One of the most prominent retail spaces in downtown Montreal has come up for lease, providing the potential for a flagship location for a major global or homegrown brand. Located at 1035 Ste-Catherine Street West, the multi-level retail space occupies the coveted northeast corner of Ste-Catherine and Peel Streets in the heart of the city’s popular urban retail zone.
Foot traffic abounds in the area, with some of the world’s top brands having stores located nearby. Many consider it to be ‘centre ice’ in terms of retail in Montreal, with the corner boasting the highest footfall in the city.
The busy intersection is home to Canada Goose with other big names nearby such as Aritzia, Roots, Aldo, and Club Monaco among others, with a Harry Rosen flagship store being located behind on iconic Peel Street which is home to the prestigious Les Cours Mont Royal retail complex and other notable retailers such as Mejuri.
The stretch of Ste-Catherine Street where 1035 Ste-Catherine is located boasts Holt Renfrew Ogilvy just three blocks to the West and both La Maison Simons and Hudson’s Bay a short walk to the east. The area is home to numerous hotels, restaurants, and attractions, making it a popular area for visitors.
Photo: Dustin Fuhs
The 1035 Ste-Catherine space is connected directly to downtown Montreal’s underground pedestrian walkway system that spans most of the downtown Montreal area that includes indoor access to an atrium and the STM Metro system (Peel Station) as well as the new REM system, which will be operational within two years. Also connected underground is many downtown shopping malls including Place Montreal Trust, Montreal Eaton Centre, Promenades Cathedral, Place Ville Marie, and Place Bonaventure. For those driving downtown, numerous parking lots are located nearby and 1035 Ste-Catherine itself has its own parking facility that is connected to the Underground City.
The 1035 Ste-Catherine Street West property is in turnkey condition and features a total of 17,498 square feet of retail space over three levels. That includes a ground floor of 4,745 square feet, a second floor spanning 6,936 square feet, and a basement level connected to the Metro measuring 5,817 square feet. Demising options are available for the space that boasts over 100 feet of frontage with large floor-to-ceiling windows. The design of the building allows for open spaces as well as space for collaborations and pop-up events for the community.
The building is unique in how it juts out on Peel Street – its position is more westward than any building on Peel Street, offering unobstructed visibility.
Photo: Dustin Fuhs
Owner Marine Group has found that the daytime population within one kilometer of the site is almost 234,000, with a median age of just over 30 years. Within three kilometres, that number increases to a whopping 825,000 people during the day, creating a strong potential market for the corner which is said to be the busiest in Montreal.
The entire space can be leased by one retailer, and demising options are also available according to the landlord. The landlord is also open to discussions around improvements to the space including incentives and tenant allowances. For more information on 1035 Ste-Catherine Street West, contact:
The retail industry is facing enormous talent shortages as the skillsets required to keep pace with the new technologies continue to expand. In 2022, there were two open jobs for every unemployed person, forcing companies to find new approaches to access qualified talent. Evolving employee expectations around flexible work models are also adding further complexity to the agility organizations need to master.
Retail Council of Canada (RCC) is hosting its annual Retail Human Resources Conference, the largest gathering of retail professionals who will discuss today’s most pressing HR issues on April 20, 2023 at the International Centre in Toronto. This one-day conference brings together retailers, solution providers, and industry experts to explore solutions that will help both retain and attract an engaged and skilled workforce across the range of roles needed to ensure the continued vibrancy of retail in Canada.
“The pandemic has forever changed both consumers’ expectations of retailers, and how retail teams work so they can continue to delight shoppers. RCC, together with our HR member networking groups, has been analyzing the corresponding HR trends and opportunities so that we can collectively consider creative solutions to the current talent concerns,” shares Diane J. Brisebois, President and CEO, Retail Council of Canada. “Everyone is excited for this year’s conference, which will be the first time in three years this dynamic group of HR professionals will be able to meet, face-to-face. There really is nothing like our in-person Retail Human Resources Conference to learn, reconnect with friends, get re-energized, and find fresh ideas for tackling retail HR challenges.”
