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Centennial Rolls Out First-to-Market U.S. Omni-Channel Shopping Platform

By
Retail Insider
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DALLAS – October 27, 2020 – Centennial, a real estate investment firm with a national portfolio of shopping, dining, entertainment and mixed-use destinations (www.CentennialREC.com), announced today it has successfully launched a brand-new omni-channel shopping platform called “Shop Now!” in seven U.S. markets. The new platform, created by Adeptmind, a leading technology company specializing in artificial intelligence and e-commerce applications, will give shoppers at each of Centennial’s seven properties nationwide the ability to search all products and in-store inventories from select stores in their local Centennial mall via that property’s existing website. Shoppers can then decide if they prefer to use the tool to purchase online or simply pre-plan their in-person visit. For downloadable photos of the platform, click here: http://ow.ly/4q3d30rdvaq.

“Our new Shop Now! platform will be a game-changer for Centennial shopping centers this year,” says Whitney Livingston, Centennial’s COO. “Shop Now! is incredibly intuitive and easy to use. It gives people the opportunity to use the search bar or the Shop Now! navigation on their local mall websites to shop the products of multiple retailers in that local shopping center, then order online and, depending on retailer options, pick up in the store, curbside, or have their purchases delivered straight to their doors. It also allows them to plan their visits in advance by searching for both everyday purchases and wish-list holiday items online before they come to the mall. With the Shop Now! platform, we are doing something new and unique by meeting our customers where they want to shop, whether that’s online or in person, and giving them the tools to remain loyal to their local retailers in the process.”

Until now, shopping at a local mall and shopping online were, for the most part, two very separate ways to shop. What Centennial has done with this new omni-channel program is to conquer the barrier between brick-and-mortar and online shopping, melding in-person shopping and online shopping into a single local experience. It’s good for local retail. It’s convenient for shoppers who want to pick up their purchases direct from participating retailers to save on shipping charges, yet still shop from the comfort of home. And it’s a convenient time-saving method for customers to search their local Centennial mall for exactly what they want without having to walk the whole mall or search each retailer’s individual site just to locate a single item. Additionally, visitors can book services like hair and nail appointments or order food from mall restaurants through each mall’s website directory.

“The new Shop Now! platform transforms each Centennial mall into a mini-Amazon, but with a more customer-friendly, local experience,” says Jesse Michael, Managing Director, Adeptmind. “By enabling the products at each local mall to be easily searchable, then providing customers with in-store, curbside or door-to-door delivery options, we’ve given the shopper a much deeper way to connect with their local mall than ever existed before.”

Centennial’s new Shop Now! e-commerce platform will be rolled out in two phases. In Phase 1, which launched last week, shoppers will be able to visit Centennial’s shopping center websites and search for the product they are looking for – “red shoes” for example – and the site will display the red shoes available from the center’s directory of applicable retailers. To refine their search, they will be offered filters and guided discovery tools as well as information on in-store availability from select retailers.

More than 70% of the retailers in each Centennial mall have listed their products on the platform to date, with the majority expected to be accessible by the holiday shopping season and the remaining, mostly local retailers, being brought on board over time. Centennial’s goal is 100% retailer participation, which it expects to achieve by the time Phase 2 rolls out next year.

In the first phase of the new Shop Now! program, once shoppers make their selections, purchases will be completed via individual retailer transactions at checkout. The second phase of the Shop Now! platform will include a streamlined single-cart checkout process as well as the addition of physical hubs for easy pick-ups and returns.

About Adeptmind Adeptmind was founded in 2017 by two former employees of the Microsoft-exited tech startup Maluuba. As a leading AI based, e-commerce product discovery company, Adeptmind uses state-of-the-art active and deep learning techniques to enhance the customer purchasing journey. With offices in Toronto, San Francisco and Paris, Adeptmind supports more than 400 retailers, shopping centers, and small- to medium businesses with innovative technology in and around the world. To learn more, visit the Adeptmind website at www.adeptmind.ai and follow Adeptmind on LinkedIn.

About Centennial Centennial is a national owner of major shopping, dining, entertainment and mixed-use destinations. Rooted in retail since 1997, the company is focused on shaping the evolution of American retail by creating a superior multi-faceted shopping experience. Centennial properties serve not only as a place of commerce, but a place of community. For more information, visit CentennialREC.com.

Media Contacts:

Deborah Blackford

Blackford & Associates

blkfrd@earthlink.net

714-280-8765

Karen Franse

Blackford & Associates

karenfranse@gmail.com

386-649-1887

Carmen Herlihy

Blackford & Associates

cherlihypr@gmail.com

646-770-2623

Anne Morello

Adeptmind

anne@northpr.ca

Voilà by Sobeys Continues Canadian Expansion Amid Home Delivery Grocery Disruption

By
Sean Tarry
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VOILA BY SOBEYS HOME DELIVERY SYSTEM. PHOTO: SOBEYS

At Sobeys, the health and welfare of Canadians has always been the company’s top priority. For more than 110 years, the Stellarton, Nova Scotia-based grocer has been taking care of the needs of its customers through its offering of fresh, quality products and the provision of exceptional food and grocery retail experiences. The company describes itself as a “family nurturing families” and says that the collective passion and mission of those working for Sobeys is to “nurture the things that make life better, including great experiences, families, communities and the lives of our employees”. Operating under its numerous banners in more than 1,500 stores that are located in all 10 provinces across the country, Empire manages to successfully achieve its mission. And, with the announcement in June of the launch of its online grocery delivery service, Voilà by Sobeys, Empire seems to have elevated its commitment to Canadians even further.

The service, which officially rolled out at the end of June with an initial availability throughout the Greater Toronto Area, delivering anywhere between Hamilton and Oshawa, is powered by Ocado Group which provides industry-leading technology e-commerce and warehouse robotics technology. Ocado provides Voilà by Sobeys with an end-to-end online grocery platform that satisfies every step of the online shopping journey, from click to delivery and all touchpoints in between. The service comes after a little more than a couple of years of development, and perhaps at just the right time, too.

