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 several days.
The Prestige at Pinnacle One Yonge (Image: Urban Reform Realty Inc. Brokerage)
The One Yonge development at the Toronto Waterfront, just steps to the Financial District and other landmark sites, promises to be one of the most coveted addresses in the city for both residents and retailers.
Michael Calderone
Michael Calderone, Broker with Urban Reform Realty Inc., said availability of retail space exists in The Prestige Condos tower by Pinnacle, the first tower in the overall development.
One Yonge is a multi-phase development at the foot of Toronto’s iconic Yonge Street composed of three residential condo towers and two office towers with the Toronto Star building receiving an additional 10 floors.
Pinnacle One Yonge (Photo: Dustin Fuhs)The Prestige at Pinnacle One Yonge (Photo: Dustin Fuhs)
The master-planned community by Pinnacle International and designed by Hariri Portarini Architects, will transform a legendary address into one of the world’s most vibrant go-to places to live, work, play, shop, and pursue your passions, says the developer.
It will have more than 2,200 condominium suites between the three residential towers and the buildings will anchor the master-planned 4.4 million square foot development of Pinnacle One Yonge. This complete community will also include 1.5 million square feet of office space, 160,000 square feet of retail, a 250-room hotel, and a 50,000 square foot community centre that will include a six-lane, 25-metre swimming pool and double gymnasium, making this truly a complete community.
The Prestige, with about 1,600 residential units, is located at One Yonge and Queens Quay.
Pinnacle One Yonge (Image: Hariri Pontarini Architects)
The Prestige is the first tower built in the overall development and it’s 65 storeys.
“That building is built and occupied with the current ground floor retail with Bank of Montreal open and Society Skin Bar is open and operating and then Phase 2 will be the Sky Tower, which is on track to be the tallest tower in Canada (at 105 storeys with 960 residential units),” said Calderone.
To the north of these two towers is Phase 3 which previously was going to be an 80-storey tower but could now be 95 storeys.
Pinnacle One Yonge (Photo: Dustin Fuhs)Former LCBO Head Office and Pinnacle One Yonge in the Distance (Image: Dustin Fuhs)
The second tower is under construction.
“Our retail in all three towers will be connected with a contoured pedestrian walkway between all three towers and trying to make it as liveable and community centric as possible,” said Calderone.
“All three towers will have retail. There will be restaurant opportunity and the service amenities. Right now in The Prestige which is currently built and occupied, the second floor . . . has a 50,000-square-foot community centre that’s built and operated by the City of Toronto. That has a six-lap Olympic size pool. A real great community amenity. There’s an art community centre, there’s breakout rooms and a gymnasium and community services.”
Image: Hariri Pontarini ArchitectsAvailable Retail at The Prestige One Yonge (Image: Urban Reform)
One Yonge St is in a home room location with close proximity to Union Station, Scotiabank Arena, Harbourfront Centre, Meridian Hall, Hockey Hall of Fame, St. Lawrence Market and many other Toronto attractions.
“It’s really the gateway to the east Sugar Wharf and East Bayfront. This is the main connector to the financial core and the City of Toronto. Union Station. Air Canada Centre,” said Calderone.
“This is going to be a landmark destination, visually from the towers themselves but from a live, work, play we are the glue that connects us to the rest of Toronto.”
A leasing brochure on The Prestige indicates there are seven retail spaces with the tower comprising 13,702 square feet. About 7,740 square feet remains available for lease.
Future Lids at Toronto Union Station (Image: Dustin Fuhs)
Leading sports retailer Lids is set to open a new storefront in Toronto’s Union Station, re-opening at the transit hub after shuttering before the revitalization started back in the early 2010’s.
Lids was originally in the GO Concourse at Union Station, across from Mr. Sub and around the corner from McDonalds and Cinnabon. Fans would walk right past the store as they would travel from the TTC to Scotiabank Arena (then known as the Air Canada Centre), providing an opportunity to get a last minute hat or jersey before a Toronto Raptors or Toronto Maple Leafs game.
The space that Lids will be going into was originally designed to be a beauty bar, displaying signage for months before the construction hoarding was changed to generic signage promoting the area. Recently, the recognizable logo was attached to its future home and memories came flooding back to a time before Nespresso and Decathlon.
Future Lids at Toronto Union Station (Image: Dustin Fuhs)
Lids will be joining a transit hub that continues to add retailers en route to eventual completion.
