Construction signage for APM Monaco at CF Pacific Centre (October 2021). Photo: Nicholas Fane /GetintheLoop
The new APM Monaco store at CF Pacific Centre will join the APM Monaco location at CF Richmond Centre near Vancouver which opened in the spring of 2019 as well as Calgary at CF Chinook Centre and Edmonton at West Edmonton Mall which opened earlier this year. The Calgary APM Monaco storefront is next to Louis Vuitton and in Edmonton, APM Monaco replaced Stuart Weitzman in a space next to Tiffany & Co.
This brings the total to five Canadian locations with the Canadian flagship for APM Monaco which opened at 89 Bloor Street West in Toronto in the fall of 2017. Montreal is said to be a market where APM Monaco is looking to again expand its Canadian presence.
Kyoto Japan-based coffee brand % Arabica will be opening the first two Canadian locations in Toronto. The first location will open either later this year or early next year at the Yorkdale Shopping Centre, and a location at Union Station will follow.
The Yorkdale location is scheduled to open in December 2021 or January 2022 and will be designed by #no__10 of Nomurakougeisha. The storefront will be in a space that opened as a David’s Tea in 2016. When David’s shuttered the majority of retail locations last year, the Yorkdale space was leased by T. Kettle pre-pandemic and that storefront recently closed. Construction is now underway for the new % Arabica location that will span nearly 1,000 square feet on one level.
“We are a part of the third wave coffee experience, with our very own coffee farms located in Hawaii in addition to other international selections,” shared a spokesperson from % Arabica. “Since debuting our first cafe in Japan six years ago, we have grown % Arabica to an astonishing 101 global outlets in 17 countries.”
% Toronto Yorkdale concept design
% Arabica will also be joining a roster of notable tenants at Toronto’s Union Station, which is being described as the most significant retail development in Downtown Toronto since the opening of CF Toronto Eaton Centre in 1977.
“We had a vision of growing % Arabica across unique lands and cultures of the world, so that everyone can “See the World Through Coffee”,” shared a spokesperson.
“We are so thrilled to be coming to Canada with one of our locations landing inside Toronto’s iconic Union Station. We are excited to share our love for coffee and design with the Canadian market and offer a truly unique coffee experience.”
% Toronto Union Station (Photo by Dustin Fuhs)
The Union Station location for % Arabica is scheduled to open in 2022.
Founder & Creative Director Kenneth Shoji shared his story and philosophy on %.
“I truly need an amazing cup of coffee every day. This is why I founded % Arabica.”
“So to create the best coffee possible, I borrowed money and bought a coffee farm in Hawaii. I also started trading green beans from around the world and became the sole-exporter of a Japanese roasting machine along with the distributor of one of the best espresso machines in the world. Then in September 2014, I opened the flagship store in the beautiful historic city of Kyoto, Japan.”
“We only live once, so let’s explore the world we live in, set goals, and enjoy our time together over an amazing cup of coffee.”
In the United States, there is currently only one location for % Arabica in New York City.
A cross-Canada store expansion is planned for the brand with more details to follow.
Florida-based sandwich shop, Jon Smith Subs, has opened its first Canadian location in Calgary with plans to significantly grow the brand across the country.
Jim Butler
The foodservice company began operations in 1988 with its first location in West Palm Beach.
Jon Smith started the company and grew it to a chain of sub shops in Palm Beach County, Florida.
“He had that until probably five, six years ago. We partnered up with him and then we took over the franchising rights outside of Palm Beach County. We’ve been franchising for only about four years. We have 25 locations that are up and operational. We have about 42 that are in development right now and we’re in five countries – UK, Canada, US, Panama and Colombia,” said Jim Butler, Brand President of Jon Smith Subs.
Image: Jon Smith Subs
“We’re in the fast casual sector. Everything is cooked to order. So you come in, you place your order at the front counter and we’re going to be actually cooking it right in front of you. You can see your order being cooked. We also are unique as far as the fries are concerned. Most sub shops they have the potato chips or things to that degree. We added fries to our menu items.
“The biggest thing is we’re a national company but we want to localize the brand so no matter where you are in the world you’re going to have your local specialty that we actually have on the menu in some capacity.”
The brand is set to open an additional 25 to 30 locations throughout Alberta in the next five years with anticipated growth into other Canadian markets beginning in 2022.
