Kettlemans Bagel on Bathurst St. in Toronto (Image: Kettlemans Bagel)
Ottawa-based Kettlemans Bagel has opened its long-anticipated Downtown Toronto storefront at 33 Bathurst Street. The large-format storefront is the first of several for the city as part of an expansion for Kettlemans.
The Bathurst Street location is an all day 24/7/365 operation with the classic Kettlemans Bagel menu, which includes sandwiches, bulk bagel orders and prepared selection of market to-go food.
Daniel Reyes Cocka
Kettlemans Bagel was founded in 1993 in Ottawa and has since expanded into 5 locations, including the newest store in Toronto. The brand has expansion plans beyond the Bathurst & Front location, and according to the team behind the iconic bagel company, it was important to build the excitement in the city.
“You’d be astonished at how many people live in Toronto who are from Ottawa,” shared Daniel Reyes Cocka, Director of Marketing and Communications for Kettlemans Bagel. “The minute they hear ‘Kettlemans’ is in downtown Toronto – it sets off this emotional response. It’s so important. It’s become almost like a heritage brand in the city.”
“24-hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. It’s a very important piece for us, as obviously being downtown Toronto…it’s always the McDonalds in the middle of the night and what else? We’re stepping into an entirely new world, which is incredibly exciting for us.”
Craig Buckley
The Bathurst & Niagara store is in the Minto Westside, a 1200-unit condo development which includes a Farm Boy grocery store and multiple large-scale developments within a short distance, including The Well. In addition to a full scale Quick Service Restaurant operation, Kettlemans also has secured enough space in the building to create a wholesale support function to add to its Etobicoke production facility.
“The building is owned by Minto and the owners approached us three years ago,” said Craig Buckley, Owner of Kettlemans Bagel. “At that time, Farm Boy wasn’t signed and I walked away from the conversation. When Farm Boy ended up coming, I reached out to the ownership and we had a conversation.”
That conversation turned into a location that employs more than 100 people from many diverse backgrounds and experience levels, including team members from other stores in the network that are on-site to help with the training and development of the new store.
“We looked at locations around the downtown core before deciding on this spot, including The PATH, Union Station, Yonge Dundas Square,” Buckley said. “We had an opportunity to go into a spot on Yonge Street between King and Adelaide. We say to each other that it’s like The Matrix, where you’re going backwards and the world is going by you – that’s how we felt. We were supposed to go into the airport in Ottawa and we ducked that. So this is great, as this is downtown, but people live here. Whereas if we go to the Financial District, it’s more of a different experience.”
“This is the first of the downtown Toronto locations,” shared Cocka. “Later this year, we’re going to be opening up Whitby and then Yonge & Eglinton ideally next year. That will position us in the west, the east and the downtown core (south). Expansion into other cities will continue, but Toronto is a massive market for us.”
The concept and design of the location was designed with a purpose, including the seating and mobile-order pickup spots.
Kettlemans Bagel has partnered with UBER and SkiptheDishes for delivery options and is looking at a number of technological updates as the brand expands into new locations. The brand has an app which will allow for customers to order in advance and earn points through purchases.
“The demand is here – we’ve almost doubled our instagram page in the last year. Our Facebook page is over 40k likes. Anytime we talk about Toronto, everyone gets incredibly excited. It’s a matter of finding new locations that we can fit in, because we need a lot of space.”
Buckley said that each location is built from the ground up, and because the brand is privately owned – the expansion costs can be significant.
“Each one of these stores are $2.5 million to build. We’re here for the long term – we need to stay in a location for 15-20 years to get our money back. People don’t realize the amount of money that it takes to build these locations. We want to make sure that we pay people properly.”
“Our ovens are made in Washington State. Our mixers are specialty made for us by a company that’s been around for 100 years outside of Chicago – it’s actually more expensive than our ovens. The contractors are actually a Montreal company, with offices here in Toronto.”
“We’re not reinventing the wheel. I love Montreal bagels and if you’ve ever been to a Montreal bagel shop – they’re not big places. You go and buy a bag of bagels, your cream cheese and go outside and dip the bagel in the spread and you go on your way. I always thought that there was so much more that can be done with a bagel. We’ve always made sandwiches on the bagel – and I always wanted a QSR. I didn’t want waiter service.”
“Now, this is a nice bagel shop. It’s not fancy. I wanted it to look nice, but I didn’t want it to be over the top. I wanted you to be able to go up and get a sandwich or buy a bunch of bagels and go home. They’re so filling and delicious.”
Kettlemans Bagel Bathurst (Image: Dustin Fuhs)
The Kettlemans Bagel team said that the company doesn’t have food to give away to food banks at the end of the day because of the way that its business model works in terms of production for retail and wholesale.
“The fascinating part about this location is that we don’t usually have waste,” shared Cocka. The reason why is that we are 24/7 and we have wholesale. If we’re not producing for our guests in-store, we are producing for our wholesale business. It allows us a real clean business model.”
