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Unique Automated Coffee Concept Launches Aggressive Canadian Expansion

By
Jessica Finch
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EXTERIOR OF RC COFFEE KIOSK IN BLOOR-YORKVILLE SHOWCASING THE CAFE STOREFRONT ON THE LEFT AND THE ROBOT BARISTA ON THE RIGHT. PHOTO: RC COFFEE

RC Coffee is taking self-service technology to another level with its unattended, robotic coffee kiosks, set to roll out across Canada this year and into 2021. The company looks to change the perception of self-serve coffee through sophisticated technology that truly measures up to barista standards.

Claiming to provide the authentic espresso experience found in a premium cafe, RC Coffee’s automated barista is a modernized spin on North America’s raging take-out coffee culture. RC Coffee operates 24/7, seven days a week, delivering its menu of specialty coffees with precision by performing all the functions of a human barista mechanically.

RC COFFEE INTRODUCES TORONTO’S FIRST AUTOMATED BARISTA

In a post-COVID world, this contactless, unattended coffee kiosk couldn’t have come at a better time. The project — that has been in the works for more than three years — is making its grand debut during the unprecedented time of elbow bumps and face masks.

The first RC Coffee kiosk is located in a KingSett Capital property at 1235 Bay Street, in Toronto’s upscale Bloor-Yorkville neighbourhood. A partnership with Dark Horse Espresso — one of Toronto’s finest coffee roasters — this introductory kiosk promises premium quality coffee in a newly-branded “Coffee Automat” experience. Each carefully-crafted beverage is served according to Dark Horse’s high standards and can be customized with all natural ingredients including milks, sugars, and flavourings.

PHOTO OF ‘RETRO’ CAFE STOREFRONT AT NEW RC COFFEE LOCATION. PHOTO: RC COFFEE
COFFEE KIOSK IN ACTION. PHOTO: RC COFFEE
RC COFFEE AUTOMATED, CONTACTLESS KIOSK. PHOTO: RC COFFEE

The “Automat” concept itself is a cheeky retro design that lends itself to the optimism of traditional food and beverage vending technologies. In partnership with the design team at Mjolk, RC Coffee and Dark Horse Espresso have staged a cafe storefront and whimsical window display designed to inject a sense of mystery and playfulness into the coffee experience.

“From order submission, to the time the coffee meets the customer’s hand, we have transformed the coffee purchasing experience by introducing a new level of service and innovative technology,” said RC Coffee in its press release. 

Customers have the choice of ordering via the LCD interface, mobile friendly Touchless web interface, or  they can download the RC Coffee app (coming soon). RC’s vision is to enable customers to use its app to find their local coffee robot, schedule an exact pick-up time, and save favourites for ease of reorder. RC’s coffee robot will only begin making your beverage once you are within a certain radius.

Leveraging the power of Eversys Cameo – the world’s most advanced super-automatic espresso machine – RC Coffee has been meticulous in ensuring quality is not compromised for the sake of promptness. RC Coffee has extended the platform and added a touchscreen menu interface, contactless ordering plus payment versatility, and a robotic delivery system for a 24/7/365 fully autonomous cafe experience  The kiosk can perform all the functions of a real barista in a fraction of the time — grinding the coffee to perfection and performing a thorough clean between each beverage to eliminate cross-contamination. 

CUSTOMER WAITING AT RC COFFEE KIOSK. PHOTO: RC COFFEE
COFFEE BEING PREPARED IN EVERSYS CAMEO. PHOTO: RC COFFEE

CADILLAC FAIRVIEW INTERESTED IN RC COFFEE INITIATIVE WITH AGGRESSIVE EXPANSION PLAN IN THE WORKS

Now open, Bloor-Yorkville’s newest robot barista serves premium espresso beverages retailing at 20% less than its Starbucks equivalent. 

RC Coffee has an aggressive expansion plan that includes 100 locations within the next 12 months. Landlords such as Cadillac Fairview and Oxford Properties have shown keen interest in the pilot project — an incredibly promising sign for RC Coffee. Suzanne Cayley of Aurora Realty Consultants is representing RC in its concept expansion.

“Our aim was for our first location to tell a story in grand spectacular fashion, with department store style windows giving customers a peek into a fictional historical coffee setting. Our “mock cafe” storefront provides a playful fictional history for the Dark Horse Automat as a 1950-60s Toronto café. This concept holds a special place in the heart of Yorkville but is widely forgotten about for the rest of the city,” said Adam Lang, Marketing Manager at RC Coffee.

Whilst appropriate for our impatient and COVID-marred world, the RC Coffee kiosk does raise the question: is it necessary to obliterate yet another human interaction in the name of convenience?

“The world has recently changed dramatically, and the barista to customer interaction is somewhat risky despite people’s best efforts to maintain a safe environment. Furthermore, the days of lounging in the café comfortably as your home away from home are on hold indefinitely. RC Coffee is the ideal answer for a new reality. We recognize the importance of a pleasant experience when it comes to coffee, and we strive to make our storefronts engaging while safe. We’re noticing groups of friends coming to our Bay St kiosk, taking pictures, laughing, being amazed by the technology and enjoying their orders on-the-go. We’re providing a new frontier for the coffee experience, and hope to build a strong online community via social media.”