The new location in Calgary is part of a master franchise agreement with an Alberta company co-owned by local Calgary residents Gurbinder Singh, an established IT and business professional, and Amrinder Cheema, an operations practitioner. Singh and Cheema both have family history in the restaurant business and share a passion for delivering exceptional quality food and service to the community.
Image: Jon Smith Subs
“We are thrilled to be bringing Jon Smith Subs to Canada and look forward to offering the community a fresh alternative in the sandwich category with our specialty subs,” said Singh. “Our approach to every aspect of the Jon Smith Subs experience is to not only provide our guests with delicious, fresh subs, but also to create a warm and welcoming environment with a focus on excellent guest service. Our team is ready and excited to show Calgary what Jon Smith Subs is all about.”
Butler said the company recently completed its redesign and rebrand and the Calgary store is the first one in the chain with the prototype new look.
“We plan on growing of course across Canada. We’ve got a lot of activity and interest as well as domestically. We are part of a much larger organization called United Franchise Group which is a 35-year-old company and we already have our inroads into Canada with many of our brands already,” he said.
Image: Jon Smith Subs
Image: Jon Smith Subs
Image: Jon Smith Subs
Its affiliated family of brands include Signarama, Fully Promoted, Experimax, Jon Smith Subs, Transworld Business Advisors, Accurate Franchising, Venture X, The Great Greek Mediterranean Grill, Network Lead Exchange, Resource Operations International (ROI) and Graze Craze.
“In a five-year window I’m hoping to, in Canada alone, to be anywhere between 75 and 100 locations,” added Butler.
“The uniqueness of us is we predominantly focus on the hot subs. People like the fact that it’s cooked to order, the freshness and also the ability to localize our brand in no matter what country, especially Canada. We can give the feel that we are a local brand. Even though we’re nationalized we want people to feel we are that neighbourhood sub shop. Our tag line is love local, eat delicious.”
The David Sobey Centre for Innovation in Retailing & Services is hosting the fifth annual National Retail Innovation Awards on the afternoon of October 28, 2021. The virtual event is free to attend and Retail Insider readers are invited.
The event takes place from 4:00-5:30pm Atlantic Time, or 3:00pm-4:30pm Eastern Time/Noon-1:30pm Pacific Time. [Register Here]
The National Retail Innovation Awards was created in 2017 and it recognizes up-and-coming retailers, or companies supporting the retail sector, for their innovation and unique contribution to Canadian retailing over the past year. Join the David Sobey Centre as it celebrates the achievements of four impressive companies who have demonstrated retail excellence in the categories of Retail Design, Sustainability, Technology and Community Service.
This year’s keynote speaker is Neil Hoyne, Chief Measurement Strategist at Google. He has led over 2,500 engagements with the world’s biggest advertiser, helping them acquire millions of customers, improve conversion rates by over 400%, and generate billions in incremental revenue. In his upcoming book Converted: The Data-Driven Way to Win Customers’ Hearts (Penguin Random House, 2022), he shows us how to sharpen our long-term marketing strategy and unleash true value.
Normally an in-person luncheon ceremony in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the awards had to pivot to a virtual live stream in 2020 due to the pandemic. To register, visit this link.
*Retail Insider partnered with the David Sobey Centre for this announcement.
Kitchen Stuff Plus at 400 King Street West (Photo by Dustin Fuhs)
Ontario-based housewares & home decor discount retailer Kitchen Stuff Plus will be closing its store at 400 King Street West in downtown Toronto. Signage indicating the closure went up this week.
The 22,000 square foot location became available as a temporary space for Kitchen Stuff Plus after MEC moved its flagship to 300 Queen Street West in April 2019. Kitchen Stuff Pluss announced in January 2020 that the store would open in the 300 King location in February – a month before the COVID-19 pandemic began. They stock a wide range of supplies from grey kitchen cabinets to the latest trends in kitchen faucets, appliances, and home organization.
With the construction of “Pure Plaza“, a 47-storey BDP Quadrangle-designed residential condominium building due to commence, the existing long-term retail tenants at 400 King had relocated or closed in the recent years and saw a number of short-term pop-ups.