The main stage program will include sessions that explore the employee experience, the power of belonging, change leadership, boosting retention and minimizing turnover, as well as talent attraction.
This year’s speakers include:
Tanja Fratangeli, Chief People Officer, IKEA Canada
Tiffani Bova, Global Growth Evangelist, Salesforce
Martine Lamoureaux, Head of Talent and Culture, Ardene
Alex Snelling, Chief People Office, McDonald’s Restaurants of Canada
Marie-Laurence Godon, Manager of Culture & Engagement, Ardene
Stephen Friedman, Adjunct Professor of Organization Studies, Schulich School of Business at York University
Fil D’Urbano, Chief Leadership and Mindfulness Officer, Ardene
In addition to the main stage program, focused breakout sessions will allow attendees to mingle with colleagues, experts, and exhibitors so that, at the end of the day, everyone can come away from the conference with tangible strategies they will use within their organizations to develop new competencies and navigate the sweeping changes in retail workplaces.
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling on the federal government to scrap its plan to increase the carbon tax, alcohol taxes and member of Parliament pay on April 1.
“The feds will make life more expensive with the April tax hikes,” said Franco Terrazzano, Federal Director of the CTF. “Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shouldn’t be raising taxes when Canadians can’t afford gas or groceries.”
The federal carbon tax will increase to 14 cents per litre of gasoline and 12 cents per cubic metre of natural gas on April 1.
First passed in the 2017 federal budget, the alcohol escalator tax automatically increases excise taxes on beer, wine and spirits every year by the rate of inflation. Alcohol taxes will increase by 6.3 per cent on April 1.
MPs also take pay raises each year on April 1. The CTF estimates this year’s pay raise will range from an extra $5,100 for a backbench MP to an extra $10,200 for the prime minister, based on contract data published by the government of Canada. This will be the fourth MP pay raise since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“To add insult to injury, MPs will take another pay raise the same day they take more money from taxpayers’ wallets,” said Terrazzano. “Politicians don’t deserve a pay raise when they make life unaffordable with tax hikes and runaway spending.”
In this video interview, Terrazzano discusses the upcoming tax hikes and the impact on consumers and businesses in Canada.
The Video Interview Series by Retail Insider is available on YouTube.
Connect with Mario Toneguzzi, a veteran of the media industry for more than 40 years and named in 2021 a Top Ten Business Journalist in the world and the only Canadian – to learn how you can tell your story, share your message and amplify it to a wide audience. He is Senior News Editor with Retail Insider and owner of Mario Toneguzzi Communications Inc. and can be reached at mdtoneguzzi@gmail.com.
Also check out the other series offered by Retail Insider, including The Weekly podcast and The Interview Series, which are both available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Podcasts, or through our dedicated RSS feed for Simplecast and other podcast players.
Like many other Canadian shopping centres, over the past few years Southcentre Mall in Calgary has been leasing out the massive former Sears space which became vacant when the giant retailer closed its doors.
Now that space is about to be completely filled.
Jason Bos, general manager of Southcentre Mall, which is part of the Oxford Properties Group, said the total Sears space was about 240,000 square feet over three floors.
Jason Bos
“The third level of Sears we have secured an entertainment use that will essentially take the entire third floor. So about 80,000 square feet of entertainment, food and beverage. That’s really exciting. Hopefully open by the end of this year,” he said.
“We will have more news to come as we progress the conversation but it is finalized that is happening.”
Southcentre Mall is just over one million square feet with about 190 stores.
In the past year or so, Bos said Winners, Dollarama, Decathlon were the main tenants that opened during COVID “and have really given us a shot in the arm in terms of traffic and really revitalizing the shopping centre.”
“In this coming year, we’ve got quite a bit more leasing to come,” he added.