In a Time of Need

Intended to meet a modestly growing appetite among Canadians for food home delivery services, its introduction to the market occurs at a time of unprecedented growth in the grocery e-commerce space, growth that has been spurred on by a sudden increased demand by Canadian consumers as a result of the impacts of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Voilà helps Sobeys meet this demand. But, more than that, as Julie Filion, Head of Marketing for Voilà, points out, the very nature of the e-commerce model that the company has introduced distinguishes its offering from those of its competitors, enabling it to provide freshness, quality and accuracy, all while addressing the health concerns of Canadians during this difficult pandemic period.

VOILA BY SOBEYS ONLINE ORDERING SYSTEM. PHOTO: SOBEYS
VOILA BY SOBEYS ONLINE ORDERING SYSTEM. PHOTO: SOBEYS

“What sets our service apart from others being offered in the market is the fact that we use an automated robotic warehouse to pick and assemble e-commerce orders,” she explains. “Because the product is centralized, it allows full visibility into our inventory, meaning that customers can be assured that what they see on the Voilà website is actually in stock, as opposed to the challenges that are evident in some of the other business models being deployed. We also use our own temperature-controlled vehicles, which allows us to guarantee our product from a food safety standpoint. From the warehouse to the customer’s door, the frozen products stay frozen and the refrigerated products remain at an optimal temperature. The incredible amount of control that the model provides us from these perspectives enables great experiences for the Voilà customer.”

State of the Art Automation

The fulfillment centre, located just north of Toronto in Vaughan, Ontario, was constructed as part of Sobeys’ partnership with Ocado, announced in 2018, making it the exclusive Canadian partner of Ocado. The technology that Ocado brings to the Voilà operation is impressive, which includes front-end website functionality and mobile ordering capabilities; last-mile routing management technology for the temperature-controlled delivery vans; as well as a number of additional customer service tools. And, perhaps most impressive is the level of sophisticated automation involved, allowing Sobeys to leverage Ocado’s grid and the power of robotics. In addition to the remarkable control that the centralization of product allows Sobeys with respect to food safety standards and inventory, the robots, according to Filion, make the entire food delivery service incredibly seamless for the customer.

“It takes the robots in our warehouse an average of about five minutes to pick and pack a single grocery order,” she explains. “It’s a highly efficient way of executing on grocery delivery without the need to compromise on quality or freshness. And because we’re constantly doing control checks on all of the inventory in our warehouse and on orders before they leave the facility, Voilà customers are assured that the product they receive is of consistently high quality and standard. The technology allows us the ability to offer a fully integrated solution that supports and enables a best in class online grocery experience for our customers.”

VOILA BY SOBEYS HOME DELIVERY SYSTEM. PHOTO: SOBEYS
VOILA BY SOBEYS HOME DELIVERY SYSTEM. PHOTO: SOBEYS

Filion explains further that it has been a commitment of Sobeys for a very long time to provide a better way for Canadians to shop online. And she believes that the variety and assortment available through Voilà’s service is yet another way in which it provides a more than solid foundation to realize its long held commitment to its customers. By placing an order of at least $50, plus a delivery fee of $7.99, customers can select from an assortment of somewhere in the region of 15,000 products, including fresh meat and produce, the full line of the grocer’s private label brand, Compliments, and an array of products to satisfy just about any wellness, baby and pet need. In addition, items from the company’s Farm Boy offering, as well as a wide range of health, wellness and beauty products from Well.ca, are available through Voilà, making it the first home delivery service to offer these products online. Delivery is available seven days a week, from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Addressing Concerns Around Safety

In addition to the efficiency, quality, and scope of the Voilà offering, the company is also putting measures and protocols in place at its fulfillment centre, implementations that are meant to address public health concerns related to the spread of COVID-19 and to ensure Canadians a safe grocery home delivery option. To this end, Filion says that Voilà is doing everything it can by conducting robust and frequent cleaning and sanitization of its warehouse and delivery vehicles; reinforcing the company’s already-high hygiene and sanitization standards for all its teammates; equipping all Voilà teammates with gloves and masks, and all delivery vans with sanitizer and cleaning supplies, in addition to adhering to already prescribed physical distancing practices and protocols. These are measures that Filion says are necessary to provide Canadians with the best, most assured, grocery home delivery service during this challenging time. And they are measures and adjustments that the company continues to make ongoing as our public health situation and customer demand for the service continues to evolve.

“We’ve made it a focus to make sure that we’re providing an extremely safe shopping experience for the Voilà customer as well as for our employees and delivery teammates,” she says confidently. “We follow all of the safety guidelines and standards recommended by our public health agencies, including contactless delivery to the customer’s door. COVID-19 has affected all of us. It has affected the way we do things. And that includes our behaviour as consumers. What we have found throughout 2020 is that Canadians are not only craving the ease and convenience presented by grocery home delivery, but they are also seeking the most reliable and safe service as well. We think Voilà meets all of those needs, and more.”

Delivery Model of the Future?

As part of the Voilà service, Sobeys is also piloting its curbside pickup option at three locations in Nova Scotia as it ramps up its grocery options for customers. And it feels so strongly about the viability and consumer appetite for the Voilà model of automated grocery home delivery that it’s already started development of its second fulfillment centre. Located in Pointe-Claire, Montreal, Voilà par IGA will serve the areas between Montreal and Ottawa with an estimated launch date still pending. And, according to Filion, it’s really just the beginning for Sobeys’ newly launched e-commerce offering.

“Although the Voilà service is fulfilling a very specific need for customers today, the efficiency and quality that it offers will drive lifelong behaviour changes when it comes to how people shop for groceries. We’re really confident in the model we’re using and want to be able to eventually roll this kind of service out to Canadians across the country in order to improve their online grocery experiences, satisfying their needs and making their lives better. Sobeys is a company that has always put family and the health of its customers first. Through Voilà, we have the opportunity to reinforce all of the company’s brand values and everything it stands for in a really powerful way.”