Buckley said that the brand does have two different organizations that they help support in various ways.
“We donate to two different organizations in-store. Kettlemans Bagel donates 5% of sales from the LGBT sandwich directly to CANFAR, which no other QSR donates year round proceeds from an individual item.” Kettlemans Bagel also donates to CampMisquah, a camp located on Lac Bitobi near Gracefield, Quebec, approximately an hour north of Ottawa.
“Continously giving back,” added Cocka. “…in every community that we operate, it’s important that we are a part of the culture, part of the economy and a part of the people.”
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.
IKEA Canada launches first Planning Studio in Boisbriand, QC
During times of disruption and challenge, the very best find a way to persevere. They reimagine and reinvent, driving innovation and creativity, in order to not only withstand the turbulence faced, but to continue laying the foundations of future growth and success. One such company that is never short on innovation and creativity is IKEA Canada, which recently announced the launch of its first Canadian Planning Studio in Boisbriand, Quebec. Meant to inspire its customers, the brand-new location is part of a larger strategy for the company, which intends to begin rolling out additional Planning Studios across the country as it continues its Canadian expansion. And, according to Eri Mathy, Country Business Development Manager, IKEA Canada, it’s a concept and expansion strategy that’s been developed with a focus on the evolving needs of the IKEA Canada customer.
“IKEA Canada has been on a journey to enhance our retail experience to be more affordable and convenient, while accelerating our investments to meet customers in the best possible way, wherever, whenever and however they choose to shop with us,” says Mathy. “The Planning Studio concept is part of a global ambition to bring a new world of IKEA to our customers. There are currently more than 30 IKEA Planning Studios globally in cities such as Copenhagen, Berlin, London and New York. It presents a new concept for the Canadian market and will be an inspiring space with the IKEA look and feel, offering customers planning and ordering services with knowledgeable IKEA design specialists.”
Greater convenience and accessibility
IKEA Design Studio at Oshawa Centre (Image: IKEA)
Responsible for leading the expansion efforts here in Canada, Mathy describes the Planning Studio concept as “much smaller” than a traditional IKEA location. In fact, the location in Boisbriand, coming in at 9,547 square feet, is approximately one-tenth the size of the average IKEA Canada store and is situated in a prime location within the Faubourg Boisbriand shopping center on Montreal’s North Shore. It’s a location that Mathy says was carefully and deliberately selected as part of the company’s expansion strategy, explaining that it serves as the perfect testing ground for the selection of future locations as IKEA Canada continues to introduce the concept across the country.
“The new IKEA Planning Studio Boisbriand will be located at Faubourg Boisbriand, one of the area’s most prominent shopping centres,” she asserts. “We want to make it easier for more customers to experience our products and services, and we know that there is significant travel time for North Shore residents to shop at our current IKEA locations in the Greater Montreal Area. This desirable location is highly accessible and a destination shopping area for many residents. By opening a Planning Studio in this location, we will be able to meet many more North Shore residents and support them with custom design needs, closer to home.”
Expanding IKEA ecosystem
It’s a move and introduction to the market that’s emblematic of the storied retailer’s penchant to consistently increase its understanding of the customers it serves, getting closer to them to better satisfy their needs. And, given our recent and current circumstances surrounding the global pandemic and its sustained impacts, they are consumer needs that are rapidly changing. As Mathy points out, consumers are increasingly seeking greater convenience and accessibility. However, she adds that the Planning Studio not only helps to satisfy these growing expectations, it also adds a completely new layer to the IKEA experience, allowing customers to design, order, and purchase complex home furnishing systems for their kitchens, bedrooms, bathrooms and living rooms. It’s all part of what Mathy describes as a larger global strategy, one that seems to be going a long way toward bolstering the retailers integrated retail ecosystem.
“The IKEA Planning Studio Boisbriand is part of a total IKEA market approach in Montreal, which includes introducing new experiences in our existing stores, enhancing our service offer and fulfilment and creating new IKEA meeting places,” she explains. “This unique shopping format allows you to design your living space with the help of an IKEA specialist. The difference is that instead of taking products home with you, you discover the look and style for your living space, design it with the help of an IKEA specialist, and then have the products shipped directly to your home or a nearby pick-up location.”
Meeting evolving consumer needs
IKEA Construction – The Aura at College Park . Photo: Dustin Fuhs
Mathy goes on to explain that IKEA has ambitious expansion plans that are aimed at continuously enhancing and elevating the experience it offers its Canadian customers, whenever and wherever they want to engage with the brand. She says that although the strategy is clear within the company, the timing and locations of future Planning Studios have not yet been finalized. The new concept, however, represents but one of a number of initiatives that the company is developing in its unwavering effort and commitment toward consistently and significantly raising the bar concerning customer service and engagement. And, as Mathy points out, it’s work that the company is doing with a focus on meeting evolving consumer needs and lifestyles.