‘Nutrimeals’ Launches 1st Contactless Vending Machine in Canada

By
Mario Toneguzzi
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REDNERING OF NUTRIMEALS CONTACTLESS VENDING MACHINE. RENDERING: NUTRIMEALS

Calgary-based Nutrimeals has launched what it calls a first of its kind in Canada contactless vending machine that connects to people’s smartphones.

CALGARY-BASED NUTRIMEALS VENDING MACHINE IS CONTACTLESS AND CONVENIENT

Sam Hale, who is a co-owner of the company with Grace Clark, said the revolutionary automated vending kiosks are now offering a completely contactless pick up option for people during this COVID-19 pandemic.

“With a push from the global pandemic, these remotely placed kiosks are now able to display their inventories on your smartphone. The app has a unique reservation system where the user can purchase items and pick them up by scanning a bar-code. The only thing the customer touches are the items that they are purchasing,” said Hale.

“I believe that this will help with the public’s COVID concerns.”

Nutrimeals was started in the owners’ last year of university at the University of Lethbridge three years ago. Both Hale and Clark were studying finance. It started as an online ecommerce business that allowed people to order food for set durations. People would select a day that they wanted meals delivered to their homes.

Today, the company is operating both its vending machine model as well as their delivery model.

The two vending machines are currently located at 940 6th Ave S.W. and 1040 7th Ave S.W. in Calgary’s downtown.

“In addition to central locations, we are looking to expand throughout cities in health care facilities, post secondary institutions, condominiums, fitness facilities, and more,” said Hale.

There are usually three or four selections of different meals as well as some different beverages.

“We’re going to keep evolving our product line to incorporate not only our own proprietary products but also other local businesses as well,” said Hale.

“From the very beginning, Nutrimeals’ vision (has been) to create a space where healthy meals and convenience co-exist. We believe that consumers are often faced with the decision to choose between health focused food and fast food. We provide our customers with convenient, wholesome meals that are not compromised by time. Today, businesses are challenged with being able to offer unique amenities in their buildings. We believe that our automated kiosks are the future solution to the diminishing food retailers throughout major Canadian cities,” says the company on its website.

NUTRIMEALS DRAGON BOWL DINNER/LUNCH OPTION. PHOTO: NUTRIMEALS

“Meal production begins with the freshest ingredients and are hand prepared in our commercial kitchen. We transport the inventory in refrigerated vehicles to maintain ultimate freshness. Each kiosk is loaded with a wide variety of meals that are carefully thought out to cater to many different dietary preferences and pallets, including but not limited to: vegetarian, gluten free, Keto, etc. Our menu rotates frequently allowing our customers to enjoy a wide range of taste and textures.

“All of our meals have a shelf life of five days. However, if an item is not sold within three days it is removed from the kiosk and donated to the Leftovers Foundation. The Leftovers foundation redirects the unsold meals to:

  1. Reduce food waste & the associated greenhouse gasses

  2. Conserve resources by eliminating the need to process items that would traditionally be added to local waste management programs

  3. Promote food waste awareness.”

NUTRIMEALS PIVOTED ITS BUSINESS MODEL TO ADAPT TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC

The vending machines were launched in January pre-pandemic. When much of the foot traffic in the downtown slowed down because of the pandemic, the company created the app for people to order ahead of time and reserve their meals.

“Now we can actually push the product via our app to the consumer instead of just relying on foot traffic and tenants to that building. The nice thing about the app in this environment is that people are very conscious now about self serve and also contactless delivery methods,” said Hale.

“What’s cool about the app is when you order on your smartphone you don’t have to touch the vending machine anymore. You just scan the bar code the app creates for you once you pay and all you do is grab your product. It’s completely contactless and what I call COVID friendly.

“I think it’s a very scalable model. It’s not necessarily only for food. We’re starting here but we plan to do a lot of other industries using this technology because I feel there is a demand there. For numbers, it all depends on the demand that we see from customers or landlords. How it works right now is we rent the space in the buildings. However, we have been getting an influx of calls about the technology and the products that we offer from a lot of places like airports, hotels, universities, schools. And we plan to roll it across Canada as soon as we can.”

Q&A with Keith Hontz, CEO and President of Savantis, on Tech in the Retail Sector

By
Retail Insider
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KEITH HONTZ

By Linda Farha

Retail Insider sat down with Keith Hontz, CEO and President of Savantis, a leader in global IT staffing, a SAP Gold Partner with a full-service consulting practice, to discuss solutions for the retail industry that can be beneficial to all merchants, especially during these difficult times.

Retail Insider: Can you tell us a little bit about your career and what got you to where you are today?

Hontz: I’ve always had a great passion for technology and pursued my interest by completing a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science at James Madison University, and rounded out my education with an MBA from the University of Delaware. After graduating, I spent the first six years of my career at DuPont Information Systems, working as a project manager deploying sales and marketing systems. I then joined SAP America where I was engaged in several senior roles spanning from consulting, presales, product management, sales, sales management, industry leadership to developing and mentoring start-ups, and more. Over the course of my nearly 25-year tenure at SAP, I built strong relationships with customers and contributed to the company’s growth across multiple channels. In 2019, I pivoted my career by leveraging my enterprise experience to strategically increase revenues with mid-size tech companies. This began at SocketLabs, a leader in high-volume email infrastructure, where I was the CEO of the company, and, most recently, with Savantis as CEO and President.