Racism in Hiring: Why “No Canadian Experience” is Unacceptable [Opinion]

By
Retail Insider
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A business series set in various locations in a modern workspace office building.

By Suzanne Sears, Best Retail Careers International Inc.

If we want to make meaningful change in ending racism in the workforce, we are forced to look at the unspoken, but nonetheless prevalent, racism in hiring and discrimination against newcomers to Canada.

As a Recruiter, I am often challenged with the issue of not being able to submit resumes for ‘New Canadians’ to employers, regardless of how extensive or relevant their education and experience is. I have found myself needing to argue with Human Resource professions as to why they should at least give new Canadians an interview.

As a blanket requirement, demanding Canadian experience is discriminatory and illegal under the Ontario Human Rights Code as well as other national legislation.

THE ONTARIO GOVERNMENT SPELLS OUT HIRING GUIDELINES CLEARLY

“Some employers may mistakenly believe that the only way for a job applicant to show that they “have what it takes” to be effective or “fit” in a Canadian workplace is to show that they already have experience working in Canada. These employers may think that a Canadian experience requirement can be used as a short-cut, or a proxy, to measure a person’s competence and skills. “Even where employers and regulatory bodies may be acting in good faith, a candidate’s Canadian experience, or lack thereof, is not a reliable way to assess a person’s skills or abilities. And, imposing requirements of this nature may contravene the Code. A requirement for Canadian experience, even when implemented in good faith, can be a barrier in recruiting, selecting, hiring or accrediting, and may result in discrimination.”

Human Resource leaders have the ability to right many of the wrongs regarding racism in the Canadian work field, starting by granting interviews to new Canadians. We are all familiar with the stories of fully qualified teachers, engineers, doctors, marketing professionals, financial analysts, etc., who are driving buses or taxis for no other reason other than the lack of Canadian credentials or experience. Credentials may take years to acquire, but Canadian “experience” may be impossible to achieve if no firm will hire newcomers in their speciality at their previous levels.

“In some cases, requiring applicants to have Canadian experience may be disguised discrimination, and a way to screen out newcomers from the hiring process.” – Ontario Human Rights Code

BEST RETAIL CAREERS

This lack of Canadian experience issue seems to be applied to more racialized populations rather than to white European newcomers. Experience gained in Britain, France, Germany, etc., is less often discounted as “irrelevant” to Canada than similar experience in India, Iran, Iraq, or the Philippines, for example. With education and experience nearly identical, a conclusion can be drawn that points to the ethnicity of the candidate.

80% of all immigrants come to Canada with post-secondary educations. That level continues to rise every year, yet their unemployment rate is nearly double that of native-born Canadians. Aboriginal people suffer about 5% higher unemployment rates than the rest of Canadians, but it is often attributed to the lack of jobs in the places they live. Whether this is entirely true or not is debatable.

The unemployment rate for immigrants of less than 5 years residency was 9.5% in 2019, while for Canadian born it was 5.7%. The total percentage of immigrants in the population is 5.9%, yet the unemployment rate for them, even 5 years of Canadian residency, was nearly double the rate for native Canadians.

Racism in the workplace is a constant and real battle for visible minorities.

“…the rule or standard itself must be as inclusive as possible of individual differences, rather than maintaining discriminatory standards with accommodation for those people who cannot meet them. Even then, there may still be a need to accommodate individual differences up to the point of undue hardship. This ensures that each person is assessed according to his or her own personal abilities instead of being judged against presumed group characteristics.” – Ontario Human Rights Code

This would mean assessing people on an individual basis, and would include considering non-Canadian experience and other qualifications. Candidates should be assessed on an individual basis rather than being screened out based on general rules.

All prior work experience should be assessed, regardless of where it was obtained. Employers should seek job-related qualifications — for example, the ability to plan a project and complete it to required timelines, or the ability to show familiarity with Canadian laws, industry norms or standards. Candidates should be given the opportunity to establish relevant skills and experience in a variety of ways. The essential question is, are they qualified to do the job?

Job ads, for example, should state clearly the specific skills and work experience that are required for each of the duties associated with the position, and job requirements must be related to the position.

While most Human Rights tribunals make it perfectly clear that an applicant should have a fair chance at every job, what they cannot mandate is employers accepting applications and interviewing new Canadians or other racial groups.

In some cases a person’s name is a giveaway to their nationality. My tests as a Recruiter have shown that submitting a resume with a “foreign” name vs. without has a definite impact on the number of interviews granted for that candidate.

Many do not realize that the only legitimate question when hiring is, “are you eligible to work in Canada” No other nationality based question is legal.

Human Resource leaders have a duty to not only ensure that new Canadian workers obtain an interview, but also receive a fair chance at being hired. It is up to Human Resource leaders to enforce the legal standards, and ensure compliance of provincial and Canadian Human Rights Codes. It’s not enough to have the policy anymore. Thorough training and hiring managers to report on progress and accountability for eliminating racism in your organization is now recommended.

ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS

  1. Remove Name Bias: Applicant tracking systems (ATS) should be blind. They do not need a candidates name. No name required, and assign each candidate a number before you make contact automatically after they submitted your applicant form;
  2. Remove Address Bias: ATS systems do not require candidate addresses prior to hiring: eliminate this entirely;
  3. Remove Brand Bias: Brand bias is a huge part of racial bias in hiring. Those who do or have worked for big North American brands are far more likely to receive an interview than those who did not. Most interviewers feel it is critical to know the “brand” a candidate worked for prior to outreach. A “black out” of the name of corporation prior to reviewing the skill stack should be the initial application, specific work experience can be covered in the interview;
  4. Remove Educational Bias: It is not essential to know which school a candidate attended, or which year they graduated. Eliminate the space for the school name and date they attended. The school name can indicate North American experience vs. foreign; and the date requirement creates an age bias. All that is required is the credentials acquired (eg. Masters Degree);
  5. Remove Skill Lists: Instead of vague job descriptions that list things like “able to inspire teams”, “able to multitask”, the skill stack should be specific — intermediate level of excel, able to lead up to 50 people, etc;
  6. Stop defining jobs by arbitrary experience levels such as 3 years of this, 10 years of that. Adopt consistent standards — entry level, junior, intermediate, and senior. This is not necessarily a racist issue specifically, but it is also a huge part of discrimination overall for candidates;
  7. Ensure ATS forms only permit jobs that go back no more than 10 years;
  8. Remove all references to citizenship status and replace with: “Are you eligible to work in Canada?”

