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.
Lafayette 148 at 130 Bloor Street in Toronto (Image: Lafayette 148)
After celebrating its 25th anniversary recently, upscale New York City-based women’s fashion brand Lafayette 148 officially opened the doors to its first flagship store in Canada, located at 130 Bloor Street West in Toronto.
Lafayette 148 was founded in 1996 in SoHo, New York City by Deirdre Quinn, Shun Yen Siu, and Ida Siu. It was designed to bring uniqueness to women’s clothing and as stated on its website, it was “built on our founder’s belief that women deserve beautiful clothing created for women’s needs.”
With luxurious materials and beautiful clothing designs, Lafayette 148 has opened its first Canadian store on Bloor Street West which is known for its design and high-end fashion. Prices for some of Lafayette 148’s designs are less than the luxury brands lining the street, though prices are still high. A women’s blazer from Lafayette 148 is priced at more than $2,000 while a pant is $1,250, and a simple sleeveless blouse was priced at over $800. Shoes are priced from $600 for simple summer styles to well over $1,000, and handbags are priced from about $1,000 to over $3,000.
Lafayette 148 at 130 Bloor Street in Toronto (Image: Lafayette 148)
The new Toronto store features about 2,000 square feet of retail space and, according to a press release, includes oil rubbed patina bronze wall flanking mirrors to highlight the store, drawings inspired from the Lafayette 148 flagship store in New York, French Oak hardwood flooring, bespoke seating areas, and an ice onyx jewelry display case.
The flagship now offers the brand’s full collection of ready to wear women’s clothing, footwear, handbags, jewelry, and accessories. One of its collections is the Lafayette 148 Made in Italy collection which focuses on bags and footwear.
The store also provides customers with services including private styling in store and virtual by appointment, complimentary tailoring, and made to order clothing.
You can find Lafayette 148 collections also at Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom, but this is its first stand alone location in Canada.
In Toronto, Lafayette 148 replaced a retail location for retailer Intermix which occupied the space at 130 Bloor Street West for about a decade before shutting in late 2020.
Lafayette 148 at 130 Bloor Street in Toronto (Image: Lafayette 148)
DWSV Ultimate Realty negotiated the lease on behalf of Lafayette 148. Kingsett Capital owns the commercial component of 130 Bloor Street West which also features retail tenants Gucci and St. John Knits on the Bloor Street side of the building, as well as Cumberland Street-facing tenants including luxury retailer Nicolas, Aveda, a lululemon store that will relocate in 2024 to Bloor Street, and Canada’s first location for eyewear retailer Moscot.
Bloor Street West, once known as the ‘Mink Mile’, is seeing a resurgence in leasing according to brokers. New retailers will be announced as deals are negotiated. This year new retailers coming to the luxury stretch of Bloor near Lafayette 148 include Alexander Wang, Anne Fontaine, and Paris Baguette. Further East near Holt Renfrew will see the openings of retailers including yoga brand Alo, a Swarovski jewellery store, lululemon and, pending litigation, a massive Apple flagship store is expected to open at 1 Bloor Street West.
Various luxury brands line the street near Lafayette 148, including the likes of Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co., Hermes, Dior, Cartier, Moncler, Burberry, Gucci, Prada and others. It remains to be seen how Lafayette 148 will perform on the street given its focus on apparel, with neighbouring retailer St. John Knits said to be quiet most times.
After requests, Lafayette 148 did not provide anyone for an interview for this article to discuss its entry into Canada. Retail Insider therefore does not have any further information on any future stores for the brand in this country, nor information on the future of wholesale accounts at Nordstrom and Saks.
Alimentation Couche-Tard (ACT), one of the world’s largest convenience retailers, will deploy more than 10,000 Mashgin Touchless Checkout Systems, branded as ‘Smart Checkout’ to more than 7,000 of its Circle K and Couche-Tard stores over the next three years.
The company said the AI-powered self-checkout system will improve customers’ checkout times as much as 400 per cent while allowing store staff to spend more time helping customers.
ACT said the system includes a compact countertop device that fits easily into an existing store layout.
