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.
ANDREWS, a Toronto-based family-owned luxury womenswear retailer, is opening a new concept store in Oakville.
The company was founded in 1990 and has since then grown into three locations in the Greater Toronto Area, including Yorkville Village, Bayview Villiage, and CF Sherway Gardens, and will now be adding its fourth location. Opening September 15th, ANDREWS will be opening its fourth location and first standalone store at 283 Lakeshore Drive East and will be adding a new concept.
After dedicating its time to luxury apparel, ANDREWS will be expanding the store concept to also include lifestyle and contemporary pieces.
ANDREWS in Oakville (Image: ANDREWS)
“We’re thrilled to open our first concept store in Oakville and our location is right at the heart of it all. We are looking forward to becoming an important member of this dynamic and vibrant community. We have discovered some fabulous new apparel collections to showcase along with highly curated home decor and vintage designer artware from around the world. The way an artist can create with glass or ceramic is like that of a designer creating out of fabric – this is what fills me with wonder and amazement,” says Darren Mason, President of ANDREWS.
The new store will be 5,000 square feet and will be “very light, bright, and will incorporate elements from the Japandi styles of interiors. And I am particularly fond of the punctuation from the Moooi Heracleum chandeliers and the natural light that pours into the space.”
Customers can find a variety of products including luxury clothing and accessories. ANDREWS has around 100 designers including Smythe, Self Portrait, MaxMara, BA&SH, Fabiana Filippi, Herno, Eleventy and Frame among others.
“Fresh New Direction”
ANDREWS in Oakville (Image: ANDREWS)
For the first time, ANDREWS will be incorporating lifestyle and contemporary pieces to its selection, which has taken close to a year to develop the layout and finalize.
“Our mission with the new concept store is to bring more of a focus on lifestyle into the environment with a view to scaling this across the organization. I’ve always loved art and objet d’art and this journey to expand the ANDREWS curation of product to include lifestyle feels like a natural extension of our business. Our team has been very hard at work developing the concept, finalizing the aspects of home decor and vintage artware and of course, curating all that is being featured in this new location.”
“I have had my eye on Oakville for a while. The “Lakeshore strip” continues to evolve, it has developed into a real hub of activity. I love that downtown Oakville has everything that a larger city may have all on one street with a very deeply rooted sense of community.”
On September 15th, customers can expect an open house and are encouraged to explore the space, ask questions, and enjoy light refreshments.
“There is Plenty More on our Roadmap”
ANDREWS in Oakville (Image: ANDREWS)
Although the new standalone store is its biggest highlight of 2022, ANDREWS is also going to be moving its Yorkville Village location to a more “prominent and natural light-filled space.” The Yorkville Village location will be moved to Hazelton Avenue and will be opening in October.
Mason said it is also embracing the e-commerce world and will be launching a new website to offer “more interactive and seamless experience for customers. “The new website will be available for customers by the end of the year. And lastly, to develop partnerships and relationships, ANDREWS is looking at including pop-up collections and activations – information about the pop-ups will come later.
“The layout of the store lends itself to create interactive and focused areas to feature pop-up or pop-in collections and activations. As we develop and nurture partnerships and relationships within the community, we look forward to offering a fulsome schedule of events, pop-ups, and installations within the store. Stay tuned.”
ANDREWS in Oakville (Image: ANDREWS)
Mason also suggested ANDREWS has plenty more in terms of plans, although those are currently not public.
“In the months ahead, we want to explore deeper into lifestyle and have plans to collaborate with local businesses in Oakville and across the country. We want to bring the space to life with collaborations and pop-ups, with cafes, art galleries and more. The result of this commitment to discovery is a new, dynamic, and ever-evolving space. Our customers can now discover the beauty within the apparel and the lifestyle pieces that resonate with their own personal style and lifestyle. I would encourage your readers to make a trip out to Oakville — not just to see our new store, but also to experience the energy and vibrancy of this unique community.”