According to the Toronto Census profile for 2019, out of 6.2 million people in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), 49% are visible minorities. Bottom line: If you want the best candidates, you can no longer afford to ignore 49% of the potential talent pool. As Canada continues to become increasingly multicultural with 300,000 immigrants arriving annually, considering out-of-country experience will be crucial.

My firm, Best Retail Careers International, launched a recruit-by-membership program to help the industry retain the best talent. For luxury retailers, we also launched Luxury Careers Canada which is working with the top brands and retailers, and features a job board with available positions. We have access to over 50,000 potential candidates directly and even more through word-of-mouth.

Uniqlo Opens Massive Downtown Montreal Flagship as it Enters the Quebec Market [Photos]

By
Craig Patterson
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EXTERIOR OF NEW UNIQLO STORE IN THE OVERHAULED MONTREAL EATON CENTRE. PHOTO: MAXIME FRECHETTE

Japanese fashion retailer Uniqlo has opened its first Montreal store, and it’s impressive. It is the largest Uniqlo store in Canada and features several firsts in this country. The store is hoped to give an injection into downtown Montreal’s retail which has struggled due to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as because of extensive construction to revitalize Ste-Catherine Street West.

Located at the recently overhauled Montreal Eaton Centre, the Uniqlo flagship spans more than 40,000 square feet over two levels with about 32,000 square feet dedicated to retail space. The store also features a children’s reading area with curated books from local Montreal bookstores and a collaborative pop-up space which will initially feature a flower shop display where customers can shop from Montreal floral design studio, Bell Jar Botanicals, until November 15th.

MONTREAL’S UNIQLO STORE IS FIRST CANADIAN STORE WITH STREET-FACING ENTRANCE

It is the first Uniqlo store in Canada to feature a street-facing entrance, with the store’s facade facing both onto Ste-Catherine Street as well as Boulevard Robert-Bourassa. In total, the store has five access points — two from the street, one from the main level of the Montreal Eaton Centre, one on the second, and an entrance from within the Time Out food hall.

The Montreal Uniqlo store features an expansive range of apparel for men, women, and children. The store also features a small selection of home goods including bedding which isn’t available at other Uniqlo stores in Canada. The Montreal store is the second in Canada to feature at UT department featuring graphic printed t-shirts that often sell-out quickly.

The store also has something of an eco-focus including RE.UNIQLO, an initiative to recycle used garments and redistribute to those in need.

“We are excited to welcome Montrealers to our new store, to not only enjoy our high quality and functional LifeWear apparel, but to also experience community collaborated areas that are exclusive to this UNIQLO store and not in any of our other stores in Canada,” said Yuichiro Kaneko, CEO of UNIQLO Canada. “With a continuous demand for UNIQLO from our customers, we are delighted to make LifeWear more accessible to Canadians as we continue adapting to new lifestyles.”

The LifeWear line is described as meeting “the needs of everyone’s daily lifestyles to make their everyday life better and more comfortable. Whether that is to protect you against a cold winter wind, keep you dry on a rainy day or to look smart for an important occasion, LifeWear is simple, high-quality, everyday clothing with a practical sense of beauty that is always evolving. LifeWear is available in a variety of colours and styles for people of all ages.”

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic Uniqlo has implemented health and safety protection measures including physical distancing while shopping, frequent cleaning of high-traffic areas in front and back of house, hand-sanitizing stations which are located at the entrance of the store and at cash registers, and acrylic barriers at checkout counters and fitting room counters. All staff have their temperatures taken daily and are required to wear personal protective equipment. All customers are also required to wear a face coverings and to have temperatures taken before entering the store as well — this now appears to be a practice at all Uniqlo stores in Canada.

NEW UNIQLO STORE SET TO INJECT SOME LIFE INTO DOWNTOWN MONTREAL AFTER COVID-19 PANDEMIC

It is hoped that Uniqlo will give a needed injection to downtown Montreal, which has seen retail sales plummet amid the pandemic as well as construction to Ste-Catherine Street. Driving downtown and parking is said to be challenging and some businesses are saying that business is down as much as 90%. A report by the Urban Development Institute of Quebec on Thursday of last week noted that 26% of downtown Montreal’s businesses have closed temporarily or permanently, and that number could grow. Montreal is planning on offering free weekend parking downtown for the rest of the year to bring shoppers back at a critical time, especially given that construction in downtown Montreal is expected to be ongoing for years.

EXTERIOR OF NEW UNIQLO STORE IN THE OVERHAULED MONTREAL EATON CENTRE. PHOTO: MAXIME FRECHETTE
  • INTERIOR OF NEW UNIQLO STORE IN THE OVERHAULED MONTREAL EATON CENTRE. PHOTO: MAXIME FRECHETTE
  • INTERIOR OF NEW UNIQLO STORE IN THE OVERHAULED MONTREAL EATON CENTRE. PHOTO: MAXIME FRECHETTE

The Montreal Eaton Centre has seen an overhaul that includes a new Time Out Market food hall as well as new Samsung, Sephora, Pandora, and Ernest storefronts among others. Browns Shoes will open a two-level B2 flagship at Montreal Eaton Centre next year. The first downtown Decathlon store in Canada opened at Montreal Eaton Centre in the fall of 2019.

Uniqlo has been expanding its Canadian operations since its first store opened almost four years ago in Toronto. Jeff Berkowitz of Aurora Realty Consultants represents Uniqlo as broker in Canada and he negotiated all of Uniqlo’s store leases in Canada.

