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.
The Ordinary on Queen Street West (Image: Dustin Fuhs)
Skincare and beauty brand DECIEM has begun converting the signage of some of its stores, renaming them The Ordinary, after one of the company’s popular brands.
Signage was changed recently from DECIEM to The Ordinary in multiple locations in Canada, including the Distillery District, Queen Street West and Yorkville in Toronto and Metropolis at Metrotown in Burnaby among others.
DECIEM currently operates 38 stores with 11 stores in Canada.
The Canadian stores are located in Vancouver with two and the rest in the Greater Toronto Area. The company just opened a new store in Melbourne, Australia.
The Ordinary in The Distillery District (Image: Dustin Fuhs)The Ordinary at 1240 Bay St in Toronto (Image: Dustin Fuhs)
Nicola Kilner
“When we started the stores, the stores were all branded as DECIEM, which is our parent company,” said Nicola Kilner, CEO and Co-Founder of DECIEM. “Inside the stores they have multiple DECIEM brands. When we launched The Ordinary late 2016 into early 2017, The Ordinary kind of exploded. Customers know The Ordinary but they don’t necessarily know DECIEM.
“So we decided with many of the stores to rebrand these stores to be ‘The Ordinary’ so that we can really bring The Ordinary brand to life more than we could do when it was a shared space with our other brands.”
Kilner said not all DECIEM stores will become The Ordinary but a large portion will as the company moves to a retail strategy of just having one brand in different stores.
“We’re just actually starting a process of kind of redefining our retail strategy because when we first opened the stores back in 2017, 2018 we didn’t have much bricks and mortar distribution. So really our stores were one of the only kind of physical locations that you could go and buy the product because we were largely sold online,” said Kilner.
DECIEM at First Canadian Place (Image: Dustin Fuhs)
“But now here in 2023 especially in Canada we have a huge presence with Sephora. We’re actually their number one skin care brand. Now we’re redefining our retail strategy because the landscape today is actually we have these wonderful stores but we also have wonderful Sephora’s around the corner which also sell the product.
“I think we’re going to redefine the strategy to make sure our stores can become more experiential, tell the brand story in a way that other retail partners can’t and to make sure we can have that difference. We’re just redefining that strategy now and hopefully by kind of spring time we should have more to share on that.”
The Ordinary in The Distillery District (Image: Dustin Fuhs)The Ordinary at Sephora Union Station (Image: Dustin Fuhs)
Kilner said the DECIEM brand is growing.
“There was recently a study saying that when we’re seeing all this coverage of the cost of living crisis, inflation and pressure, consumers are actually looking for value. Value doesn’t always just mean the cheapest. These are scientifically-backed products. So they know that if they spend their money they’re getting value in terms of results and efficacies,” she said.
“And these are things that just really ring true to The Ordinary. I also think when COVID first happened we saw a huge uptick in demand. We’re kind of seeing some lessening now but I think sometimes when these market conditions happen we’re actually a brand that tends to do relatively well in these times.”
She said the company is restarting the incubator engine at DECIEM and it’s hoping there will be two new brands within the next year.
It is also planning to accelerate plans for Avestan and NIOD, two sister brands to The Ordinary from the DECIEM incubator, as well as continuing to support the growth of The Ordinary.
The Edge at GameStop on Yonge Street (Image: Dustin Fuhs)
What is the future of loyalty programs? According to Matt Crowell, the CEO and Founder of GetintheLoop, more brands will create and use their own loyalty reward programs instead of using multiple brand ones such as Air Miles, Aeroplan, or Scene amidst challenges.
“The whole landscape of loyalty programs is changing pretty quickly. I think consumers are going to see every brand try to develop their own promotions and loyalty strategies as every brand has a goal of trying to create their own loyal database and community of consumers and as things get better, brands will start to think more creatively – but right now, that is where brands are going,” says Crowell.
Leaders in Loyalty Programs
Aeroplan at Avis Car Rental in Brookfield Place (Image: Dustin Fuhs)
Earlier in loyalty plan programs, consumers have seen the larger companies take action, such as Air Miles, where every company joined one plan and the consumer had access to a lot of companies. However, Crowell says these point based systems have become overwhelming, making consumers confused on where, how, and when to spend their collected points.
Matt Crowell
“The challenges with the older ones are that we have so many Air Miles or Aeroplan points, but nobody spends them, nobody knows where to spend them, and eventually you stop pulling out the card because there is no point being loyal as you are no longer using the other side and I think that is where the fallout happens. It is not clear, tangible – the plan fails pretty quickly so we will be seeing less of these.”