RI: What does Savantis do and what are the company’s key benefits for the retail sector?

Hontz: At Savantis, we help companies improve their overall operational efficiency by providing IT staffing and delivering end-to-end solutions with SAP, the world-leading enterprise application software company in the world. Our key benefit for the retail sector is our ability to bridge the gaps for mid-sized retailers when it comes to planning, procuring, and supplying, as they are faced with the same challenges as national chains. With many decades of experience, our expert team at Savantis recognize retailers’ needs and can implement SAP Retail Solutions that help win over modern-day shoppers by providing a fully omnichannel experience to consumers. The wants and needs of modern-day retail consumers are ever changing – but their expectations for authentic, quality experiences only ever seem to increase. So, we strive to help retailers bridge the gaps and increase their customer experiences and ROI, through the improvement of overall operational efficiency.

RI: Since the start of COVID-19, has the way you support the retail industry resulted in other benefits?

Hontz: Our solutions have always helped streamline operations and as a result, improve the bottom line. We live in fluid times and now, more than ever, companies need to be efficient and nimble to pivot effectively. The retail industry is no exception and, in fact, is an example of a sector that shifted dramatically because of COVID. We are able to keep up with the new reality of the retail industry since we, ourselves, use the same operational processes to ensure that we can support our clients.

RI: What do you think the future of retail requires?

Hontz: The future of retail requires simplification. Reviewing operational processes and optimizing them can achieve this. Savantis comes in to play here with a number of solutions. Through IT staffing and innovative technology from SAP we can begin implementing comprehensive Customer Experience solutions to achieve simplification, optimizing retailers’ success.

RI: As you look forward, how do you think COVID-19 will impact consumer demands?

Hontz: A lot of it boils down to simple personalization. Retailers need to understand what drives consumers to buy and ensure that their experiences and interactions with your brand are extremely positive. The retail industry has already seen a major shift in consumer demand since the start of the pandemic, specifically value-driven buying habits. Many people are more budget conscious, which translates into price comparison and deeper research for the right deal, so it is critical to build trust as this equates to loyalty. Another key consideration is the buying environment and ensuring that it feels safe and welcoming.

RI: How can retailers learn to understand the changing demands of consumers and work towards ensuring that consumers feel comfortable in the new retail environment?

Hontz: It’s no surprise that massive retailers like Walmart have seen their e-commerce business grow enormously during the coronavirus pandemic, as millions of people have avoided venturing into stores. It is essential to remember that no two customers will have the same comfort level, so it is essential to provide an environment that can adapt accordingly. A way to achieve this is to implement an omnichannel experience. Using innovative technologies, retailers can create an environment that can change and adapt based on the consumer’s needs. This ensures that their customers are being served with the right information on a product, the best price, and additional benefits when engaging with them.

RI: What exactly is an omnichannel experience? And why is it something to think about when looking ahead for the retail industry?

Hontz: An omnichannel experience recognizes that a customer may begin looking in one particular channel, such as in store, but move into another, their mobile phone, as they progress through their purchasing decision. This multi-channel approach to sales aims to provide a seamless shopping experience for the customer through the integration of technology, personalized content and communications, and data. When effectively implemented, an omnichannel experience allows a retailer to use their knowledge of a consumer’s engagement with the brand and offers them a full-circle positive experience. It is imperative that the implementation of an omnichannel strategy is evaluated when looking ahead at the retail industry as it benefits both brands and their consumers. While consumers are rewarded with a seamless and integrated experience, retailers are able to foster and build authentic, long-term relationships with their consumers. It is these positive relationships between consumers and brands that keep consumers willing to spend money and remain loyal in the future.

RI: Do you have any advice for small businesses that are competing online with large-scale retailers?

Hontz: As a small business, you need to stand out. You must have a key beneficial aspect that sets you apart from the bigger guys. And while large-scale online businesses use technological advances to their advantage, so can you. For example, a smaller business can match the online experience that bigger retailers can provide while additionally providing a more personalized and digital in-store experience for consumers, that large-scale retailers simply cannot deliver.

RI: Do you have any concerns about the challenges that may arise from going digital?

Hontz: With digital challenges, come digital solutions. And with the best overall operational efficiency, which Savantis can help provide through IT staffing and end-to-end solutions with SAP, no digital challenge is ever too big to be met with a digital solution.

Global IT staffing, a SAP Gold Partner with a full-service consulting practice, and an Industry Solution Provider to discuss the company’s solutions for the retail industry and how they may be beneficial to all merchants, especially during these difficult times.

IT staffing and delivering end-to-end solutions with SAP, a world-leading business software.

RI: Can you tell us more about a digital solution you have recently implemented?