Bos said the lululemon store will be doubling in size with a scheduled opening this spring. Earls Restaurant will be relocating its nearby Willow Park location into the shopping centre, opening in old Sears space in the fall of this year.
“And we have several other retailers that we’re not quite able to announce yet but we’re really excited. All in all we’re looking at about 125,000 square feet of new leasing that’s firm for this coming year,” said Bos.
“The entire Sears space will be 100 per cent leased and the shopping centre in general will be over 90 per cent, closer to 93 per cent, leased on the whole.”
Future lululemon (Image: Southcentre Mall)Bath & Body Works (Image: Southcentre Mall)
Tenants for the Sears space include Dollarama, PetSmart, Winners on the first level. On the second level, there’s Earl’s and Decathlon which opened in November 2021. The third level will be the entertainment use.
“We have recently finished the Centre Court kiosk re-merchandising. So what used to be fountains and a lot of open space, we decided to put some food kiosks in as well as some seating. It’s really livened up that Centre Court area because we do have a large Centre Court space,” said Bos.
“The activation of that space with food has really drawn some crowds which is great for us because it’s helping the leasing team which has done a really great job with the building to work on the re-merchandising of the second level which part of that will be the lululemon expansion and the rest of that are some deals that we’ll be able to announce in a couple of months that will really solidify the re-merchandising of Centre Court. The other big one at Centre Court would be the expanded Ardene. Ardene went from about 3,000 square feet to just over 10,000 square feet right on the corner of Centre Court, which is really helping round out our offering in terms of attracting younger families and a younger demographic to the shopping centre, which has really helped drive traffic and sales, which are currently exceeding 2019 levels.”
Bos said the densification of the shopping centre is something that is being explored.
“It’s definitely something that Oxford is committed to. It’s something that Oxford believes in. The three big properties that Oxford manages and owns in the GTA – Square One, Yorkdale and STC (Scarborough Town Centre) – all currently have densification projects ongoing,” he said.
“So it’s definitely something that we will look at in the future.”
Bos said the mood in the retail sector in Calgary is optimistic, particularly for Southcentre Mall.
“COVID was pretty tough and we feel that we were probably at the bottom in terms of retail when COVID did hit. The good thing about being at the bottom is there’s nowhere to go but up and we really do feel that that’s the direction we’re headed right now,” he said.
“The numbers speak for themselves. Traffic is up, sales are up. We’re really happy. We’re exceeding pre-COVID numbers in both traffic and sales both in terms of productivity as well as just gross sales. We’re really happy with the way things are going. It’s kudos to the leasing team. We actually got stronger during COVID with the openings of the Sears box with Winners and some of those other tenants. I think we’re very well positioned to be a community hub particularly we are the furthest south shopping centre in the city, enclosed shopping centre.
“With the expanding demographics in Calgary and the growth in the population I think we’re really well positioned and I think that Calgary in general I’m very optimistic and bullish on the future. We’re on the upswing right now and it’s a really great feeling and great to be part of.”
Roots at CF Toronto Eaton Centre (Image: Dustin Fuhs)
As it celebrates its 50th year in business Canadian retailer Roots has been busy recently with a number of announcements to grow its business.
Roots has partnered with Stadium Live, a leading platform for Gen Z sports, culture and entertainment fans, to deliver a collection of unique digital branded experiences for users.
The retailer has also partnered with NewStore, a modular, mobile-first omnichannel cloud platform for retail brands worldwide, launching the Omnichannel Platform across its digital properties and network of more than 100 retail stores throughout Canada and the U.S.
Roots at 80 Bloor St W (Image: Dustin Fuhs)Roots at 80 Bloor St W (Image: Dustin Fuhs)
And the global apparel lifestyle brand has appointed Joey Gollish as a Creative Director in Residence for a period expected to extend through 2025. This appointment represents the first time in Roots’ almost 50-year history that it has welcomed an outside creative to the brand.