Around the corner, The Source and Hazukido recently opened new locations, with Cinnaholic to debut a space right in the middle. In the Foodie Aisle, Mightybird recently opened its first location.
Toronto Union Station (Image: Dustin Fuhs)
With Lids set to join Union Station in the near future, the brand was also recently featured in Retail Insider with the opening of Paris Saint Germain. As part of a partnership with Lids and Fanatics, the Parisian football club opened its 1st Canadian storefront at 399 Queen Street West.
Indianapolis-based Lids Sports Group, owned by Fanatics, is the largest licensed sports retailer in North America, selling fan and fashion-orientated headwear and apparel across more than 2,000 retail locations globally.
Paris Saint-Germain at 399 Queen Street West (Image: Dustin Fuhs)
The transformation of downtown Oakville has been attracting new retailers to the area and has limited availability. Adrienne Gordon, the executive director of Oakville Downtown BIA, discusses changes to the downtown core, occupancy, and visitor traffic which has increased by 23 percent.
Adrienne Gordon
Construction began in 2019 and extended into the challenging period of Covid in 2020. Despite businesses facing closures and challenges, the BIA’s investment in redeveloping the infrastructure has revitalized the area. Today, Gordon says the necessary improvements have led to an increase in traffic, a surge in retailers, and community enjoyment of the new space.
“Once the construction was almost finished – Covid hit, so it was really a double whammy. I came on the talent to act as an executive director to the downtown BIA right in the heart of Covid. The roads were pretty much closed, the town was closed. It was a dire time when we first started, but what makes this story so amazing is it was such a difficult time when we started. We worked really hard completing the downtown, supporting existing and new businesses that were choosing downtown Oakville.”
New Look, Enhanced Feel
Image: Oakville Downtown BIA
The key focus of the construction was enhancing the community and visitor experience. Gordon says one of the main projects was reconstructing the roads so they could widen the sidewalks to improve walking conditions. By adding a wider sidewalk, Gordon says it makes the downtown feel more welcoming and also encourages people to walk around more.
The BIA also made enhancements to the street by adding new trees, lighting fixtures, and other aesthetic improvements. To further improve the beauty of downtown, Gordon introduced a year-round flower program and art installations.
“The general landscape, like the buildings and the staff all stayed the same, but the roads were redone and the sidewalks were widened. That extra sidewalk was a big draw for people to get out and walk around, so it really changed the landscape of the roadwork and the streets’ look and feel – it just elevated the look of downtown.”
Retail and Business Growth
Since 2021, downtown Oakville has seen 60 new businesses enter and is attracting a mix of large, established, and unique businesses to the area. Shoppers can now expect to find a variety of businesses including design, clothing brands, restaurants, and beverage services.
“We have companies that swore they would never leave Toronto, and we have had probably four or five brands come from downtown Toronto, so that is interesting and has never happened before – we are becoming this hub for business. Retailers have really made a home in downtown Oakville.”
Future Nadege in Downtown Oakville (Image: Image: Oakville Downtown BIA)
In terms of beverages and the restaurant business, Gordon says the downtown is growing in these categories and now has a diverse mix including East Asian, North American, Italian, and European food options.
“So we have a great selection now and I think there is always room for continued opportunities for retailers that offer different price points. We have a great amount of high end retailers, but it is also nice to have that variety in terms of slightly different price points for the folks coming down, the retail mix for us is definitely growing in the right direction. We always want people to think there is something going on downtown and that there is something for them downtown, and I think that is why people keep coming back.”
Visitor Traffic and Low Vacancy Rates
Visitor traffic has increased by 23 percent over the past year, with approximately seven million visits. Through collected data, the BIA can find out when people are coming, who is coming down, and how they are winning over competitors around them.
The vacancy rate, Gordon says, has been the lowest it has ever been. The current vacancy rate is at 6.21 percent compared to 9.77 percent from last year.
“It has never been this low. Typically we find that if a retailer has moved out, we rarely actually see a for lease sign now and they are rented before the tenant actually leaves – which has never happened. It has always been going through the process of putting up a lease sign, but right now the turnover is quick and there tends to always be someone behind waiting to come in.”
