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.
Vancouver store at 755 Burrard Street. Photo: Lee Rivett
Richemont-owned luxury French jewellery brand Cartier is upgrading its Canadian operations with store renovations, expansions and a relocation. The move signals confidence in the Canadian market following challenges relating to pandemic lockdowns.
The 4,300 square foot downtown Toronto Cartier store in The Colonnade at 131 Bloor Street West saw a full renovation several months ago, bringing it in line with other global stores as part of Cartier’s new design aesthetic. Cartier for decades has had a presence on Bloor Street beginning with the Manulife Centre in the 1980s.
In Vancouver, Cartier recently relocated its storefront to the city’s Luxury Zone within the 755 Burrard Street building. Included is a new facade where a Hermes store operated for years — in 2019 Hermes relocated nearby. Prior to opening on Burrard, Cartier operated a licensed location at 456 Howe Street between Hastings and Pender Streets.
View of the Vancouver store on Burrard Street and Alberni — photo by Lee Rivett New Vancouver store, photo: Lee RivettFormer Cartier location at 456 Howe Street in Vancouver. Photo: Lee Rivett
Next up is a renovation and expansion to the Yorkdale Cartier storefront in Toronto. The 3,500 square foot location will expand by annexing part of an adjacent space formerly occupied by Mulberry which exited Canada during the pandemic. Bulgari will occupy the remainder of the former Mulberry space and Bulgari is also seeing a full renovation at Yorkdale as well.
Cartier also has distribution in upscale multi-brand retailers in Canada including Birks, where the brand has several shop-in-stores.
In Canada, Cartier has had stores for decades in major markets. Montreal was once home to a Les Must de Cartier boutique at 1498 Sherbrooke Street West which shut years ago. Bloor Street in Toronto has been home to several Cartier storefronts over the years until it moved into its current location in 2012.
Cartier had a small Les Must boutique on the 700 block of Robson Street in the early 1980s which relocated inside of the Pacific Centre mall in 1985 — in 1994 it moved to a small corner location at Hastings and Howe Streets prior to relocating to 456 Howe Street in the early 2000s. From the late 1990s into the mid 2000s there was a push to put luxury brands on West Hastings Street between Hornby Street and Granville Street and over the years, almost all have vacated.
Renovated Toronto location at 131 Bloor St. W., photo by Dustin Fuhs131 Bloor St. W., photo: CartierFormer Les Must de Cartier location on Sherbrooke St. W. in Montreal in the summer of 2019. Photo: Craig Patterson Vancouver Sun, Nov 7 1985Vancouver Sun, September 24, 1994 Cartier Construction Hoarding at Yorkdale Shopping Centre (Image: Dustin Fuhs)
We’ll follow up on this article when Cartier completes the renovation and expansion to its Yorkdale store in Toronto. It’s not known if Cartier will open more standalone stores in Canada in the future, though new suburban luxury nodes in Vancouver (Oakridge Centre or The Amazing Brentwood) and Montreal (Royalmount) have potential.
Richemont has been investing heavily in the Canadian market over the past decade. That includes opening standalone storefronts for its jewellery brands including Piaget, IWC, Panerai, Vacheron Constantin, Montblanc and Jaeger LeCoultre. These brand stores are all located in the Toronto and Vancouver markets though Piaget has yet to open a store in Vancouver. Chloé, known for its women’s ready-to-wear and bags, operates a flagship at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre. Richemont also owns pricey Belgian luxury brand Delvaux which currently has concession boutique spaces at Nordstrom in downtown Vancouver and at Nordstrom’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre store in Toronto.
Montreal-based retailer KANUK is poised for growth after 52 years in business.
The brand, with three current locations in Montreal and one in New York City, is looking to expand its growth to several key markets.
“KANUK is an outerwear company and we specialize in mostly urban outerwear. So everything designed for city living,” said Richard Laniel, President of KANUK.
“We design our garments with the highest technical components we can put in them but also we conceive them to be as warm as possible for a city climate.”
KANUK (Image: Oakmont Retail Services)
KANUK (Image: Oakmont Retail Services)
KANUK (Image: Oakmont Retail Services)
The company’s Montreal locations are in the downtown, on the North Shore and on the South Shore.
The first store opened in downtown Montreal in the early 1970s.
Richard Laniel jr.
“We’re currently expanding our digital presence and our brick and mortar presence as well as growing our distribution channels through wholesale. So a combination of three channels,” said Laniel.