“In addition to making our IKEA experience more accessible to more Canadians across the country, we continue to focus on making the IKEA brand more affordable and sustainable for our Canadian customers, too. Canadians will continue to see enhancements to our convenient services, digital planning tools and shopping experiences to meet the increased digitalization of the world around us. At the same time, however, we will continue to share products and inspiration to help more people live sustainably at home. IKEA Canada customers will also begin to see their home delivery orders arrive via zero-emission EV trucks. And we expect to see even more Canadians exploring our Sell-Back service as we all endeavour to reduce, reuse and reimagine sustainable ways forward.”
Retail giant Walmart is launching two new Walmart Global Tech hubs – one in Toronto and the other in Atlanta – and will hire more than 5,000 tech workers this year.
The retailer said Walmart Global Tech plans to make Toronto one of its larger hubs, with hundreds of new jobs over time. The initial hiring phase is expected to include 45 full-time roles in software development, technical program management and product management. Initial hiring in Atlanta is expected to include 140 new full-time roles such as data scientists and software engineers.
Sravana Kumar Karnati
Sravana Karnati, SVP/CTO, Walmart International, said the retailer has operated in Canada since 1994.
“It’s a market that we’re really familiar with. Toronto is home to 26 per cent of the technology population in Canada. About 25,000 students come out of colleges every year in that area,” he said.
“The presence of the big technology talent, our experience in the market and our desire to do more in the market and also have global impact is why we chose Toronto. Our strategy has always been to go where the talent is.
“Retail is ever changing. There is always new technologies being tried, applied, whether it is supply chain, the way we merchandise, the way we optimize our operations in the back room, the fulfillment centres, the distribution centres. So every area of retail has technology, innovation, happening as we speak. And to be really good in retail we need to be really good in each of those areas. And being able to solve these problems of scale, of Walmart scale . . . requires a deep focus on technology which is why we’re expanding.”
Image: Walmart Canada
With the addition of the Toronto and Atlanta hubs, Walmart Global Tech will have 16 technology hubs, including teams in Seattle and Chennai, India that launched last year. Walmart Global Tech is the fastest growing corporate team inside the world’s leading retailer. In the last fiscal year, Walmart Global Tech grew by 26 per cent to 20,000 associates and 20 per cent of the Global Tech team earned a promotion.
Karnati said Walmart has strong technology roots. Early on, the retailer invested heavily in technology and it continues to do that in various areas.
“As the company grew and the business grew, we just (developed) more and more opportunities at scale . . . Technology is the way we want to scale. Technology is the way we want to serve our customers better and also associates better as well. It’s an extremely important enabler for our business success.”
Each week, approximately 230 million Walmart customers and members visit approximately 10,500 stores and clubs under 46 banners in 24 countries and eCommerce websites. With fiscal year 2022 revenue of $573 billion, Walmart employs 2.3 million associates worldwide.
Dufferin Mall Walmart Supercentre in Toronto (Image: Dustin Fuhs)
Suresh Kumar
“The cutting-edge technology we build for 230 million customers around the world is fuelled by our greatest asset-our people,” said Suresh Kumar, Walmart’s EVP, Chief Technology Officer and Chief Development Officer. “We are excited to join the vibrant and diverse tech communities in Toronto and Atlanta. Work from these new hubs will impact millions of lives and transform the future of retail.”
Nicolai Salcedo
“Canada has a dynamic and world leading tech community powered by talented people and innovation that is recognized on a global scale,” said Nicolai Salcedo, Chief Technology and Data Officer, Walmart Canada. “It’s inspiring to see Walmart recognize the Canadian tech community and invest in further developing local talent with new opportunities that will be brought through this new tech hub.”
In 2020, Walmart Canada announced a $3.5 billion investment to make the online and in-store experience simpler, faster and more convenient for Walmart Canada’s customers.
John Tory
“Walmart’s decision to make Toronto the home of one of its larger tech hubs with hundreds of jobs to come is another vote of confidence in our city’s thriving tech sector,” said Toronto Mayor John Tory. “As Mayor, I am committed to supporting our technology sector and continuing to encourage companies to locate here and hire here. This is all part of our non-stop effort to ensure that Toronto comes back stronger than ever.”
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.