Image: Oakville Downtown BIA
Gordon says the increase of traffic was noticed after Covid as people started to enjoy walking downtown instead of shopping within a mall and opened people’s eyes to supporting local businesses downtown. Gordon says data showed that people would now rather drive 30 minutes to come to Oakville on a weekend and they will likely spend the whole day downtown.
“It opens people’s experiences of being in downtown versus the mall and that stuck with people enough to say ‘you know what, I am just going to pop downtown and walk around, I am going to spend the day downtown,’ and that has shifted behaviour significantly and is the reason why it has been so successful.”
New Retailers in the area
Recently opened:
Bambino Fine Shoes
Diba Custom Tailoring
Hoseki Sushi
Maverick’s Gourmet Donut Shop
Montagio Custom Tailoring
Sanctus
State & Liberty
TBB by Enza
The Latest Scoop
Pescaraa
Wuxly
Future Avani in Downtown Oakville (Image: Oakville Downtown BIA)
Coming Soon:
Brenda Seymour Photographic Art
Ferris Rafauli Design Studio
II Bacio Spa Club
Synergy Sports Health & Medicine
Visitors can find a variety of high-end retailers such as Boa Boutique, Andrews, Lululemon, and also specialty retailers such as Accents for Living.
Future Plans
Looking ahead, the BIA plans to maintain its focus on beautification, marketing, and community engagement.
The BIA has also created a marketing activation plan for the year to include a program every month downtown as Gordon says they want an activity to keep people engaged. The goal would be to always have something happening downtown, whether it is a one night event or a long-term event such as an art installation, Gordon says: “We have a real plan to deliver on our insight that we want people to always believe there is something happening downtown.”
“We have always established ourselves as a place where people want to go. It has grown into this experience that I think has the benefit of just feeling good about supporting locals. Together, we are creating a downtown that is not just beautiful, but a vibrant destination that welcomes all. We are very focused on building the brand of downtown and it is the only reason why it has been so successful.”
Employers can address qualification inflation by implementing skill-based recruitment and selection practices. (Shutterstock)
A concerning trend known as qualification inflation has been plaguing hiring practices for years. Qualification inflation — also known as degree inflation — refers to the growing number of employers requiring degrees and extensive experience for jobs.
As highlighted in a 2017 Harvard study, job listings now often demand that applicants have degrees and experiences that were previously unnecessary, with some job requirements even surpassing the qualifications of current employees.
Of the 11.6 million jobs created between 2010 and 2016, three out of four required a bachelor’s degree or higher, and one out of every 100 required a high school diploma or less.
This qualification inflation increases employer costs through longer recruitment times and wage premiums, and makes it more difficult to create diverse workplaces, another Harvard study found. This study showed that marginalized people, women and younger people were less likely to have the required degrees and experience.
In addition, women are less likely to apply for jobs if they don’t have all of the listed qualifications. Because of this, having unnecessary requirements may disproportionately discourage them from applying to jobs.
The origins of qualification inflation can be traced back to the rise of online application platforms and the 2008-09 financial crisis, both of which resulted in larger job applicant pools. Economic and technological shifts have also given rise to new roles that require unique skills.
Some employers adapted to these changes by adding qualifications to job listings without removing outdated ones, leading to qualification inflation. While this has been an ongoing issue for years, it is becoming increasingly urgent as many Canadian businesses are reportedly grappling with recruitment and retention challenges.
Job analysis and advertising
There are ways for employers to address qualification inflation, namely by implementing skill-based recruitment and selection practices to hire qualified and diverse employees. To begin with, organizations should conduct thorough job analyses before posting listings by determining a job’s core skills and characteristics.
Organizations should conduct thorough job analyses before posting listings by determining a job’s core skills and characteristics. (Shutterstock)
To create a compelling job advertisement that also incorporates accurate skill and qualification needs from job analyses, our research shows that ads should explain how the job will meet applicants’ psychological needs (autonomy, variety and purpose).
We also recommend job postings state that applicants will be considered if they have transferable skills from different job families or industries. Providing a list of example job titles with potentially transferable skills is a helpful addition.
Skill-based screening
Another way employers can address qualification inflation is by using skill-based screening. These assessments are designed to evaluate the skills of a job applicant to determine if they are the right fit for a role.
Asking applicants to self-report their proficiency levels for certain skills during the application process is one screening approach employers can take, but it should be managed cautiously. As our research shows, some applicants may exaggerate their skill level if they are in the midst of a lengthy job search.
