Shoppers Drug Mart at 728 Yonge Street (corner of Charles Street) on Friday, August 13 2021. Photo: Craig Patterson
Toronto-based Shoppers Drug Mart is expanding its base of managed in-store medical clinics after launching four locations in the Toronto area. The retailer says that it will expand the clinics across Ontario this year and the initiative is likely to expand into other provinces if the clinics are successful.
The Health Clinic by Shoppers™ is described as being a primary-care and family practice clinic that provides patients with convenient, one-stop access to medical services and advice. So far four locations are open with three of those in Toronto and one nearby in Whitby — that includes a downtown Toronto location on the third floor of the Shoppers Drug Mart store at the southwest corner of Yonge and Charles Streets as well as Shoppers Drug Mart stores at 770 Lawrence Avenue West near the Yorkdale Shopping Centre, 1995 Weston Road in Weston and Kendalwood Park Plaza in Whitby.
Jeff Leger
Three more locations are confirmed in Ontario with two being in Ottawa and another in Kingston.
“We know Canadians want and need more from their primary care. The world changed quickly and dramatically over the last year, highlighting the need for more accessible healthcare options for patients – including extended hours and more convenient locations for in-person services, and virtual care services for all patients including those who don’t currently have a family physician,” said Jeff Leger, President, Shoppers Drug Mart. “Since May 2020, our Toronto locations have been meeting those needs, through more than 20,000 patient visits. Bringing the Health Clinic to new markets will allow us to make healthcare more accessible for more Ontarians.”
The Health Clinic at 3 Charles Street West in Toronto on Friday, August 13 2021. Photo: Craig Patterson
The clinics host a suite of family medicine services with an aim to make healthcare more accessible for patients with extended operating hours and increased technology such as online appointment booking and virtual care options through Medeo® solutions and electronic health records via the AccuroEMR® platform.
With case counts rising across the country and with the more transmissible and deadlier Delta variant, retailers can no longer dodge the issue of vaccination standards.
In July 2021, Best Retail Careers International Inc. in partnership with Retail Insider conducted a survey with hundreds of responses about how retail employees feel about return to work and vaccines. The findings were very interesting.
Retail is eager to open fully. Retail workers are eager to get back to work except 68% of them are worried about returning to work with unvaccinated co-workers and customers. It’s such a big issue many are delaying making themselves available for rehire and retailers are in a near panic to find staff. It really isn’t the availability of CERB type funding and a laziness to work. The core issue is fear. The longer this pandemic goes on, the more resistant people are to accept front-line jobs.
HOW DO EMPLOYERS COPE WITH THIS NEW REALITY?
The law says employers have to provide a safe environment in every way, but it has stopped short of demanding vaccination proof. As more and more jurisdictions globally are implementing mandatory proof of vaccination for public facing jobs, Canada is stuck in limbo with a fear of igniting political strife over the issue. We have New York City jumping right in: no vaccination = no entry to restaurants, clubs, theatres, or any other public arena.
We have Alberta tossing open the doors with its ‘let’s see what happens’ policies. We have British Columbia only slightly more restricted while we have Quebec leading the charge with vaccination passports. What’s missing is leadership at the Federal and Provincial level that is consistent across the country about vaccination status.
HOW DOES THIS TRANSLATE OVERALL?
Nearly every poll from every source indicates that the Canadian public wants protection from COVID-19. They want to know they are safe inside stores. They want vaccinated staff. The public wants it even more than the workers want it. The weak job gain in July of only 94,000 positions isn’t no jobs. It is people refusing to return to work.
Retail cannot avoid the policy issue any longer. The law will say you can’t force people to get vaccinated. Fine. However, what are the rules on terminating people who are unvaccinated? It’s a tough call. The obvious solution is to implement a policy of 100% vaccinated for all new hires and give existing staff a window to comply as well.
Could a business get sued? Possibly. Is it likely? Not really. COVID is changing so rapidly by the time a wrongful termination case gets to court, we may well have mandatory vaccination rules in place.
Theprimary issue retailers have to face is creating a clear and sensible COVID workplace policy. Get creative — give rewards for vaccination. Continue the mask mandate with or without government approval. Talk to your employees or potential ones, and ask the same survey questions we did—and implement policy that speaks to their concerns.
At stake is the restoration of retail sales as we knew them. The longer staff stay away, the worse those numbers will be. Retailers must not sit back and wait for governments to create their policies.If there was ever a time for retail to take a leadership position, it is now. Find your best solution and make it public. Attracting new staff will be easier if they know your policy and how you intend to keep people safe in your stores.
For more information on our survey or how we can help with retail staffing requirements, please contact Suzanne Sears at suzanne@brcareers.com.
*Partner content. To work with Retail Insider, email: craig@retail-insider.com
The overriding theme of the 21st Century is accelerated change. Yet one industry remains curiously mired in archaic beliefs and practices, dating back decades. Advertising.
That’s the philosophy of one of North America’s leading marketing engagement agencies – Cult which is based in Calgary.
“Companies are still stubbornly hunting target audiences, unaware they should be making targets of themselves. They continue wasting obscene amounts of money on media campaigns and markdowns, oblivious to the fact that the biggest return on investment is to be had by making their products, programs and people more remarkable. They shout ever more loudly into a jaded void, rather than interacting with those who really matter,” says the company on its website.
