The Amazing Brentwood location brings the Urban Outfitters store count in the metro Vancouver area up to four. The other three locations being on Granville Street, West 4th and Park Royal.
The chain has approximately 250 stores worldwide and was founded back in 1976. The retailer provides young adults a merchandise mix of women’s and men’s fashion apparel, footwear, beauty and wellness products.
Urban Outfitters is part of the URBN portfolio of brands, which includes Anthropologie, Free People, BHLDN, Terrain, Menus & Venues, and Nuuly.
Additional Photos from Urban Outfitters at The Amazing Brentwood
Urban Outfitters at The Amazing Brentwood – (Photo Credit: The Amazing Brentwood)Urban Outfitters at The Amazing Brentwood – (Photo Credit: The Amazing Brentwood)Urban Outfitters at The Amazing Brentwood – (Photo Credit: The Amazing Brentwood)Urban Outfitters at The Amazing Brentwood – (Photo Credit: The Amazing Brentwood)Urban Outfitters at The Amazing Brentwood – (Photo Credit: The Amazing Brentwood)Urban Outfitters at The Amazing Brentwood – (Photo Credit: The Amazing Brentwood)Urban Outfitters at The Amazing Brentwood – (Photo Credit: The Amazing Brentwood)
A Celine accessory boutique remains open on the main floor of Nordstrom Yorkdale for now — Retail Insider toured the mall last week and is providing updates.
The women’s floor at Nordstrom Yorkdale still has shop-in-stores for brands including Celine, Valentino, Burberry and Dries Van Noten. An Akris boutique also shut last year — when Nordstrom opened in October of 2016, the Yorkdale store boasted six luxury brand ready-to-wear boutiques.
The direct-to-consumer movement could result in more large-format multi-brand stores losing designer shop-in-stores as brands open their own spaces. Nordstrom, specifically, has said that it plans to expand its roster of concessions from about 5% of sales to about 30% which could result in a different customer experience in some Nordstrom stores in the future.
Celine accessory boutique at Nordstrom Yorkdale in July 2021. Photo: Craig Patterson Former Celine fashion boutique at Nordstrom Yorkdale. Photo: Dustin FuhsCeline Construction at Yorkdale – Photo by Dustin Fuhs
With the successful global rollout of vaccines and a subsequent steady decline in positive cases, it appears that the worst that the COVID-19 global pandemic had to offer is finally behind us. As a result, communities in countries the world over continue to remove social restrictions and protocols, allowing people to once again commune and for retailers and other businesses to begin approaching a return to full operations and the recommencement of the experiences they offer customers. As they do, they’ll be adjusting to a new normal, one that sees an entrenched omnichannel, or channel-agnostic, consumer at the heart of everything, and a need for merchants to accelerate their stores’ digital capabilities in order to keep up with their evolving and connected behaviour. To help small businesses compete in the increasingly digitized world, GetintheLoop – Canada’s largest shop local community – has been providing an easy and effective way to digitally attract and retain local customers for more than seven years. And, it’s community just became that much bigger with the announcement of its partnership with BenefitHub – the world’s largest employee lifestyle benefits company.
Expansion and strengthened position
Image: GetintheLoop App
Expanding initially into the United States, the partnership allows GetintheLoop access to BenefitHub’s 17 million global members, 10 million of which are located in the US. And, with plans to launch its innovative SaaS franchise in Nevada and Arizona this month, followed by what Matt Crowell, the company’s Founder and CEO, describes as “rapid and sprawling expansion” throughout the rest of the country, GetintheLoop is poised to play a critical role in the reopening of retail, complementing business’ omnichannel strategies. And, as Crowell points out, the partnership also helps to strengthen the company’s position even further, enabling it to help small businesses realize opportunities around a heightened desire among consumers to shop local and provide the digital tools necessary to connect and engage with them.
“In many ways, the pandemic has had a double-edged effect,” he says. “The pressures that came with it accelerated a number of trends that were already in play, and in turn forced a lot of innovation among retailers and other businesses. It resulted in an amazing show of resilience within the industry and a will to continue growing. While some businesses did not manage to survive, there are others that have only become stronger. They’ve done so by getting closer to the customer and developing a clearer understanding of the ways they are shopping today and aligning their offering to those behaviours. And people are showing a real appetite to shop local and find ways to support their community merchants. When the pandemic first hit, engagement within our app increased significantly, highlighting heightened consumer sentiment around connecting with local businesses.”