“It uses computer vision to recognize items presented from virtually any angle and instantly ring them up in a single transaction,” said the company. “Customers place their items on the Mashgin Touchless Checkout System, which uses cameras to ring up everything in under a second. There is no need to download an app or find and scan barcodes: shoppers simply put items down, pay as they normally would and are on their way in as little as 10 seconds – eight times faster than traditional self-checkout.”
Mashgin Now at Circle K (Image: Mashgin)
Magnus Tagtstrom
Magnus Tagtstrom, VP of Global Innovation for ACT, said the company’s entire purpose is to make the customers’ experience easier.
“In a way, we sell time to them. So what can we do to speed up that checkout experience for our customers? There’s a lot of sort of tech innovation happening in this space. But the thing that kind of really resonated in our testing so far with customers, and we’ve tested this over the last couple of years in over 500 stores across the US, across Sweden and we have a lab at McGill University, it speeds up the checkout process,” he said.
“The technology is not like your traditional self-checkout where you scan your items and you really feel that you’re doing the associates’ job and you’re not very good at it.
“We’re committed to investing in and scaling technology that sets a new standard for convenience with our customers and advances our mission to make our customers’ lives a little easier every day. The Smart Checkout system powered by Mashgin’s game-changing technology shortens lines, improves the customer experience and frees up our teams to focus on helping our customers. We look forward to introducing this new platform to stores across our network.
“It’s an experience that actually kind of has some kind of wow factor and magic to it. It feels faster and more interesting than your typical checkout.”
Tagtstrom said the new technology will be rolled out to more than half of the company’s global footprint.
“Not every store. It doesn’t fit every store from a size of the store perspective. But you’re definitely going to see it in a clear majority of our stores. In any big, or any new store, you will see it,” he said.
Tagtstrom said one third of the stores deploying the new technology would have more than one unit.
Mashgin Now at Circle K (Image: Mashgin)
He said the Canadian rollout will take place some time this year.
ACT said the rollout builds upon the successful deployment of Mashgin across nearly 500 Circle K locations in the US and Sweden since 2020, as well as Couche-Tard’s retail innovation lab store on the campus of McGill University in Montreal.
Mukul Dhankhar
Mukul Dhankar, Mashgin’s Chief Technology Officer and co-founder, said the company’s core technology represents a major breakthrough in the world of artificial intelligence.
“By reinforcing computer vision models with three-dimensional data, we are able to reach 99.9 per cent accuracy when ringing items,” he said. “This innovation also allows the system to easily differentiate between different sizes of items with a similar appearance, and also makes it flexible enough to recognize grab-and-go foods like pizza or roller grill items that may look slightly different each time. Another key component to our technology is its ability to learn new objects in less than a minute and sync that data across stores, making it possible to set up a new store in under an hour,” he said.
Sylvain Charlebois, Senior Director, Agri-Foods Analytics Lab, Dalhousie University, said everyone who goes to a Couche-Tard is in a hurry and so the new checkout system is fitting with the market the company is serving.
“It’s a pump and go sort of market. Really you want to get out as soon as possible. Grab what you need. But it’s got to be done right as well. Couche-Tard has been very successful selling food products and products you can’t buy anywhere else and the freshness is actually not bad at all. The standards are pretty high at ACT,” he added.
Mashgin Now at Circle K (Image: Mashgin)
Sylvain Charlebois
“I suspect that the rollout will be transitory. I don’t think they’ll do a blitz. I suspect they will probably go with a few stores, work out the kinks, making sure it works well. I suspect ACT will actually make sure it doesn’t damage the brand or the fluidity of the experience as well.”
Charlebois said he recently visited his first Amazon Go store in New York City at the Rockefeller Center.
“The humanless experience was interesting. This whole idea of not having any cashiers is a work in progress for sure. On the one side, people will have to become comfortable with the technology and all of the issues related to privacy,” he said.
“It is a model. Is it the best model possible? I don’t know. My experience at Amazon Go was underwhelming to be honest because I actually bought a couple of products that weren’t fresh at all and they were out for many products as well. They were not ready for my visit at least based on what I needed and it wasn’t a huge store either.
“It’s on the execution that ACT will need to deliver, making sure that products are there, products are fresh, and people are able to grab-and-go as much as possible. I think the focus and most of the discussion has been around technology but the freshness and the availability still has to be there.”
