French women’s fashion brand ba&sh is expanding into the Vancouver market this spring with its first store that will be located in the city’s downtown core. It will be the fourth location for ba&sh in Canada after the brand opened stores in Toronto and Montreal during the pandemic.
The Vancouver ba&sh storefront will be contained within a 660 square foot retail space at 925 West Georgia Street at the base of the Cathedral Place office tower. The new ba&sh will be located strategically across the street from the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver which is home to flagship stores for Gucci, Dior and Louis Vuitton. The ba&sh store will replace French jeweller Chopard which last year relocated to a beautiful new space nearby on Alberni Street.
Vancouver’s ba&sh store will carry a curated assortment of the brand’s ready-to-wear and accessories collection. It will be the first location in North America to showcase the new ba&sh global design concept that the brand says focuses on a soft, natural aesthetic with organic materials, rounded shapes, burned wood details, and Venetian plaster.
Included will be two fitting rooms equipped with phone chargers and custom Parisian mirrors. Plans include a regular events schedule to engage with the local community, including private shopping parties and creative workshops, according to ba&sh.
“We are thrilled to be opening our first free standing boutique in Vancouver, in an incredible location that offers an elevated shopping experience,” said Desiree Thomas, CEO of North America in a statement. “Our Canadian business has expanded rapidly since we opened our first store in the market in 2020, and we are excited to continue growing our footprint. We know our effortless, Parisian aesthetic resonates well with Canadians.”
The brand’s first Canadian store opened at 118 Yorkville Avenue in Toronto in the summer of 2020 in a 1,300 square foot space at the base of the Hazelton Hotel. In September of 2020, ba&sh opened an impressive 3,300 square foot storefront in Montreal’s Westmount area on Sherbrooke Street, and that was followed by a 780 square foot location at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre. Jeff Berkowitz of Aurora Realty Consultants represents the brand in Canada and negotiated the leases.
There are over 400 ba&sh retail stores around the world, including 11 stores in the United States. The brand also has strategic partnerships with retailers in Canada including Holt Renfrew and Nordstrom.
In the fall of 2019, ba&sh launched its Canadian wholesale expansion in a partnership with the Hudson’s Bay Company to open ba&sh shop-in-stores inside Hudson’s Bay locations in Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver.
The ba&sh brand was founded in Paris by two best friends, Barbara Boccara and Sharon Krief, in 2003. The name ‘ba&sh’ is a hybrid of their first names. The brand, described as being a hybrid of “rock and roll and bohemia” focuses on feminine clothing that is also comfortable. Collections include ready-to-wear, bags, accessories and footwear. The price-point is in the ‘contemporary’ range with dresses generally in the $400-$1,000 range, blouses costing in excess of $300, bags priced over $500, and shoes priced into the hundreds of dollars depending on style.
The brand’s international expansion was made possible in part by a significant investment by LVMH investment arm L Catterton.
We’ll report back when ba&sh opens its Vancouver store, which is anticipated for mid-March of this year.