Pandora, the world’s largest jewelry brand, has launched lab-created diamond jewelry in the U.S. and Canada.
The retailer says lab-created diamonds are identical to mined diamonds, but grown in a laboratory rather than excavated from a mine. They have the same optical, chemical, thermal and physical characteristics and are graded by the same standards known as the 4Cs – cut, colour, clarity and carat. Pandora’s lab-created diamonds are grown, cut and polished using 100 per cent renewable energy and have a carbon footprint of only 8.17 kilograms of CO2e per carat – five per cent of that of a mined diamond.
The lab-created diamonds are grown in the U.S. and point to a future of low-carbon diamonds for jewelry and industrial use. For perspective, if all diamonds were mined with the same low carbon footprint as Pandora’s lab-created diamonds, it would save more than six million tons of CO2 emissions annually – this is similar to replacing all cars in New York City with electric vehicles, added the company.
Image: Pandora
Luciano Rodembusch, President, North America for Pandora, said this will allow the retailer to offer a much more affordable diamond to customers. For example, for less than $2,000 USD people can buy a one-carat diamond with a colour that is near colourless with an excellent cut.
Luciano Rodembusch
“A diamond is a diamond. It’s a wonder of nature that takes billions of years in the depths of the earth to be created and I think technology has advanced in a way that we can mimic exactly the same conditions that would happen in nature in a lab,” he said. “That’s exactly what Pandora is launching now. It’s a diamond that has exactly the same characteristics of a diamond that would be created by Mother Nature. The same conditions of temperature, pressure and end up being a diamond that doesn’t need to wait two billion years to be created.
“And it is a diamond that has a carbon footprint that’s much, much smaller. It was super important for us to say that 100 per cent of the lab grown that we are presenting to the market now were created with renewable energy. Sustainability is a serious agenda inside of Pandora. For us this was important. And also important to the fact, is we launched it as a pilot in the UK more than a year ago with 60 per cent of the renewable energy and we were able to move to 100 per cent now.”
Rodembusch said the diamonds will be grown in the US by a third-party company that is supplying the retailer with the diamonds.
Image: Pandora
Pandora has 506 stores throughout North America with 74 in Canada.
“We’ve opened 22 new stores this year in North America. Very, very large expansion and we have ambitions to continue,” said Rodembusch.
“North America was always a gigantic business for Pandora. It grew super fast. About three years ago we did the first analysis of the penetration of the brand in different regions. If you go to the US, for example, we are very, very strong in the Chicago, Detroit area. Very strong in the corridor between Baltimore and Boston. But very weak in the south and the west. The number of stores was not the correct one. The number of clients that we served was much inferior in those areas.
“If we go to Canada, if we compare the number of stores we have and the number of clients we have between Toronto and Vancouver, it’s completely disproportionate. We are very under-developed in the west coast of Canada as well. That’s why we started to look at empty spaces and in some areas we are present but we are almost invisible. And in other areas we are not even present.”
Pandora at CF Market Mall. Photo: Jessica Finch
A good example, he said, was the recent opening of a store in Salt Lake City where the retailer was not previously present.
“This is one of the major pillars of our growth for this year and the upcoming years – to put the brand in the right place in the right way,” added Rodembusch.
“Especially in Canada, the most important piece for me is unfortunately we’ve not been able to present the brand as we should in Canada. We are not in some areas. In some areas, we are not presented in the way we should. Our marketing sometimes was not at the level it should be. So you will see over the next 12 to 18 months a different Pandora inside of Canada.
“We decided to create a team in Canada, in Toronto, fully dedicated to Canada, not anymore a kind of a subset of the US team. For me that’s the most important part – to really present to the Canadians Pandora as it should be. So stay tuned because good things will start to come.”
Image: Pandora (Time Square)
Rodembusch said the company’s trajectory of growth in the last few years has been amazing because it is able to offer very good design with very good craftsmanship at a very affordable price.