During these times of unequalled disruption, the uncertainty that lingers pervades just about every aspect of life on the planet. Social restrictions and other health and safety protocols enforced by governments all over the world have changed the way people in communities everywhere do things, and how they engage and communicate with one another. For retailers, the implications of the pandemic have been, generally speaking, swift and brutal, impacting entire organizations. Perhaps the greatest of impacts have been experienced within the retail supply chain, highlighted most dramatically by port closures and congestion, container shortages and inflated costs. They are global issues that have been wreaking havoc on operations and retailers’ ability to get the product that consumers are looking for on store shelves in a timely manner. However, through innovative supply chain strategy and the use of technology, Giant Tiger has managed to withstand much of the recent turbulence. And, led by a gender-equitable team, it seems to be doing so by virtue of a more holistic perspective – a quality about the company that Jessica Godin, SVP of Supply Chain at Giant Tiger, says is critical in driving it toward continued success and growth
“Gender equity is extremely important,” says Godin. “But, at Giant Tiger, we take a broader view of equity. We really celebrate everyone’s differences, regardless of their gender, race, culture, sexual orientation or identification. Everyone on the team brings different strengths, ideas and perspectives to the table, helping us think about things from all angles. Letting people be who they truly are allows them to bring their very best to work and encourages them to give everything they have for the team, knowing that their contribution is really valued. Approaching the business with a people-first focus supports the creation and maintenance of a positive culture and environment that fosters diversity and inclusion. When this is the case, when everyone within the company feels valued and appreciated, and a sense of equity and belonging is present, then people want to show up to the workplace every day, benefitting the organization tremendously.”
Common goals and objectives
It’s a sentiment echoed by Godin’s colleague, Ashley McDonald, who serves in the role of Ocean Import Specialist at Giant Tiger, recognizing the same benefits that a positive and inclusive culture yield. She also agrees that the work the company has done to achieve this provides a powerful platform for employees to perform and excel. It’s a testament to the company headquartered in Ottawa, operating an expansive network of more than 260 store locations and employing in excess of 10,000 people across the country. And, as McDonald points out, it’s a culture that’s very much appreciated by Giant Tiger’s personnel, and one whose benefits also serve to unite everyone at the company, rallying them around the brand’s goals and objectives.
“All of my female colleagues and I feel very fortunate to have such strong representation at all levels at Giant Tiger,” she says. “It makes everyone appreciate the work that the company has done around diversity, equity and inclusion. Everyone feels welcomed and encouraged here. There are so many benefits to working within a positive culture like the one we enjoy. But perhaps the greatest benefit that results is the fact that the entire team buys into the culture and the vision of the company. It facilitates and nurtures collaboration and teamwork, leading to stronger strategy and more effective execution. When the culture is a positive one, inclusive to everyone, it’s easier to motivate employees and to get all of them pulling in the same direction concerning targets and objectives. And, it also enhances a sense of accountability among individuals on the team because they are proud to be involved in a collective effort, one that’s supported by all of their colleagues through the entire organization.”
Overcoming disruption
McDonald goes on to explain that the strength of the culture at Giant Tiger, in large part due to the galvanizing nature of its impact, has enabled the company to face and overcome recent operational obstructions and obstacles within the supply chain. It’s a togetherness and camaraderie that facilitates information sharing and support, allowing the team at Giant Tiger to openly share insights and ideas in order to collectively address current challenges and anticipate those that may be on the horizon. She says that its an atmosphere at the company that allows the entire team within each level of the organization to be nimble, agile and prepared in order to properly respond to the next hurdle.
“One of the things that we’ve really noticed over the course of the past couple of years, as we’ve worked our way through the challenges brought about by the pandemic, is the fact that the entire team at Giant Tiger is ready, willing and able to not only deal with these challenges, but to overcome them as well,” she asserts. “Because of the dedication and commitment of everyone, we’ve been able to assess our challenges and develop effective contingency plans built to ensure the success and growth of the brand. As a result of everyone being invested in achieving our goals, we’re also more easily able to modify our strategy as we move forward, tweaking and adjusting based on everyone’s input. We’ve managed to develop and maintain a real sense of unity among the team which has been critical in allowing us to continue moving forward, despite the many disruptions that have been occurring.”
Growing list of challenges
Image: Giant Tiger
She mentions the lack of space on overseas vessels as one of the most significant disruptions that have impacted the efforts of Giant Tiger, and the rest of the retail industry, attempting to bring product into the country from other parts of the world. It’s an obviously essential layer to any business – the ability to move product swiftly and efficiently in order to make it available to customers. However, as Godin acknowledges, the availability of space on shipping vessels is but one of a whole host of challenges that retailers and their supply chain teams currently face, adding that the recent turbulence and interruptions have cast, for the first time, a bright light on the complexities of the retail supply chain and its importance in maintaining retail motion and satisfying the needs of the Canadian consumer.
“Very bluntly put, circumstances around the global supply chain are a mess,” Godin laments. “Folks working within the supply chain are well used to disruption, even prior to the pandemic. Anyone working within these roles have to possess a great deal of tenacity and grit in order to deal with regular occurrences like weather events that disrupt the flow of goods. However, the past couple of years have presented a number of persistent challenges all the way along the chain. There have been challenges related to the availability of labour and talent. The cost of virtually everything has inflated, from raw materials and finished goods to freight and fuel. There’s been a mountain of trucking disruption, especially over the last couple of months here in Canada. And there have been limitations on border crossings which have taken capacity out of the market. These challenges have been intense and sustained over a long period. During normal circumstances, the consumer doesn’t ever realize the disruption that’s overcome because it doesn’t end up impacting them. But, these past couple of years have really made the average Canadian take notice of just how integral the supply chain is to the management of a smooth retail operation.”