“Although we’ve been operating a store for over 50-some years, we’ve only really started operating our own stores outside of the island of Montreal as of last year. This is new. We’ve added three more stores since the Fall of 2021. The first one was New York and the next two south and north of the island in Montreal.
“It’s obviously a pretty interesting category worldwide. I think we know that Canadian outerwear has really positioned itself kind of like Belgium chocolate, Swiss watches, something like that if you want to use a comparison. And we have an opportunity to bring this craftsmanship outside of the island and really bring some warmth into the urban outerwear market. We see an opportunity to open some brick and mortar stores so that we could really bring more of a full lifestyle component of our collection to the customers.”
Kanuk New York (Image: Kanuk)
Laniel described expansion plans as “very surgical.”
“We don’t want to overexpose ourselves at this point as it’s a fairly new venture,” he said. “The next market for us would most likely be Toronto for sure and then we’d be looking probably at the West Coast, somewhere around Vancouver. We’re also thinking about New England, maybe Boston could be interesting. This is kind of where we’re looking at right now.
“We’re typically targeting markets where the demographic and the consumer habits resemble the most of Montreal habits. It’s basically the demographic of age, academic background, household income. All these factors are things we’re looking at where they come similar to Montreal and where there’s an interest for kind of luxury garments. We can combine those and go into those markets. We feel we can be successful much sooner than other markets.”
It will be a very disciplined and strategic rollout consisting of a mix of “AAA” shopping centres and high streets,” he said.
“We’re looking between 1,500 to 1,800 square feet in major markets with a emphasis on higher end co-tenancies. The brand again while remaining disciplined, will focus on Toronto for the 2023 fall season, this could be in the form of a permanent deal or a temp ‘try before you buy’ model, following Toronto the focus will be redirected to the West Coast.”
Kanuk New York at 75 Greene St (Image: Kanuk)
Kanuk New York at 75 Greene St (Image: Kanuk)
“We’re basically going to go where consumers want us to be,” added Laniel.
Laniel said he was not sure how many locations the brand will expand to in the near future.
“My philosophy is more or less that brick and mortar will support what I consider the biggest store which is the ecomm presence, contrary to maybe 15-20 years ago, we built ecomm to support stores, I’m looking at our stores to support our ecomm, so that our consumers can have a point of presence. Physical presence helps digital growth and digital growth helps physical presence,” he explained.
“It’s going to be surgical. I don’t think we’re going to overbox. I think we’re going to most likely end up with a few flagships in a few important cities across North America and that would be it. I don’t have a number.”
A new global survey finds that customer loyalty actually drops when brands are slow to innovate, with millennials and Gen Z leading the migration away from those retailers.
The 2022 Commerce Innovation Report, from commercetools, also found that lack of commerce innovation negatively impacts customer experience and sales, and close to three-quarters of business decision-makers recognize that failure to adopt emerging commerce solutions will hurt their business.
Jen Jones
“With endless options and the power of the internet at their fingertips, consumers are continuously redefining what the ideal customer experience looks like. The brands with longevity are the ones that are taking this shift into account from both a technological and cultural perspective, and are evolving to meet customer demands,” said Jen Jones, Chief Marketing Officer of commercetools, in a news release.
“Change is constant in the modern commerce ecosystem. Brands need to be nimble and meet customers where they are. This means having a finger on the pulse of their customers’ shopping behaviors and adopting the commerce experiences that resonate the best among them. Anyone who thinks they can sit still and not evolve amid changing demands will be out of business shortly.”
Key highlights from the report, which surveyed 300 global retail leaders, include:
73 per cent of shoppers will take their business elsewhere if a brand’s commerce experience does not meet their expectations, and over half prefer modern commerce experiences, defined by evolving customer preferences, payment options, and digital devices;
45 per cent of respondents say they only dedicate a minimum amount of their budget to improving or expanding commerce capabilities;
74 per cent recognize that failure to adopt emerging commerce solutions will negatively impact areas of the business;
40 per cent of respondents say their company’s current commerce solutions hinder the sale of their products or services, and 49 per cent of this group feel this issue has existed for over a year;
Over one-third of businesses are struggling with the ramifications of an outdated commerce solution, signifying the impact a lack of innovation has on customer experience, sales, and brand loyalty;
52 per cent said they’ve decided not to implement a new commerce capability due to budgetary constraints.