“At Cult, we know that true customer engagement isn’t about getting people to buy — it’s about getting them to buy in. We understand that when customers get involved, contributing their voice, and not just their dollars, they are worth their weight in gold. We know that cult brands spend as much effort fostering their culture and engaging employees, as they do attracting customers. And we believe that, in a world with too many choices and too little time, companies without highly engaged, devoted followers, both inside and out, are destined to drift into irrelevance.”
Image: Cult Collective LP Facebook
Some brands have been successful over the years in building a cult following. Brands like Coca Cola, Harley-Davidson. Chris Kneeland, CEO and Partner of Cult, adds retailers like Home Depot, Lush, lululemon, Zappos.
Chris Kneeland
“Cult is just a provocative label for a business that’s reaping above average benefits from word of mouth – what we like to say advocacy. The majority of businesses are chasing awareness which is why they spend so much money on advertising. They think that if people just know us more the likelihood of them shopping us goes up,” said Kneeland.
“Cult brands certainly want awareness but they’re realizing the best way to become aware of a business isn’t through an ad but through a referral – somebody talking and championing on their behalf. That’s why we like the metaphor of cults. Cults much like religion or fraternities, they grow more by word of mouth. That’s the single biggest symptom. There’s a bunch of other little things about the engagement of their employees, about how they spend money, about how they don’t have to bribe people with discounts as often.
“So cult brands tend to be either a premium price point, a few notable exceptions like Costco and Target, but most cult brands from Porsche to Apple to Starbucks are kind of in the premiumness of their category.”
Kneeland said becoming a cult brand is not the hard part – it’s not like it’s a secret – but the biggest challenge is the idea that good is the enemy of great. Most businesses are content getting customers. Most bosses get promoted when they grow their revenue.
“Chasing some I think inferior metrics that prevent people from transcending from good to great,” said Kneeland.
Image: Cult Collective LP
“The single biggest thing is what do you truly desire. Are you just trying to be successful or are you trying to be significant? Most businesses are pretty content just being successful.” But he says there is a degree of prosperity that can be much more fulfilling.
“Businesses should exist for more than just the creation of profit. I think businesses should exist for the prosperity of mankind and cult brands are so adored not only because their purpose is greater but because they’re the exception.”
Kneeland said it becomes more difficult to become a cult brand the more stakeholders are involved. The higher the frequency of use by customers the higher the potential for a brand to have a cult following.
According to Cult, here are eight points to become a cult brand – some common traits that enable brands to better connect with customers:
Be Remarkable
“Too many businesses have commoditized offerings and must shout (i.e. paid media) or bribe (i.e. discounts) in order to be noticed. But cult brands create products, services and/or customer experiences that are actually worthy of people’s attention. They are more substance than sizzle and do at least one thing so exceptionally well that their fans can’t help but talk about it.”
Have Purpose
“Every business exists to generate profit, but cult brands also live by a noble brand purpose. Audiences often care more about what a brand stands for than what it sells, so cult brands have mastered how they weave their desirable ethos into their audience engagement strategies.”
Build from the Inside Out
“Cult brand leaders understand that no company can become beloved externally if it’s not first beloved internally. They prioritize culture and redeploy marketing resources away from advertising and margin-eroding sales promotions into a host of properly executed internal engagement pursuits.”
Co-Create
“Mediocre brands emphasize transactional relationships via creative messaging and media plans, whereas cult brands have learned how to shut up and listen. Cult brand leaders systematize how they solicit customer input and gain actionable insights, as well as how they encourage customers to amplify word of mouth.”
Congregate
“Cult brand leaders find creative ways for their fans to assemble together, virtually or physically. Whether it’s supporting third party-initiated activations or developing desirable destinations for followers to partake in elevated branded experiences, they make it easy for followers to gather and revel in their togetherness.”
Create Rites & Rituals
“Cult followers want to feel like insiders, knowing things and enjoying access that others don’t. Cult brand leaders spend less time creating marketing communications and more time creating lexicons, traditions, symbols and privileges that help best customers feel like valued members of an exclusive club.”
Be Relatable
“Cult followers treat specific businesses like close friends and seek out brand personalities and value systems that align with their own personal preferences. Cult brands perfect how they personify human attributes, and consistently bring their relatable persona to life across all aspects of the customer journey.”
Pick a Fight
“Cult brand leaders target the alienated and intentionally appeal to those who want to separate themselves from the mainstream. A large number of cult brands provocatively challenge market leaders and attempt to derail the establishment that is more comfortable playing it safe by trying to please everyone.”
Last week we reported that the Hudson’s Bay Company is separating its physical store and online businesses. It’s now officially online as the retailer’s website now shows ‘The Bay’ as being the official name of the site utilizing the same font as what’s seen on most updated Hudson’s Bay department stores in Canada.
The Bay website features a simple and upscale look that might confuse those not familiar with the retailer into thinking that it’s something of a luxury store. A section at the top of the website marked ‘Designers’ showcases some of the world’s biggest luxury brands such as Balmain, Oscar de la Renta, Thom Browne, Moschino and others.
Those designer brands are only available at The Room at Hudson’s Bay in Toronto (Queen Street) and Vancouver (Downtown) while some suburban stores are in another world in terms of having limited designer offerings in non-luxurious settings.
We’ll be providing updates regularly on the Hudson’s Bay Company and what it is doing with its Canadian stores as the retailer continues to transition its business model.
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.