For loyalty plans to be successful, Crowell says they need to be easy, accessible, close ranged rewards, and understandable. As programs like Air Miles use a variety of businesses – it might be unclear on how to use the points or what you will be getting; however, with individual loyalty programs such as Starbucks, it is a lot easier for the consumer to use and rewarding.
Starbucks at Yorkdale – Photo by Dustin Fuhs
“I think Starbucks did it the best. Starbucks has created such a great loyalty program in that everybody wants a coffee everyday, the rewards are short sighted, and it is something that is relevant to someone’s day to day. It is such a big business that they can invest a lot so that is one of the challenges I think loyalty programs are going to have – it is expensive for a business.”
The Main Challenges of Loyalty Programs
It takes a lot of investment
Sobeys in St. John’s (Image: Field Agent Canada)
When brands join a loyalty program such as Air Miles or Scene, they get to be included in a program where someone else is investing in the strategy, the implementation, and the execution; however, Crowell said as consumers see businesses building their own loyalty programs – it is going to take a significant amount of investment, strategy, technology, and other things that the average retailer would struggle with – but it does not seem to stop them.
“The challenge I see with it is the amount of investment it takes to launch a loyalty plan, continue to upgrade, and to upgrade the technology it takes to have a great loyalty strategy. If a company is big enough and they can invest enough to actually put the right technology in place to succeed that is one thing – but I think most businesses do not have the guts or the investment they need to get a loyalty program off the ground in the right way themselves – it is hard.”
If a business wants to run its own loyalty program but does not have enough investment, Crowell says they can use simple methods such as sending out a highly engaged email as it is a cheap way to interact with consumers. Crowell also mentioned there are a lot of cheap software programs to start a loyalty program – “but a big part of it is the strategy and what you are offering people. So the execution is still going to be important.”
Execution – What Are You Offering and How?
Plum Rewards at Indigo Royal Bank Plaza (Image: Dustin Fuhs)
When it comes to a loyalty plan to be successful – Crowell said at the end, it all comes down to the execution, what rewards the consumer will see, and how accessible the reward is.
“When you look at the most successful, it is because they execute. Like you do not leave Starbucks without them asking you if you have a Starbucks card, and it is the same if you go to Canadian Tire or Sport Chek with Triangle Rewards.”
For a loyalty program to work, Crowell says the business needs to give consumers a good reason to join, such as providing a free coffee or discount and to keep consumers coming back – retailers need to keep rewards in close range.
One thing that fails in loyalty programs is offering rewards on products consumers do not purchase frequently, when the rewards are not frequent, and when it is not clear what the consumer will get.
“Whether brands offer rewards, gifts, or points – when it is a one to one brand, they need to be very clear to what those points get a consumer. You have to create a program that is natural and make it on things consumers are buying. Starbucks does not make it on stuff you do not buy and I think that is what you want as a business is to make your loyalty program all around the most repeatable purchase that happens in your business so that it is easy for consumers to engage with it and be reminded of it at all times. This works because the consumer knows what they will exactly get from the rewards.”
Shoppers Drug Mart (Image: Dustin Fuhs)
At GetintheLoop, Crowell helps businesses create promotions and loyalty programs that keep customers coming back. The company helps brands with enquiring about new customers, creating databases, and has created a digital punch card for rewards.
“The way that we do it is all based on product or services – you do not earn any points. If you think of an old punch card, imagine that but digital, so it is very clear about what you are getting. If you join a coffee shop’s reward program, you know what it is to buy five coffees and get the next one free and you work through the system and you get a reward every three to five purchases. You want to focus on the short window and make the reward quick in the first couple of weeks so consumers get used to unlocking those rewards and working through them, or – you just lose the consumer.”
Cowell recommends companies who are looking to bring their own loyalty programs to their consumers to keep it simple, low cost for the consumer, and have a small reward window to keep bringing consumers back.
“Investing in loyalty, although expensive and takes a lot of time, can be the most powerful thing a business can do. 80 percent of a lot of businesses revenue comes from 20 percent of their customers, so investing a lot in those 20 percent of loyal customers is almost more important than anything if you do a good job of it.”
Repair and Run, a company founded by some of the people behind the founding and success of Mobile Klinik, the Canadian chain of smartphone and tablet repair shops, continues to expand the concept for bike, e-bike and scooter repairs.
After the successful launch of its first location in downtown Toronto at 363 Queen Street West in 2021, the brand opened a location in Ottawa in May last year in the Westboro area of the city and it has secured two more leases as it plans to open a second Toronto location as well as one in Kitsilano.
“We’re on our way to fulfilling our goal of being the go-to destination in Canada for service on micro mobility vehicles,” said Youssef Botros, VP of Business Development for the company.