We found that applicants inflated their self-assessments of behavioural skills (e.g., customer service) compared to technical skills (e.g., programming) because behavioural skills can be difficult to verify. Because of this, focusing self-reports on technical skills may mitigate applicant exaggeration and help identify talented applicants without degrees.
Skill-based assessments are designed to evaluate the skills of an applicant to determine if they are the right fit for a role. (Shutterstock)
Our research also shows that overclaiming assessments — a type of questionnaire that asks applicants to rate their familiarity with both real and fictitious skills — can identify applicants who are faking responses, as well as those who are providing more accurate self-assessments.
Forced-choice competency and skill assessments, which usually require applicants to rank equally-desirable statements about their job-relevant skills, can also reduce faking and exaggeration.
Skill-based hiring
After identifying a shortlist of qualified applicants, employers can then use more in-depth assessments. The first type of assessments are job knowledge or skill tests. Many off-the-shelf tests have been developed for a wide variety of technical skills, ranging from knowledge of Microsoft Word to contract law.
Research shows that work sample assessments — providing applicants with a sample of the actual work performed on the job — are one of the most valid selection procedures. However, employers should ensure assessments are not too time-consuming so applicants don’t feel like they’re doing free work for the company.
Personality assessments can provide a more holistic picture of the applicant. Validated, forced-choice personality assessments can reduce applicant faking or exaggeration, which is a significant concern when applicants are responding to a personality assessment for a job they really want.
Finally, structured interviews, where the same set of job-relevant questions are posed to each candidate and detailed scoring guides allow interviewers to reliably assess candidate responses, can provide valid information about the candidate’s skills.
Interviews are probably best suited to evaluate behavioural skills. If an interviewer has already used some of the technical skill assessments suggested in this piece, they can devote most of the interview to assessing an applicant’s behavioural and social competencies.
Skill-based hiring can help address problems associated with qualification inflation, while revealing previously hidden talent and providing diverse applicants with access to quality jobs that were once out of reach.
By Joseph Schmidt, Professor of Human Resources and Organizational Behaviour, University of Saskatchewan and Joshua Bourdage, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Calgary
Anatomy of a Leader: Drew Green of Indochino [Feature]
The journey to become one of Canada’s most successful business executives and entrepreneurs wasn’t an easy one for Drew Green considering his roots in Toronto.
Drew Green
But the current CEO of Indochino always had his passion for sports he could turn to as an escape from the challenges of growing up and later on the lessons he learned from sports helped him navigate the complex business world in achieving success.
“I came from a pretty underprivileged background. My mom and dad divorced. My mom was a teacher but underpaid because she didn’t have her university degree. So we moved 18 times in 18 years,” said Green. “I think I had a good childhood because my mom was amazing but sports for me was an opportunity to be really good at something.
“And what I learned, that’s really applied to my life, was the importance of teamwork, the importance of leadership, the importance of learning how to win. And what I mean by that is practice is important. Not only doing practice but doing extra practice. And also how to deal with losing.
“We took basketball pretty seriously at the high school I was at. We won provincial titles and all kinds of different stuff. It taught you how to win and how to lose. How to set goals at the beginning of a season and then go after it.
“I played every sport. Volleyball I loved. Football. Basketball was my passion. The ability to work hard. That’s something I’ve passed on to my sons . . . I learned how to work hard from different things but sports teaches you you need to work hard to be good.”
York University Basketball Team (Drew Green: Top Row, 4th from Left)
Green was born and raised in Scarborough, Ontario, and went to York University. After playing basketball at university as a point and shooting guard, he went overseas to Australia and Singapore.
At university, he took kinesiology courses.
“I thought I wanted to be a chiropractor. Or a doctor of some sort. I took the kinesiology route but my first business kind of mushroomed. It just exploded and I ended up running that for three of my four years at university and then selling it,” said Green.
“It was a personal training company. It was at a time in the mid-90s when personal training was just kind of taking off. I had so many clients. I hired trainers. I built a gym and then I ended up selling it to go overseas to play ball.
“Playing in Australia took me all over Asia. I think 23, 24 countries, which was an amazing journey.”
Years later, he came back to Canada and began his business career.