Image: commercetools
The inventor of headless commerce, commercetools describes itself as an innovative technology disruptor that has established itself as an industry-leading e-commerce software provider. It is based in Munich, Germany with offices in Europe, Asia, and the United States.
“Businesses are beginning to understand that if they do not jump on trends and adopt the technology that enables them to provide these next-generation experiences at every touchpoint, then it will be impossible to remain competitive in today’s market,” said the company.
70 per cent said they’re most concerned about millennials, a cohort with over $2.5 trillion in spending power, taking their business elsewhere, followed by Gen Z (54 per cent) and Gen X (48 per cent);
Only 25 per cent of respondent organizations offer next-day shipping, and even less offer loyalty programs (21 per cent);
Despite customers expressing interest in a variety of payment options, less than half offer multiple payment methods, and less than 20 per cent of respondents offer one-click checkout (18 per cent), and even fewer (16 per cent) offer Buy Now Pay Later and cashback (14 per cent.)
Union Station Sephora (Image: Arash Moallemi / Sephora Canada)
“Sephora pioneered prestige omni-retail, and we know that continued investment in commerce innovation is key to our sustained growth,” said Sree Sreedhararaj, Chief Technology Officer at Sephora, in a statement.
The report said companies’ adoption of modern commerce features and digital purchase options lags behind what’s possible, and also what’s hoped for.
“Some decision-makers are excited to test new capabilities like purchasing in the metaverse or jumping on trends like NFTs. But Naysayers clearly exist among us — a vocal minority who don’t think their companies need to expand digital purchasing options or commerce features at all. We know they’re there, as loud and skeptical as ever. Whether you feel up to speed or behind the times, there’s no room in your organization for technologies that hold back your team and business,” it said.
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.
Old Navy at CF Toronto Eaton Center (Image: Dustin Fuhs)
Canadian spending, excluding automotive, increased by seven per cent year over year in August and was up 18.8 per cent from three years ago, according to the Mastercard SpendingPulse, which measures in-store and online retail sales across all forms of payment.
The report indicates spending has well surpassed pre-pandemic levels.
“As Canadians rounded out their summer with last-minute vacation plans and families preparing for the back-to-school season, it’s not surprising to see both an increase in retail sales and in-store spending,” said Steve Sadove, senior advisor for Mastercard and former CEO and Chairman of Saks Incorporated.
“You have very similar patterns going on in Canada and the US where you have a consumer that’s still spending . . . But when you look at inflation, at roughly seven or eight per cent, you’re essentially seeing very little unit growth and the consumer’s treading water relative to the real increase in spending.
“It’s not terrible. It’s a pretty healthy number. You continue to see the slowdown in ecommerce and people getting back into stores and getting back out and experiencing. So the trend we talked about last month, experiences win, people are wanting to get out. I think apparel continues to be very strong and that to me is about the freshness, the getting out of their sweat clothes and into parties and weddings. That to me is a trend that is continuing.”
Image: Mastercard SpendingPulse
Sadove said with food inflation so high fewer people are eating out these days.
The report found:
In-store sales increased (7.8 per cent YOY) with a significant surge in Apparel (37.4 per cent YOY) ahead of back-to-school season and it was up 18.8 per cent from three years ago;
Fuel and Convenience also saw an increase (18.5 per cent YOY), as consumers took their final summer road trips;
Home Furniture and Furnishings continued to see growth with sales up 12.8 per cent YOY (+30.8 per cent YO3Y) with Home Improvement sales up 11.7 per cent YOY (+24.9% YO3Y), a consistent trend since the start of the pandemic; and
With summer coming to an end and gas prices softening, last-minute road trip plans remained top of mind for Canadians with Fuel and Convenience spending up 18.5 per cent YOY (+32.8 per cent YO3Y).
The Mastercard SpendingPulse reports on national retail sales across all payment types in select markets around the world. The findings are based on aggregate sales activity in the Mastercard payments network, coupled with survey-based estimates for certain other payment forms, such as cash and check. The Mastercard SpendingPulse defines “Canadian retail sales” as sales at retailers of all sizes, excluding automobiles. Sales activity within the services sector (for example, travel services such as airlines and lodging) are not included.
Sadove said electronic sales were weaker because people bought everything they needed during the pandemic.
“But they’re still fixing up their homes,” he said.