Hontz: One of our clients, Sports Basement, a San Francisco-based sporting goods store, was experiencing 60% of their customers showrooming (browsing products then buying online somewhere because they felt it was a better price). In order to drive in-store purchases and develop consumer trust, Savantis developed an in-store mobile app to give customers the ability to scan a product and make a real-time price comparison, providing them with a best-price buying confidence before completing their purchase.

RI: Do you have any final thoughts or piece of advice?

Hontz: Yes, retail has had a tough go lately and the implementation of digital technologies, such as SAP technologies and omnichannel experiences, in the retail industry may seem scary and is likely an unchartered territory for many, but it is key to remember that technology can offer a leg up, and a differentiator for your brand, especially when maximizing the overall operational efficiency of your company.

Amid COVID-19, Consumers Still Care About Sustainability. How Can Canadian Retailers Respond?

By
Retail Insider
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By DeAnn Campbell

In an age where consumers have a literal world of shopping at their fingertips, how can a brand or retailer stand out? Attention is today’s currency, and retailers must work harder than ever to earn it.

Over the last three years, retailers have invested in store experiences to engage and differentiate. Canada Goose, for instance, installed freezers in its showrooms that simulate an Arctic wonderland to prove the warmth of its products. With today’s consumers reluctant to try on coats, however, these rooms sit empty.

In fact, savvy retailers across the board know they’ll need a different approach moving forward. Thanks to COVID-19, shoppers are afraid to dwell long enough in stores to engage in experiences — a reality projected to last well into next year. But retailers can’t wait: They need to stay connected and relevant to consumers now, and the most effective way to do so is by supporting the issues consumers care about.

Consumers Care About Climate Catastrophe

In 2018, Yale University’s Climate Opinion Map showed that 70% of the U.S. population was more concerned about global warming than the economy.

And something else has happened to us during our months of lockdown and social distancing: We were given an unprecedented glimpse at the promise of a better world. We watched Instagram videos of playful dolphins swimming the canals of Venice and majestic mountain skylines that smog had previously hidden. We saw tangible proof that the environment has the capacity to heal.

Although COVID-19 has pushed everyday environmental efforts aside temporarily, the larger issues around the environment and global warming are even more critical in consumers’ minds. Retailers that support these issues — and, more importantly, give consumers a way to participate in supporting these issues — will not only maintain, but also boost customer loyalty and lifetime value.

In fact, 71% of consumers were already factoring the environment into their purchase decisions in 2019. That number jumped to 78% in March 2020 — and then jumped again to 83% just one month later. Even during a pandemic, consumers care about sustainability.

IN-STORE FREEZERS IN CANADA GOOSE LOCATION. PHOTO: CANADA GOOSE

Why Every Retailer’s Sustainability Matters

Becoming a sustainable retailer requires more than stocking organic or recyclable products and some well-meaning graphics. Access to Google and social media has made consumers savvy about which retailers are genuine about their efforts.

Retailers are now having to go deeper to show authenticity, and this means each aspect of their business practices must strike a balance between protecting the environment and supporting revenue growth. All areas of the business model are impacted. This includes sustainable product packaging, recycling, reduction of carbon emissions from delivery, and even store environments and fixtures created with sustainable materials.

You must also consider how you handle product returns. What percentage of returns wind up in a landfill? Are they shipped long distances to a distribution centre or trucked multiple times to a third-party seller? Think through each and every aspect of a product’s life cycle and the retail experience to identify the necessary steps toward becoming an authentically sustainable operation.

On the flip side, ignoring sustainability today will cost you customers in the long run (if not now). With the rise of digital-only direct-to-consumer companies and online access to retailers around the globe, it’s becoming increasingly easier to find a retailer that will give you exactly what you want. And to shoppers, wants are now equal to price in terms of importance. They aim to support retailers with shared values, and sustainability now tops that list. This is one of the many shifts already happening in the Canadian retail space.

PATAGONIA LOCATION IN VICTORIA, BRITISH COLUMBIA WHERE THE WOOD THROUGHOUT THE STORE WAS RETRIEVED FROM THE PACIFIC OCEAN OR FROM LEFTOVER MATERIALS FROM A LOCAL YACHT CLUB. PHOTO: PATAGONIA

Walking the Walk

How you go about supporting meaningful environmental sustainability can vary depending on the products you sell. While a retailer selling beauty products needs to incorporate organic and sustainably harvested materials into its procurement system, a company selling televisions will need to focus more on recycling and limiting carbon emissions during shipping.

Your efforts cannot stop at products, however. Some retailers go to great lengths to stock ethically manufactured products made from sustainable materials, for instance, only to place them on displays laminated in plastic with nonrecyclable graphics containing harmful chemicals. Adding insult to injury, most of these displays will end up in a landfill after the promotion period ends.

Instill sustainability into every aspect of your retail business — not just where consumers can see it. Look for ways to incorporate environmental efforts into merchandising, distribution, and training. Ask every vendor, supplier, employee, and consumer to engage in the process. Drive sustainability beyond the store, stressing why conservation is important.

Take Patagonia as an example. The clothing brand hasn’t only focused on sustainability in its product manufacturing, but in its store design as well. Each store uses reclaimed materials and sustainable construction methods. At its Victoria, British Columbia, location, the wood throughout the store was retrieved from the Pacific Ocean or from leftover materials from a local yacht club.