Innovative platform and service
Image: Matt Crowell
One of the most innovative digital tools available for retailers today, GetintheLoop complements digital offerings, supporting marketing and communications goals while driving increased engagement and sales. Serving as a platform to showcase content, promotions, special offers, incentives and rewards, it provides an easy-to-use solution for any business, with simple and seamless integration. In addition, GetintheLoop’s technology also generates useful analytics, informing retailer strategies concerning current and future marketing campaigns and offers. And, helping guide businesses through the data is a dedicated centralized support team that works with clients on a monthly basis, assisting in the execution of campaigns and increasing customer attraction and retention via digital means. Available as an app for consumers to download via the App Store and Google Play, it facilitates connections to their favourite brands, providing them with ever-expanding ways to explore, discover and shop within their local communities. And, as Crowell explains, the company’s partnership with BenefitHub allows it to help more businesses in more communities reach even more customers.
“This partnership means that GetintheLoop now has a truly national audience on both sides of the border, providing merchants with access to a huge pool of potential customers,” he says. “And, as retailers everywhere are focused on rebuilding and growing post-pandemic, our platform can really help accelerate business’ achievements with respect to their goals and objectives. Because our technology is affordable for any-sized business to adopt and implement, it’s allowing ‘Joe’s Coffee Shop’ access to the same software that the large multinationals use to market. And, because local businesses using our platform get to work with our centralized support team and local franchisee, the playing field is leveled even further through the availability of marketing resources, insights and ideas.”
Omnichannel support
Crowell recognizes that with the pandemic came an accelerated shift in consumer behaviour toward online purchases. And, although borne originally out of necessity, it seems as though the surge in ecommerce that the industry experienced with the onset of lockdowns and social restrictions is not likely to recede too dramatically in a post-pandemic environment. Combined with pent-up demand among people everywhere to explore, rediscover their neighbourhoods and enjoy exciting experiences, the past 18 months have yielded an entrenched omnichannel consumer who is going to shop and engage with brands in the ways they choose. It’s up to retailers to ensure that they present the means by which to do so. And, according to Crowell, it’s yet another way in which GetintheLoop helps bolster the offering of local businesses.
“Our platform and the services we provide can be a really crucial piece supporting the digital transformation that many retailers are currently undergoing, especially for the smaller operations” he asserts. “A true omnichannel offering is really hard to build. GetintheLoop allows retailers to automatically achieve this, connecting them to a local email database, push notifications, a social profile and a mobile app. As soon as a business signs up with us they’re cross-functional and available, offering an omnichannel experience for their customers. If a small business were to try to do this on their own, it would cost them thousands of dollars and they’d need to hire a full-time marketer. In the end, we’re just one component of any retailer’s digital strategy. But the ease and effectiveness of our solution provides a compelling tool for their digital toolkits.”
Continued growth and development
Image: GetintheLoop
There’s no arguing the fact that the past year-and-a-half have been incredibly challenging for those operating within the industry. Small businesses in particular have been forced to endure a prolonged period of uncertainty and turmoil. However, with a gradual reopening of retail stores in communities everywhere, a hope and excitement has been kindled ahead of what some are predicting to be a bit of a retail renaissance and boom in consumer spending. And, in its efforts to help local merchants realize the opportunities that will soon be abound in the months and years ahead, Crowell says that GetintheLoop is only getting started.
“We’ve been experiencing significant growth now for some time. There’s a lot of interest in our platform and service from local businesses and franchisees who want to work with us. And, consumer adoption of the app and engagement with brands available through it have exploded. We expect that within the next year, we’ll be present in every community throughout Canada and the United States. And, within three years, we expect to be in multiple countries. With respect to tools for retailers, we’ve got a pipeline full of add-ons to our current technology stack that will continue to help businesses evolve in a changing world. Although we’ve developed a relatively robust platform today, it’s still early days in terms of the kinds of products and services that we can include that will complement what businesses are trying to achieve, helping them to continue growing their audiences and enjoy even greater success.”
For more information concerning the ways GetintheLoop can help your business connect with shoppers and thrive within your local communities, visit getintheloop.ca/business
*Partner content. To work with Retail Insider, email: craig@retail-insider.com
Candyland, a new pop-up featuring New York candy lifestyle brand “by robynblair” has opened at Bayview Village in Toronto.
The exhibition will be animating a retail storefront in the luxury shopping centre from July 30th to December 2021.
“I’m very excited to be working with Bayview Village for my first Canadian collaboration and to connect with their loyal customer base,” says Robyn Blair Davidson, the artist behind the exhibition. “These one-of-a-kind BV prints were so much fun to make and I can’t wait to see them on display.”