Retail giant Walmart Canada has launched its new repurposed space inside the Scarborough West store which integrates state-of-the art technology, helping associates to pick online grocery orders six times faster than on a regular sales floor.
Customers will benefit from tighter inventory control, resulting in fewer substitutions, and automated processes that enable the overall picking process to be 80 per cent faster. And more than 70 per cent of downtown Toronto customers could have their online grocery delivery fulfilled through this store.
“We have created a repurposed space inside the Scarborough store with integrated state-of-the-art technology and this is really helping our associates pick online grocery orders, cumulatively 80 per cent faster than they would be doing in a regular store today,” said Olivia Lynch, Director, Omni Store of the Future, Walmart Canada. “And the technology itself is helping us pick six times faster than we can on the sales floor.
“This part of the industry has experienced a lot of growth. We’ve seen a lot of customers trying online grocery for the first time through the pandemic and we’re seeing that that behaviour is really sticking. We’re really confident about where that industry is going and how that behaviour is going to stick. And so, that’s really the why now. We’re confident that this industry is here to stay and we know that we’re going to continue to need the capacity to serve our customers.”
Lynch described the Scarborough location as ‘fantastic’, allowing the retailer the ability to reach more than 70 per cent of downtown Toronto customers through online grocery delivery from that store.
Will this concept be rolled out to other stores?
Olivia Lynch at Scarborough (Image: Walmart Canada)
“We don’t know yet. We’re not in a position to really share that yet. We’re still trying to figure that out ourselves,” said Lynch. “But what we do know is that much like this, we are looking at technology and innovation as a way to really (help) in picking faster, picking more and just being able to reach more customers.”
Using automated technology alongside proprietary Walmart systems, this reimagined space, the company said provides more choice, convenience, speed and quality to customers when they shop online for groceries:
The technology leverages data to systemically manage freshness in stored items, supporting Walmart’s commitment to delivering the freshest product;
New delivery-led solution and processes enable faster loading, supporting on-time delivery;
As many as 1,200 customer orders per day can be fulfilled out of this store – much higher than average.
Reach new customers in underserved areas – giving more access to products and Walmart’s everyday low prices; and
Nearly 200 associates will support online grocery picking and fulfilment from this store.
(L-R): John Bayliss, EVP, Transformation Officer, Walmart Canada, Vera Friedrich, Vice President and Managing Director, Dematic Canada, Councillor Gary Crawford, City of Toronto, Olivia Lynch, Director, Omni Store of the Future, Saeed Anslow, VP, Omni-Channel & Online Grocery, Jonathan Rodriguez, Sr. Manager, Micro-Fulfillment, Dries Dhooghe, SVP, Operations – Region 2, Raj Radhakrishnan, Store Manager, Laurent Duray, Chief E-commerce Officer, Mariam Khan, Manager, Omni Innovation, Walmart Canada
Horacio Barbeito
“We’re transforming our business for our customers, every day. By leveraging our stores, including modernizing our Scarborough West store with innovative new technology, we’re helping more customers access our everyday low prices through online grocery delivery,” said Horacio Barbeito, President and CEO, Walmart Canada in a statement. “With investments in technology and infrastructure, our associates have more modern tools to serve our customers. Together we’re finding innovative ways to make our existing footprint work harder for customers as we make shopping online with Walmart faster, easier and more convenient.”
Laurent Duray
“Repurposing our space in Scarborough allows us to lean in to online grocery delivery for our downtown Toronto customers in ways we have never done before. We’ve embraced technology to help us increase capacity for orders, providing our customers with more available time slots and expanded access to delivery,” said Laurent Duray, Chief E-commerce Officer, Walmart Canada. “Our associates and our stores are the key to the journey we’re on to keep making the online shopping experience better and faster for our customers.”
The new repurposed Scarborough store is part of Walmart Canada’s $3.5 billion investment in the market.
“We’re absolutely investing in technology but it’s really focused on associate experience. We really want our associates to be able to work more easily with less effort and alongside that we’re providing training for our associates and our leadership to work alongside this technology,” said Lynch.