Equity driving innovation
It’s work and management that Godin says wouldn’t be possible without the people at Giant Tiger. As such, the company has placed substantial focus on ensuring the health and safety of its employees within the entire organization throughout the pandemic, a focus that’s been especially important for supply chain personnel given that many are working on the frontlines without the ability to work from home. It’s another layer that adds to the strength and upkeep of the positive culture that’s been created at Giant Tiger. And, adds Godin, it’s a layer and culture that’s also been pivotal in driving the continued innovation happening around the supply chain, helping the company tighten where needed, resulting in greater efficiencies and increased performance.
“There’s so much innovation that’s being developed at Giant Tiger,” she says proudly. “The easiest to talk about is robotics. We designed and built these capabilities within our distribution centre between 2015 and 2018. We knew that it was the right thing to do at the time in order to sustain our growth as a company. We obviously didn’t have any idea that things would be turned upside down in March 2020 with massive runs on food, toilet paper, hand sanitizer and wipes as people pantry-loaded. Leveraging our robotics and automation in order to deal with the spikes in volume that we’ve experienced, as well as to address the cause of the next disruption, has been, and will continue to be, critical.”
Tiger Trucking
Image: Giant Tiger
In addition, any commentary provided around Giant Tiger’s supply chain strategy and innovation would be remiss not to include mention of the company’s trucking fleet. Established all the way back in 1987, affectionately referred to within the company as ‘Tiger Trucking’, the private fleet makes daily trips to Giant Tiger’s network of stores, delivering product from its warehouses. Godin recognizes that being afforded the opportunity to manage its own fleet carries significant benefits for the company and its loyal customers. However, she says that constant development and upgrades made to the fleet, which include the use of innovative technologies, have been instrumental in consistently enhancing the performance and efficiency of Giant Tiger’s supply chain execution.
“We’ve got one of the safest, most efficient fleets in the entire country,” she says. “We invest quite a bit into technology that’s applied to our trucks, trailers and equipment in order to not only help from a fuel efficiency perspective and to provide GPS locations of our trucks, but to also be able to monitor things like whether or not a door was left open or if there was a hard brake during a trip. It all lends toward ensuring the safety of our drivers and personnel while also helping us reduce costs and find efficiencies. It’s another way in which the company has put a lot of effort into taking care of the people who help deliver the continued growth and success of Giant Tiger.”
The power of data
The advent and accelerated adoption of these types of technologies is very much reflective of the digitization of the industry, showing tremendous promise with respect to potential improvements and enhancements that could yet be made to the retail supply chain. The monitoring and tracking capabilities are changing the way fleets are managed. And, serving to underpin all of this advancement, drawing the greatest benefit of these connected technologies, is the generation and dissemination of the plethora of data that’s available. In short, the ability to use data and apply it to the supply chain is game-changing, says Godin, adding that the power that’s inherent in it is nearly boundless.
“There’s so much data out there,” she says. “Being able to harness it and pull it all together is critical today in informing decision-making and being proactive and efficient concerning the ways people are spending their time. You can call it blockchain, visibility or supply chain digitization. But, very simply put, the innovation out there now concerning the ability to connect all of the data, whether it’s related to distribution, trucking or replenishment, allows us to forecast with accuracy and plan strategy accordingly. It’s innovation that’s been developing for some time now, helping supply chains run smoother and more efficiently. But it’s power and associated benefits have ramped up over the past two years.”
Finding efficiencies through people
Although many of the disruptions and challenges that have blighted retail supply chain operations over the course of the past two years or so persist, the strategic and innovative thinking among the Giant Tiger team has been impressive, standing the brand extremely well to continue meeting its objectives. Through the use of technology and sustained improvements to its transportation fleet, the company pushes forward, forever modernizing in order to stay ahead of the perpetual curve. Godin says that the team will not relent when it comes to investing in these areas. However, she adds that it will always do so with a focus on its people and a commitment toward ensuring a first-class culture of inclusion and equity for them to ply their trade within.
“Regardless of where we look for efficiencies, it’s clear, given the challenges that the industry is facing, that we have to find them. At the end of the day, Giant Tiger is committed to providing Canadian consumers with the necessities, and more, at the lowest possible price. And, given the cost pressure on everyone at the moment, it’s non-negotiable. And so, we’ll continue to find efficiencies to offset those costs by continuing to leverage physical automation. However, we know that the discovery of those efficiencies just isn’t possible without properly investing in your people who can leverage the innovation. Driving all of this is strong communication and coordination within and between departments and with vendor partners, breaking down siloes and enabling a direction toward a common goal. You can layer on all of the technology that you want. But, without a great group of people who feel encouraged and supported within a positive culture and environment, the potential of organizations and the technologies they use will never be fully realized.”
