CF shopping centres in CF Toronto Eaton Centre, CF Pacific Centre in Vancouver, CF Chinook Centre in Alberta, CF Rideau Centre in Ottawa, and CF Carrefour Laval in Quebec. Anderson and Stanghieri say it is not just about adding more screens – but changing shopping behaviours.
“I am really happy to say our network includes nine out of the ten highest visited shopping centres in Canada with CF and there is more to come as there will be some additional properties hopefully added shortly. We pride ourselves on being a one stop shop for media buyers looking to target mobile shopping audiences in Canada. Retail media is on everyone’s mind, because it really allows retailers to further monetize the audiences they have in their spaces,” says Stanghieri.
CF Sherway Gardens (Image: Cadillac Fairview)
Anderson says these screens will also be more interactive, bringing significant benefits to retailers.
“The benefit to our retailers is that you can target consumers with a message inside our property before they even enter your store. Having these screens in our malls allows retailers to deliver their story. Yes, retailers could target a customer on their mobile device or at home, but there is this one method that really delivers the last mile of retail and that is the digital screens inside the property,” says Anderson. “When someone is walking through a shopping centre, and all of a sudden sees content from one of our retailers, that is ultimately going to engage them at the moment they are walking through the mall and consumers will be interested in buying the product. Tell consumers a story, inspire them, give them information, and ultimately – attract a customer to walk those few extra steps and make that turn into your store.”
Digital integration is no longer a luxury – but a necessity
Just being a touchscreen is not enough, Anderson discusses how he plans to transform its digital structure: “We are constantly thinking about how we can create more entertaining experiences for our customers.” Anderson’s goals for the screens are to make them larger, brighter, more vibrant, and more engaging: “Turning shopping centres into not just places for commerce, but immersive digital experiences.” Overall, Anderson wants to make sure the screens contribute meaningful information and will attract customers to stop and look.
To make the content more meaningful to consumers, Stanghieri places a strong emphasis on data-driven advertising, to allow shopping centres to have a more targeted and personalised approach by using AI technologies. This approach will leverage consumer data to enhance the relevance, timing, and impact of advertising content, making it more engaging and tailored to individual consumers. Stanghieri’s vision is for these digital platforms to showcase unique shopping habits, preferences, effectively influencing purchase decisions, and enhance consumer’s experience in the mall.
These goals don’t come without challenges as Stanghieri and Anderson both understand the complexities in the cutting-edge digital technologies into retail environments. Main challenges include keeping up with technology advancements, creating new innovations for screens to keep people engaged, and blending digital experiences with the aesthetic of shopping centres, ensuring the technology enhances rather than disrupts a consumer’s experience.
CF Pacific Centre (Image: Cadillac Fairview)
While the path forward may be lined up with challenges, it comes with rewards – a new way of advertising, an enhanced shopping experience for consumers, and more consumer engagement. As the partnership between Cineplex and CF grows, so will its innovation; paving a path for the future of retail in Canada.
“Our goal is to build the most sought-after digital media network in the country and we feel confident that we are going to do that and Cineplex is a really great partner. We are so excited to expand our partnership as we have been working with them for decades. We really want to go out and create engaging experiences and these vibrant destinations, and Cineplex is a great partner to do that with,” says Anderson.
2024's Must-Attend RCC Retail Events: Learn, Grow, Connect and Thrive
Join Retail Council of Canada (RCC) in 2024 for a unique series of impactful conferences, webinars, and training sessions. These events are pivotal for retailers eager to swiftly grasp and implement the industry’s most current trends and techniques. Enhance your connections, elevate your team’s expertise, and set a new standard in retail excellence.
Below are some of the key events lined up for 2024. Keep an eye on RCC’s website for ongoing updates and exciting speaker announcements.
Learn cutting-edge strategies for safeguarding your retail business as well as protecting staff, premises, and data. This full day conference of transformative insights and unparallelled networking opportunities will kick off with the first-ever Retail Secure Legends Awards breakfast. Secure your tickets now.
Thanks to the support from Ontario’s Ministry of the Solicitor General, RCC is enhancing its popular Retail CyberSecure Program. Collaborating with experts in cybercrime, retail IT, OPP, and RCMP, RCC is developing invaluable resources to fortify your retail defenses. Currently available are two e-learning training modules, and a free downloadable guidebook. Coming soon are three training videos as well as two additional guidebooks, all available in both English and French and include links to critical industry resources.
Showcase your team’s innovation and hard work in 2023 by entering the Excellence in Retailing Awards. With 12 categories, it’s your time to shine. Submit your project today.
Join us for an insider’s view on the last quarter’s retail performance, exclusively for RCC members. Insights straight from retail executives nationwide. Register now.