(L-R): John Bayliss, Laurent Duray, Olivia Lynch, Saeed Anslow and Dries Dhooghe
“That’s what you’ll be seeing more of from us. In terms of the customer benefit as well, I think this type of technology of course is associate-focused but there’s also absolutely the customer focus. We know what’s really important for customers is accuracy, speed and quality for online grocery orders and we think technology like this is really to help us with that because the inventory becomes systematically controlled within the technology itself. Because we have better inventory controls, that means we have fewer substitutions and we know that is such an important thing for our customers.
“Because we’re using real-time data and systematic data to control our quality, we know exactly when an item has been put into the system. We’re always going to be able to make sure through this system, we’re never going to give customers any subpar product. So we’re really proud of that as well.”
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 few days.
Canadian luxury department store Holt Renfrew has launched its Summer 2022 campaign, Summer in Motion.
“The anticipation for Summer 2022 is high, and we can feel it. Everyone is ready to embrace the warm weather and enjoy the freedom that comes with spending time outside, socializing in person, and getting to simply be,” said Wes Wolch, SVP, Marketing & Customer Experience, Holt Renfrew.
Wes Wolch
“Finding pleasure in the everyday is our mantra. And whether this is achieved through big moments, traveling to new destinations, or small, sipping an iced coffee on a hot summer’s day, the whole point is to just go for it and have fun. We’ve made some great changes to our store environments with new Cafes, new Beauty Halls and of course our beautiful renovation to our Montreal location, Holt Renfrew Ogilvy.
“Creating a summer calendar full of music experiences gives us an opportunity to invite people back into our environments for unique experiences focused on shared passion points. The campaign is called Summer in Motion and features DJs from coast to coast such as YuSu, Pierre Kwenders, Miko So? and Bambii. Music creates the soundtrack for so many summer memories and we wanted to tap into that, allowing the DJs to showcase their personal style through their music and their style and our customers to showcase theirs.”
Wolch said the campaign is targeted to Millennials & Gen Z customers.
“The campaign will live throughout the summer and consist of an in-store concert series, Spotify playlists curated by our DJs, paid media focusing on social (Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok) and OOH, as well as across all of our owned assets,” he said.
“Holt Renfrew has had to adjust to the implications of the pandemic like most retailers, but we’ve thrived throughout it building new ways of working, new ways of selling and new ways of communicating with our customers, which has enhanced an internal culture of agility, innovation and collaboration.
“We often talk about digital and social channels being the ways to engage and transact with younger consumers, but we’ve just increased the digital skill-sets of Gen X and Boomers who had to adjust to a more digital way of living due to the pandemic, whether it be Facetime calls with Grandkids, ordering groceries online or even virtual shopping appointments. These skills and behaviours aren’t going to go away, so we have to become more digitally focused with consumers that were once far more traditional.”
Holt Renfrew Bloor (Image: Craig Patterson)
Wolch said Holt Renfrew has had some really exciting launches around its circular fashion initiatives including a vintage offering through a collaboration with Northern Touch Vintage and most recently with the launch of its pre-loved designer bag business.
“These are more key steps in the sustainability journey Holt Renfrew has been on for more than a decade,” he added.
In June 2021, Holt Renfrew announced a series of ambitious sustainability initiatives.
The retailer said it has had its emissions reductions approved by the Science Based Targets initiative as consistent with levels required to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. The targets cover greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from their operations (Scope 1 and 2), as well as Scope 3, consistent with reductions required to keep global warming to 1.5°C.
A reduction in absolute Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 65 per cent by 2030, from a 2019 base year
A reduction in absolute Scope 3 GHG emissions by 28 per cent by 2030, from a 2019 base year
67 per cent of Holt Renfrew’s suppliers from purchased goods and services and upstream and downstream transportation will have science-based targets by 2025.
Holt Renfrew was founded in Quebec City in 1837 and today has seven stores across Canada, including four in the Greater Toronto Area, plus Montreal, Calgary, and Vancouver.
Buckley talks about the company’s history, what is unique about it, current locations and future plans, and his own bagel favourites.
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Iconic luxury brand Canada Goose has finalized a deal for its new Canadian headquarters, leasing 115,000 square feet over four floors at Menkes Developments’ 100 Queens Quay East in Toronto, according to real estate firm CBRE, which represented the building owner in the transaction.