Meghan Roach
“As we strive to continue expanding our brand, we understand the importance of connecting with digital audiences. With Stadium Live, we can integrate the physical and digital realms to engage more effectively with the crucial Gen Z demographic,” said Meghan Roach, President & CEO of Roots. “We are excited to provide our customers with an immersive experience that allows them to fully engage with our brand and products on a deeper level.”
Roach said the partnership with Stadium Live is a way for the brand to connect with a different type of consumer including Gen Z. She said Roots has always been a brand heavily associated with sports.
“So for us it made a lot of sense to partner with a group like Stadium Live who is doing something in the virtual and digital landscape,” she said.
“This is the first brand partnership that Stadium Live has done.”
Stadium Live
Stadium Live users will have access to exclusive Roots branded activations throughout the platform. The partnership will debut a digital apparel and accessories collection launching in the Stadium Live Roots store, as well as physical apparel – inspired by the digital-first collection.
The first-of-its-kind partnership between the two brands aims to provide Gen Z users with a unique and differentiated way to interact and engage with the Roots brand. Stadium Live’s platform ensures a seamless experience from physical to digital, allowing Roots to extend their brand exposure beyond the physical and explore new ways of engaging with digital customers in a virtual setting.
Stadium Live’s innovative digital platform has attracted over 750,000 registered Gen Z users across North America. Users participate in sports-focused gameplay and live streams, collect unique items and prizes, chat and make friends with other fans, and customize their in-game avatar.
Kevin Kim, CEO and Co-Founder of Stadium Live, said the activation provides an authentic medium for Roots to drive brand awareness and revenue through next-gen sports fans.
“Our platform offers the perfect opportunity for brands to connect with our audience in a way that feels native to them through digital gamified experiences,” he said.
Roots at Yorkdale Shopping Centre (Image: Dustin Fuhs)
Roots has 121 stores operating across Canada as permanent locations and popups. Roach said the retailer opened seven stores, including popups in 2022 and closed four stores in 2022.
“It’s our 50th year in August and we continue to evolve. We’re continuing to grow the brand and we’re trying to make sure that people continue to think Roots is an iconic brand for the next 50 years and to do that you’ve got to keep changing and thinking about what’s happening in the landscape,” she said.
Roach said the retailer has discovered in the past couple of years opportunities in the marketplace for space being left behind by other retailers who were leaving. This has given the brand an opportunity to open popups where it can expand its footprint as well as promote the kids’ brand. In some locations, a regular Roots store is paired with a kids’ popup.
“What we found in those locations is those stores, the combination, are doing more than just a single store,” said Roach.
“We will continue to focus on the popup strategy.”
Image: RootsRoots at 80 Bloor St W (Image: Dustin Fuhs)
Roots is now using the NewStore order management and store fulfillment solutions to reduce shipping times, improve inventory accuracy, and maximize inventory sell-through across the enterprise.
The company said the NewStore order management and store fulfillment solutions use proprietary routing logic to allocate order requests across Roots’ brick-and-mortar locations and distribution centers according to the brand’s desired prioritization criteria. This allows Roots to improve customer service levels and manage shipping costs by directing orders to the appropriate store or distribution center. NewStore is also supporting omnichannel capabilities like buy online return in-store (BORIS), further improving the customer experience while driving foot traffic.
Roach said the platform was implemented in the Roots’ stores initially to help the brand with fulfillment.
“Roots is a brand where we are significantly integrated from an omnichannel perspective,” she said. “We look at our online and instore platforms really together. We have one inventory and we use all of our stores as performance hubs.
“NewStore is a technology that allows us to further fine tune that and in the longer term helps us serve the customer in these ways.”
“As an iconic Canadian brand, Roots is held to a higher standard by its fiercely loyal customers. With NewStore, Roots’ store associates now have the tools they need to create amazing shopping experiences anytime, anywhere,” said Stephan Schambach, Founder and CEO, NewStore. “They are one of the many great Canadian brands leading the way for omnichannel retailers everywhere, and their decision to partner with NewStore is a reflection of the activity we are continuing to see in that market.”