Retail Human Resource Conference –April 25, 2025, The International Center – SAVE THE DATE
A full-day conference dedicated to exploring the future of HR in the retail industry. The event will delve into the evolving work landscape, focusing on pivotal topics such as union trends, mental health, technological advancements, and other key elements that are shaping the retail workforce.
RCC STORE 24 Conference – May 28-29, 2024, Toronto Congress Centre
Don’t miss Canada’s largest two-day retail event, exploring global commerce trends, leadership, and groundbreaking technologies. Stay tuned for world class speakers and sessions. It’s the ultimate networking opportunity for retail professionals in Canada. Buy tickets.
Special Galas during RCC STORE 24 will include the Excellence in Retailing Awards and the Canadian Grand Prix Gala, where Canada’s most respected retailers will be honoured and celebrated.
Retail Sustainability Conference Fall 2024 – DETAILS COMING SOON
This full-day event is set to empower retailers with strategies for a circular economy, resilient supply chains, and pathways to net zero emissions.
Retail West Conference Fall 2024 – DETAILS COMING SOON
Get ready for a blend of regional and national expertise, focusing on success strategies for retail in Western Canada and beyond.
“In 2024, the appetite for specialized retail learning is more robust than ever. Retail Council of Canada is excited to soon unveil a full lineup, enriched with new content and top-tier speakers,” said Michelle Ribout, VP Education and Partnerships, RCC. “We have also carefully priced our events and programs to be accessible industry wide. Plus, RCC members will enjoy significant savings. Our 2024 events are about empowering every individual in the retail sector to reach new heights of success and we look forward to our most exciting year to date.”
For more information on RCC’s various conferences, events and initiatives, please visit Retail Council of Canada.
*RCC partnered with Retail Insider for this article content.
Retail Insider is streamlining its Canadian retail news from around the web to include a handful of top news stories that can be viewed quickly during the day. Here are the top stories from the past 24 hours.
Cole Haan’s new downtown Toronto store will be at CF Toronto Eaton Centre, in a 1,975 square foot space recently vacated by Montreal-based outerwear brand Soia & Kyo. Cole Haan’s retail space will have about 20 feet of frontage on the second level of the mall, located between Victoria’s Secret and Little Burgundy and across from a busy Apple store.
CF Toronto Eaton Centre lease plan via Cadillac Fairview. Future Cole Haan is highlighted in red. Future Cole Haan at CF Toronto Eaton Centre (Image: Dustin Fuhs)Former Cole Haan on Bloor (Photo: Dustin Fuhs)
In December of 2021, Cole Haan closed its only standalone full-priced store in Canada at 101 Bloor Street West in downtown Toronto. The 2,700 square foot store at the corner of Bloor and St. Thomas Street opened in 1991 and was recently replaced with a Rolex store operated by multi-brand jeweller Royal de Versailles.
Montreal-based Soia & Kyo opened its first store ever at CF Toronto Eaton Centre in November of 2019, and a lease expiry is said to be the reason that Cole Haan was able to obtain its space. Soia & Kyo continues to wholesale in retailers across the country.
PHOTO: SOIA & KYO (CF TORONTO EATON CENTRE)
It’s not known if Cole Haan will open more standalone stores in Canada, though the company is expanding quickly globally with standalone stores. In November, Cole Haan announced that it had opened its 500th store location as it grows its business to over 100 countries, up from just 13 countries where Cole Haan had a presence in 2013.
“From the early days of our launch of Cole Haan as an independent company following our acquisition of the business [from Nike], we envisioned the opportunity to bring this iconic American brand to a broader global audience”, said Jack Boys, CEO of Cole Haan in a statement in November. “Over the past decade, we have expanded our product assortment, our talent, and our partnership with a network of world-class distribution partners globally. As we reach this important milestone, we are focused on a range of opportunities we have created for the future of Cole Haan.”
Future Cole Haan at CF Toronto Eaton Centre (Image: Dustin Fuhs)
To support Cole Haan’s expanded global presence, the company recently opened its first regional office in Dubai, UAE, which joins existing offices and showrooms in New York, London, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Toronto.
Cole Haan also operates five off-price stores in Canada. Three of those are in Ontario including at the Toronto Premium Outlets in Halton Hills, Vaughan Mills near Toronto, and at the Outlet Collection at Niagara in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Cole Haan also operates outlet stores at the CrossIron Mills near Calgary and at the McArthurGlen outlets near Vancouver.