Brendan Sullivan
Brendan Sullivan, Senior Vice President with CBRE and based in Toronto, said it’s one of the biggest office transactions Toronto has seen since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and it’s a huge vote of confidence in the future of office.
“Many landlords would like to have Canada Goose as part of their project. So we’re thrilled to welcome them to the new centre of gravity that Menkes is helping create along the Toronto waterfront,” he said.
“It’s a very significant signal to the market that there are organizations that are prioritizing great spaces for their employees in great communities that are amenity rich, that are focused on health and wellbeing. And that those opportunities are valued by the businesses across the country. A transaction like this is a signal of those values.”
100 Queens Quay East in Toronto (Image: Dustin Fuhs)
In an email, a Canada Goose spokesperson said: “We have nothing to share at this time.”
Canada Goose will be shifting its office operations to the waterfront from the company’s existing location at its manufacturing facility near Caledonia Road and Eglinton Avenue north of Toronto. The offices at its factory will be converted to create additional manufacturing space, said CBRE.
The waterfront project is part of a larger mixed-use development called Sugar Wharf.
“It’s one of the largest developments in the history of the country. It is a city-shaping development. It is part of a larger community development on Toronto’s eastern waterfront called the East Bayfront. The East Bayfront would be considered the next great community in Toronto, being built really anew and from the ground up along the waterfront, along what many consider to be historically an under-utitlized waterfront,” explained Sullivan.
Current Canada Goose Headquarters at Caledonia Road and Eglinton Avenue north of Toronto (Image: Glassdoor)
Sullivan said he and his team pursued Canada Goose with “gusto”, recognizing the importance of having a “nationally synonymous brand” become part of the innovation corridor Menkes is establishing in East Bayfront with 100 Queens Quay East and the Waterfront Innovation Centre at 125 Queens Quay East.
“It was a hand in glove fit between their brand and this development,” he said.
In addition to being among the biggest office leases inked in recent years, the Canada Goose deal is significant in that it represents a shift where larger users are making meaningful real estate decisions for the first time since the pandemic, added Sullivan.
“It signals an underlying confidence in the market and in the return to office,” he said.
Canada Goose will share rooftop signage at 100 Queens Quay East with LCBO, the anchor tenant.
100 Queens Quay East in Toronto (Image: Dustin Fuhs)100 Queens Quay East in Toronto (Image: Dustin Fuhs)
“We needed to create the environment where the brand became visible and connected to the community,” said Sullivan.
The tenants at the two Menkes waterfront projects are:
100 Queens Quay East: LCBO, Canada Goose, Richardson Wealth, Toronto Region Board of Trade, Align Technology, NOKIA; and
“All of those companies, further with Canada Goose, have ingrained themselves into the fabric of this new community which is rising up along the waterfront,” said Sullivan.
Menkes Developments’ Waterfront Innovation Centre (WIC) at 125 Queens Quay East (Image: Dustin Fuhs)
“To have a brand like Canada Goose as part of this development is really critical for us in delivering this community to the city and to the country . . . We want the brands to connect to this community and there is great value in what Canada Goose represents for our country as a Canadian company and being able to have their brand so attached to this project is very important for it and for the community. The alignment for what Canada Goose represents was clearly aligned with what this project and this community represents as Canadians.”
Brian Porter, a Vice President with CBRE, noted that the Canada Goose deal is another example of flight to quality in the Toronto office market, with tenants looking for spaces in state of the art, amenity-rich buildings in top locations.
Brian Porter
“And in this case, we’re talking about Toronto’s first true offices on the waterfront, which gives Canada Goose and all the other companies located here a clear advantage when it comes to enticing employees to join their organizations,” he said.
The Canada Goose deal brings 100 Queens Quay East to 92 per cent leased, with 50,000 square feet of inventory remaining. Waterfront Innovation Centre, directly across the street, has just under 40,000 square feet of space available for lease.
In a news release, Menkes said Canada Goose will occupy four floors within the 25-storey landmark building on Toronto’s waterfront and it is expected to move into its new home in 2023.