Image: Drew Green (2015)
“For me, I’ve always been a creator. I’ve created businesses from my teenage years through to now in my late 40s. Indochino specifically is kind of an interesting story. I retired at 39 and was thinking of taking a couple of years off. I have two boys. I just built a business and then Amazon came at me and said hey why don’t you come here and run one of our divisions. So they offered me a CEO role there,” said Green.
“And I actually signed it. I signed the agreement. And Tom Stemberg who was chairman of Indochino (at the time) . . . was convincing and said let’s buy the company, structure it in a way that it’s yours and you come in and you build it. Indochino at the time was a regional business . . . It was a big decision. I’ve always really admired Amazon and was really excited about that opportunity but I’m an entrepreneur and a creator. That’s the story.”
He began with Indochino in 2014-2015.
Image: Drew Green, INDOCHINO CEO
What is it about being an entrepreneur that attracted Green?
“I think the real answer is the independence. The ability to be my own boss in a way. Yes always you’re reporting to boards and shareholders. But in a way you’re responsible to yourself and your team,” he said. “But I really like the idea of like just creating and kind of being my own boss and having unlimited upside, and creating that upside.
“Through my career, I’ve founded over 15 companies and all of which are still around in one form or another. Some are publicly-traded companies now. I kind of consider Indochino not as a startup but as a re-start. We basically changed everything in the company and we launched into retail in 2015-2016 and the rest is history.”
Green is an award-winning Chief Executive Officer, entrepreneur, and expert in starting and managing high-growth companies. A visionary leader, Green has created one of the world’s fastest growing apparel brands. Between 2015-2023, he established over $100 million in strategic capital commitments for Indochino from Madrona Venture Partners, Highland Consumer, Dayang Group, Mitsui & Co. and Postmedia Network and has secured partnerships with hundreds of celebrities and professional athletes, along with MLB, NHL, NBA and NFL teams. Indochino created, launched, and then expanded to +100 showrooms, employing over 1,000 people across North America, with another 3,500 people in China working daily to produce the one-of-a-kind garments each Indochino customer creates.
Previously nominated as top 40 under 40, as well as CEO of the year, Green has been recognized for his accomplishments throughout his career. In 2017 Green was awarded the Lifetime Innovation in Retail award. In 2018 he was awarded Retailer of the Year by Chain Store Age, and in 2018 Green was selected as The Entrepreneur of the Year, by Ernst and Young.
INDOCHINO San Jose (Image: INDOCHINO)INDOCHINO Kansas (Image: INDOCHINO)
In 2019 Canadian Business announced that between 2015-2019, Indochino was #1 fastest growing Canadian retailer, with sales globally, and 3rd fastest growing retailer in Canada, amongst retailers with revenues over $100 million. Over the past 25 years Drew has sold billions of dollars’ worth of product globally, online and in store, and is recognized as a direct-to-consumer expert.
Prior to Indochino, Green founded and was Chief Executive Officer of Canada’s first multi-merchant marketplace, which is now owned by EMERGE COMMERCE, which he leads as Chairman and major shareholder. Throughout his career, he has held leadership roles at companies that have created billions in shareholder value through leadership roles at FloNetwork (acquired by DoubleClick). DoubleClick (acquired by Google), and SHOP.COM, (acquired by Market America) amongst others.
Over the past 25 years Green has started or invested in over 50 private companies, venture funds and real-estate assets across Canada, all of which (+50) are still held and being built via DREWGREEN.CA INC. Over his career, he has founded and become chairman of over 15 Canadian companies, including five that are currently public on the TSX and or NYSE, raising over a billion dollars as a Founder, CEO and or Chairman. He also serves as a board member at York University, his alma mater, and awards yearly scholarships for York and UBC students.
Image: IndochinoLiam Dayco-Green and Aidan Dayco-Green (Photo: Drew Green)Liam Dayco-Green
Green no longer plays basketball but he’s closely associated still to the sport through his boys who play at a high level with Prolific Prep in Napa. One’s a senior and one’s a freshman.
“I kind of have this approach to work life balance which is I’m always working, I’m always on vacation,” he said. “I know that sounds a little weird but it’s worked for 20 years. My days start super early and sometimes finish super early and then work really late. I usually get up around 4:30. My meetings start sometimes as early as 5 a.m.
“I just try to balance everything to make sure I’m the best possible father. I spend a lot of time with my sons. I’m there for them through their journey, through their goals, through their dreams. And then work is busy.