Joey Gollish joins Roots Canada as New Creative Director in Residence.
The appointment of Joey Gollish, Founder and Creative Director of fashion label Mr. Saturday, as Roots’ Creative Director in Residence is a way for the brand to stay innovative and forward-looking in today’s ever-changing market, said Roach.
“Through our collaboration with Mr. Saturday in December 2022, we found that Joey had a deep love for the Roots brand and a unique perspective that will support our long-term objective of increasing the brand’s global appeal,” she said. “We look forward to the exciting opportunities this additional creative influence will bring to Roots.”
Mr. Saturday and Roots have worked closely together on a range of collaborations over the past two years, including the best-selling capsule collection “Roots Saturday Airlines,” released at the end of last year. Gollish has also worked in collaboration with Roots on leather outerwear, travel bags, and accessories for Mr. Saturday’s Fall/Winter 2023 runway show in Paris and will once again integrate Roots into Mr. Saturday’s Spring/Summer 2024 for Paris Fashion Week. The creative synergies Roots and Mr. Saturday experienced working on these projects led to the vision for this unique partnership, said the company.
“I think for me because we’ve been working together nationally for so long, working hand in hand with the Roots’ team to create products not only for my own collection but collaboratively with them for the past couple of years, getting to know the brand and the entire team and really learning more about the heritage and the future vision for the brand, it just felt like the opportunity of a lifetime. I couldn’t think of a reason not to do it,” said Gollish.
At just 29 years old, Gollish is one of the most celebrated and exciting designers coming out of Canada right now, said Roots. Recently named Canada’s 2022 Menswear Designer of The Year by Canadian Arts & Fashion Awards, Gollish was also featured as one of the “New Names to Know” by Vogue and “1 of 20 Canadians Shaping the Next 20 Years of Culture” by Complex.
He is also the winner of 4 Cannes Lions awards and a member of the inaugural cohort of HXOUSE – Toronto’s next generation creative incubator and accelerator founded by the Weeknd, La Mar Taylor, and Ahmed Ismael.
Craig and Brian discuss how Clip Money works and who’s using it, as retailers get on board with this innovative new deposit solution. Craig and Chris discuss how Pepper Palace has seen benefits from using Clip.
The Interview Series podcast by Retail Insider Canada is available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play, or through our dedicated RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players. Also check out our The Weekly podcast where Craig and Lee discuss popular content published on Retail Insider which is part of the The Retail Insider Podcast Network.
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Background Music Credit: Hard Boiled Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Daily Blends at GO Union Station Bus Terminal (Image: Dustin Fuhs)
Daily Blends, an Artificial Intelligence tech company offering fresh and healthy food through smart vending machines, has closed a $2 million funding round and inked a deal with the Metrolinx network to roll out its innovative initiative to numerous sites.
“The combination of powerful data insights and plug-and-play smart vending machines, further combined with an omnichannel experience, helps us address new-age, evolving consumer needs while keeping our model agile and removing the heavy capital and labor costs associated with traditional retail formats,” said Shriya Gupta, CEO and co-founder of Daily Blends, based in Toronto. “We’re excited to bring affordable, healthy options to Toronto commuters and we look forward to expanding our reach with our additional funding.”
The company has closed a $2 million funding round led by San Francisco-based Hustle Fund with participation from New York-based 2048 Ventures, and other investors.
Daily Blends at GO Station Metrolinx (Image: Daily Blends)
Gupta said the financing will accelerate Daily Blends’ plan to deploy its AI-powered smart vending machines at many locations across the Metrolinx network, starting with Union Station. These vending machines will offer high-quality, fresh food to millions of commuters in the Greater Toronto/Hamilton area.
“We are developing AI technology for making vending machines super intelligent,” she said.
“It’s an exciting phase for this company.”
Gupta said the goal is to make high quality, fresh and affordable food accessible to people.