The Cole Haan brand was founded in Chicago in 1928, and it’s now headquartered both in New York City and Greenland, New Hampshire. It was founded by Trafton Cole and Eddie Haan, and was originally named “Cole, Rood & Haan” when the company was strictly a men’s footwear label. Today the brand offers many products including men’s and women’s dress and casual footwear, belts, hosiery, handbags, gloves, scarves, hats, outerwear, and sunglasses.
Nike purchased Cole Haan in 1988 and sold the company to Umbro in 2012. In November of 2012, Cole Haan was bought by private equity firm Apax Partners Worldwide LLP for USD $570 million.
Former Cole Haan at 101 Bloor – Photo by Dustin Fuhs
U.S.-based Pokeworks, the top poke brand in North America, opened nine new locations in 2023 including its Canadian debut with plans to continue growth in 2024.
Pokeworks’ introduction to Canada was made possible by Eat Up Canada, a group focused on developing and introducing exciting restaurant concepts in the Canadian market.
Led by experienced restaurateurs George Heos and Alex Gerzon, the company is the master franchisee for Pokeworks in Canada. Eat Up Canada are also the founders of Bombay Frankies and MightyBird. MightyBird is a partnership between Eat Up Canada and Open Concept Hospitality.
Image: Pokeworks
There is one Pokeworks location currently open in Toronto (Etobicoke).
Heos and Gerzon said there are three locations under construction that are slated to open this Spring – The Well in downtown Toronto, Burlington and Ottawa. There are three to four additional locations in the works that are expected to open before the end of the year, bringing the total to six to seven being open before 2025.
“Pokeworks’ Canadian expansion reinforces its mission to make the brand’s famous poke bowls available to guests on a global scale. The team is thrilled to introduce premium, handcrafted poke bowls to Canadian consumers,” said the partners in a joint statement.
“Pokeworks was founded in 2015 with the simple mission of spreading its love of fresh, healthy, and delicious poke – a renowned staple of Hawaiian cuisine – with the world. Pokeworks’ innovative Poke Your Way approach is groundbreaking, offering guests limitless ways to customize their poke order to match their eating preferences including vegan, gluten-free, and other mindful diets. The Poke Burrito has developed a cult-like following, much like Pokeworks’ proprietary sauces, which range from sweet and spicy to savory.
“Pokeworks believes in living a healthy lifestyle and eating meals made from the freshest, highest quality ingredients from sustainable food sources. In 2022, the brand was honored to be named the “Top Poke Franchise” by Startups Magazine. Pokeworks has quickly expanded to become the leading fast-casual poke brand in the world with four consecutive years on Fast Casual’s “Top 100 Movers and Shakers” list as well as Entrepreneur’s 2023 “Best of the Best Franchises” and Franchise 500 Ranking. Pokeworks has more than 70 locations across US, Taiwan, Mexico, and Canada.”
The Canadian partners said Pokeworks is dedicated to bringing a fresh and innovative approach to the vibrant culinary landscape of Canada, and particularly Toronto.
Michael Sabetti from CBRE is representing Pokeworks for site selection.
Image: Pokeworks
Heos and Gerzon outlined a few key aspects that sets the brand apart:
Authentic Ingredients: Pokeworks is committed to sourcing high-quality, fresh, and sustainable ingredients. It takes pride in offering an authentic poke experience, with a diverse selection of seafood options, premium vegetables, and signature sauces that bring out the bold flavours of Hawaii right here in Toronto;
Customization and Creativity: One of the unique features of Pokeworks is the ability for guests to customize their poke bowls or burritos according to their preferences. The brand calls this POKE YOUR WAY. With a wide range of protein options, toppings, and sauces, it empowers its guests to create a personalized and truly unique dining experience;
Innovative Menu Offerings: As a brand Pokeworks continually strives to introduce new and exciting menu items that keep guests engaged and eager to explore different flavours. Its culinary team is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of traditional poke, offering seasonal specials and unique creations that showcase its commitment to culinary innovation;
Community Engagement: Beyond its offerings, Pokeworks is actively involved in the local community.
“We believe in giving back and establishing meaningful connections with our customers. Whether through local events, collaborations, or supporting charitable initiatives, we aim to be an integral part of each community we serve,” said the Canadian partners.
“We believe that these factors contribute to making Pokeworks a distinctive and exciting addition to the Canada/Toronto food scene.”
The brand opened a total of nine new locations in 2023, including the first Pokeworks in Canada. This year 12 more new locations are planned in North America.
This expansion will increase the brand’s total to more than 85 restaurants by the year’s end, and within the next 30-36 months, the brand expects to have more than 120 locations.