Candyland at Bayview Village will feature a number of instagrammable experiences, including an eight-foot gumball walk-in photo-op, walls lined with gumball machines and a rainbow road of colourful candy boxes.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with ‘by robynblair’ to bring joyful moments through these haute pieces of art,” says Rachael Tang, Marketing Director, Bayview Village Shopping Centre. “BV is known for its one-of-a-kind experiences and this will be nothing short of sweet.”
Quebec-based Legault Group, owner of Mondou stores, announced Friday that it has fully acquired Guelph-based Ren’s Pets.
The move brings together two Canadian brands that have seen exceptional growth in their respective locales, with Mondou having 74 stores in Quebec and Ren’s Pets having just opened its 35th store last week in New Brunswick. With 31 stores in Ontario, two in New Brunswick and two in Nova Scotia, Ren’s will be continuing its expansion with added resources from Legault.
“This transaction is part of Legault Group’s growth plan, which is based on expanding our activities in Canada through acquisitions and partnerships focused on innovation,” said Martin Deschênes, Chief Executive Officer of Legault Group. “It will allow both companies to combine their strengths and accelerate their growth in Canada by opening new stores through an agile and flexible approach.”
“We are proud to join Legault Group and combine our strengths with the Mondou store network in order to pursue our development. We share common values with this respected team in the Canadian industry such as customer service excellence and a commitment to the community and the well-being and health of animals,” added Scott Arsenault, President of Ren’s Pets. “We are confident that this transaction will be beneficial not only to both banners, but also to all Canadian consumers who care about their pets.”
“It is very important for us to preserve the unique character of Ren’s Pets and respect the original concept that has made the company’s success and reputation for over 40 years,” explained Jules Legault, President and Co-owner of Legault Group. “This acquisition therefore represents collaboration and continuity for Ren’s Pets, since the brand and all the personnel, including the current management team, will remain in place.”
“The acquisition brings together two phenomenal brands, Ren’s Pets & Mondou, to form a powerhouse in Canadian pet retail,” shares Larissa Wasyliw, VP Ecommerce & Marketing at Ren’s Pets. “Working together for your pet’s best life, we’ll be collaborating, synergizing, and sharing best practices- it’s going to be amazing. You’ll see even more fast-paced growth from both brands.”
Commenting on the acquisition, one customer stated, “Coupled with one of the best pet insurance plans, pet owners can now find everything they need at either Rens or Mondou. It hasn’t been easier to find what we want when we need it.”
EXTERIOR VIEW OF NEW MONDOU STORE IN VERDUN, MONTREAL. PHOTO: MONDOU
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With the pet industry booming through the pandemic, the ability for the brand to expand into the post-pandemic environment is greater for Legault moving forward.
A recent survey on retail rents by a Calgary commercial real estate firm has found some very interesting results of what’s been happening throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Fairfield Commercial Real Estate, rents for transactions completed during the dog days of the pandemic along retail high street 17th Avenue S.W. have stayed at pre-pandemic levels.
And the company’s survey indicates some street front retail and food service rents have even increased over the last year in prime locations.
As Alberta’s economy has fully opened up, there is demand for real estate space for businesses. While many retailers and food service establishments have unfortunately pulled the plug due to the vicious economic challenges presented by COVID, there have been many new tenants out on the market looking for space in popular urban retail districts across the city.
Monika Blachut
Monika Blachut, Associate with Fairfield Commercial Real Estate, says at the start of COVID there was quite an influx of vacancy versus a hesitancy from entrepreneurs to make moves in spaces.
“We saw during the beginning of COVID when there was a higher vacancy rate there was a little bit of improvement in that first year, second year where tenants were able to negotiate a little bit of a lower rate,” said Blachut.
“However, what we’re seeing now is that deals done I would say anywhere from Christmas on in the new year of 2021 have been hitting consistently pre-COVID numbers and I would even say there are some developers who have chosen to maybe make smaller footprints because they need to reach their certain rent targets to get financing. And landlocked construction costs none of that has decreased so they’re actually reaching and achieving above market pre-COVID rates for smaller spaces.”
Blachut said this is happening specifically in inner city urban districts.
“I think the days are gone of your three, four or five thousand square foot footprint that can pay the rates that landlords need to make projects and numbers work so we’re seeing a migration to smaller footprints to achieve the higher rates,” she said.