“We are in the process right now of waiting for our permits. We’ve done the design for both locations and are planning on opening March sometime depending on the permits of course. They’re going to be a similar look and feel to what our customers are already going to today and providing the same quality service people are getting with the addition of the ‘come to you’ service which is powered by our e-bikes.”
Repair and Run Queen Street (Image: Dustin Fuhs)Image: Repair and Run
He said the Toronto store will be located on Bloor Street West while the Kitsilano store will be on West 4th Avenue.
Youssef Botros
“We first want to open up in the markets where we have the most users. So Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal. All the places where people are cycling more and especially using e-bikes and e-scooters,” said Botros.
“But when we’re looking at a location, it needs to be big enough to have service in the front. It needs to be easily accessible as you know e-bikes are quite heavy so having stairs in our entrance that doesn’t work for us. It needs to be in a place where it has parking around the area if not its own parking lot. Obviously it would be really good to have a spot that is near bike paths and parks. You get more visibility that way.”
Image: Repair and Run
Image: Repair and Run
Image: Repair and Run
Botros said the company wants to open more locations and it has raised some investment capital from private investors.
“The plan is we want to open 40 to 50 of these over the next several years, starting first with the more dense urban markets and then sprinkling our locations to areas where they may not be as dense or as popular with the cycling world.”
When the brand was first launched in Canada, Botros said the company was trying to follow the same road map that Mobile Klinik used to become such a national success.
“Repair & Run was actually first started in France about five years ago. The mobile bicycle repair business since then has grown into a network of brick and mortar stores within France. The Canadian branch just started. It’s been in the works for a little while,” said Botros in a previous Retail Insider story.
“Ken Campbell, my partner, approached me while I was at Mobile Klinik, and said ‘hey we really like the work that you did at Mobile Klinik and we were wondering if you wanted to join this company’. I’m an avid cyclist myself. It’s one of the things I enjoy most. Some people have yoga or the gym. This is my way to disconnect. I love to explore new places.”
Rendering of Earls at The Amazing Brentwood (Image: Earls Restaurant Group)
Canadian restaurant brand Earls has some major plans coming up for the Burnaby, BC market with growth plans as well for other markets.
Sharilyn Mason, the company’s Chief Development Officer, confirmed the brand will be opening a Birdies Eats & Drinks restaurant in June at 3850 Lougheed Highway, which is the former spot of Earls Bridge Park, which closed recently after 26 years.
That closure was to facilitate the opening of a new location at The Amazing Brentwood, which is located close to its former location.
Earls Restaurants Ltd. is a family-owned operation started by Leroy Earl (Bus) Fuller and his son Stan Fuller in 1982 with its first restaurant in Edmonton. Earls has since grown to become one of the most successful, family-owned independent restaurant groups in North America with 68 locations across Canada (58) and the US (10).
The brand is from British Columbia to Ontario with headquarters in Vancouver.
Sharilyn Mason
Mason said in the past year Earls has opened two new restaurants – across from CF Sherway Gardens in Toronto and in downtown Winnipeg.
The Brentwood location will open February 16.
“Being a 40-year-old company, how restaurant deals were done and the types of projects that we looked at 40 years ago, or 25 years ago, they were traditionally path locations. As we’ve seen projects come online and super regional shopping centres, we’re taking the opportunity to really upgrade Earls real estate to get us closer and more connected to transit-oriented centres where that key concentration of density is,” said Mason.
“We’ve relocated a number of stores over the past few years and they’re quite successful in terms of growing our store volumes. The reason we chose Amazing Brentwood is for all of those reasons. It’s transit-oriented. There’s a high concentration of residential density along with some office components around there. We’ve loved being part of the Plaza and if you will it’s going to kind of be the downtown of Burnaby. Those are the dynamics that we loved about it. And just the ease of our guests being able to access us.”
Rendering of Earls at The Amazing Brentwood (Image: Earls Restaurant Group)
The Amazing Brentwood, a co-venture by Shape Properties, Healthcare of Ontario Pension, and L Catterton Real Estate, is one of British Columbia’s largest master-planned, mixed-use developments, says the project on its website.
“Located in Burnaby’s Brentwood neighbourhood, it will feature world-class shops, restaurants, public plazas, entertainment, and 6,000+ new homes. With its stunning indoor/outdoor public space and design, size and scale, connectivity, and diverse and compelling tenant mix, The Amazing Brentwood will be a one-of-a-kind urban gathering place that reflects the vibe of Metro Vancouver’s global community. The Amazing Brentwood’s phased opening begins now,” it says.
