Cartier in The Colonnade - Image by Craig Patterson
French luxury conglomerate Richemont is investing heavily in the Canadian market with three significant store announcements. Two involve renovations/expansions and one involves an entirely new location.
At The Colonnade at 131 Bloor Street West in Toronto, Cartier is completely rebuilding its 4,300 square foot storefront which will reopen to the public in November of this year. The store will feature the brand’s most updated design and will be a showpiece for the prestigious street. Top clients have been privately invited to a suite at the nearby Hazelton Hotel in the meantime as construction to the Bloor Street flagship is ongoing.
At Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre, Cartier will temporarily shut its 3,500 square foot store for a complete overhaul next year that will include a new look as well as an expansion. UK-based luxury brand Mulberry, which shut its two Toronto stores last year, had a 2,250 square foot storefront next to Cartier — half of the Mulberry space has been leased to Cartier which will unveil the expanded location in 2022. Italian luxury jeweller Bulgari, located on the other side of the former Mulberry space, will also expand its 1,930 square foot store by annexing the other half of the Mulberry space for its own store expansion.
Cartier and the Former MULBERRY location at Yorkdale (Photo by Dustin Fuhs)
In Vancouver, Cartier confirmed with Retail Insider that the retailer will be opening a new storefront at 755 Burrard Street with frontage onto Alberni Street. Richemont bought the 3,200 square foot commercial strata several years ago and construction on the new Cartier store is expected to begin soon with a store opening expected for 2022. The opening of the corporate store will coincide with the shuttering of the licensed Cartier boutique at 456 Howe Street in the city’s ‘Heritage District’ which has lost most of its luxury stores following a shift to the Alberni Street ‘Luxury Zone’ where Cartier will be relocating.
Richemont’s investments in Canada signal confidence in this market as well as confidence in the future of brick-and-mortar retail following challenging times during the pandemic.
IKEA Construction - The Aura at College Park . Photo: Dustin Fuhs
Swedish home furnishing retailer IKEA has begun construction on its future urban format location in The Aura at College Park in Toronto. It will become the first location of its kind in Canada for the retailer occupying a smaller footprint than other stores over multiple levels.
According to the new Ikea.ca/torontodowntown webpage, the store is projected to open in early 2022. With the format being designed to cater to downtown Toronto’s 300,000 residents, the retailer has decided on a more seamless experience.
The 66,175 square-foot location will feature more than 2,000 IKEA products for purchase and immediate takeaway, while larger items will be on display and available for home delivery.
According to IKEA, the store will offer a “unique new food concept”, while also providing other services to “support a seamless shopping experience”.
IKEA Construction – The Aura at College Park . Photo: Dustin FuhsImage: IKEA
The website also shares a link to a jobs portal, which as of publishing has not listed any roles in the new store.
“The acquisition of the Aura Retail Podium marks our entry into the Canadian market,” said Cindy Andersen, Ingka Centres Managing Director. “Downtown Toronto is a super connected and dynamic place where people live, work, study and come to meet and have fun. It is in line with our strategic vision to invest in urban locations and to be closer to our customers”.
IKEA has continued to open smaller format stores in major markets globally, with Toronto being the next to showcase the format.
Additional Images from The Aura (Photos: Dustin Fuhs)
The Aura at College Park. Photo: Dustin FuhsIKEA Construction – The Aura at College Park . Photo: Dustin FuhsIKEA Construction Exterior of Aura Retail Podium. Photo: Dustin FuhsIKEA Construction – The Aura at College Park . Photo: Dustin FuhsIKEA Construction – The Aura at College Park . Photo: Dustin FuhsIKEA Construction – The Aura at College Park . Photo: Dustin Fuhs
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Miami-based sleep fitness concept Eight Sleep has launched in Canada. The company is described as being the world’s first sleep fitness brand and its mission is to facilitate potential through optimal sleep.
Eight Sleep says that it is currently the only mattress that actively regulates temperature and it features patented hydro-powered cooling technology as well as an advanced health and wellness tracking system for users.
Products include the Eight Sleep Pod, Pod Pro Cover and Pod Pro in the form of mattresses and mattress covers. For those not looking to replace their current mattresses, the Pod Pro Cover technology is optimal and Retail Insider had the opportunity to test it with considerable success.
The Pod’s Smart Temp 2.0 feature helps users fall asleep faster while the GentleRise™ Wake Up Technology allows users to wake up with temperature and gentle vibration at chest level. The temperature of each side of the Pod can be set separately to anywhere between 55°-110°F or 12° – 43° Celcius.
Sizes of its products range from Full to King. Prices on www.eightsleep.com reflect USD and are the same prices offered to customers south of the border. At checkout, Canadian customers are charged in CAD based on the exchange rate at that moment. Prices in CAD will range from under $2,000 to almost $4,500 depending on the size and model.