“We have a very strong base of consumers in North America alone. We served more than 10 million clients last year,” he said. “One of the things that we were kind of limited before is we just worked with silver and gold. The majority of the jewelry market in the world has diamonds . . . So now we can offer a full range offer to our clients and still be affordable.
“One charm starts for $35 USD. One of the new lab-grown diamonds is a ring you can get for $300 USD. It’s very affordable. I’ve been in the industry for a few years and a diamond I think it’s one of the pieces that when you see it and especially when you put it front of a client, the eyes sparkle. I think it will be something that a lot of clients will be interested to have.”
“The future of luxury is here today. Lab-created diamonds are just as beautiful as mined diamonds, but available to more people and with lower carbon emissions. We are proud to broaden the diamond market and offer innovative jewelry that sets a new standard for how the industry can reduce its impact on the planet,” said Pandora CEO Alexander Lacik, in a statement.
Pandora says the global diamond jewelry market is estimated at US$84 billion. The market is expected to continue to grow, and lab-created diamonds are outpacing the industry’s overall growth.
The 33-piece lab-created diamond collection is named Pandora Brilliance and includes rings, bangles, necklaces and earrings.
A new report by Accenture Song indicates that up to 72 per cent of consumers say that external factors such as inflation, social movements and climate change are impacting their lives more than in the past.
“Consumer prices are skyrocketing at their highest rates in 40 years, while the war in Ukraine indicates long-term consequences for global markets, food prices and political stability. Major societal and cultural movements around the world are magnifying conversations around social justice issues, just as increased political polarization and a growing distrust in government and media complicate the path to change,” said the report titled The Human Paradox: From Customer Centricity to Life Centricity.
“Technology has democratized access to information, with Web3 and the metaverse hinting at a creative and dynamic future, but up to 43 per cent of consumers say technology advancements have complicated their lives just as much as they have simplified things. With external forces exerting more pressure, and a list of practical and ethical considerations that keeps getting longer, people are facing more complex and more frequent decisions than ever before. To help make them, they are looking to the people they trust the most: themselves.
“The disconnect is broadly felt on both sides: Up to 64 per cent of consumers wish companies would respond faster to meet their changing needs, while up to 88 per cent of executives think their customers are changing faster than their business can keep up. This mismatch puts retention rates at risk and constrains companies’ efforts to attract new customers. A growing number of consumers—up to 67 per cent, a jump from 51 per cent one year ago —expect companies to address their changing needs in new ways. More than half say company and brand names are not as important to them as they used to be, and that what they look for in a product or brand is likely to change depending on circumstances. Though broad analysis of this kind can only partially capture such a complex challenge, what it signals is still urgent: At a time when consumer choice has never been higher—and the cost of switching to a new brand has never been lower—a relevance gap this significant could come at great cost if not addressed. One thing is clear: The old playbook for relevance is now obsolete. It’s time to take on a new strategy.”
The report added that up to three-quarters of consumers around the world say they feel empowered to make key decisions in their own lives. They are more self-assured in setting priorities and feel a greater sense of responsibility to make decisions that benefit themselves, their families and society, it said.
“Our research indicates that this self empowerment is on the rise. As people become more self-reliant, they are also rethinking the values that drive them. Up to two-thirds of consumers say they have completely reimagined what’s important to them in life—a 10 percentage point increase over the prior year. And up to 62 per cent say many new things are important to them because of what’s going on globally and locally. But redefining a sense of purpose amid a backdrop of unstable external life forces opens the door to inconsistencies, between what we believe or want and what we actually do. Some 61 per cent of consumers say their priorities keep changing as a result of everything going on in the world. As those priorities change, so do decision-making behaviors. Now, they are ready to act in their own best interests—because if they won’t, who will?
“Customers prioritize themselves … but want to effect change for others, even as up to 66 per cent of consumers say their decision making is driven by their own needs, some 72 per cent feel they can personally impact the world and their communities through behaviors and buying choices. They’re taking things into their own hands … but also want companies to hold their hand. Though they are feeling newly empowered to make key decisions on their own, as many as 67 per cent expect companies to understand and address their changing needs during times of disruption. The net-effect is a growing acceptance of paradoxes, in which people make peace with the often contradictory and conflicting consumption decisions they make moment to moment.