Kitchen Stuff Plus at 400 King Street West (Photo by Dustin Fuhs)
These included The Detox Market, which took over for Timothy’s Coffee in 2015. Sportley, which moved in to The Adventure Travel location in 2019 and the aforementioned housewares retailer which opened in the former MEC space.
Toronto sports fans would recognize the “Sportley” brand as being the neighbour of Tim Hortons at 322 King Street, at the northwest corner of King & John Street.
Signage on Kitchen Stuff Plus is directing customers to the Liberty Village location, which opened in 2012 and is “9 streetcar stops! 10 minute drive! 30 minute walk!” from the current King & Peter store.
Kitchen Stuff Plus has 24 locations in southern Ontario, including a location at Yonge & Bloor, Orfus Road at Dufferin and on the Danforth at Pape.
Additional Photos from Kitchen Stuff Plus on King Street
Kitchen Stuff Plus at 400 King Street West (Photo by Dustin Fuhs)Kitchen Stuff Plus at 400 King Street West (Photo by Dustin Fuhs)Kitchen Stuff Plus at 400 King Street West (Photo by Dustin Fuhs)Kitchen Stuff Plus at 400 King Street West (Photo by Dustin Fuhs)Kitchen Stuff Plus at 400 King Street West (Photo by Dustin Fuhs)Kitchen Stuff Plus at 400 King Street West (Photo by Dustin Fuhs)Kitchen Stuff Plus at 400 King Street West (Photo by Dustin Fuhs)Kitchen Stuff Plus at 400 King Street West (Photo by Dustin Fuhs)Kitchen Stuff Plus at 400 King Street West (Photo by Dustin Fuhs)
Last March, when the pandemic surprised us all by closing small businesses across the country, many retailers quickly realized the importance of having a digital strategy.
Until COVID, adoption of digital technology was comparatively slow, with less than 30% of SMBs offering eCommerce and less than 25% investing in digital marketing.
Today, as more national and local retailers turned to e-commerce, delivery, and digital tools like GetintheLoop to stay in touch and ultimately find ways to stay in business, the commercial landscape has seemingly changed forever.
The Shop Local Movement Made Real
Rosedale BIA Supporting Local – Photo by Dustin Fuhs
In early April, I realized the shop local trend would become a massive movement. Fortunately, our shop local platform and platoon of entrepreneurs were well-positioned to step up and make a difference for thousands of businesses in communities across the country.
At the time, it seemed like we were riding a trend of consumers who now truly cared about supporting local businesses. While at the same time, companies had to adapt overnight to using more digital tools to attract and engage with local customers.
After 18-months on a pandemic roller-coaster, it’s become clear that this is not a trend but rather a deepening of the shop local movement. A movement that I believe is key to our local business communities surviving and thriving.
As Canada’s shop local platform, we are at the core of what’s happening with local businesses in communities across the country. Here are a few indicators that tell me the shop local movement is here to stay.
Business Adoption
An average of 10% of retailers ever created local eCommerce offers on GetintheLoop. Today, local eCommerce offers have bloomed with over 40% of our partners having now created an eCommerce offer on our platform.
According to the 5th Small and Medium Business Trends Report conducted by The Harris Poll this summer, now 63% of SMBs offer eCommerce, with another 14% planning to add eCommerce to their strategy over the next 12 months.
The driving factors for adopting this technology have been to continue serving customers safely, customer convenience, and remaining competitive.
Savvy, scrappy, solution-minded business owners are meeting their customers where they want to be met, and today that’s on their phone, whether it’s to discover, pre-order, or pay.
In all, 72% of small businesses have increased their online presence, and here at GetintheLoop, we have seen our platform partners grow 600% to over 6,000 companies across Canada over the past 18 months.
Consumer Growth & Engagement
During the pandemic, as consumers were discouraged from going out unnecessarily or businesses locked down, we observed that in-store consumer traffic quickly became online traffic.
Digital-ready businesses benefited, including those on GetintheLoop. We saw member engagement in our app increase by 400% during the periods of the pandemic, as consumers sought information on businesses in their community and how they could support them.
The Rise of Collaboration and Strategic Partnerships
Image: GetintheLoop
When the chips are down, more often than not, people pull together. The pandemic has spawned numerous collaborations and strategic partnerships across North America, supporting small businesses and their communities.