In September of 2016, Uniqlo’s first store in Canada opened at CF Toronto Eaton Centre in Toronto. The store spans nearly 33,000 square feet over two floors. Last year the store added a 4,500-square-foot mezzanine space to house a first-in-Canada ’UT’ shop-in-store to showcase the retailer’s graphic t-shirt collection.

A second Uniqlo store opened in October of 2016 at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre, also considered to be a flagship store in terms of size and presence with more than 30,000 square feet over two levels. Following that opening, Uniqlo began to expand further into the Greater Toronto Area as well as into the Vancouver market for the first time.

The Greater Toronto area is now home to Uniqlo stores in Oshawa Centre east of Toronto, Upper Canada Mall in Newmarket, CF Markville in Markham, Square One in Mississauga, Vaughan Mills near Toronto. Last fall a pop-up opened at First Canadian Place in Toronto’s Financial District which has been decimated due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In British Columbia, Uniqlo’s first store  opened in October of 2017 at Metropolis at Metrotown in Burnaby, in a 20,630-square-foot, two-level space. That was followed by the opening of a 17,900-square-foot location at Guildford Town Centre in Surrey in March of 2018, and then stores at CF Richmond Centre in Richmond and Coquitlam Centre in Coquitlam.

Uniqlo is noticeably absent from downtown Vancouver and a location is expected to be announced when a lease is finalized. Some have speculated that Uniqlo could replace the Victoria’s Secret flagship store at the north-east corner of Robson and Burrard Streets.

Uniqlo expanded beyond the Toronto and Vancouver markets in the fall of 2019 when it opened its first store in Alberta at West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton. More stores in the Edmonton and Calgary markets are expected with Calgary’s CF Chinook Centre expected to be a prime target, among others.

The Montreal area is Uniqlo’s fourth major market to see Canadian stores which could eventually number in the dozens if all goes as planned. Sources say that the next location for Uniqlo in Quebec will be at the CF Carrefour Laval shopping centre near Montreal.

Quebec City’s 1st Suburban Mall Marks 60 Years with Plans for Mixed-Use Development

By
Mario Toneguzzi
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ENTRANCE TO LES GALERIES DE LA CANARDIERE. PHOTO: ECONO-MALLS

Les Galeries de la Canardière, considered to be Quebec City’s first shopping centre, celebrated its 60th anniversary on October 1, and it has big plans for the future.

Natacha Menard, Director of Leasing for the shopping centre, which is owned by a limited partnership and managed by Econo-Malls, said it has embarked on a mixed-use redevelopment with the first phase of the project being a 126-unit residential rental building with some commercial space on the first floor. That project will begin this coming spring.

LES GALERIES DE LA CANARDIERE IS LOCATED IN AN AREA CONDUCIVE FOR A MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT

Menard said Econo-Malls has been working with a residential developer on the redevelopment project for Les Galeries de la Canardiere, adding that the shopping centre is located in an area conducive to mixed-use development as the area was rezoned to high density by the City.

“We now see all around the site, many office buildings and housing units that were constructed in recent years. These developments and the City’s vision for the area will result in significant pedestrian traffic to the centre. Mixed-use developments are the way of the future. It’s a place where people can live, work, and play, all in one location,” said Menard.

“That’s what the City wants. Lots of density in that area.”

CLICK FOR INTERACTIVE MAP OF LES GALERIES DE LA CANARDIÈRE

Les Galeries de la Canardiere located in the heart of the Ecoquartier D’Estimauville is home to many retailers, restaurants, recreational, and other services catering to the needs of its community. These include, A&W, Subway, Pizza Charest, Lunnetterie Visque, rock climbing centre Delire, Econofitness, Dollarama, Bijouterie Suisse, Pharmacy Lavoie, and many more. The shopping centre is 178,560 square feet.

Menard said the pharmacy is currently undergoing an interior and exterior renovation.

“Right now we’re trying to market for lease the spaces that are available. We’re trying to market it towards more services given that the area is very residentially dense. So we feel that services would be essential for this community,” she said.

“We’re hoping to attract some nationals here and we’re hoping to attract people that want to do services. All kinds of services — medical clinics would really be good here. We’re a community mall. We service the local community.”

According to the shopping centre’s website, the Galeries de la Canardière are historically the first shopping centre in Quebec City.

“The urban development of the years 1910-1920 led to the construction of houses in what would become the parish of Saint-Pascal Bylon and the constitution of Giffard as a municipality. However, the subdivision of the land located opposite the Saint-Michel-Archange hospital — planned as early as 1913 — is slow. In the 1950s, the growth of the surrounding neighbourhoods made this central site a favourable place for services and shops. It must be said that the site is vacant and located at the centre of a large and growing population basin,” it said.

“Also, when in 1956 the municipal administration changed the zoning of the place to allow businesses and the establishment of a “shopping centre”, the Association des merchants retailers of the district of Quebec saw a evil eye this new competition. Although the new zoning is adopted quickly, the project takes time to get started. Finally, in 1959, the building permit for a shopping centre worth $ 1.5 million was granted and work began in the winter of 1960.

“In May 1960, an important part of the structure of Des Galeries de la Canardière was erected. This is the first shopping centre in Quebec City and the second in the region, Place Sainte-Foy which opened in 1958. On September 29, 1960, the shops at the Canardière Shopping Centre , as it was then called, welcome their first customers. Inspired by what is done in the United States, its functional and open architecture allows quick and direct access to the businesses that are part of it.”

Le Chateau Shutting Operations After CCAA Filing

By
Retail Insider
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Le Chateau storefront at Square One Shopping Centre - Photo by Square One

Another Canadian retailer will be shutting down this year following the COVID-19 pandemic store closures in the spring. Montreal-based Le Chateau will shut its operations which includes 123 storefronts in Canada as well as an e-commerce site. 

The 60 year old retailer says that it spent much of the pandemic trying to refinance or sell the business which was ultimately unsuccessful. “Its already evident impact on consumer demand for Le Chateau’s holiday party and occasion wear, which represents the core of our offering, has diminished Le Chateau’s ability to pursue its activities,” the company said.