Nordstrom, one of our clients, also announced a plan to cut single-use plastic in half by 2025. Besides this, it’s considering ways to accept beauty packaging for recycling and help consumers donate used clothing. Likewise, Starbucks is playing a role by building LEED-certified stores, which mandate the use of recycled materials, sustainably harvested wood, and more. Where available, it has also tapped into local wind and solar programs to utilize renewable energy. And Eco+amour, a retailer based in Toronto, sells zero-waste products by using refillable containers for lotions and shampoos.

The list of retailers moving toward sustainability is rapidly growing, and companies of any size can take part. The first step to a successful sustainability program is to sit down with your team and create a road map. Write down the actions you can implement today, tomorrow, and at subsequent milestones to arrive at your goal.

Be specific about what that goal looks like and target real deadlines. What can you do to use more plant-based packaging? What can you do to lower carbon emissions? What can you do to relieve some of the burdens on consumers? And most importantly, how do you convey your efforts to consumers to engage their loyalty and support?

Each step you take toward sustainability doesn’t just support the community at large, but also helps you stand out in a crowded marketplace. In fact, not being a sustainable retailer might make you stand out for all the wrong reasons — which certainly isn’t the best way to win market share. What role can your company play in ensuring a stable future for generations to come?

DeAnn Campbell is leading the next evolutionary era of retail: the shift beyond converged commerce to Harmonic Retail,™ where online and offline experiences don’t merely integrate, but interact, enrich, and react upon one another to create a living, harmonized brand expression throughout the customer journey. DeAnn holds a Bachelor of Architecture, is LEED ID+C accredited, and currently heads up retail strategy and insights at Harbor Retail.

Realogy Joins Spacelist Data Sharing Initiative with Listing Integration

By
Retail Insider
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Spacelist, a leading commercial real estate listing platform, is excited to welcome Realogy to its Data Sharing Initiative with the integration of CENTURY 21 Commercial (C21) and Coldwell Banker Commercial (CBC). This integration ensures their listings are always accurate and updated.

Since 2012, Spacelist has been the leading commercial space marketing platform in Canada and has recently expanded to the US. “Partnerships with market leaders like Realogy are helping pave the way for new levels of efficiency in marketing commercial properties,” says Steven Jaffe, CEO of Spacelist.

The integration leverages a sophisticated API built by Realogy and Spacelist, which allows C21 and CBC listings to be updated automatically on Spacelist, saving time, and eliminating duplicate data entry and human error.

“Commercial real estate listing promotion hinges on developing a property marketing strategy to achieve a client’s objectives, and then getting the listed property online and to as many prospective buyers or tenants as possible” said Dan Spiegel, Managing Director of Coldwell Banker Commercial. “Channeling our listings through Spacelist will allow us to achieve exceptional results for our clients.”

CBC and C21 teams have previously worked with Spacelist and this partnership reinforces commitments to streamline the marketing and administration of their commercial listings. Spacelist has been investing in new technologies to further improve the efficiency of the commercial real estate industry, including its latest venture SimpleLease, which facilitates the end-to-end leasing transaction.

“I really like that Spacelist has a goal of creating an open data platform, providing easy access to all available space,” said Randy Workman, Senior Director of Business Momentum at CENTURY 21. “One of the best features is to set up a query on Spacelist for the property types and sizes you need, and receiving a notification when a space becomes available. CENTURY 21 Commercial is very excited about partnering with Spacelist.”

As part of Spacelist’s Data Sharing Initiative, all C21 and CBC agents receive access to market insights using Spacelist’s free analytics solution. “Spacelist’s Data Sharing Initiative will help fill a void to assist our brokers and agents develop property marketing analytics to meet our client’s objectives,” said Workman. Spacelist launched this initiative in 2018 and all groups that contribute listings via an automated feed to Spacelist are able to take advantage of the program’s benefits at no cost.

ABOUT SPACELIST
Founded in 2012, Spacelist’s mission is to make commercial real estate more accessible and efficient. Spacelist brings all the commercial real estate listings in Canada and the US together in one place, making it easier than ever to find great space for your business. For more information, or to find commercial space, visit: https://www.spacelist.co

CBC disclaimer – ©2020 Coldwell Banker. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker and the Coldwell Banker Commercial logos are trademarks of Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. The Coldwell Banker® System is comprised of company owned offices which are owned by a subsidiary of Realogy Brokerage Group LLC and franchised offices which are independently owned and operated. The Coldwell Banker System fully supports the principles of the Equal Opportunity Act.

C21 disclaimer – © 2020 Century 21 Real Estate LLC. All rights reserved. CENTURY 21 Commercial® and the CENTURY 21 Commercial Logo are registered service marks owned by Century 21 Real Estate LLC. Century 21 Real Estate LLC fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Each office is independently owned and operated.

Away Luggage Expands into Canada with 1st Store [Photos]

By
Craig Patterson
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Exterior of new Away store in Yorkdale Shopping Centre. Photo: Maxime Frechette
Exterior of new Away store in Yorkdale Shopping Centre. Photo: Maxime Frechette

Popular New York City-based travel and lifestyle brand Away — known particularly for its innovative luggage — has opened its first standalone store in Canada at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre. The direct-to-consumer brand is likely to open more stores in Canada as it also sells through its online channels and social media.