“The results can be messy and inconsistent: Customers prioritize values … but not at the expense of value. More than half of consumers say the pandemic motivated them to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle, but up to 65 per cent say price increases have led them to select lower-cost brands on recent purchases. They care about their impact … but don’t know how to act on it. Nearly 70 per cent of consumers are worried about the impact of climate change on their lives —but continue to struggle to make sustainability a top priority over other needs.”
Gregor Barry, Managing Director and Accenture Song lead for Canada, said research indicates that the external pressures will impact how consumers buy.
“The core of our research was the external factors like inflation, like a crisis, or health or sustainability, that impact the consumers’ mindset and how they buy and for a consumer that still wants to pay a lower cost but also wants to (support) sustainability those are the opportunities where retailers (need) to think about where the opportunities may lie,” he said.
Gregor Barry
“Companies need to adapt and expand their definition of value to their customers. So you think about going from product centric to customer centric to more life centric which is what we believe our clients would aspire to do. Great customer centric companies can be obsessed and so obsessed with customers that they can actually create broader issues whether that’s with their employees or society in general.
“It’s really getting back down to the value drivers of the consumers and how companies are going to come up with ways in which to reach the values that consumers believe in.”
Barry said certainly sustainability is a huge topic. It’s been around for awhile and in recent years it has become even more important for consumers.
“Consumers want companies to have accountability for it,” he added.
“Businesses have long aimed to be customer centric and be obsessed with capturing who they are, where they are, what segment they fit in, but really failing to understand the context of some of the life forces in that people can often be multi-dimensional.
“In order to meet that challenge you need to be reacting more quickly to the life forces and the life moments and that takes a lot more operational rigour, it takes a lot more data centric and technology operational rigour, and that to me is the big challenge for companies to meet. Changing as consumers are changing that mindset.”
The highly anticipated will take place September 28-29 in downtown Toronto, and there’s still time to register. []
eTail Canada 2022 will be held again at the located at 370 King Street West. It’s the first time since 2019 that the eTail Canada conference will be held in person.
The two-day eTail Canada retreat is designed to help businesses increase profits with action-packed strategies and connections made with the top mind’s at Canada’s most successful retailers. Included is an impressive roster of dozens of speakers as well as sessions and numerous networking opportunities.
Be sure to download the to see the completeand inspiring sessions at this year’s eTail Canada Conference.
Act fast as there’s only a few more days to register before eTail Canada 2022. []
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 brand, which was created in 2020, has grown to more than 50 outlets in more than nine countries with more than 300 locations signed around the world.
And now it has its sights set on the Canadian market with its immediate focus on the Greater Toronto Area.
Image: Yolé
Image: Yolé
Image: Yolé
Avi Behar
Toronto-based real estate company The Behar Group Realty is spearheading Yolé’s Canadian expansion plans as it searches for the ideal locations to launch in the market.
“They’re under development generally through franchise partnerships in Peru, Chile, Costa Rica, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Italy, Guatemala, El Salvador and of course Canada and the US,” said Avi Behar, Chairman and CEO of The Behar Group Realty.
“We’ve been retained to oversee the Canadian expansion. Kelley (Farraj, Vice-President) is leading that for us. But the intent is to develop locations across the country obviously starting with the major markets. We’d like to do the first one in Toronto.”
In 2022, the brand started their expansion toward European and American countries. They are the first brand in the world to offer soft ice cream and ice cream tubs for all distribution channels. They are the first plant-based and no-sugar-added ice cream. Products are made in Spain and their sustainable packaging and kiosks meet high environmental guidelines, says a Behar Group fact sheet on the brand.
Image: Yolé
Image: Yolé
Yolé belongs to D+1 Holding, a well-known food and beverage company in Asia recognized for bringing Spanish values to Asian markets through their brands.