“My hobby is being a father. At this point that’s kind of my number one hobby. I don’t golf. I don’t do anything of that. I work out quite a bit but not basketball related.”
“We have a 50 store rollout in 2024 that we’re working on now and we’ll have more details (in the future) and some other opportunities. We think we’re going to launch between five and 17 new showrooms in 2024,” said Green, adding the new showrooms will all be in the U.S. There are currently 13 locations in Canada.
“I’ve got a 50-store test with a major partner that hopefully will launch sometime in the summer. I can’t give it away too much, but it’s a department store that we’re looking at launching an Indochino concept in.”
Steel N Ink at Royalmount (Rendering: Optima Design)
After recently opening at The Well, downtown Toronto’s massive mixed-use development, the upscale tattoo and body piercing studio Steel N Ink has secured a deal to open later this year at the huge new Royalmount project in Montreal.
The idea for Jamie Randolph’s Steel N Ink business began years ago when he took a summer job with a family friend in Sauble Beach, near Owen Sound, Ontario.
The first location opened in Sauble Beach in 2005 and today it has 15 locations operating.
Steel N Ink at The Well (Image: Dustin Fuhs)
Randolph said The Well is one of the biggest projects in Canada and the location is excellent.
“It’s going to be a focal point of Toronto shopping and just tourists visiting, right in the centre of it all,” he said.
“We’re looking to expand to other provinces. I’m a born and raised Montrealer. So Royalmount is a bit of a homecoming for me. When I saw the Royalmount project was coming along and almost ready to open, it was something I couldn’t pass up. It’s a great opportunity for Steel N Ink to be in a centre of that class and I’m very happy to be there.”
Randolph said the expected grand opening of the Royalmount location is August 24.
Michael Stroll
“We are thrilled that Steel N Ink has joined the roster of category leading brands at Royalmount. They are proven leaders in their field and we believe they will meaningfully enhance the service offering at Royalmount,” said Michael Stroll, Vice-President of Leasing for developer Carbonleo of the massive Montreal project.
Steel N Ink at Royalmount (Rendering: Optima Design)Steel N Ink at Royalmount (Rendering: Optima Design)
Randolph said The Well location is close to 1,200 square feet while Royalmount will be about 1,000 square feet.
“The body art industry is really just an extension of the beauty industry and that’s going strong for the last couple of years. We’re just kind of joining that,” he said.
“We’ve been at it here for 18 years. We’ve been pushing the boundaries of the industry. It’s gotten broader and broader. More and more people are getting tattoos, piercings and it’s great to see.”
Besides its base in Ontario, the company also has two locations in Winnipeg. It’s in CF Polo Park and recently opened a new location in Kildonan Crossing.
“We’re going to keep it going. Keep expanding. Canada’s a big country. There’s a lot of places to cover. We’re looking forward to continuing,” said Randolph.
He said about 1,200 square feet is the ideal space for a typical store.
“We’re looking for high traffic locations, A-Class centres. We want to be in very nice centres. We want to be in prestigious areas,” added Randolph.
“We recently came out with an apparel line. It’s designs from our tattoo artists and we’ve printed them on some clothing that we now sell in the stores. These are limited edition type items.”
Steel N Ink at Royalmount (Rendering: Optima Design)
When Randolph was 17 years old he went to Sauble Beach to work in a summer job in the seasonal beach town. He went to work for a family friend, who owned a body piercing and T-shirt store. Randolph worked there and then bought it in 2005 and made it a tattoo studio as well.
“I started in Sauble Beach and everyone always said to me ‘who would get a tattoo on vacation?’. You know it’s just people. When you have a large crowd of people you have traffic. It’s very inviting. People come in and everyone’s thinking of doing a tattoo but a lot of people don’t go out of their way to get it done and other studios kind of make it hard to book in and they’re in certain parts of towns,” said Randolph in a previous Retail Insider story.
Brunello Cucinelli Pop-up at Yorkdale Shopping Centre, January 2024 (Image: Craig Patterson)
Italian luxury brand Brunello Cucinelli has unveiled a pop-up store at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre ahead of a permanent store set to open nearby. The brand is expanding across the country by opening standalone stores.