“Regrettably, these circumstances leave the company with no option other than to commence the liquidation process.” 

LE CHÂTEAU. SINCE 1959. PHOTO: LE CHÂTEAU (ABOUT US)

Le Chateau’s application for protection from its creditors under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) was being heard by a Quebec court on Friday.

The retailer said in a statement that the pandemic has had an “evident impact on consumer demand for Le Château’s holiday party and occasion wear, which represents the core of our offering [and] has diminished Le Château’s ability to pursue its activities.”

While Le Chateau liquidates its 123 stores, the company will remain fully operational. The eventual closure will result in the loss of about 1400 jobs with 900 of those in the stores and an additional 500 positions at Le Chateau’s head office. 

LE CHÂTEAU TEAM MEMBERS. PHOTO: LE CHÂTEAU WEBSITE (LE CHÂTEAU CULTURE PAGE)

“We regret the impact this will have on our people and can assure you that we explored all options available to us prior to taking this difficult decision,” the company said.

Le Chateau was scheduled to have its annual general meeting on Thursday and it was cancelled two days prior without explanation beyond saying that the company “will provide further updates in due course”. Industry insiders this week immediately speculated that a filing would follow.

Over the three-month period up until July 25, Le Château only sold $14.7 million in its stores and online — down almost $50 million from the same time last year. As of July 2020, Le Chateau says it had about $118 million in assets and $201 million worth of liabilities.

Gordon Brothers and Merchant Retail Solutions are to be appointed as consultants to implement the liquidation. PricewaterhouseCooper Inc. will become its monitor in the CCAA proceedings. If the application is granted, Le Chateau will obtain interim financing from Wells Fargo Canada to maintain operations for the short-term during liquidation.

Le Chateau’s exit from malls will create further headaches for landlords who are already grappling with vacancies following other store closures. A research document provided to Retail Insider shows that Le Chateau had more than 700,000 square feet of retail space in Canada. The largest Le Chateau location is at the CrossIron Mills shopping centre near Calgary, spanning 8,842 square feet. The top selling unit was said to have been at West Edmonton Mall prior to the pandemic, with sales surpassing $1,000 per square foot for the 5,680 square foot space in the mall’s ‘Phase 3’.

This week we also reported that Calgary-based swimwear brand Swimco had shut its 25 Canadian stores after an attempted restructuring in the summer. About 30 other retail chains in Canada, as well as countless independent retailers have also filed for creditor protection and in some cases have shut down entirely. Experts expect more retailers to file for bankruptcy protection in the coming weeks and months as retail spending in some segments slow amid a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. In early 2021 it is expected that more stores and other businesses in Canada will close than at any time in history, including some household names looking to rightsize operations.

Le Chateau was founded in 1959 in Montreal by Herschel Segal as a menswear store. In 1962 womenswear was added including European fashions from places such as Carnaby Street in London. It was the first to introduce bell bottoms to Canada and in its early years was considered to be a trendsetter. The company’s IPO on the Toronto Stock Exchange was in 1983. The company had closed about half of its stores since 2015. Last quarter saw the company turn its first profit in about 13 years. Last year we reported that Le Chateau had planned to expand into the United States through a new e-commerce site. 

Herschel Segal’s cousin David Segal founded David’s Tea which this year filed for creditor protection and closed all but 18 stores. Herschel’s daughter Sarah Segal is the founder of Squish Candy which has also restructured with only a handful of locations remaining.

JLL Releases Mid-Year Report on Canadian Retail Highlighting Challenges

By
Mario Toneguzzi
-
OMNICHANNEL RETAIL

The Canadian retail market has softened, with availability for space rising and rents trending down as the COVID-19 pandemic has driven a surge in food and home items, postponed consumption of non-essentials, and limited operations of restaurants, gyms, and movie theatres, according to the Mid-Year 2020 retail report by commercial real estate firm JLL.

Tim Sanderson, Executive Vice President & National Lead, Retail, JLL Canada, said 2020 has been a year like no other.

COVID HAS DRAMATICALLY DISRUPTED THE RETAIL INDUSTRY WHICH REPRESENTS 1/3 OF CANADIAN ECONOMY

“The retail industry, which represents almost a third of the Canadian economy and 11 percent of the labour force, has been disrupted dramatically. We’ve experienced sudden shutdowns at a scale that have never happened before, leaving the industry struggling to cope. As undesirable as this sounds, retail will be faced with severe challenges getting back to the growth seen in previous years. This calls for prompt action in a bid to aid redirection, restoration and positive advancement,” he said.

The pandemic had a devastating impact particularly on enclosed malls. Many stores never reopened and those that did are now struggling to drive traffic back under restricted hours. It begs the question of whether the situation will eventually fix itself or mall owners will be forced to make further concessions and investments in an attempt to get their assets back on track.

“Some may find it shocking that, as we publish this report, consumer spending is right back to where it was last year. However, where this money has been spent is vastly different. Shoppers have flocked to consumer staples and home goods, leaving apparel behind. As grocers and restaurants grapple with COVID-related costs, food has become more expensive and now encompasses a larger share of home spending. In this scenario, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that apparel retail chains across North America have announced thousands of store closings, ” said Sanderson.

RETAILS THAT HAVE INVESTED IN OMNICHANNEL STRATEGIES WERE BETTER PREPARED FOR COVID-19

Retailers who had taken the time to invest in omnichannel strategies have been better prepared for the pandemic and have continued to make investments over the past few months.

However, omnichannel has had its fair share of limitations as retailers scrambled to fulfill online orders, particularly when demand surged for certain products. In turn, many small retailers are now catching up and Shopify saw a spike in interest in e-commerce, thus becoming the most valuable company in Canada.

The JLL report states that Canada’s response to the pandemic has put its retail industry at a slight advantage. As events continue to unfold, both landlords and retailers have had time to come up with plans to deal with further headwinds. As the second wave of the pandemic descends upon us, the hope is not to see the same level of lockdown as in March and April. Undoubtedly, the holiday shopping season could drive agglomerations, and it’s likely that both retailers and shoppers will be looking to move up the season to dilute crowds.