Yolé is based in Singapore with offices in Spain and Miami.
Kelly Farraj
Farraj said the healthy part of the brand would give it a nice boost in the Canadian market.
“We like the fact that all their products have no sugar added. They do have a lot of plant-based options which is big right now and we believe it will continue to be big and it will continue to grow on people,” said Farraj.
“We believe it’s an appeal to a huge segment of the population.”
Image: Yolé
Image: Yolé
Farraj said the real estate company’s approach is to focus on the bigger shopping centres of Toronto.
“We’d like to start there and branch out into the smaller and more active cities and hit up some stores with good foot traffic. Maybe Queen West, maybe around Dundas Square. We believe there is room for at least a dozen or two in the Greater Toronto Area,” he said.
Behar said that nationally the initial projection for the number of stores is probably about 45 to 50 locations across the country and probably over a seven or eight year period.
Image: Yolé
“Ice cream is obviously like a favourite food or product for the masses. I don’t know many people, if any, who don’t like ice cream. I think what Yolé is doing is a lot different than what’s out there, largely because of the zero sugar,” he said.
“The ability to have a plant-based, tasty product, I don’t think is a trend. It’s a lifestyle that more and more are adopting. I believe that there’s lots of legs behind this type of a business. It’s been kind of tried and tested now on a global basis with good results and I believe the Canadian consumer will really embrace this.
“From a real estate perspective, there’s flexibility on the size. The stores themselves are not all cookie cutter although there are prototypes. But they’ll generally range from kiosks as small as approximately 300 square feet to slightly larger stores whether it’s a streetfront, plaza or shopping centre. That could be 900 square feet, 1,000 square feet or more depending on the rental structure and the financial terms. There’s a range in sizes and we’re open to looking at all opportunities so long as they’re high profile, high traffic, good visibility.”
Lush on Robson Street in Vancouver (Image: Lee Rivett)
For the first time ever, Lush will be introducing Lush Spa to Canada. The new concept, currently only available outside of North America will be launching at one Lush location in Canada to start with plans to further expand in the future. Lush is also looking to grow its retail footprint in Canada and add new collections to its line-up including make-up and candles just to name a few.
Brandi Halls
Opening in July 2023, Lush is launching a Lush Spa at an existing location at 1020 Robson Street in Vancouver. The retail space is 2339 square feet and will be divided into retail space and spa treatment rooms. Instead of opening a new store, Lush will be refreshing the Robson location to incorporate the new spa.
“We are thrilled to announce that we will be refreshing our Robson Street location to include a Lush spa, the first of its kind in Canada,” says Brandi Halls, the Chief Ethics Officer of Lush in North America. Bringing more of these larger, experiential shops to the Canadian market is a key part of our growth strategy. We know consumers are craving connection and experience and we hope that Lush shops can be that for that place for them.”
Halls was excited to share this spa will have the same service menu as the ones in the UK and will have three treatment rooms, one being reserved for an immersive Book a Bath treatment.
Book A Bath
Book a Bath (Oxford Street) Image: Lush
Along with traditional spa services, such as massages and facials, Lush Spa will be including the Book a Bath treatment.
“The spa allows our customers to be immersed in both traditional and non-traditional treatments for the face and body. We are particularly excited to introduce customers to the new Book a Bath Treatment which is a bath experience like no other.”
“Imagine a bathroom that captures the essence of some of our unique products. But this isn’t just about our famous bath bombs. Throughout this indulgent bath experience our customers are paired with products, soundtracks and other surprises to elevate this multi-sensory experience.”
The Book a Bath Treatment is a 30 minute treatment that is offered at three of the Lush spas in the UK. Currently they are offering an immersive experience inspired by The Lakes Bath Bomb but who knows which bath bomb may inspire the first experience in Canada. Fans will have to wait to find out.
“Blending of the Senses”
Liverpool Spa (Image: Lush)
Halls said the signature Lush Spa treatment is Synaesthesia, where customers choose how they would like to feel and the 80 minute full-body massage experience is tailored just to them.