NEW STANDALONE AWAY LUGGAGE STORE AT YORKDALE IS ONLY THE BEGINNING FOR BRAND’S CANADIAN EXPANSION

The Yorkdale Away location spans more than 2,880 square feet on one level, and features a unique design inspired by travel. That includes a double-height metallic facade with mock airplane windows above the glass storefront. The interior of the store includes light wood shelving and flooring that contrasts with bright artwork such as large postcards on the walls. The overall design evokes travel — something Canadians will hopefully be able to do comfortably in the future following this year’s pandemic.

The Away store is located in Yorkdale’s 2016 expansion wing that is anchored by Nordstrom. Away replaced a Woolrich store which opened in 2017. Richard Johnson of Odyssey Retail Advisors in New York City negotiated the lease deal on behalf of Away. Oxford Properties is the landlord for Yorkdale Shopping Centre.

The direct-to-consumer brand is being distributed in Canada through the Yorkdale store as well as online through the company’s website, with ample social media promotion. Away only sells through its own channels which means that more stores could open in Canada to act as brand activations. The Vancouver and Montreal markets could be targets for stores, though the expansion may be delayed given COVID-19. The Yorkdale lease was signed prior to the pandemic shutting the economy down in March of this year.

Away produces and markets a range of travel accessories. Its best-known suitcases featuring ejectable batteries for charging devices, scratch-resistant polycarbonate shells, interior organization featuring compression pads for space efficiency, TSA-approved locks, a removable laundry bag, and 360-degree Hinomoto spinner wheels. The popular Carry-On model was developed after consulting with focus groups, with the responses from hundreds of travellers used to perfect its design.

Additional Away travel accessories include: The Everywhere Bag, The Signature Garment Bag, The Dopp Kit, and The Insider Packing Cubes. Away has collaborated with brands such as Madewell, NBA, and Star Wars, among others, and the brand has also partnered to support various charitable endeavours. All Away luggage products have lifetime guarantees.

Away was founded by Stephanie Korey and Jennifer Rubio in New York City in 2015 as a digitally native brand. The company has since expanded into physical retail with its own stores, avoiding wholesale distribution. Ms. Korey holds the title of CEO while Ms. Rubio is Away’s Chief Brand Officer (Ms. Korey was to depart amid controversy this summer but that has since changed).

PHOTO OF CASE DISPLAY INSIDE AWAY STORE AT YORKDALE SHOPPING CENTRE. PHOTO: MAXIME FRECHETTE
EXTERIOR OF NEW AWAY LOCATION AT YORKDALE SHOPPING CENTRE. PHOTO: MAXIME FRECHETTE

Ms. Korey and Ms. Rubio met in 2011 as former colleagues on the early executive team at New York City-based eyewear brand Warby Parker, which has also expanded into Canada. The duo founded Away in 2015 and in November of that year, they received $2.5-million in seed funding from investors Accel Partners and Forerunner Ventures.

Away released a book called ‘The Places We Return To’ which featured travel stories from 40 unique and influential people around the world, and the book was sold with a gift card to purchase the company’s first product, ‘The Carry-On’, which launched in February of 2016.

Millions more in funding was subsequently secured as Away expanded into editorial content with the launch of a podcast called Airplane Mode in the spring of 2017, which was followed two months later with a digital travel magazine called ‘Here’ which includes city guides, travel essays, and photo journals.

AWAY LUGGAGE HAS ENJOYED CONSIDERABLE INVESTMENTS MAKING PHYSICAL RETAIL EXPANSION EASIER

In May of last year, Away secured a $100-million investment to reach a total valuation of $1.4-billion. The funding round was led by Wellington Management, as well as Baillie Gifford, Lone Pine Capital, and Global Founders Capital. That money will go towards an expansion of direct-to-consumer brick-and-mortar stores as well as an expansion of Away’s travel gear offerings.

Away has set sights on Canada as a market for expansion with more locations. Last year we were notified that Away was seeking to expand into Toronto with a storefront on Queen Street West, with a targeted size between 2,000 and 2,500 square feet. Toronto’s Bloor-Yorkville area was also said to be a target at the time. Other major cities in Canada including Vancouver are also expected to be part of Away’s expansion with details to follow.

Away currently operates 12 standalone stores globally (including the Toronto store), each featuring attractive and bright interiors. Nine are in the United States and one is in London, UK. A store in New York City’s NoHo area at 10 Bond Street acts as the brand’s flagship, and a second store is located at 111 N. 3rd Street in Brooklyn. Away also operates storefronts in Los Angeles (8400 Melrose Avenue in West Hollywood), San Francisco (371 Hayes Street), Chicago (1121 N. State Street in the affluent Gold Coast area), Boston (50 Seaport Boulevard in the city’s up-and-coming Seaport neighbourhood), Houston (Highland Village at 4033 Westheimer Road), Dallas (3109 Knox Street), and a unit at the Domain retail complex in Austin, Texas. The London flagship, located at 9 Earlham Street in the city’s Covent Garden area, was Away’s first international storefront when it opened in August of 2018.