The Yorkdale pop-up spans about 3,250 square feet on one level, and is located between a Tudor store operated by Raffi Jewellers, and Michel’s Bakery which will be relocating in a few months. Brunello Cucinelli will open a permanent store nearby in a new luxury wing at Yorkdale that is being developed by landlord Oxford Properties. Luxury brands such as Loewe and others are confirmed to be opening in the new wing, made possible by relocating various retail tenants that had occupied the central corridor of the mall.
DWSV Realty represented Brunello Cucinelli in Canada and negotiated the Yorkdale lease deal on behalf of the retailer.
Brunello Cucinelli pop-up circled in red. Click image for interactive mall map. Former Brunello Cucinelli at Yorkdale Shopping Centre (Image: Craig Patterson)
The new Yorkdale pop-up replaces a Brunello Cucinelli concession that operated for a couple of years at Holt Renfrew in the mall. Brunello Cucinelli recently closed the concession, and the space will be annexed by Chanel which is significantly expanding its concession at Yorkdale. This week, Chanel relocated its Yorkdale concession at Holts into a space in the store that formerly housed a restaurant, while the expanded two-level Chanel concession is constructed.
Former Chanel at Holt Renfrew Yorkdale (Image: Craig Patterson)
Brunello Cucinelli’s Canadian store expansion has been ongoing for nearly a decade. The brand’s first Canadian store opened at 745 Thurlow Street in Vancouver in the fall of 2015, spanning about 2,700 square feet. A flagship location opened in early 2019 at 102 Yorkville Avenue, spanning more than 8,000 square feet over three floors. The brand also operates an outlet store at the Toronto Premium Outlets in Halton Hills.
Brunello Cucinelli on Yorkville Avenue in Toronto. Photo: Kearns Mancini Architects Brunello Cucinelli at Harry Rosen (Image: Harry Rosen)
In Canada, Brunello Cucinelli also has a concession presence at Holt Renfrew stores and is distributed in some upscale multi-brand retailers such as Harry Rosen.
We’ll follow up on the story with more details on Brunello Cucinelli’s Canadian expansion, which sources say is a multi-city endeavour.
Vera’s Burger Shack started as a concession stand by Vera Hochfelder and her husband Frank in 1977 with a location on the West Vancouver waterfront in the Dundarave neighbourhood.
Today, co-owner Gerald Tritt, who bought the brand in 2000, has built the company to 10 current locations in the Lower Mainland with plans to expand into the Alberta market.
“Back in 2000, Shake Shack didn’t exist. Fatburger wasn’t in Canada. Five Guys wasn’t around. None of these brands were around,” said Tritt. “I felt that there was an opportunity to get into this sort of up market burger segment. I thought this was a good launching pad to test the waters and see what it was about.
“So I ran the concession for the first summer in 2000. In 2001, I brought in Noah Cantor (co-owner) and we opened our first standalone location in Kitsilano, two and a half blocks from the beach.”
Image: Vera’s Burger Shack
In 2007, the concession stand was closed.
The company has entered into a strategic three-location deal with franchise partners for Calgary.
“Western Canadian beef. We’re beef eaters. That’s our nature. That’s what we’re about,” said Tritt.
A few years ago, the brand was in Alberta in a casino for a while in Edmonton. It was very successful. But when the casino was sold, Vera’s was no longer there.
“That was our first foray into Alberta. We liked the marketplace. Obviously beef. You can’t get much ‘beefier’ than Alberta,” said Tritt.
There was a period of time as well that Vera’s worked with a company doing container restaurants for delivery only with locations in Calgary and Edmonton.
“But at the end of the day, it just wasn’t like having our own location and the best product, the best quality, the best use of our business acumen in terms of making a great burger is in our own space,” explained Tritt.
“Over the years, we’ve had several people that have come to us, asked us about doing Vera’s there and for whatever reason we’ve just never had the right feeling and I think when you’re going into a market you need to have partners there that understand the market, that have some experience and have the work ethic. And the group that we’ve done this agreement with checked all the boxes. They’re young. They’re a young family. They have business experience. They have burger experience and they’re really motivated, really great people. So we’re very excited about it.”
The first location will open in the Spring in the redevelopment of the Northland Village Mall in Calgary owned by Primaris REIT.
“We’ve got the one location secured. We’re looking at several other locations to see what the opportunities are. They’re all going to be in the Calgary market. This agreement we have in place right now is for the Calgary market specifically,” said Tritt.