All products are available with free shipping as well as no duties or return shipping charges with zero import duties or additional taxes. Payments can be made via credit card or Paybright which is offering three to 24 month financing at 0% APR for qualifying customers for both Pod mattress and Cover orders.
Eight Sleep was founded in 2014, and it leverages thermoregulation, data, and technology to design products to restore an individual to their peak energy levels every morning. Eight Sleep was named one of Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Companies of 2018,” and recognized two years in a row by TIME’s Best Inventions of the Year. Eight Sleep has pioneered sleep performance technology within the health and wellness industry by harnessing scientific data to deliver cutting-edge innovative products that optimize sleep to improve users’ lives.
Vancouver-based jewelry company Melanie Auld will be opening a storefront on Ossington Avenue in Toronto.
Construction hoarding has been installed in preparation for the retailer’s second location.
The Melanie Auld flagship location in Vancouver, which opened in 2019, is an 805 square-foot showroom that features the jewelry collection. In addition, there is also a collection of hand-crafted Murano-glass vessels and ceramics from Italy, the home of Auld’s family.
The Ossington Avenue neighbourhood is undergoing a significant transition, with a number of long-term staples moving out and new brands setting up shop.
Retail Insider recently toured “size?”, which opened its Canadian flagship at 1000 Queen Street West at the corner of Queen and Ossington this summer. Sundays Furniture (also from Vancouver) has set up a pop-up in the neighbourhood.
We will be following the expansion of Melanie Auld Jewellers as it expands its operations to Toronto and any future plans.
The Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association has launched a new initiative that allows Vancouverites to get discounts at local coffee shops by creating fake calendar events. It’s part of an effort to attract consumers back to the downtown core after the pandemic saw a reduction in foot traffic.
Nolan Marshall III
When visiting dtvancoupons.com, locals can choose from a number of Google Calendar meeting titles that bring the authenticity of an important reason to get away from the office and gain access to offers.
“COVID-19 caused a drastic decrease in traffic downtown and shrunk the daytime workforce from 116,000 people daily in 2019 to 11,000 people daily in 2020. We saw a great opportunity to encourage Vancouverites to return to downtown by homing in on that one office moment that we all love the most– escaping for happy hour. And in the process, we’re able to support some local businesses that were hit hardest by the pandemic.” says Nolan Marshall III, DVBIA’s President & CEO.
Image: DVBIA
The program is currently set up with six businesses:
Colony Granville
Open Outcry
Gyoza Bar
Cold Tea
Bel Cafe
Hawksworth Restaurant.
The DVBIA represents over 7,000 businesses in a 90-block area in the downtown core.
Owned by entrepreneur Doug Putnam, the brand joins his other retail concepts Sunrise Records and entertainment retailer FYE. Retail Insider did a tour of the 2nd Canadian location of FYE when it opened at CF Toronto Eaton Centre in June 2021.
Retail Insider interviewed Putnam in November 2020 where he shared that the new venture would be taking over 45 vacated leases to start the new T. Kettle brand. With provinces having different strategies to re-open and combat the pandemic, stores in locations such as Alberta and Newfoundland saw openings before other stores in the country.
T. Kettle in Royal Bank Plaza – Photo by Dustin Fuhs
David’s Tea closed its Royal Bank Plaza location in July 2020 in addition to 165 other storefronts, leaving more than a thousand employees unemployed. The company elected to only keep 18 stores after the reorganization, which saw a focus on the retailer’s e-commerce business and grocery partnerships.
The brand kept its CF Toronto Eaton Centre location open while closing the two PATH locations (Royal Bank Plaza and First Canadian Place). David’s Tea also shuttered stores throughout the city, including a street level location on Yonge Street at 10 Dundas, The Hudson’s Bay Centre at Yonge & Bloor Streets and on Queen Street West.
Employees that lost their jobs due to the closure of the stores were part of a large pool of unemployed retail workers as the shutdown came during the peak of the pandemic. Some talent were hired by T. Kettle which saw the opportunity to bring on knowledgable and fully-trained staff from the beginning.
David’s Tea in Royal Bank Plaza – Photo by Dustin Fuhs
David’s Tea in First Canadian Place – Photo by Dustin Fuhs
T. Kettle in Royal Bank Plaza – Photo by Dustin Fuhs
The Royal Bank Plaza location was seen as a high-impact destination pre-pandemic, with direct access to the TTC and the last building commuters would walk through before Union Station.
Over the course of the pandemic the PATH was subjected to a number of government restrictions, including months with non-essential retail being forced to close and then being restricted further with stores that only had external doors being permitted to open.