Altea Active, a unique Canadian active lifestyle brand, has opened its social wellness club in an 89,000-square-foot space in the Liberty Village neighbourhood in Toronto.
The club, which is on the second and third floors of Novus, a new residential community located at the corner of Strachan Ave. and East Liberty St., is a massive urban playground offering Torontonians a one-of-a-kind space to play, work out, relax, dine and socialize.
Michael Nolan
Altea Active currently features a state-of-the-art 80,000-square-foot facility in Winnipeg which opened in November 2019.
“The opening of Altea Active Toronto – Liberty Village is an important step in the continued development of the Altea Active community. We look forward to sharing news about further Altea Active community developments,” said Michael Nolan, Co-founder and COO of Altea Active.
Altea Active Toronto (Image: Altea Active)
Altea Active Toronto (Image: Altea Active)
Altea Active Toronto (Image: Altea Active)
“We’ve created a wellness club with something for everyone.”
Nolan and David Wu, Co-Founder and President of Altea Active, previously owned 16 Movati Athletic locations for close to 20 years before selling the business in 2017.
“After we left Movati, we said to ourselves how do we take this Movati business model and how do we improve it even better for that consumer experience,” said Wu. “Really, what we looked at for this upcoming Altea brand is we wanted to curate a better consumer experience by providing them with more social components and social wellness components.
“That’s really what we’ve done with Winnipeg. Social calendars. We bring in a lot of different social activities and curated calendar of events for our clients. At the end of the day it’s bringing friends and families and neighbours together in a very comfortable, safe and clean and welcoming environment. So whether it’s in the suburbs of Winnipeg or downtown Toronto in Liberty Village we curate that experience based on the demographics. What we do in Winnipeg is very different than what we did in Liberty Village. At Liberty Village we looked at the audience there. The demographics is Millennials. A lot of these Millennials are living in a 400 or 500-square-foot condo. So they want social space, they want the social amenities. It’s not just a simple going to do a class. We really take a look at that audience and that’s what we design the amenities to – to fit that audience.”
Altea Active Toronto (Image: Altea Active)Aquatics Area at Altea Active Toronto (Image: Altea Active)
Designed by internationally acclaimed Chapi Chapo Design, Altea Active Toronto features the following amenities and services:
▪ Five multi-purpose group fitness studios offering 130+ classes a week:
o 2,500 square foot hot yoga studio with three fireplaces
o Canada’s largest cycling studio with 75-bikes and a 285-inch screen
o Classes include boxing, HIIT, antigravity fitness, dance, barre, yoga, pilates & boot camps
▪ A results-driven, dedicated small group training boutique, provided through LF3 Lifestyle Fitness
▪ 150+ top-of-the-line cardio and strength training machines
▪ Aquatic facilities: 25-metre lap pool, hot tub, hydrotherapy jet pool
▪ KLAFS Sanarium Bio Sauna
▪ KLAFS Polaris Ice Room with Ice Fountain
▪ KLAFS Steam Rooms
▪ A Himalayan Salt Lounge
▪ Somadome Meditation pod; one of three currently available in Canada
▪ Two Topgolf Swing Suites sports simulators
▪ Four Duckpin Bowling lanes, pool tables, air hockey, dome hockey and pinball machines
▪ Family-friendly offerings: Altea Active Kid’s Club, family change rooms and family swim time
▪ Complimentary towel service
▪ Complimentary underground parking for members
▪ Catalyst (Kitchen & Cocktails)
▪ Full-service Starbucks
▪ The Smoothie Bar
▪ Ah-So Sushi
Catalyst Kitchen at Altea Active Toronto (Image: Altea Active)
Catalyst at Altea Active Toronto (Image: Altea Active)
Catalyst at Altea Active Toronto (Image: Altea Active)
Technogym, the world’s leading producer of design and technology-driven smart-connected fitness equipment and the official equipment provider of the past eight editions of the Olympic Games, is the equipment supplier for Altea Active Toronto. Club members will have access to the Technogym MYWELLNESS digital ecosystem, immersive Technogym Group Cycle equipment, Technogym Skillrun treadmills, and fully connected cardio equipment equipped with the Technogym Live user interface.
Memberships to Altea Active Toronto start at $95 per month.
Wu said the brand plans to expand in the future.
“We’re carefully curating our growth pipeline. Right now we really don’t have anything to announce. We’ll have more to share later this summer. We’re really focused right now on building out the new Toronto club community and servicing our new members. Our sales numbers for Liberty Village location just blew past our pre-pandemic business plan. It’s extremely busy right now,” said Wu.