“This treatment is completely bespoke and multi-sensory. I promise you it is unlike any other massage you will have ever experienced. It truly is the blending of all the senses. Everything that you hear, taste, smell, and feel during this treatment is determined by how you want to feel. And this is just one of the many treatments we will be offering at the Lush spa”
Halls said that Lush wants to bring the fun, excitement and community back to the in-store shopping experience in North America. The spas are just one way that Lush hopes to get shoppers out from behind their screens and into stores.
Liverpool Spa (Image: Lush)
The new spa concept is looking to expand across Canada but currently locations of spa expansions are unknown.
“The spas really are the quintessential Lush experience. We know that our loyal Canadian fans have been long awaiting these luxurious treatments and the time is near. The spas allow us to take our stellar customer experience to a whole new level.”
New Store in Oshawa Ontario Opening in November
Lush Renderings for Oshawa Centre (Image: Lush)Lush Renderings for Oshawa Centre (Image: Lush)
Opening in November, Lush will be adding an additional location in Oshawa.
“We saw such a tremendous response from our loyal fans at our temporary pop-up location in Oshawa, we have decided to open a permanent location in the Oshawa Centre.”
The new location will be the traditional Lush store, unfortunately no spa, and will be 1600 square feet. Customers can find a full extent of its products, and new ones as Lush is expanding its makeup selection, adding self-preserving moisturizers, and candles with best-selling fragrances.
“You can expect a lot of product innovation from Lush this year. We are growing our make-up collection with an extended range of eyeliners and lipsticks hitting shops. It has been quite some time since we expanded our colours so this is very exciting for our fans. You’ll also see new self-preserving versions of some of our best-selling facial moisturizers launching as well as monthly subscriptions boxes with limited edition products arriving at your doorstep.”
“Striving to leave the planet lusher than we found it”
Lush Renderings for Oshawa Centre (Image: Lush)
As Lush continues to grow, the company says that it is mindful of its impact on people, animals and the planet.
“We strive to leave the planet lusher than when we found it and this is at the heart of everything we do. We recognize that being a sustainable business is no longer enough, we are now focused on being regenerative and circular in how we operate.”
To take actions further, Halls says Lush has an ambitious ‘Climate and Nature To-Do list’ including radically reducing its transport emissions, moving to 100% renewable energy, standing up for climate justice and making materials used regenerative and circular.
“Our first approach to packaging is always to avoid it, so over 60 percent of Lush’s products are sold naked. We are the inventors of solid shampoo bars, by using one of these bars our customers save three plastic shampoo bottles from hitting landfill. Just imagine if everyone switched to solid shampoo.”
Lush Renderings for Oshawa Centre (Image: Lush)
Lush has also updated its Bring It Back reward program where it takes back its plastic pots and recycles them into new pots. The retailer rewards its customers by offering them one dollar off purchase for every pot returned, or a free face mask with the return of five pots.
“We are incredibly lucky because all of our innovation is happening in house. We are a highly innovative brand, and we are still privately owned so all these things set us up beautifully for continued growth.”
While growing its company from inside and out, Lush is looking to continue to contribute to the community while meeting the needs of its customers.
“We know the bigger the brand gets, the more good we can do. We have big dreams of greater brand awareness, more access for our customers, larger shops, faster delivery. We definitely aspire to do more and to do it better – and that is the Lush way”.
Walmart Canada is piloting a circular economy reusable bag program in two Guelph, Ontario stores that could eventually be rolled out to other stores across the country.
The program allows customers to use in-store GOATOTE kiosks to check out clean reusable bags for a fee and return them by the end of the month.
“As we continue on our journey to becoming a regenerative company, we’re focused on testing innovative solutions that help to make the sustainable choice the easy, affordable choice,” said Gaurav Gupta, Director, ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance), Walmart Canada.