“It’s supply and demand. The suburban market in Calgary is booming. So landlords in Calgary are achieving what they’re asking for and obviously with inflation and projections over the course of say five, 10 years there are step ups in rates and we’re just going to see ever-increasing rates over time.
“What we were curious about was in the inner city. I can assure you that the downtown core is an anomaly in the Calgary market. In the downtown core, we have heard of some very, very aggressive and interesting deals put together just because there’s so much vacancy in the office market that retailers don’t have the business to support high, high rates. But the moment you leave that downtown core, the market is there and landlords are able to achieve them.”
She said entrepreneurs are now weighing out the pros and the cons of those rates. They’re able to look at a monthly gross rate that works for their business model.
“The question that we have posed is are these rates sustainable? And really what’s going to happen in the fall when these government assistance programs are over? That’s the real question. The rates we’ve seen even when we did our market analysis on rents along 17th Avenue it was very high numbers, but is it sustainable? That is the balancing act in our industry and obviously a landlord’s hope is to get as much money and for as little space as possible and entrepreneurs are paying it for prime locations,” said Blachut.
“It will be interesting to see a year from now. If current demand sustains, then possibly yes it’s sustainable. I wish I had a crystal ball. I don’t. Maybe there’s a lot of entrepreneurs and businesses that have hung on and have maintained. Any new businesses that have opened up obviously don’t qualify for any of these government programs. That’s the interesting thing. It’s the new businesses, new deals that are being put on paper that are paying these rates. I just think from a business plan model these rates work for them.
“In Kensington for instance there was a monopoly of a few landlords who owned a lot of buildings and they were getting very very high rates and we saw a time even two years ago when there started to be a lot more vacancies because it wasn’t sustainable. Businesses weren’t able to pay rent, pay increasing staffing costs. Everything is going up. Do I think there will be another falling out? I think that’s something that will happen. But no one has a crystal ball.”
The attraction to those urban districts is the density of people living, working and visiting those areas which is driving up the rental rates.
“The consumer is there. You’re just servicing an already existing and growing population with new developments as they go up,” added Blachut.
Craig speaks with Terry Cassaday, founder and CEO of ergonomic chair company ergoCentric which is expanding further into retail with new storefronts.
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International bakery-cafe chain Paris Baguette will open its first Canadian location on the luxury stretch of Bloor Street West in Toronto. The retailer is operating under a franchise model and is also targeting the Vancouver and Montreal markets as part of a national expansion.
The first Toronto storefront for Paris Baguette will be located in a retail space formerly occupied by Browns Shoes at 110 Bloor Street West. The space measures about 2,500 square feet at street level according to lease plans. Neighbours will include some of the world’s top luxury brands including names such as Gucci, Prada, Cartier, Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co. and others.
Paris Baguette is a global brand owned by South Korean food-and-beverage company SPC Group that operates more than 80 corporate and franchise bakery-cafés throughout the United States and over 6,000 internationally. The premium bakery-cafe concept focuses on handcrafted breads, pastries and cakes, as well as chef-inspired sandwiches and salads. Included are various grab-and-go menu items that will offer a food experience on a stretch of Bloor Street lined primarily with luxury brand storefronts.
Rendering showing Paris Baguette’s new space at 110 Bloor St. W. Image via ProWinko Canada/CBREParis Baguette will occupy the former Browns Shoes space at 110 Bloor St. W. — photo by Craig Patterson on August 1, 2021Photo: Paris Baguette
In October 2020, Paris Baguette announced its presence in Canada via a registered Franchise Disclosure Document. At the time the company said that it was charting the course on a Canadian expansion in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and other “booming” provinces and cities. Paris Baguette said in a statement that its goal is to establish at least 100 bakery branches in Canada by 2030.
“We look forward to building our footprint in Canada through franchising,” said Gregg Koffler, Vice President of Franchise Sales and Development in a statement last year. “Consumers are continuing to chose quick service restaurants and, as such, we see a great deal of opportunity for business owners looking for a tried and true business model, that offers gourmet menu selections for dine-in, delivery or takeout.”
“We offer multi-faceted store footprints and our concept succeeds in a variety of environments, from city centers to suburban shopping complexes. Pairing that with our global identity and real estate team, we are confident that Paris Baguette is positioned to resonate with an array of communities in Canada.”
Big changes are coming to 110 Bloor Street West. We reported last month that upscale Paris-based women’s fashion brand Anne Fontaine would also be opening in the commercial podium which is seeing a roster of new tenants that will coincide with the updating of the property that includes a new retail facade. ProWinko owns the commercial podium of 110 Bloor.