“We’re quite busy making sure we’re servicing our new members and on-boarding them and making sure they have a very positive experience. We are working on a very curated pipeline. We’re not doing a shotgun approach of going everywhere. We’re very carefully looking at the right type of real estate and the right type of retail node for our upcoming Altea space.”
Canadian consumer spending maintained positive momentum in February with an encouraging outlook expected for retailers across the country in the coming months.
The Mastercard Spending Pulse report indicated February retail sales, excluding auto, rose by 6.2 per cent year-over-year and they were up 22.7 per cent compared to pre-pandemic spending in 2019.
Steve Sadove
Also, in-store sales grew 15.2 per cent in February compared to the same month last year and 12.2 per cent versus pre-pandemic as consumers resume in-person activity. E-commerce sales were down (19.8 per cent) when compared to elevated growth in February 2021, however online sales are up 101.4 per cent when compared to February 2019.
“Despite inflation, consumers are putting their record savings to work and expressing themselves through fashion again—much to the benefit of the Apparel, Jewelry and Leather Goods verticals, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse,” said Steve Sadove, senior advisor for Mastercard and former CEO and Chairman of Saks Incorporated.
“You have a lot of people who are out there who have historically over the last couple of years said retail’s dead. Or the consumer’s not shopping. What’s very clear, and I see it in the Canadian data and I see it in the United States data, is that the consumer is alive and healthy. They’re shopping. They’re shopping very differently than they used to shop and there are an enormous amount of shifts going on in the behaviour.
Alexander McQueen Interior at Yorkdale Shopping Centre (Image: Alexander McQueen)
“But overall the consumer wants to get out. What you had in the earlier states of the pandemic was this nesting going on. Everybody, for all kinds of good reasons, they wanted to be safe, they wanted to stay home, if they went out and shopped they wanted to shop somewhere that was big box because they felt safer in a big box . . . And they didn’t go out to a restaurant. They stayed home.”
Sadove said that pattern continued for about a year and a half. But during the last six months, as the pandemic has evolved to become closer to an endemic, people have started to get used to living with the virus and the Omicron variant has started to wane. People have become more comfortable with getting out and returning to their more normal behaviour.
He said February retail sales showed a six per cent year-over-year hike, January was up four per cent, December rose by 10 per cent, November four per cent, and October six per cent.
Sadove said the 15.2 per cent year-over-year growth in in-store sales is the healthiest numbers seen in years and years.
lululemon at CF Pacific Centre (Image: Cadillac Fairview)
“People want to get back to a physical store. They want to touch stuff. They want to experience product,” he said, adding that while e-commerce numbers are down those numbers have still doubled compared to pre-pandemic.
“Still you’ve seen a vast increase in the digitization and growth of e-commerce.”
Other key findings from the report include:
Return to office attire: Apparel (18.3 per cent) growth rates remained elevated for the month as consumers prepare to return to physical offices, updating their wardrobes after nearly two years of working remotely. Jewelry and Leather Goods (24.4 per cent) also experienced growth with Valentine’s Day falling mid-month;
Home décor continues: Furniture and Furnishings sales were positive again in February as Canadians continue to spend on their homes, with Home Furniture and Furnishings up 6.7 per cent and Home Improvement up 9.0 per cent;
Restaurant resurgence: Restaurant sales (21.0 per cent year-over-year) continued to grow in February as Canadians slowly felt more comfortable with in-person dining; and
Back to gadgets: Electronic sales were back up 19.3 per cent year-over-year and more significantly 52.3 per cent year-over-three-years in February, after a year-over-year decrease in January (24.9 per cent).
“The way I would describe apparel was when the pandemic hit nobody was going to work. They were staying home and they were living in their sweat suits. And they were dressed super casually and they didn’t have anywhere to go. They couldn’t go to an office, they couldn’t go to a social event and they were just staying home. So you saw this big decline in apparel,” said Sadove.
“And now all of a sudden as the world has started to open, and everything is tied together, you see the big growth in restaurants, people are going out. They want to wear something in a restaurant. They’re tired of wearing their sweat pants and by the way they might have changed their weight a little bit. Some of them lost weight, some of them gained weight. So they want to get new clothes.
“And as you come into more of the reopening, there’s a whole new fashion cycle going on. So people who have been stuck in their houses or their apartments now what they want to do is they want to flaunt it a little bit. They want to get out, they want to get out and express themselves. And so you have a lot more vibrant colours, you have a little sexier, you have a little bit of new styles in clothing. So everybody’s out buying that newness and you’re seeing it in the numbers in terms of the resurrection of the growth in apparel.”
Brooks Brothers at Royal Bank Plaza (Image: Dustin Fuhs)
Sadove said restaurants and apparel were the two hardest hit categories during the earlier stages of the pandemic. People want to get back out to restaurants now.
“Anything that is what I would call the experience and experiences are restaurants, they’re local travel, they’re not international travel but they’re getting around, they want to get out and visit places. So you’re seeing a growth in things that are tied to experiences. That’s one theme,” said Sadove.