Image: Walmart Canada
“GOATOTE is a program whereby our customers and our associates can participate in the circular economy. What that essentially means is there are kiosks in two of our stores in Guelph, in a pilot program, and these allow our customers to walk up, and check out reusable bags for a fee.
Gaurav Gupta
“There are two options of doing that. They can either use a subscription model where they pay a $3 fee and they can then pack as many bags as they want across the month or they can pay $1 a bag and take as many bags as they want. So really it’s a means for having our customers have reusable bags in case they forget to bring their own or would just like to purchase one at the store.”
The GOATOTE kiosks are located conveniently at the front of the store, prior to customer checkout. The exact location may vary by store or throughout the pilot as the retailer tests the best placement options.
Customers can use the bags for the shopping trip – and throughout the month if they’d like. Bags must be returned within 30 days to the kiosk. GOATOTE cleans and quality checks each bag before returning it to the kiosk to be used again.
Gupta said Walmart is starting with the two stores in Guelph and will see how the pilot goes.
About a year ago, Walmart introduced a 10-store pilot to eliminate single-use plastic shopping bags in its stores.
“Since the roll-out began in January 2022, we’ve prevented nearly 200 million single-use plastic bags from entering circulation. And we’re not stopping there – we’re building on that momentum to test and learn as we continue on our journey to become a regenerative company,” said Gupta.
Image: GOATOTE
“Eliminating single-use plastic shopping bags, as we did in April 2022, is only part of the solution as we all work to be more sustainable. Circular economy solutions, like the GOATOTE option we’re testing in our Guelph stores, focus on eliminating waste and recovering as much value as possible from the goods we use. This means reusing and repairing items while they’re in use and then upcycling or recycling once they’ve reached the end of their lifespan.
“Introducing GOATOTE kiosks into our Guelph stores provides our customers with more choice in how they carry out their purchases when they shop with us and provides us with an opportunity to test this concept for broader use.”
Gupta said Walmart is on a journey and sustainability is a key component of regeneration, moving more into a circular model.
With the holidays rapidly approaching, Retail Council of Canada’s third annual Retail Holiday Shopping Forum arrives just in time for retailers as they make the crucial, final, strategy adjustments to their holiday retail plans before the busy end-of-year campaigns kick into full gear.
A half-day virtual event on October 13, 2022, the Retail Holiday Shopping Forum promises attendees exclusive insights ahead of the busiest (and most wonderful!) time of the year – starting with a series of high-profile speakers that will help Canadian retailers adjust to the holiday season’s ever-changing makeup.
The virtual format is designed to ensure retailers from across Canada can participate in the information-packed event that will be filled with actionable tips on how to leverage the latest learning to optimize their assortments for the end-of-year sales surge.
Eric Morris, Managing Director and Head of Retail with Google Canada, presents part two of Navigating the Holiday Season, first shown at RCC STORE Conference 2022. Eric delivers a timely follow up with category specific insights, recommendations around in-store vs ecommerce, and suggested decision-making tactics.
Luc Dumont, Leger’s Vice President Research and Innovation, highlights the most critical insights from the much-anticipated RCC x Leger Annual Holiday Shopping Survey – which features intended shopping behaviours from over 2,500 Canadians across the country. This survey, now in its 5th year, will provide trending learnings and dig into how Canadians’ decisions for their holiday shopping compares to how they buy at other times of the year.
Samir Kulkarni, CEO at Showcase will be dropping big insights on a holiday strategy that hinges on the October surprise. Samir shares the most important factors in this customer-centric strategy, how data is leveraged for timely insights, and what enables the Showcase team to act with agility ensuring the year’s must-have gift is ready for customers.
Retail Insider’sCraig Patterson sits down with The Voice of Retail producer & host Michael LeBlanc to discuss retail prospects coast-to-coast, the impact of changing commuter and working patterns on the industry, the challenges of the mall economy and what retailers need to know today to thrive tomorrow. Retailers will also get the inside scoop on real estate and shopping centres and walk out of the Retail Holiday Shopping Forum more prepared to tackle what’s ahead!