Michael Chen
“We’re all excited to roll up our sleeves and dive back into the day-to-day operations of the brand we started and love so much,” said original co-founder. Mike Chen. “Pokeworks was created out of a passion for sharing a love of delicious and healthy food. Our entire team has worked hard to become the #1 poke brand in the country, and in 2024, we’re going full speed ahead.”
The ICSC’s latest report, The Halo Effect III: Where the Halo Shines, quantifies the impact of opening or closing physical stores on online sales and retailers’ overall performance.
The study – the third instalment in ICSC’s industry-leading research on the halo effect of brick-and-mortar retail on online sales – proves again the power of physical retail by demonstrating that a new store boosts online sales, while a closed store impedes them, said the organization.
Tom McGee
“ICSC’s data has always shown that consumers prefer shopping in-store over other channels,” said ICSC President and CEO Tom McGee. “While our earlier research on the halo effect demonstrated how physical stores drive web traffic and brand awareness, our latest report dives deeper by analyzing actual spend data. The findings quantify just how important brick-and-mortar is to today’s omnichannel consumers and underscore what retail experts already knew: The core of the omnichannel experience is the retail store.”
Stephanie Cegielski, Vice President, Research & Public Relations for ICSC, said the research continues to show that the core of the omnichannel experience is the retail store.
Stephanie Cegielski
“Our ongoing research series, The Halo Effect, proves the power and impact of brick-and-mortar retail on online sales. Our first report established that new stores serve as a billboard for brands by showing that opening a new physical store results in a 37 per cent increase in that retailer’s website traffic,” she said.
“Our second report quantified how much shoppers spend online in the days after visiting a retailer’s brick-and-mortar store, with a $100 online transaction driving an additional $131 in in-store spending. Our latest landmark report quantified not only the value of opening a new store on online sales, but also the harm in closing one. A new store drives a 6.9 per cent boost in online sales, while a closed store reduces online sales by 11.5 per cent.”
Vessi at Metropolis at Metrotown (Image: Craig Patterson)
Cegielski said physical stores are an essential ingredient to the success of retailers by improving brand health and driving brand awareness.
“Brick-and-mortar also enables shoppers to experience the products they’re buying — one of the top drivers for consumers to shop at physical stores according to ICSC’s research — and provides retailers with opportunities to gain consumer data beyond what online shopping allows. Further, the costs to acquire new customers are generally lower in physical stores than online,” she said.
“We’re currently seeing a large wave of digitally native retailers continue to expand their physical retail presence, in part due to lower customer acquisition costs in brick-and-mortar compared to online and the ability for consumers to physically see, test and try products in-store. In our latest report, The Halo Effect III: Where the Halo Shines, emerging direct-to-consumer retailers experience a 13.9 per cent boost to online sales after opening a new store, while established retailers experience a more modest, but still strong, 6.8 per cent boost. Stores are not just sales drivers, but they can also help emerging retailers drive brand awareness and build trust with consumers in ways that they cannot do when solely interacting with consumers online.”
The ICSC research spanned in-store and online sales of 69 retailers and 2,103 individual stores.
“The study, which reviewed nearly $850 billion in credit card transactions over a four-year period, explored the impact of physical stores on emerging retailers, as well as established retailers, in categories including apparel, big box specialty, cosmetics, department stores, discount department stores, and home stores. It found that across nearly all categories, online sales increased following the opening of a store and decreased when a store closed. For instance, among apparel brands, a store opening drives an 11.6 percent increase in online sales and a store closing drives a 19.4 percent decrease in online sales,” said the report.
“Conversely, when closing a location, home stores and department stores took the biggest hit to their online sales, declining by 32.2 percent and 26.1 percent, respectively – emphasizing the importance of a space where consumers can test, browse, and shop for products in those categories especially. The study also examined the impact of opening or closing a store on average basket size, revealing that opening a physical store causes a shopper’s average online basket to increase, and confirming the opposite effect.”
THE HALO EFFECT III Where the Halo Shines: How Physical Stores Drive Online Sales
The ICSC said the research also revealed the vital role Gen Z plays in the revitalization of physical retail. Despite being known as “digital natives” and growing up with digital technology at their fingertips, the data found that this cohort shops in-store more than Millennials and Gen X and at a similar rate to Boomers.
Retail Insider is streamlining its Canadian retail news from around the web to include a handful of top news stories that can be viewed quickly during the day. Here are the top stories from the past 24 hours.
Aisle 24, a fully-automated, 24/7 cashier-less grocery chain based in Toronto, continues to expand its unique concept to different locations across the country as it seeks non-traditional spaces and the launch in the coming months of a new and bigger prototype.
John Douang
“We are typically very close to high density residential. Condominiums and apartment buildings. But we are starting to explore what we would call non-traditional now,” said John Douang, co-founder and CEO of Aisle 24.