“The Amazing Brentwood is transforming into an urban gathering place that’s going to change the way people experience shopping, dining and entertainment. A global place that captures the heartbeat of humanity.”
Earls said the new location is designed with the Burnaby guest in mind and will be located on the plaza level of The Amazing Brentwood just steps from the Skytrain station. It is near the plaza’s stunning water feature and bustling open-air space. It includes a lounge, dining room, island bar and a patio that will extend out onto the plaza. It will also have a pick-up window for pick-up orders.
The exterior from Queensway + North Queen Street of the new Earls Sherway (CNW Group/Earls Restaurant Group)
The Earls internal design team, consisting of Lead Designer Kimberly Hume and Creative Director Elly Chronakis, developed the “Modern Design meets Earthy Comfort” style of Earls Brentwood.
“Inspired by The Amazing Brentwood’s timeless aesthetic and open-air shopping concept, Earls Brentwood utilizes warm elemental materials, lush greenery, and ample natural light to create a stylish and welcoming space where indoors and outdoors seamlessly connect. As part of the company’s ongoing commitment to supporting local artists, the walls of Earls Brentwood will feature collections from both Burnaby and BC based artists Rande Cook, Tafui, and Dina Gonzales,” says the company.
“Earls newest BC restaurant will beautifully showcase the brand’s commitment to creating individually compelling restaurants.”
“We wanted this Earls location to truly reflect the diversity, energy and lifestyle of the Burnaby guest,” said Kristin Vekteris, Chief Brand Officer “Burnaby is a neighbourhood brimming with life, and many young families, students, and millennials call Burnaby, and The Amazing Brentwood, home. This location is designed with them in mind.”
When asked if more Birdies are in the Earls future, Mason replied: “Obviously we’re in the business of multi-unit operations. If my money was put on it, I would say the likelihood is high.”
Renovated Earls Restaurant at 150 King Street West in Toronto (Image: BUILD IT By Design)Renovated Earls Restaurant at 150 King Street West in Toronto (Image: BUILD IT By Design)
Mason said the company is committed to six new restaurant openings for the Earls brand in the next 18 months – three are in Toronto, one in Calgary, one in Miami and the Brentwood location.
“We’ve had strong results coming out of the pandemic and people are going out and they are consuming. We’re seeing that in our sales. We’re also seeing that in our average guest cheque,” she said.
Continuing their commitment to compelling restaurant designs tailored to each neighbourhood, Earls Test Kitchen and Earls Robson will also be undergoing renovations in 2023 to further enhance the individual interiors into more lively, comfortable and compelling guest experiences.
“If you’ve seen our new Earls locations we’ve really elevated our design and our menu offerings,” said Mason.
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.
If you’re not checking your grocery receipts for errors before leaving the store, chances are you’re overpaying for some of your groceries, especially for discounted items.
In the U.S., some states have tried to put a number to the problem and look into receipt discrepancies. The North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Standards Division collected fines from dozens of Walmart stores due to pricing errors over the course of 2022. The average fine was anywhere between $40,000 to $50,000 USD. The agency has found about 26% of price scanner inspections failures. The technology itself was an issue, not human error. The department also detected that in roughly 10% of cases, at least one item was overcharged for one reason or another. Ten per cent!
Aldi in Australia recently got into some hot water when consumers took to Facebook to share easy-to-spot errors the grocer was committing. Worse, errors were repetitive. In the same country, at Coles Supermarkets, it was revealed that an automatic discount was issued to regular shoppers who were mistakenly charged full price on items that were previously discounted. The chain even spontaneously printed the word “apology” on receipts.
In Canada, few know how significant this problem is, but mistakes on grocery receipts do certainly happen, and they happen for a variety of reasons. For one, cashiers or other employees may accidentally input the wrong item or price into the system. Also, the store’s technical equipment may malfunction, leading to incorrect pricing or item information, especially on items that are either volume discounted or even “enjoy tonight” deals.
Price discrepancies are also quite frequent. Stores may update their pricing regularly, especially these days, leading to discrepancies between the advertised price and the actual price charged at the check out. Scanning errors may also occur when an item can be double scanned. Another common mistake will occur even before you show up at the register. While shopping, you may think you’re reaching for an item on sale but end up with a higher priced item because a clerk misplaced the product while stocking shelves.
Mistakes on receipts can happen for countless reasons, but some people will never check receipts. We believe anywhere from 35 to 45% of Canadians rarely, if ever, verify grocery receipts for errors, according to estimates. We believe about 30% of consumers will always check. Many don’t bother because they feel rushed or can’t pay attention for one reason or another. Some opt to use self-checkouts for that exact reason. But if you do, you’re not immune to technical problems and need to remember prices you noticed while roaming the aisles. The scanner can scan the wrong code or may forget a promotional code. The onus is on you to be extra careful.