“It’s really fascinating. If you look at 2022 and 2019, and you focus on what’s happened . . . and what you see is overall retail up about 19 per cent in the three-year period . . . Over three years, the consumer is more back to normal in terms of their consumption that they had longer termed trended on.
“Internet has grown. It’s about 12 to 18 per cent of commerce. So internet has gotten a lot bigger.”
Sadove said there has been a reversion to the mean and the trends that were taking place pre-pandemic are what people are experiencing now.
“You’re getting back to a more normalized environment and that’s where a lot of retailers messed up because they bought inventory, they assumed the world was going to continue the way it was and it didn’t. And it went back to more normal so they’re sitting on a lot of inventory of the wrong inventory,” he added.
Sadove said the consumer will continue to spend during the holiday season. They’re going to be under pressure. Inflation is hurting the lower part of the income levels. Many companies still have too much inventory so there will be plenty of promotions.
“My guess is the holidays will start earlier than ever because people will be clearing out some of those inventories. And if there’s freshness, new apparel, new items, new fashion, that will sell. People are still going to be out there buying their holiday gifts but they’re going to have to be making choices and they’ll be shopping carefully focusing on value,” he said.
“I’m concerned. You look at the numbers whether it’s the stock market or any of the markets, how the consumer is behaving, there’s a skittishness out there. And people are a little bit concerned so I think value is going to be an important word, promotions early, but continued spending. And omnichannel. Ecommerce even at four per cent growth doesn’t matter, it’s still 50 per cent, 60 per cent bigger than what it was.”
US-based fashion brand Aerie has launched its Offline by Aerie concept stores in Canada in Edmonton and Toronto. The brand focuses on athleisure and comfort clothing and will compete with retailers already in the market.
Offline launched in the US in 2020. The name is unique — according to its website, Offline references taking a break and “going offline” from such things as work, school and social media.
The female focused brand sells on a range of products including leggings, sports bras, tops, workout dresses, skirts, hats, bags, water bottles, headbands, socks and some footwear. Fabrics used in designs are said to be soft as well as sustainable.
Offline’s clothing is geared to those working out, going outside or even relaxing at home. Moving one’s body is encouraged as part of the marketing messaging, as is relaxation.
West Edmonton Mall – photo by Retail Insider
A range of colours and prints are available, including “feminine details that you won’t see from other brands,” according to the company’s website. Thoughtfulness went into Offline’s product designs, from thumbholes to pockets.
Offline’s first Canadian store opened at West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton last month and a second location was recently unveiled at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre. The company would not provide Retail Insider an interview so we’re unsure what future locations are on the way — a sales associate at the Yorkdale store said she wasn’t sure either.
In the United States, Offline has more than two dozen stores in various markets and appears to be in expansion mode there as well. We’ll follow up as we continue to learn more about this new retail entrant into Canada.
Le Cartel at Foot Locker on Yonge Street in Toronto (Image: Dustin Fuhs)
Le Cartel, a Montreal streetwear brand, has partnered with Foot Locker to showcase its newest designs created by local artists.
The brand opened in 2015 in Montreal and since then has grown to include over 50 collections, three of which will be now available in 17 Foot Locker locations throughout Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, and will also be available online. Foot Locker will be displaying Le Cartel under its Home Grown platform where Foot Locker showcases local designers in the US and Canada.
Behind the Brand
Le Cartel at Foot Locker (Image: Kevin Millet / Le Cartel)
The founder of Le Cartel, Pierre Sauvage, moved to Montreal from Europe and wanted to create a brand combining Europe with North America, something Sauvage said he has not seen before in Europe.
“I arrived in Montreal in 2013 and I was really impressed by this mix of Montreal. Montreal has a lot of festivals, vivid artists, and has a vibrant scene, so the idea was to mix these with fashion, and it was the first idea I had back in the days. The brand is about being someone from Europe arriving to Montreal and expressing the new city which is a mix between Europe and North America, a mix between French and English, and a mix of city vibes,” says Sauvage.
Le Cartel brings original fashion and collaborating with artists is the DNA of the brand as it has been using local artists since the beginning. When a customer purchases a product from Le Cartel, 10 percent of the proceeds go directly to the artist. The products from Le Cartel are all locally designed, and 50 percent of the products are made in Canada. It includes a variety of collections for men, women, and kids. Le Cartel’s price ranges are between 40 to 100 dollars.