Purva Gupta and Shriya Gupta
The company was founded by sisters Shriya Gupta and Purva Gupta in 2020.
Currently the company has about 10 or so vending machines spread across busy train and bus stations and universities in Toronto. Gupta said the brand is on track to deploy 80 vending machines by the end of this year. The brand will then move across the country and into the U.S.
Gupta said that in the next few months the vending machines will be available at every possible high traffic location. The mission is to feed people with healthy food through this technology.
“Daily Blends is unique and is reimagining the convenience of healthy food for on-the-go consumers,” said Elizabeth Yin, general partner of Hustle Fund, in a statement. “Their strong back-end technology tied to third-party-vending machines makes them asset-light and highly scalable. We are thrilled to support the company and look forward to their growth and further success.”
“We’re excited to work with Daily Blends to bring high quality, convenient and healthier food options to our customers,“ said Mark Childs, Chief Marketing Officer, Metrolinx, in a statement. “This partnership will help enhance the customer experience, with on-the-go food and beverage choices to help make their journey on GO Transit and UP Express even more enjoyable.”
Daily Blends is powering smart vending machines at the largest university in Canada, University of Toronto, at hospitals and factories and plans to expand aggressively in the U.S. later in 2023.
Daily Blends at GO Union Station Bus Terminal (Image: Dustin Fuhs)
The company said its software analyzes real-time sales, inventory, and user data from each vending machine, generating multi-level user, location and network insights and powering a highly optimized end-to-end supply chain achieving high product availability and minimal food waste.
Daily Blends added that its in-house technology and algorithms generate insights on accurate demand forecasts, most optimum assortments, share of shelf, promotions, product recommendations, fueling high customer retention, while optimizing delivery schedules and minimizing out of stocks.
“In the last three to four years, there have been drastic shifts in customer behaviour and also retail,” said Gupta. “There is a rise in demand for healthy yet affordable food, available in grab and go formats using mobile ordering and technology, and increased convenience.”
That has combined with a time that costs have risen. The solution is the smart vending machines, said Gupta, because they can be literally placed anywhere, offering customers a customized experience by analyzing the data on consumer preferences.
Typically, a machine has eight to 10 food options for an average price of $6. At some locations, the demand is so high that the machines are restocked each day. And the food is available 24/7.
Hustle Fund is a pre-seed/seed-stage fund based in San Francisco and Singapore founded in 2017 by Elizabeth Yin, Shiyan Koh, and Eric Bahn.
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.
Retail giant the Sporting Life Group is launching a new national banner, Team Town Sports, with three stores opening this spring in Canada and a goal of 25 locations coast-to-coast.
“By making it a place where all customers can access the equipment they need to play and train for the team sports they love, Team Town Sports represents the reinvention of the sports retail experience,” said Chad McKinnon, President, Sporting Life Group. “Our goal is to meet the needs of a diverse Canadian population with a model that feels welcoming and inclusive. Our latest concept will feature all team sports under one roof, allowing us to connect with our customers through a shared passion for sports.
Chad McKinnon
“It’s really about a couple of things. One is the white space in the market today. There’s a real opening for a premium sports offering to all Canadian athletes across team sports. Lots of good independents do things for sports individually but nobody’s really rolled it up under one roof, under one big box for everything for team sports. And we want to be good, better, best in our assortment. We’ve been very welcoming and inviting to Canadians. Super inclusive since day one. So we’ve had a very strong female component to what we’re doing and it also complements what we’re building strategically with the Sporting Life Group in terms of our village.
“It complements Golf Town. It complements Sporting Life. Because there’s very little crossover between the assortment. So super complementary to what we’re already doing very well today.”
The first Team Town Sports locations will open in May:
CF Market Mall, Calgary, (opening May 11th) – 3412 49th St. NW, and about 26,000 square feet;
Heritage Mall, Calgary, (opening May 24th) – 33 Heritage Gate SE, and about 34,000 square feet;
Meadowvale Town Centre, Mississauga, (opening July 24th) – 3135 Argentia Rd, and about 30,000 square feet.
teamtownsports.com/
McKinnon said the rollout will be from coast to coast with a short-term focus on the Ontario market.