MAP OF YORKDALE'S 2016 EXPANSION WING INDICATING AWAY’S NEW LOCATION. CLICK FOR INTERACTIVE MAP OF YORKDALE SHOPPING CENTRE

COVID-19 is changing the way that many retailers do business. Many multi-brand retailers are struggling following temporary store closures and continue to grapple with paying vendors while maintaining insurance for deliveries. As a result, some brands are looking to instead go off on their own which means we may see more brands opening standalone stores while also expanding online sales, with less distribution in multi-brand retailers in years to come. The trend was already happening with brands such as Nike, Canada Goose and Christian Dior, and the trend is expected to be accelerated further into 2021 and beyond.

Large Retailers to Come Out Ahead as COVID-19 Hits Smaller Businesses Hard: Expert

By
Mario Toneguzzi
-
SMALLER RETAILERS ALONG QUEEN STREET WEST, TORONTO.

Veteran retail expert George Minakakis, a global retail executive with over 25 years of experience, says the winners of the vicious economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic are going to be the larger retailers.

MINAKAKIS FORECASTS 50% OF SMALL AND MID-SIZE RETAILERS IN TROUBLE AMID COVID PANDEMIC

“The smaller and mid-size businesses are the ones who are going to struggle. How many of them will fail? I think 50 percent of them are at risk, that’s not to say all will fail.” said Minakakis, who is CEO of the Inception Retail Group. “I believe the vulnerability of each business depends a great deal on how consumers behave in the last part of this year and the resources each has to manage through this health crisis.”

“Even if your volume only returned to 90 percent of what it was pre-COVID most businesses can’t survive on it. Their cost structure won’t allow them to stay open for the long-term. You’re either borrowing money or spending your savings to keep a business afloat until things improve and increase your chances of staying in business. However, the timing for a recovery that I’m thinking and hearing that will take longer, it may not be until the early part of 2022 before things begin to move back to normal. The question then becomes, who will be in a position to survive? Economies are impacted by demand in the marketplace. Even with COVID, 100 percent of consumers are still shopping, they are just not shopping how and where they used to and are spending differently.”

“We did a survey, and the question was when are you going to be ready to go back to everyday shopping, 57 percent said I’m okay with a mask now. The other 43 percent said either when there’s no need for a mask, when there’s a vaccine or months after a vaccine. That’s a significant percentage of consumers that are making other shopping choices.”

“At the end of the day, the shift towards e-commerce impacts the unit economics of traditional physical retail businesses; they can’t afford not to be online. There other risks as well; you have the central business district, for example, with fewer employees in their workplace, less traffic in the local business district, which means retailers, restaurants, and other services are hard-pressed to stay open. Consumers themselves being apprehensive creates a reluctance to shop and socialize as they once did. When you couple all of this together, the risks to business failures could be as great as 50 percent.”

GEORGE MINAKAKIS

HEALTH EMERGENCY HAS POTENTIALLY ERODED CONSUMER CONFIDENCE LEVEL REQUIRED FOR SUCCESSFUL ECONOMY

There is also a ripple effect that's happening, and I believe that they are not being analyzed enough. Even if 57 percent of consumers are comfortable wearing masks and conducting normal shopping, it doesn't mean they're going to places like restaurants and theatres. This health emergency has eroded the overall economy from the confidence level needed to engage in the social activities that drove a robust business climate. Our social activities are critical in a business recovery. Without it, businesses lose revenue, they have to cut payroll, and employees have their hours cut or lose their jobs. That, in turn, impacts spending power, which lowers demand, and this has the potential to create a long-term downturn and even a deep recession. "It's a vicious circle, and it also goes to show you how vulnerable the consumer market is to shocks and this is a major shock."

"Small businesses are the most vulnerable with this issue right now," added Minakakis. "Your resilience depends on your volumes and your cost structure. If you're a million dollars a year in revenue and at 90 percent of it right now, you could last six-twelve months at this current pace. In general, we need to keep in mind that most retailers, for example, have operating profits between 4.8-5.0 percent, every one percent decline in revenue above 5.0 percent puts most businesses underwater. "But the lower the volume, the higher the vulnerability. It becomes problematic that way for smaller and mid-sized businesses."

SUCCESS OF UPCOMING MAJOR SHOPPING EVENTS WILL DEPEND HEAVILY ON ECOMMERCE

How critical are the next few months for many small retailers as we head into back to school shopping, Halloween, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas, and Boxing Day? Is it a make or break time for a lot of them?

Some of that will depend on the e-commerce capabilities of retailers. "This is where the rubber hits the road because right now, for example, you're bouncing back from closure. You've picked up a lot of pent-up demand. You're going to wear out that welcomed revenue gift fast. I call it low hanging fruit. Between September to December, you're going to start comping up to last year's numbers. I saw the recent retail numbers for Canada, yes, they are up, a lot of it is pent up demand. The business world I come from you couldn't consider that a win. Everyone needs to focus on the final four months of this year.