“In times of change like this, it’s important to rethink and reposition businesses and offers to meet shopper’s new needs. It will take time and patience to get to where the retail industry needs to be, but we’re optimistic that retail will emerge out of the COVID-19 era with a bigger emphasis on omnichannel, convenience, and customer satisfaction”, added Sanderson.

This time of year is traditionally a make or break time for many retailers.

“Since April we’ve been working with many of our retailers to help them survive. Our mall group alone has looked at 1,200 leases to try and help those retailers with abatements and deferrals or early lease renewals at more favourable terms – anything to help them stay alive.

There’s going to be a lot of retailers that are hanging on for Christmas and afterwards, they’re not going to make it. It’s unfortunate.”

Sanderson suggests retailers change the way they do business. The increase in the amount of online purchases just in the last six months is incredible.

Bricks and mortar retailers should consider making the transaction experience inside a physical store as seamless and as painless for the customer as it is to shop online.

Sanderson said part of the problem in the retail industry is that a majority of the properties are being driven by the value of the asset. How much is the shopping centre worth? Rents have been driven up while tenants are over-extended. To be in a shopping centre and pay high rents, a retailer is there because they believe the shopping centre is going to attract significant traffic that will in turn benefit them.

“For the most part, the enclosed regional malls around the world, not just in Canada, foot traffic is down. To get traffic back, landlords need to introduce new concepts that are going to bring people to the shopping centre. They’ve got to attract these users whether they be entertainment, whether they be more food and beverage. They’ve got to increase dwell time and that will allow people to understand that there is a benefit to being in a mall,” said Sanderson.

“I think what’s going to happen over the next 12 months is there’s going to be a lot of cost-benefit analysis work done on behalf of the landlords to say okay, what is my highest and best use for an empty box? The one good thing is the Canadian retail real estate landscape is not overbuilt. We don’t have as many centres with a ton of vacancy. And we don’t build centres like they do in the United States. You can drive through Texas and there’s one gigantic mall at one interchange and three miles down the road at the next interchange there’s another one. You don’t see that here.”

For more information, consult JLL Canada’s Retail Mid-Year Outlook 2020

The Future Outlook of Canadian Retail E-Commerce

By
Retail Insider
-
WOMAN ONLINE SHOPPING ON LAPTOP AND SMARTPHONE

By Devin Partida

Canadian retailers have faced a period of unprecedented change amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Most notably, retail e-commerce exploded in early 2020 as lockdowns limited the availability of brick-and-mortar stores. Now, as the year nears its end, Canadian e-commerce has slowed but isn’t stopping.

In the early days of the pandemic, e-commerce seemed like an unstoppable force. Between February and May alone, online sales almost doubled while in-person shopping continued to fall. Since then, the market has started to rebalance as lockdown restrictions have eased.

E-Commerce Won’t Replace In-Person Retail

E-commerce’s share of total retail sales more than doubled between 2019 and early 2020. To some, this unprecedented rise indicated the beginning of an inevitable shift — online stores surpassing brick-and-mortar alternatives. As the nation has continued to get a better handle on the pandemic, that hasn’t been the case.

Since May, Canadian retail trade has grown, recovering from its slump in April. Overall retail sales are nearing pre-pandemic levels, and e-commerce has played a diminishing role in that recovery. While retail e-commerce sales are still higher than 2019 levels, they’ve declined since their May peak.

Now that in-store shopping is more accessible, consumers have switched back to it. It seems that customers still prefer brick-and-mortar stores, even if e-commerce is more widely available than before. The early surge in online sales was a matter of necessity rather than consumer preference.

Retail E-Commerce Will Keep Growing, But Slower

While retail e-commerce hasn’t reached the dizzying heights some expected, it will continue to grow. Canadian retailers are now keenly aware of the advantage that online channels present, especially in an emergency. Retailers will sustain their e-commerce sites, and customers, now accustomed to online shopping, will keep using them.

Experts predict online sales to keep growing each year but at a diminished rate. According to one survey, Canadian e-commerce sales growth will fall to 7.7% in 2021 and keep declining through 2024. The astronomical e-commerce growth of mid-2020 isn’t indicative of the industry’s future.

While e-commerce’s growth rate will eventually decline, it’ll stay positive for the foreseeable future. The COVID-19 pandemic has proved how helpful a resource online shopping is for both retailers and consumers. As time goes on, e-commerce will play an increasingly prominent role in Canadian retail, but it won’t skyrocket.

E-Commerce Itself Will Continue Evolving

As e-commerce continues to grow, it’s changing along with retail itself. Now that online stores have become an industry standard, it’s no longer enough to merely have an e-commerce site. Retailers must optimize their online channels to stay competitive, just as they do with brick-and-mortar stores.

While generic packaging is the standard now, 52% of online shoppers who receive branded packaging will become return customers. Retailers will likely shift toward custom features like branded packaging or unique website design. Online channels will start reflecting their brick-and-mortar counterparts as it becomes harder to stand out.

Similarly, mobile retail sales are also growing, so more retailers will likely optimize for mobile devices. In the future, e-commerce sites could also feature more varied payment options, even accepting cryptocurrency. Flexibility has been the primary benefit of e-commerce amid COVID-19, so e-retailers will pursue it in their online channels.

Despite Its Decline, Online Shopping Is Here to Stay

Canadian retail e-commerce will not replace brick-and-mortar stores and won’t come close anytime soon. The meteoric rise of online shopping Canada saw earlier this year won’t continue, but e-commerce will keep growing. Online retail is more prominent than ever, and it’s not going away.

E-commerce will continue to become a more crucial part of retail over the next few years. The pandemic has favoured retailers with a strong online presence, and the industry has learned from that experience. As e-commerce continues to grow and evolve, it will help sustain retail for years to come.