For most of the last 18-months, the 1,200+ businesses in the 75+ buildings that connect to make the Guinness World Record’s largest underground shopping complex were excluded from conducting in-store sales.
In addition to having a significant drop in traffic, the concourse has been affected by retail tenants deciding to stay closed indefinitely while others have left completely.
T. Kettle in Royal Bank Plaza – Photo by Dustin FuhsT. Kettle in Royal Bank Plaza – Photo by Dustin FuhsT. Kettle in Royal Bank Plaza – Photo by Dustin Fuhs
Outerwear retailer Barrington’s in downtown Oakville may be celebrating this year its 70th anniversary as a company but its roots go back to 1815.
“We were originally furriers and we have been furriers for six generations without interruptions since 1815,” said Paul Barrington. “When my father started the business 70 years ago we only sold fur coats.”
“We’re celebrating our 70th anniversary in retail in Canada. The rest of the history pre-dates to Europe. That’s multi-generational. We’ve been in Oakville in retail for 70 years,” said Brenda Barrington, adding it’s the longest running retail store in Oakville.
The current store, in about 3,500 square feet, is its fourth location in Oakville and the retailer has been there for more than 40 years.
Image: Barrington’s
Paul’s father, Robert, ran the store from its inception until 1991.
“While Paul’s dad was running the store we were entirely a traditional fur store,” said Brenda. “He manufactured all of his own merchandise. Paul’s dad was a well-trained furrier. And in 1991 when we took over the Oakville location we kind of morphed into more of an outerwear presence. We diversified incredibly and broadened our customer base. Broadened our inventory but we’ve also always kept it very focused and specialized. We are just outerwear and accessories that work back into outerwear.
“We don’t sell clothing. We don’t even have fitting rooms. We are a coat store but we’ve certainly broadened our offerings from fur. We carry down coats. We carry cloth coats. We carry leather coats, you name it. If it’s a type of coat, we carry it. We do a lot of slicker rain wear in the spring. We do a big private label line too that’s manufactured for us here in Toronto. It’s a very high end fabric and we have it all made in Toronto exclusively for our store which is a big part of our business too.”
Other items sold in the store include scarves, knitwear and handbags.
Within the last two years both of Barrington’s daughters – Brooke and Carly – joined the company full time. The long-term plan and hope is that they will take over the company in the future.
Image: Barrington’s
“That’s been a real asset especially given the last year because they have really strong social media, e-commerce skills that we have benefited from immensely in the last year and a half,” said Brenda.
Like all retailers and small businesses, the past year and a half due to the COVID-19 pandemic has presented many challenges.
“But because we’re small and independent, we were able to pivot fairly quickly. We adjusted our inventory. We kind of micromanaged our expenses, our inventory, our supply chain, like never before. We joked that we went back to Retail 101. It just became basic, basic retail,” said Brenda. “You just had to watch everything so closely.
“Why we survived is because of our customer base. We were so fortunate. There were two key factors. We have multi-generational customers. That’s what you get after 70 years. You get that depth.
“Before COVID we were in a pretty good position with our e-commerce. It certainly didn’t take off like it did the last year and a half but we went into COVID with a good online website, with a good e-commerce business. We ship across Canada and we have customers in every province. So that really helped. That depth. And they were already using our website.”
Brenda & Paul
(Photo by Chantal Ayotte)
But when COVID hit, that use accelerated and the Barrington’s had their daughters’ skills available to facilitate that demand.
“Our online business while we were in lockdown number one took off. It was really actually very exciting and it was the only positive thing happening in those dark days when we were closed and closures just kept getting extended. We were doing online business. Our customers supported us and our customers pivoted to online,” added Brenda.
“We had customers that had never purchased online with us before, they were always in-store customers, and they started buying online. That has maintained, encouragingly so, because it’s maintained even when we’ve reopened. Our online business is strong and it’s remaining strong even as we’re back into in-store shopping.”
This week Craig speaks with Darren Gonsalves from Genetec on ways retailers are monitoring and protecting their businesses, especially in these tough times compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Weekly podcast by Retail Insider Canada is available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play, or through our dedicated RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.
Discussed this episode:
Darren Gonsalves, Regional Sales Manager-Central Canada at Genetec
Genetec: Leading technology provider of business intelligence, unified physical security, public safety, and operations. Genetec develops open-platform software, hardware and cloud-based services for the physical security and public safety industry. Its flagship product, Security Center, unifies IP-based video surveillance, access control and automatic license plate recognition (ALPR) into one platform. A global innovator since 1997, Genetec is headquartered in Montreal, Canada, and serves enterprise and government organizations via an integrated network of resellers, integrators and consultants in over 80 countries. Genetec was founded on the principle of innovation and remains at the forefront of emerging technologies that unify physical security systems.
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