“This lease signals the continued flight to quality of leading companies to the best buildings,” said Peter Menkes, President, Commercial/Industrial. “The addition of Canada Goose to the building supports our strategy to attract premier tenants to the waterfront and reflects our positive outlook for the future of modern office space.”
The store occupies 145,000 square feet and employs approximately 350 people, with around 200 trade and construction jobs created with the build.
Derreck Cuschieri
“Today is a very exciting day for Walmart Canada,” said Derreck Cuschieri, Vice President of Operations for Western Canada, Walmart Canada. “We are thrilled to be growing in Victoria. We want to help Canadians save money so they can live better with everyday low prices that will make a big difference for families. Our customers will benefit from having a store close to the downtown core where they can choose to shop in-store or online with in-store pickup or home delivery. We look forward to sparking positive change in Victoria.”
The new store is part of Walmart Canada’s $3.5 billion investment aimed to generate significant growth and to make the online and in-store shopping experience simpler, faster and more convenient for associates and customers.
Walmart Canada at Hillside Shopping Centre in Victoria, BC (Image: Walmart Canada)
Garrett Lawrence, the store manager, said this will be the third Walmart in the Greater Victoria Area.
“The largest (from a sales perspective) Walmart in Canada is just down the road. It’s at Uptown which is about four kilometres away and we have the Langford location which is about 15 to 20 kilometres away from us,” said Lawrence. “Hillside is actually going to feature some new programs in regards to signage. New to British Columbia. It will be the first store from a signage perspective which is going to make it a lot easier for customers to navigate a Walmart. It’s going to be a lot more aisle location and signage shoutouts letting customers know here’s where the vacuums are and here’s where sporting goods is. It’s a new program that Walmart’s launched that looks absolutely fantastic. The sight lines are great.
“We’ve got a very wide international selection that kind of caters to our community. It’s a two-floor store with a really clean look. We’re really proud of the selection we have as well. From an online grocery perspective, we’re going to actually launch the Express orders, two-hour express. So for two-hour pickup or home delivery, which is a pretty big win. We’re going to launch that right out the gate.
“The landscape of the store is very unique. It’s probably one of the most beautiful storefronts I’ve seen in my time with Walmart. Really nice tree-lined. The landscaping is beautiful. It’s just a different shopping experience. We’re kind of going for that community feel. Really trying to grow some roots in this community and attach ourselves to it.”
Walmart Canada at Hillside Shopping Centre in Victoria, BC (Image: Walmart Canada)
Lawrence said customers will also be able to have items ordered online and shipped to the store at no cost.
“We’ve got a very easy pick up system for customers. They have dedicated parking with a five-minute guaranteed wait time – five minutes or less,” he said.
The new Walmart entrance is on the North Dairy Road side of the shopping centre with nearby retail neighbours including Thrifty Foods, Canadian Tire, Dollarama, Shoppers Drug Mart, SportChek, Bolen Books and Marshalls.
“Hillside Centre and all of our merchants are very excited to welcome Walmart to our retail community,” said Kerry Shular, General Manager at Hillside Centre.
“The addition of Walmart in the Oaklands neighbourhood will only enhance the work-life balance of our residents and truly bring a one-stop shopping experience to Hillside Centre’s customers.”
Walmart Canada at Hillside Shopping Centre in Victoria, BC (Image: Walmart Canada)
“We’ve been in Victoria as a company for 28 years. It’s kind of a natural fit to open a new store in this community we’re so familiar with serving,” said Lawrence. “We still feel like there’s a strong demand for the presence of Walmart with our community affordable prices, especially in this part of Victoria. We’re very close to the universities. The University of Victoria is very close by. Camosun College is close by. It’s easier for access for them to get to Hillside opposed to Uptown, especially with public transportation.
“So this is going to offer more convenience for shoppers. We do have a very big mix of demographic in this part of Victoria. You have a lot of students here but you also have a very big mix of income status levels.
“It’s been a lot of fun. I’m really proud of the associate base that we have in the store. I think we’ve got associates that represent the community and the customers we’re serving and I couldn’t be prouder of how much work they’ve put into getting this thing ready, especially the past two months. It’s been astonishing to watch a group of new people new to the company be able to put this thing together.”