“We think the Calgary market could be into the double digits. Calgary is a vibrant market. It’s a growing market . . . Every time I go there, there’s another development, there’s more buildings, there’s more houses. I know people who are moving to Calgary. I know people that are doing business in Calgary. It’s a vibrant market.
Image: Vera’s Burger Shack
“In Alberta itself, obviously Edmonton’s a good market, Red Deer’s a good market. Then you get up into the oilsands and Fort McMurray. There’s lots of really great markets for a really great product and I think we check those boxes.”
Tritt said there is also room for the brand to grown in B.C., particularly the Interior in places like Kelowna, Penticton and Kamloops as well as Prince George and Fort St. John.
Calgary’s Southcentre Mall, owned and operated by Oxford Properties, is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year as the popular shopping centre continues to have a considerable impact in shaping Calgary’s economic and community landscape.
Jason Bos
“We’re definitely very excited to be celebrating that,” said Jason Bos, General Manager of Southcentre. “Being a shopping centre, the most important piece is what we’re bringing in terms of retailers as well as the community initiatives that we’re doing.
“We do have some special things planned given that it is our 50th anniversary and we’d like to celebrate that and share with the community. It’s also our 15th anniversary for the Southcentre Stampede Pancake Breakfast. So we’re looking to do that bigger and better than we have in the past.”
Southcentre Mall in Calgary (Image: Oxford)Historical Image of Southcentre Shopping Centre
The most recent new opening was Reitmans in 4,700 square feet of space. Prior to that, Earls opened in a new restaurant and new stores were launched by Sleep Country and Tuk Tuk Thai.
“We’ve got a couple more under construction right now so more things in the hopper,” said Bos.
“Melanie Lyne is renovating. They will be reopening soon. They’re under construction now. We’ll be adding a Laura and Laura Plus to the centre. There’s an existing Laura which will become a regular Laura and we’re adding Laura Plus and Laura Petites as well in about another 8,000 square feet. That should happen in Q1.
“And we also have a few other retailers that we’re not quite ready to announce but we do have some pretty big announcements that are going to be coming out in approximately four to six weeks.”
Southcentre Mall in Calgary (Image: Southcentre)Southcentre Mall in Calgary (Image: Southcentre)
The former massive three-level Sears space is now completely leased since the giant retailer left the building.
“The third level of the old Sears space has been leased. Work has started right now. We are working with the tenant on a communications plan. Because it’s quite a large space and extensive amount of work, they’re not ready to announce just yet because they haven’t completed their marketing plan for their rollout,” said Bos.
“But we’re definitely very excited. It’s going to bring something unique to the south of Calgary that currently doesn’t exist. I can share that it’s entertainment.”
It is targeted to open in Q4 of this year.
The old Sears space of 284,000 square feet was divided up into six different tenants – Dollarama, PetSmart, Winners, Earls, Decathlon and the entertainment concept.
Bos said the company’s development team continues to explore densification of the site.
“It’s something that is certainly on our radar in terms of the future. There’s no concrete plans at this time but it’s something that we’re always evaluating,” he said.
Southcentre Mall in Calgary (Image: Southcentre)Southcentre Mall (Christmas 1980s)
Here’s some interesting data on Southcentre:
Southcentre Mall opened on August 7, 1974 when Calgary’s population was about 420,000;
Major expansions took place in 1986, 1988, 1999, 2009, and 2015, including the introduction of major retailers and redesign of spaces;
Dynamic changes continued in 2018 when Sears closed its doors, making room for new retailers like Dollarama, PetSmart, and Winners in 2021;
The first to market Decathlon location opened in 2022, bringing a 70,000-square-foot location and over 150 employees;
2023 saw the addition of 15 new stores and expansion of major brands like Pandora and Lululemon;
In 2023, Southcentre’s joint efforts with community partners and charities resulted in 17,000 hours of volunteer capacity and a collective fundraising achievement of $1.7 million;
Southcentre Mall has approximately six million annual visitors, driving consumer spending and supporting local businesses;
The leasable footprint of the mall is equivalent to about 62 NHL hockey rinks;
More than 25 local businesses have opened stores in the mall since 2020;
The mall provides direct employment to approximately 2,100 people, including both part-time and full-time positions, as well as contractors and administration staff (not including construction staff);
The initial investment of $20 million to build the mall in 1974 has been supplemented by ongoing investments over the years, such as the $50 million in capital improvements by Oxford Properties since 2020.