“So busy intersections, high foot traffic and not necessarily just sticking to the residential format . . . If a condo or master-planned community has a commercial element with some retail units that’s typically where we are.”
Image: Aisle 24
Currently, the company has 28 locations in Canada – two in Edmonton, six in Quebec, one in Nova Scotia and the rest are in Ontario.
“Our sweet spot is around 1,500 to 1,800 square feet. Our smallest right now is 400 square feet and our largest is 2,300 square feet. So it really depends on various factors that we’ll look into – demographics, traffic, all that stuff to determine what we feel is a good suitable space,” said Douang.
The new concept being introduced in Newfoundland & Labrador is a much larger format than the company typically has in its existing stores. The ones being explored are about 6,000 square feet first and then another one closer to 12,000 square feet.
“We’re going with a much more fulsome, full grocery offering, produce, meats and everything you can find there,” said Douang. “The one thing we’ve learned through our research, our market studies there, is these more northern communities are really craving for some new experiences for products that aren’t readily available to them.
“Typically when large national brands go into these smaller communities . . . as they enter these markets they see tremendous response from the local communities because they don’t have ready access to some of these offerings.”
Aisle 24 (Image: Aisle 24)
The first and smaller location will be Labrador City with the second one in Happy Valley-Goose Bay. The first will open sometime this summer but the larger one will likely come in 2025.
“The purpose around piloting this year is for us to understand the consumer habits, behaviours, needs and wants, within more of the northern communities. What we know is that a lot of these northern communities have challenges with food and groceries. They’re very expensive. There are some areas where there are a lot of community that needs to be done,” said Douang.
“So we want to understand that market so that we have the opportunity to also enter more northern cities. Northern Alberta. We’ve had interest in the Northwest Territories. So we want to start somewhere where it’s a lot easier more accessible like Newfoundland and likely to expand in Newfoundland as well. And then understand that market, and then look at the rest of northern Canada.”
He said the beautiful thing about what the company is doing is that it’s really scaleable and the format can go up and down in size as Aisle 24 sees the need for it.
“We are in several discussions within Ontario for some non-traditional. So things like hospitals, higher end retirement communities, transit oriented locations. And then looking at locations that we can potentially take over. Existing businesses that couldn’t sustain over the COVID era and looking at those opportunities to take over as well,” said Douang.
“We feel that we can go into a lot of different areas where there is a need for convenience, a need for food. We just want to make sure that we aren’t taking on too many non-traditional locations at the beginning. We want to trial it, test it, make sure it’s working and then we can expand the footprint from there.
“We’re looking at several opportunities (like standalone locations) now. We still like to stick to the urban centres like Toronto and then the GTA just surrounding. But we’ve also looked at the potential for opportunities in more of the suburbs as well. What we’re finding is that there are some suburban communities where they may have had a small to medium-size grocer that unfortunately didn’t make it, shut down, and now the residents of these smaller communities have to commute for 30 minutes to get groceries.”
Douang said the potential for future growth is into the several hundreds in locations. Beyond that, the company is looking at strategic partnerships with several organizations across Canada which would help with more multi-unit structures. For example, partnering with developers where the concept would go into all of their developments both existing and new.
“I always like to reach for the stars,” he said. “Over time, there’s going to be thousands of Aisle 24’s. If you say within the next five to 10 years, several hundred.”
Planning has already started looking into expansion into the United States as well.
“We are in plans right now to launch out in B.C. I would say in the Spring we’ll have a couple of locations opening up. A lot of these learnings that we’re gathering are going to fuel our future plans,” explained Douang. “We want to be able to adapt our format to different settings. If the need calls for it, then yes we’d like to explore larger formats even in urban areas.”
Aisle 24 Power Street in Toronto (Image: Dustin Fuhs)
He said some new technology for the brand is “coming down the road map.”
“As we know, at least in Ontario, the Conservative government is moving towards a more open access to alcohol and so they’re changing the master framework, the agreement they have with the Beer Store, and those conglomerates, to open it up to grocery stores and convenience stores,” added Douang. “We are well on our way in preparation for that with some new tech that we feel will be a great benefit to the small formats. We do also have some other special partnerships as well that we’re working on.
“We’re going to be piloting it this year in a couple of locations in Ontario, pending the outcome of that, we’ll look at rolling it out. But I won’t name names now because I want to make sure we do it right.”
Entering an Aisle 24 store is completely touchless. Customers can open the app on their smartphone as they approach the Bluetooth-enabled 2N intercom at the store door, which then displays an UNLOCK message and releases the door. Once inside, they can load their cart and then self-checkout at the register kiosk.