Consumers who are more vigilant and check for mistakes are likely saving more money. But as a shopper in Canada, you do have rights if you see a mistake at the grocery store which ends up costing you more. Many years ago, the Retail Council of Canada along with the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers instituted a national scanner price voluntary code. Consumers are entitled to a discount of up to $10 for each scanning error at participating food retailers, including Walmart, Sobeys, Loblaws, Costco, and Metro. In the province of Quebec, it’s the law. Grocers must give the discount. But elsewhere in the country, retailers should comply with the code and give you a discount, and retailers are obligated to display a description of your rights as a shopper at check out areas.
The pressure of exiting the store as soon as possible coupled with bagging items yourself means that errors can be overlooked. If you see a mistake, don’t be afraid to alert a clerk or manager. And don’t wait until you get home. Few will go back or will forget about it. With food prices the way they are these days, anyone being held up will sympathize, no doubt.
The tsunami of business creditor protection filings expected to take place as a result of the COVID pandemic simply hasn’t happened but more of them are likely to materialize this year with the end of government support programs.
Dina Milivojevic, Editor of Insolvency Insider, a national publication that covers the latest insolvency filings and court cases, said there has been a small increase in filings from last year which isn’t surprising given all of the COVID relief is now over.
“I think people expected to see, on an overall general level, even more filings than we’re seeing now,” she said. “So I think the expectation from the insolvency community is that we’ll continue to see those numbers rise and that’s born out in a survey that we recently put out to our readers just on a general basis – not industry specific.
Tenant Termination (Image: Dustin Fuhs)
“Pre-pandemic we had 60 CCAA’s (Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act) and over the pandemic we’ve had 26 in 2020 and then 38 in 2021 and we asked whether our audience thought there would be more in 2022 and everybody, the vast majority, over 90 per cent, predicted that we’d more CCAA filings in the coming year.
“The perception industry wide is that the numbers are still pretty low and that they will continue to rise. Who knows what will happen given how low they’ve been? It seems like people are making an out and out filing formally. At least in the retail sector. Retail hasn’t been one of the hardest hit industries surprisingly. Construction has been really hard hit. Real estate has been really hard hit and that’s mostly due to the fact that there have been a lot of supply chain issues, the interest rates, there isn’t enough labour, etc, etc. We’ve seen quite a few filings in the real estate and the construction sectors but not that many in the retail sector.”
Milivojevic said one of the drivers for the lower count for retail is that stores are “rationalizing” rather than filing for formal insolvency.
“And so probably a lot of shops are closing down but maybe the numbers aren’t being borne out in the number of insolvencies because owners are taking preventative measures to close before going insolvent. One recent example that I’ve seen is that H&M is closing its second retail store in downtown Toronto.
Victoria’s Secret Pink at CF Toronto Eaton Centre Closed to relocate inside Victoria’s Secret across the hall (Image: Dustin Fuhs)
“So it looks like maybe that stores are taking steps. Branches of large chains are closing down some of their sites to save money and rationalize the business rather than having to formally file. That could be one of the reasons why.”
Dina Milivojevic
Milivojevic said consumer spending will likely not be as high this year as the retail sector would hope due to the challenges in the economy.
“That will definitely impact the number of filings going forward,” she said.
She said the stats are showing more bankruptcies and CCAA’s with smaller companies which isn’t surprising, based on the economy.
“The larger companies may have more saved up to allow them to survive through these hard times but we are seeing some of the bigger players shut down some stores,” she added.
“Over COVID, we definitely saw some issues pertaining to tenants, retail tenants, seeking rent abatements or commercial tenants seeking rent abatements. So for a period of time landlords and tenants were entering into forbearance agreements and things like that and that was part of the reason why they may not have gone under because the landlords didn’t want totally empty shopping centres after the pandemic ended. So they were a little more willing to enter into forbearance style agreements with their tenants. But now I think they’re getting a little bit more aggressive and expecting payment regularly, maybe not on discounted terms anymore.
“That may lead to more filings going forward too if the tenants aren’t able to pay their rents.”
According to the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy, business insolvencies for the 12‑month period ending November 30, 2022 , increased by 37.8 per cent compared with the 12‑month period ending November 30, 2021. The sectors that registered the biggest decrease in the number of insolvencies were mining and oil and gas extraction, and finance and insurance. Accommodation and food services, and construction registered the biggest increases in the number of insolvencies.
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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.