Walmart Canada at Hillside Shopping Centre in Victoria, BC (Image: Walmart Canada)
New features and offerings at the Victoria Hillside Supercentre include:
An expansive international section including Asian, Southeast Asian, British, German, Latin and Italian foods.
Walmart Express Pickup service with online grocery orders ready in two hours or less.
Walmart Grocery Delivery service with local on-demand delivery.
A Walmart Pharmacy slated to open in the coming weeks with a pharmacy team that is eager to offer new and longtime customers expert advice, compassionate help on health-care issues and assistance with products and prescriptions.
A 4,000 sq. ft. Jack Nathan Health medical centre with paramedical services such as chiropractic, physiotherapy and a medical spa, expected to open in the summer of 2022.
Sustainable features including a transcritical CO2 refrigeration system with rejected energy being reclaimed for building heating systems, a building automation system for lighting and HVAC controls, LED lighting and low flow fixtures.
British Columbia is home to 48 Walmart stores and one distribution centre, employing more than 12,000 associates.
Walmart Canada at Hillside Shopping Centre in Victoria, BC (Image: Walmart Canada)Walmart Canada at Hillside Shopping Centre in Victoria, BC (Image: Walmart Canada)Walmart Canada at Hillside Shopping Centre in Victoria, BC (Image: Walmart Canada)Walmart Canada at Hillside Shopping Centre in Victoria, BC (Image: Walmart Canada)Walmart Canada at Hillside Shopping Centre in Victoria, BC (Image: Walmart Canada)Walmart Canada at Hillside Shopping Centre in Victoria, BC (Image: Walmart Canada)
John Fluevog & Zandra Rhodes (Photo courtesy of John Fluevog Shoes)
With the tagline “unique soles for unique souls since 1970”, independent Canadian footwear designer and retailer John Fluevog is known globally for thinking well outside the shoebox. His long-time faithful fans, known as Fluevogers, plus celebrity clients that include Madonna and of course Dr. Bonnie Henry, all share an appreciation that John unapologetically designs what he loves.
Free-spirited Mr. Fluevog kicked off his career in the 60s at Vancouver’s Sheppard’s Shoes, and by 1970 he and fellow co-worker Peter Fox opened Fox and Fluevog in historic Gastown. Ten years later the two parted ways and John went solo. The 80s brought us his landmark Angel Soles, made from 100% natural latex harvested from the Hevea Tree, and that still have the famous message on the sole: “Resists alkali, water, acid, fatigue and Satan”. His retail business grew by opening boutiques around the globe and a thriving e-commerce site.
British textiles and fashion designer Dame Zandra Rhodes celebrated her 50th year in fashion in 2019 with a retrospective exhibition at the Fashion and Textile Museum, which she founded in London, and a book published by Yale. With her signature hot pink bob, bold style and love of vivid colour, Ms. Rhodes has dressed Freddie Mercury, Diana Ross, and Princess Diana plus collaborated with brands like Valentino, Topshop, and M•A•C Cosmetics, including a collection for IKEA in 2021.
The Fluevog x Zandra Rhodes collection unveiled in June 2022, and writer Catherine Dunwoody had the opportunity to sit down with both designers to chat.
John Fluevog & Zandra Rhodes (Photo courtesy of John Fluevog Shoes)
Zandra, were you familiar with John Fluevog shoes, prior to working together?
Zandra: Many years ago, I was first introduced to the magical name Fluevog when I was in New York doing an appearance at Henri Bendel, and one of my lovely customers said, “you must come into this shop in Soho.” I went in and bought a pair with a buckle, in green suede, and I had this green suit to go with it that I had made. The shoes were like nothing I had ever seen before. They were fabulous. And comfortable. I had them in my London flat, and one Christmas I was away for a week. I have double locks, but someone had burgled and entered from the roof. The only thing they took were the green shoes, because they couldn’t get out the front door to take the television and other big things down. But my shoes went. (laughs)
How did you two meet and when?
John: We are two birds of a feather, two soul mates, because we…
Zandra: Lived thru the 60s! (laughs)
John: (laughs) And 70s, and 80s and 90s. We lived through all these decades. So, there’s one: if you lived through it. And 2: if you lived through it in the fashion business. And 3: we are both independents. It’s a rare thing. My wife and I went over to London last year and met Zandra in her lovely building and went to her lovely studio which is completely ‘Zanderized’ with stuff she loves. Her workspace is abundant.