“A big start in Calgary for us because we have two pieces of great real estate and we just couldn’t turn it down. We signed two deals in Calgary and we’re super happy with that. We will be coast to coast. You’ll have access to us anywhere,” he said.
“Only 25, so you’re going to see large drive radiuses, very similar to what IKEA or Bass Pro Shops would have or even our Golf Town model is highly successful for us. People driving long distances to come visit us.”
Sporting Life Mapleview (Image: Sporting Life)
In a news release, the Sporting Life Group said Team Town Sports will offer all Canadians an inclusive and elevated sports retail experience to service their team sports needs.
“From hockey, basketball, soccer, and baseball, and all sports in between, Team Town Sports joins the Sporting Life and Golf Town banners, marking an epic introduction to the underserved team sports arena within the Canadian consumer landscape. Set to open locations across key Canadian markets in spring 2023, the store openings will be complemented with a best-in-class e-commerce platform, representing the latest step in the Sporting Life Group’s journey to elevating the ordinary and delivering an impactful retail experience to Canadians nationwide,” said the retailer.
“Following its launch of three initial locations, Team Town Sports is poised to continue its expansion across Canada. The banner’s introduction reflects the next stage of growth and opportunity for the Sporting Life Group and the communities in which these locations serve. Planned expansion for Team Town Sports will result in an estimated 25 locations coast-to-coast, creating between 2,000 and 2,200 new jobs for all Canadians.”
McKinnon said individual sports exploded during COVID.
“We had record years in Golf Town. Even beat our numbers from when we had 60 plus stores. We’re only at 47 today . . . People found things to do that were safe with COVID so we benefited from that,” said McKinnon.
“Now I think there’s a full return to team sports and a lot of young kids were denied playing sports. Lots of pent-up demand and Canada is a sports nation. I think it continues. COVID really slowed team sports down. It’s ready to come back now so our timing is good.”
Golf Town at Park Place Barrie
The Sporting Life Group operates three Canadian retail banners, Golf Town Ltd., Sporting Life Inc. and Team Town Sports. There are 47 Golf Town locations in Canada and 14 Sporting Life locations.
“Contemporary and inviting design meets a high-service model that embodies the principle of full, end-to-end service. The ethos of inclusivity will run deep at Team Town Sports and will be best reflected in the staff that bring product expertise and passion for sports to consumers, as well as the categories of products available to them. Shoppers will find the ultimate product assortment across all team sports, genders, and ages, including Kids’ Kingdom, a dedicated section of each store that will cater to the youth sports segment, providing a memorable experience as they begin their team sports journey. Team Town Sports will also offer the widest and most prominent product assortment for female athletes, a historically underserved customer base in the Canadian sports retailing market, with a wide range of the best equipment for all team sports,” said the retailer.
“Enthusiasts and professionals across a wealth of sports including hockey, soccer, baseball/softball, basketball, volleyball, cricket, curling, lacrosse, football, rugby, and ringette will be able to find everything they need for all team sports under one roof. Team Town Sports is proud to offer the latest in simulation technology, deep service expertise, and custom fitting for equipment, making it the premier destination for Canadians at all levels of sport and skill level.”
Bruce Winder, author of RETAIL Before, During & After COVID-19 and President, Bruce Winder Retail, said it is interesting and unusual for a chain to launch a new banner just before a potential recession.
Bruce Winder
He said the concept sounds exciting based on the perceived experiential store imagery that the retailer is describing.
“The Canadian sporting goods market is crowded with Canadian Tire and its many banners (Sportchek, Sports Experts, Canadian Tire, Pro Hockey Life & Trio Hockey) along with new entrants such as Decathlon and strong independents. However, there could be an open niche within the team sports segment of the business at the high end that is underserved – especially outside of hockey,” he said.