Organizations like supportlocalbc.com, which has helped keep cash flowing for small businesses in BC through the pandemic by facilitating the sale of over 1M in gift cards, have sprouted from the grassroots.
Digital Main Street, a Government collaboration that originated in Ontario and has grown to multiple provinces, has also served as a template for others to mobilize funds and training for small businesses.
At GetintheLoop, we recognized the value of collaboration early on, partnering with dozens of BIAs and Chambers of Commerce to support and promote their business members and help execute digital shop local events like the annual Jaywalkers Jamboree in Camrose, Alberta. BIAs and Chambers also stream local community offers to their websites to add value and help connect their members with local consumers.
This year we partnered with BenefitHub, the world’s largest employee lifestyle benefits company, as their members have expressed their desire for local offers and the ability to support local businesses. We also recently announced a partnership with Retail Insider to bring the publication’s business and consumer audience closer together.
It seems everyone understands the importance and value of connecting to “local”, and these are a few creative collaborations and partnerships empowering the local shop movement.
Investment
The Government has invested millions of dollars in supporting local businesses through the pandemic because they’re essential to our local economies.
Local businesses continue to undergo an accelerated digital transformation as they invest in new technology and tools at a pace over 18 months of the pandemic equaling the entire prior decade.
Or let’s talk in terms of capital investment. Since the pandemic began, 45 entrepreneurs across the country invested their financial resources and own time to help further build their communities by becoming GetintheLoop franchise owners signaling a grassroots upswell of demand for local businesses. (These Entrepreneurs and their passion for local is what gets me out of bed excited every day!)
Long term change
The 2021 Harris Poll also validates my belief that many of the changes brought on by the pandemic will remain long-term.
According to the study, 75 percent of small business owners think the operational shifts they’ve made during the pandemic will benefit them long term.
For example, 91% of retailers expect to offer contactless services after the pandemic. GetintheLoop for Business partners have access to our digital loyalty system. The system enables businesses to create contactless ‘punch cards’ and has become one of the fastest-growing features in GetintheLoop.
But more importantly, communities everywhere have demonstrated how committed they are to local businesses, with people often going out of their way, paying more, and waiting longer for goods they could have otherwise received much quicker by shopping online. The pandemic has raised the collective consciousness of consumers and the value of shopping their local downtown or shopping centre that employs thousands of people in their community.
At GetintheLoop, our mission is to make it easier to shop locally, while giving businesses easy and affordable digital tools to reach those consumers that want to support them. We’re excited for what the future holds.
Matt Crowell
Contact our team if you’re a business with a brick-and-mortar location and would like to learn more about how GetintheLoop can help you connect to nearby consumers.
If you’re an entrepreneur and are interested in bringing GetintheLoop to your city, reach out to our franchise team.
Matt Crowell is the Founder & CEO of Kelowna-based GetintheLoop, a shop local community that delivers consumers more ways to explore, discover and shop local, wherever they are.
Gucci Construction Signage at Fairmont Hotel Vancouver (Oct 2021). Photo: Shanon Thornley (LinkedIn).
Retail Insider reported in July 2021 that Italian luxury brand Gucci will renovate and expand its standalone downtown Vancouver store at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver.
Construction signage is now up on the store which will be substantially larger when it reopens in 2022.
GUCCI interior entrance at Fairmont Hotel Vancouver (June 2021). Photo: Lee Rivett.
Former interior Gucci entrance with construction hoarding erected at Fairmont Hotel Vancouver (September 2021). Photo: Lee Rivett.
Gucci Construction Signage at Fairmont Hotel Vancouver (Oct 2021). Photo: Shanon Thornley (LinkedIn).
The current 3,900 square foot Gucci store, which opened in the Hotel Vancouver in 2006, is annexing the 2,300 square foot Omega store next to it to create a flagship-sized 6,200 square foot location to house Gucci’s entire collection of ready-to-wear for women and men as well as bags, accessories, footwear, jewellery and other categories.
The current Gucci store does not carry the men’s ready-to-wear line which is available nearby at Vancouver’s Holt Renfrew store.
The expanded Hotel Vancouver store will feature Gucci’s most updated store concept that was recently rolled out with new Gucci stores at West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton and a renovated Bloor Street flagship store in Toronto. Interiors will be plush with velvet, marble and wood.