John Fluevog & Zandra Rhodes (Photo courtesy of John Fluevog Shoes)
Like a candy box, I am sure.
John: Absolutely. So, an agent got in touch with us about collaborating, and we thought ok…but I think for both of us when we are approached with an idea it’s not something you jump into immediately, it has to work for both parties. The process has to be fun. There are a lot of bits and pieces that go into this. Special buckles and molds are made, all the prints have to be the right size, the trims, we have to really be on the same page. We both have to let it go a bit and watch what happens.
Zandra: Plus, we are both surrounded by exciting staff.
John: Yes, we do have great staff. And I feel very privileged that a guy from Vancouver can connect …
Zandra: With a girl from London (laughs)
John: I mean, Zandra was just with the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, she was riding with seven other Dames of repute.
What came first, the shoe styles or the colours and fabrics?
John: We started with a few of the iconic shapes I had done that are recognizable as Fluevog. Then
Zandra added her twist – her prints, her wiggles. I am very pleased to honour her in her work that she spent a lifetime doing.
John Fluevog and Zandra Rhodes collaborate on Spring/Summer ’22 capsule collection (Image: Dustin Fuhs)
It sounds like you have some shared sensibilities, yes?
Zandra: I think we are both prepared to stick our neck out and try things, that are not going to look like anyone else’s.
John: And we are still relevant after all these years, which is unusual, and I think it needs to be said that we both work hard.
Zandra: I think both of us are on a different wavelength than others. I would never put us in ‘fast fashion’ for instance. I think we are producing an unusual product that people either like, or don’t like.
John: If I was in fast fashion, I probably wouldn’t be in business today. If I tried to follow every trend like a madman, I would be super stressed years ago, and out of business. It’s finding your own voice, your own sensibility which is very different from just following trends. I’m not bragging when I say this but it’s not easy to have your own energy that is picked up around the world and recognized like ‘that’s a Zandra Rhodes, and that’s a Fluevog’. If you follow what’s inside of you and what gives you energy, it works. I still like looking at shoes because they still give me a thrill.
Zandra: I think fashion is going to change. I don’t think the world with its resources, can keep thinking we’ve got to produce something and then 6 months later it’s out of fashion. I don’t think the resources can cope with that anyway. I can’t cope with that either.
John: With Zandra’s pieces you can pull out something that you bought thirty years ago, and they look great depending on what you mix and match together. I am with Zandra in that I don’t like making shoes that you’re going to throw away or feel odd in a year from now, like ‘that’s so last year’. I want to produce things that look beautiful, that people say ‘those are wonderful, where did you get those?’ and that are special. Shoes you keep and that are not disposable.
John Fluevog & Zandra Rhodes (Photo courtesy of John Fluevog Shoes)
John, how many stores are you at are now globally?
John: 24. We shrunk slightly during Covid, but I’m still in business.
Any interesting plans with the new 4th Avenue store in Vancouver?
John: We designed that store to do events, we planned it for that. We like to do charity events, it’s aways fun for us as a company and for my wife and I both. Sometimes business is business, and you can get all ‘whatever’ about it but at the end of the day if you are giving back to the community and there are things we can do to share and to give. There’s that human pleasure in just living, that you did something good. That means something to me.
Any plans for new stores or initiatives?
John: We are always looking and thinking. Our New York store moved a few blocks away during Covid because of rent situations, and needless to say the internet is far reaching. We have this thing called International Fluevog Day every May 15th. It’s our day of random acts of kindness. Every year we have a celebration, and all our products are 15% off. Then we randomly give away a free pair of shoes to every 51st customer who shops on the internet. I ring the majority of them, and say something like “hi Mary, this is John Fluevog” and most of the time they think the store is calling them (laughs) and “did you know its IFD today? Well, your shoes are free.” It’s fun right?
Any presence in film or television lately?
John: We did a boot for the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds series, everyone in the cast wears it as part of their uniform. We’ll make it available to the public later as part of the fall/winter ’22 collection.
The John Fluevog x Zandra Rhodes Collection is available in stores and online.