Devin Partida is a writer and blogger, as well as the Editor-in-Chief of ReHack.com

Canadian Home Decor Retailer ‘Bouclair’ Expands New Concept Store Model Following Restructuring

By
Mario Toneguzzi
-
EXTERIOR OF NEW BOUCLAIR CONCEPT STORE. PHOTO: BOUCLAIR

After a restructuring process that included the closure of about a third of its stores, Bouclair, a leading destination for home decor in Canada, has embarked on an ambitious initiative to launch new concept stores in the chain.

Cesar Morales, Marketing Operations Manager of Bouclair, said the new Bouclair concept was first launched last year with the openings of the Brossard, Boucherville, Boisbriand, Mascouche, and St-Jérôme stores. “Bouclair continues to grow and plans to open more new concept stores in 2021,” he added.

“When you arrive you feel at home,” he said. “We basically have a multi-sensorial environment where you feel cozy and welcome by the fragrance that we have. We have a curated playlist. All the products are placed in an easier way to shop for people and with our store advisors that will help you find the right solutions for you.”

“We have images by collection showing you how to decorate so you are also learning at the same time that you are shopping through the different images and the different setups that we have there.”

Sid Lee Architecture partnered with Bouclair to design the prototype and subsequent stores.

BOUCLAIR PLANS TO ADD MORE CONCEPT STORES IN 2021

The company currently has 55 stores open in Canada in Alberta, Manitoba, Quebec, Ontario, and New Brunswick. The first store opened in 1970 in Montreal.

“Bouclair is basically a home furnishing retailer that offers coordinated decor to customers. We are their interior designer for them with complete decor solutions they can apply to their home,” said Morales.

Chicoutimi and Barrie, as well Mega Centre Sainte Foy and Les Galeries de la Capitale, both located in Quebec City, will all undergo a transformation of their current brick-and-mortar concept to one that offers a multi-faceted experience where customers can easily imagine recreating the looks in their own home, making it more enjoyable to shop for home decor pieces.

Morales said customers will enjoy the new Bouclair atmosphere and be inspired by decor accents displayed in a way that showcases each collection’s style, furniture displays full of arrangement ideas, rich visual tools that express the vibe of each collection, and decor experts available to help with any decor project. Each store has been revamped with the black store logo and storefront, along with natural woods mixed with greenery, adding to the brand’s new, sleek and trendy image.

“We are also going to be renovating 10 more stores next year,” he said.

Morales said through its restructuring process Bouclair kept the company’s stronger and best locations.

“We have also been growing the ecommerce to support the markets where we don’t have stores. For us, it’s very important that our customers are still able to order our products. We have seen a tremendous increase in demand where people are still in many markets that we don’t have stores and are ordering now online,” he said.

“It’s actually basically working very well for us. The online business is something that we’re growing. We have every week a new decor to propose to our customers on our home page so we can inspire them. We have videos where we basically show them how to dress their windows, decorate and we are also trying to have new gadgets for people to visualize the decor on their houses.”

Calgary Teens Launch Unique Accessory Business with Charitable Component

By
Mario Toneguzzi
-
TAZA BEADED BRACELETS. PHOTO: TAZA

It was the summer of 2017 when Taza Collections was created with a mission and goal to create a better world for those in need.

Through the art of jewelry, two young entrepreneurs Tahir and Zakiya Natha started in Calgary what would today be known as Taza Collections. Siblings Tahir was 12 and Zakiya was 10 when their online business began.

“I personally have always had an entrepreneurial mindset,” said Tahir. “My parents from a young age decided you know what why don’t you guys try starting something and they kind of knew someone in the wholesale bead industry. It was an easy way to start something, gain some experience, gain some knowledge around it.

“So we started this bracelet business. It was surrounded by the fact that maybe this was something we can create for ourselves. So we’ve been selling bracelets and recently we started selling clothes on there to support the Black Lives Matter movement.

“A lot of our focus is charitable based. We’ve partnered with the Aga Khan Foundation at one point. We’ve partnered with the Ronald McDonald House. We’ve partnered with the Calgary Women’s Emergency Shelter. And all in an effort to just give back to the community. That was one of the main points as to why we started this.”

  • TAHIR NATHA
  • ZAKIYA NATHA

ALL TAZA COLLECTIONS PRODUCTS ARE SOURCED IN CANADA

Tahir said all the products sold on the ecommerce site are sourced in Canada.

“It takes time to grow and I think slowly we’re seeing that growth pattern upwards a little bit. It was definitely a slow start but now I think we’ve built a little bit of a brand reputation within our own customer base and that’s where predominantly we see people coming from,” he said.

“But we’ve done a lot of efforts in terms of marketing and trying to get a large social media presence. So we’re seeing a slight upwards trend for sure. Just like anything it takes time.”

TAZA BEADED BRACELETS. PHOTO: TAZA
  • TAZA BEADED BRACELETS. PHOTO: TAZA
  • TAZA BEADED BRACELETS. PHOTO: TAZA

The retailer’s target audience is shoppers who focus on spending local. The company therefore has a big push for local and made in Canada products.

“We try to provide something that feels like it could be in the luxury market but we try to bring it at an affordable price. So it’s kind of more available to all. That’s the model. Luxury made affordable,” said Tahir.

“We have two large demographics which is the millennial age group and then you have the 65 plus age group.”

Going forward, the siblings would like to continue to expand the venture into different areas. Right now they are looking at ways to expand the concept and build its focus and perhaps look at a larger charitable component to it.

Would they consider a physical store location?

“Definitely a thought we’ve had and potentially in the future. I think right now the largest focus is growing the ecommerce side of things and seeing how far we can push that,” said Tahir. “And then maybe down the line in a couple of years, considering maybe not a permanent but even a pop-up shop in different places contributing to that.”

Tahir and his sister run the business but their parents are there to support them when needed.

They don’t have official titles but Tahir is like the CEO of the business while Zakiya supports on the design side of things.

Tahir is currently in Grade 11 and Zakiya is in Grade 9. They are doing online school this year through the Vista Virtual School. Tahir also works at a software development firm part-time.

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