New Partnership
Le Cartel at Foot Locker on Yonge Street in Toronto (Image: Dustin Fuhs)Image: Le Cartel / Foot Locker Canada
The Hall of Fame collection launched on September 16th. Customers can find the collection online at Footlocker.ca and in 17 Foot Locker locations throughout Toronto, Vancouver, and in Montreal.
“We have been working on this collaboration for 14 months, so it has been a big milestone for us to live. For the next couple of weeks and months we are focused on this and being stronger. We are already speaking with the Foot Locket team to see what will happen next year with the partnership.”
Customers can find a variety of clothing including hoodies, t-shirts, and hats. The collection will showcase three Montreal artists: Petiton, Epithumia Rose, and Farah Allegue.
Le Cartel at Foot Locker (Image: Kevin Millet / Le Cartel)
“The idea behind the collaboration between Foot Locker and Cartel was that we tried to go with three artists that were familiar and so we decide to go with Montreal artists Petitom, Epithumia Rose, and Farah Allegue. Those three artists are really connected to the brand, we really have a strong relationship with them, and we wanted to promote them.”
Along with the new partnership with Foot Locker, Sauvage said it is also busy at expanding Le Cartel. Sauvage said Le Cartel has also opened a new store location in July and will be launching a new collection within the next couple of weeks, it is unknown if this new collection will be included with its other collections at Foot Locker but will be available inside Le Cartel stores.
“We have been through two rough years with covid and now 2022 is the year for growth and we are opening a new shop in Montreal and there are a lot of cool projects coming next so we are really happy and thankful for all the people involved because it is a dream coming true as Foot Locker is a big milestone for us and we are excited about what is to come next for Le Cartel.”
Video Interview: The Impact Of Soaring Grocery Store Prices For Canadian Consumers
Sylvain Charlebois, Senior Director, Agri-Foods Analytics Lab, Dalhousie University, discusses the impact of soaring grocery store prices on Canadian consumers.
Charlebois talks about how bad inflation has gotten in Canada, why it’s happened, where the costs have risen, what can consumers do, what can grocery stores do, and what the future looks like.
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.
Retailers will unite this fall at the Retail West Conference to hear from retail leaders and experts on the most pressing issues facing the industry. Hosted in person for the first time since 2019, speakers will inspire attendees in how they are strategizing around people, profits, and purpose.
Sarah Jordan, CEO with Mastermind Toys, opens the day sharing her journey of reinventing a beloved Canadian brand. Through launching a market-leading digital ecosystem to unveiling a new sub-brand and namesake private brand collection, Mastermind Toys is on a growth trajectory. In this session, Sarah shares how the power of authentic storytelling to all stakeholders ignites a retailer’s potential.
Ken Keelor, CEO with Calgary Co-op, sits down with David Ian Gray, of D.I.G. 360, to look at what innovation and growth is looking like at the growing co-op. Ken and David discuss how the in-store experience is evolving, becoming more sustainable and how they are serving smaller communities with the strength of the network.
Back by popular demand, Kostya Polyakov, National Industry Leader for Consumer and Retail with KPMG Canada, delivers a follow up to his top-rated session from RCC STORE 22. Kostya expands on how the Chinese marketing is influencing retail in Canada with a lens for the West coast retailers who are looking to incorporate behaviors of Chinese customers as it relates to the evolving meaning of “buying whatever, whenever and wherever”.
For retailers who are looking for the inside track on how economic conditions are impacting consumers, Steve Mossop, EVP with Leger Vancouver will share the results of latest data collected exclusively for this session on how skyrocketing inflation is impacting decision making.
The Voice of Retail Podcast host and producer Michael LeBlanc closes the day with an interview with Christine Day, co-founder and CEO of The House of LR&C, to discuss the evolution of retail strategy with insights that include 20 years experience as head of Starbucks Asia-Pacific division and time as CEO of Lululemon Athletica. From global footprints to modern start ups, Christine chats about the changing retail cycle, challenges of customer acquisition, and the ways in which business models are informed by the ways customers are shopping now.
Retail West will be hosted at the Westin Bayshore Vancouver on October 27, 2022. Enjoy a full day of practical and inspiring information from speakers on the main stage and in concurrent sessions in addition to enjoying networking breaks with attendees and exhibitors.
Register your team today. 20% discount is applied when you register 5+ attendees. For questions on registration, speakers, or exhibiting, please contact Retail Council of Canada at events@retailcouncil.org.
*Partner content. To work with Retail Insider, contact craig@retail-insider.com