“Another theme is a self-expression. I see it in the jewelry numbers. Again, people have been at home. They want to treat themselves. They want to look good, they want to get a new handbag, they want to wear some new jewelry. That’s showing a big growth in those categories.
“One of the surprising numbers to me is that in the beginning of the pandemic everyone stayed home and all they did was fix up their houses and home improvement, that’s still continuing. It’s not been an either or. I would have thought that you would have seen a slow down a little bit in the home improvement and part of it is because the supply chains have been so difficult. They’ve been waiting for the refrigerator to come for a year or something like that. People are continuing to invest in their homes and you’re seeing that in the data as well.”
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SWIMCO STORE AT SQUARE ONE SHOPPING CENTRE. PHOTO: SWIMCO
After going into bankruptcy and closing all its retail locations in the fall of 2020, Calgary-based swimwear retailer Swimco is growing its business online and looking to get back into physical locations in the near future.
Dave Bacon, owner of the retail brand, said after the company went into bankruptcy over the Thanksgiving weekend 2020 he convinced the receiver to maintain the online sales because it could attract more dollars to the estate than just liquidating it pennies on the dollar.
“So we continued to run the online sales through the fall of 2020, working for the receiver. I put a bid in for the assets and there were other people who put bids in for the assets as well and my bid was the highest. So I bought the assets from the receiver. I bought the inventory, the building and intellectual property,” said Bacon.
The building was a warehouse in southeast Calgary.
Swimco.com
“That’s where we started our own destiny after that. We just continued to sell online. We knew that when summer hit we would start to see our summer business and it did. In May (2021), we opened up as a pop-up store in Willow Park Village. We were open for six weeks and we did quite well,” said Bacon.
“It’s been kind of up and down but we’re still surviving. We started buying new merchandise, started taking delivery on new merchandise last fall. We decided we’re going to go full-time somewhere. I’ve got a couple of irons in the fire right now but we think if we have a store in Edmonton and a store in Calgary we can have a presence. Not like we were but we can satisfy a big chunk of the swimwear market. We’re getting calls every week for the last 18 months. ‘Where’s your locations? What stores are still open?’ And the answer is no we’re just online. We know we’ve got brand awareness. We know the people want to shop with us, we know we’ve got the right product, we’ve got two really good strong buyers, we’ve got some nice merchandise and we’re making sales online. So it’s very encouraging.”
Bacon said the plan is to open two stores this year.
Image: Swimco
Image: Swimco
“We’re going to open permanently. To be able to attract staff we have to offer a permanent solution. It would be difficult for us to attract the right type of sales person for a temporary pop-up. And we’re just not deep enough to staff it ourselves,” he said. “That’s what we ran into last year. We got so busy, especially the last three weeks of June, that our little office staff was working in the store every day.
“In fact, the last three days, July long weekend, I worked the cash register for three days in a row because we had no staff. Everybody was on the floor. We had 10 sales people and we were busy as hell.”
His wife Lori Bacon had spearheaded the company for a number of years as its CEO and owner.
“We’re in it together financially. But she hasn’t worked since last June. She decided that she just didn’t want to do it anymore. She got two of our former buyers up to speed. She’s just been doing the grandma thing. We’ve got a couple of grandchildren. She’s golfing and playing pickleball and gardening,” said Dave Bacon.
Swimco closed its retail store locations after 45 years in business. In 2020, the national swimwear company had filed a Notice of Intention, under creditor’s protection, to restructure its operations as it responded to the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Image: Swimco
Image: Swimco
But on October 13, 2020, a Certificate of Assignment into Bankruptcy was filed to the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy Canada by Deloitte Restructuring Inc., which was the licensed insolvency trustee in the matter.
The retailer opened its first store in Calgary in 1983 but Swimco actually had its roots as a home-based, mail-order business started by Lori Bacon’s mother Corinne Forseth a few years before the retailer opened its first location.
“We’re looking to be a smaller company. We’re at 20 (stores) and we envision staying there,” said Lori Bacon in an interview with Retail Insider during the summer of 2020. At that time, she confirmed that the company had about $6.5 million in unsecured claims and that included about $1.6 million in landlord rent.
Swimco had reduced its head office by about half. The company had 45 staff in its corporate head office but that was reduced to about 20. Retail staff was about 200 but fell to about 120 during that summer.
Lori Bacon said then that the COVID crisis in 2020 came around spring break which meant no travel for people.
“With all stores being shut and still having your rent looming over you, you go in the hole pretty quick. At first, I think everyone was just in a state of shock. ‘For two weeks we’re going to close.’ But it readily became apparent that this was not a two-week thing. We laid everybody off temporarily. We closed the stores on Monday March 16 and we quickly laid off all our store people and most of our head office people and by the following week we had laid off everybody,” she said.