“I find it odd that two of the three initial stores are in Calgary. Why not test in the greater Vancouver area as well? Either way, increased competition is always good and is something we desperately need in Canada across many industries. Can’t wait to learn more.”
Boutique clothing store Grit & Grace has its sights set on expansion with two new stores scheduled to open over the next six months in Toronto, bringing the brand’s presence to four physical locations.
The store currently is open on a seasonal basis from May to October in Sauble Beach with a permanent location in Guelph.
It will be expanding with locations at the mixed-use massive project The Well in Toronto, as well as to one of the city’s trendiest streets, Ossington.
Image: Grit & Grace
“Sometimes life throws us a curveball; the only thing in your control is how you react to it. It’s how you find out that you can do hard things. I did a hard thing,” said Penny Light, Founder of Grit & Grace.
“When the world went into lockdown, I did the most challenging, counterintuitive thing I’ve ever done. I opened a physical store. Nobody thought it was a smart move.
“But I was confronted with three problems: I lost my business, no friends or a sense of community in Canada, and no Canadian-appropriate clothes.
The solution to all three problems was how my new business, Grit & Grace, was born. After six years of living in Costa Rica and building my adventure travel business and marketing consultancy there, the world shut down, and my company shuttered. I moved back to Canada, but after living abroad for so long, I had no real sense of community here.”
Penny Light, Founder of Grit & Grace at Future Ossington Location Image: Grit & Gracegritandgraceclothing.com
All she owned were bathing suits and flip-flops. Not very Canadian weather appropriate.
“But while shopping for a new wardrobe as a, then, 46-year-old woman, I became very disappointed in the selection and very frustrated by the shopping experience. It sucked. So when I launched Grit & Grace, I wanted to create a gathering space for women of all ages who enjoy what I do – yoga, books, travel, poetry, fabulous fashion, music, meaningful conversation and learning new things. And also wine. I wanted to design a place where they’d feel welcome and confident in their skin. And with clothing that appeals to women like me – curated with high-quality, timeless, simple and comfortable pieces,” she said.
“It’s a big reason my stores have a cozy, living-room-style seating area for hanging out. You feel like you’re in your best friend’s living room. If I wasn’t going to be able to run adventures through travelling abroad anymore, I figured I’d help women live more adventurously in their everyday lives by assisting them in finding their confidence. My counterintuitive bet paid off. I opened two stores in less than two years, the first in Sauble Beach (summer of 2020) and the second in (downtown) Guelph (November 2020). I have two more stores opening this year, one in Ossington (March) and one in The Well in September.
“I’m proof that anyone – I had absolutely no retail or fashion experience – could build something great if they lean into what they want to see in the world.”
The Well in Downtown Toronto on Thursday, March 2nd, 2023 (Image: Dustin Fuhs)Touring The Well with Penny Light, Founder of Grit & Grace (Image: Dustin Fuhs)Penny Light, Founder of Grit & Grace at The Well Image: Grit & Grace
Light described the women’s retail fashion store as Boho Chic, a little bit more high end.
“We had the concept kind of sketched on a back of a napkin in February of 2020. In fact we were in LA buying product when there were musings of this pending potential pandemic happening,” she said. “After we gathered more information, we made the decision to purchase a lot of inventory thinking that probably the world was going to come to some sort of halt or shipping was going to come to some sort of halt. So we stocked up.
“That March everything came to a grinding halt and lasted way longer than we anticipated. The next several months were trying to figure out how to pivot, or what to do. At one point the idea of liquidating the inventory was on the table. The decision to open finally came when the government announced that retail could open with restrictions in June 2020. It was go time. In 10 days we renovated, knocked down walls, built change rooms, and painted until 3am the night before opening the store.
“With the obvious exception of the last few years, a store a year is the growth plan. I’d like to get to 10 stores across Canada and maybe even re-introduce and tie some adventure travel offerings to the Grit & Grace guest.”