"Christmas has always been a make or break period for many retailers as has Black Friday over the last few years, as we've tapped into the U.S. tradition. I am concerned with the apprehension consumers have about the virus, the risk of a second wave, being in crowded stores and venues how many more will resort to conducting more shopping online this season? If you are a retailer with physical stores, you'll have to probably double or triple down on your efforts this season to breakeven for the year. We have to remember that most retailers have not made up the losses incurred because of the shutdown. Traditional stores, without a strong eCommerce presence and platform, their probability of getting to breakeven for the year is even weaker. To pretend that we will bounce back in the last quarter is overly optimistic." said Minakakis.

"I think Cyber Monday is going to be exponential. If you haven't got your act together by now, it's a challenge, and that goes for mid-sized and larger retailers. There are plenty of challenges, selecting the right inventory, overcoming supply chain issues, and knowing that retailers are cutting back their orders. Manufacturers and producers are scrambling to keep their costs in check as well. It will be a pleasant surprise if any business outside of essential services allowed to stay open during the shutdown, achieves 100 percent (of last year's sales). I believe reality is more like a minus 10-20 percent in comparable sales for the full year."

It's important to remember that we are still in a very fluid situation; many things can change quickly. I also believe that few things will go back to normal until there is a vaccine. Distribution of that will take time; that's why I believe a sustainable recovery doesn't happen until early 2022. Waiting that long is a lifetime for businesses that are trying to stay afloat.

Retailers Face Uncertain Future as Commercial Rent Relief Program Ends in Canada

By
Mario Toneguzzi
-
RENT NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN TWO PARTIES

The much-maligned Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) program has expired, but small business experts expect a new, revamped — and hopefully improved — initiative to be launched in the coming days by the federal government.

AS CECRA EXPIRES SMALL BUSINESSES HOPE FOR NEW INITIATIVES FROM FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

Jon Shell, Managing Director & Partner of Social Capital Partners in Toronto, and co-founder of the Save Small Business grassroots coalition, said the previous extension of the CECRA program has been a “copout for several months”.

“I’m hoping what this means is they’re working on a better approach going forward,” he said. “You have to understand that only a very few small businesses get access to CECRA so continuing to extend it for a tiny minority of small businesses doesn’t make a lot of sense.

“I’d much rather see the money be reoriented to other small businesses whose landlords did not apply (for CECRA).”

The main criticisms surrounding CECRA were that it relied on landlords to opt into the program and the threshold for loss of revenue for businesses to apply was too high — Impacted small business tenants were businesses paying less than $50,000 per month in rent and who had temporarily ceased operations or had experienced at least a 70 percent drop in pre-COVID-19 revenues.

“Small businesses that are starting back up again are facing a massive amount of deferrals. There’s rent. There’s utilities. There’s taxes. And all of that is debt. So anyone opening now is opening with this massive overhang of debt in the form of deferrals and in order for them to survive people are going to need some sort of help,” said Shell.

“So far we’ve staved off some closures because of deferrals but as deferrals come due, as evictions become available again as an option for landlords, in what is at best a tepid recovery for small businesses, you’re definitely going to see some other businesses go out of business.”

MANY SMALL BUSINESSES ARE NOT OUT OF THE WOODS AFTER COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Laura Jones, executive vice-president with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, said many small business owners are not out of the woods yet in terms of their economic recovery.

“And rent is a very big bill. So having no rent relief program is problematic for many business owners. Many have been shut out of the (CECRA) program so this is nothing new and it just compounds a problem that’s already existed,” she said. “Others are really trying to climb back but even those that have had the help this is expiring much earlier than the wage subsidy which is set to go through December.”

Jones said she is hopeful that new Finance Minister, Chrystia Freeland, recognizes the “incredible unfairness that has been baked into rent relief and will work to fix that”.

“I’m hopeful that what might be going on here is that we’ve seen no extension of CECRA because they’re going to evolve it into something that works better for everyone. That’s the hope. But you can’t take hope to the bank,” she said, adding that on Monday comments from the Finance Minister and the Small Business Minister seemed to indicate they understood there were significant problems with rent relief.

“That’s hopeful but it was a bit of a missed opportunity to give business owners some assurance. Uncertainty is incredibly challenging at the best of times and we are not in the best of times. Rent is due (September 1) and even if they don’t have all of the fixes ready to go just saying they’re working on it would have been some comfort that business owners didn’t get.”

Patrick Gill, Senior Director of Tax and Financial Policy for the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, said the organization has been actively talking to the government.

“And through those conversations they realize the importance of the program and the need to extend it,” said Gill. “We’re optimistic that an extension may happen but the type of format and how long that extension may be and what’s also wrapped up in other tweaks with the program that’s yet to be seen.

“But I wouldn’t be surprised if CECRA is going to continue to be there for commercial tenants in the future during this challenging time.”

EXPERTS SAY RENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS ARE IMPERATIVE FOR SMALL BUSINESS SURVIVAL

Gill said it is incredibly important for business owners to have some sort of rent assistance program in place.

“This is probably one of the most important of the emergency supports out there for businesses and their workers. When it comes to main street businesses, overhead rent is one of the largest costs of their business. This has been a very challenging circumstance for them in that revenues and customer demand revenue has been down for a number of months. But many of them have not been offered any deferral on payments or their landlords haven’t applied for the program,” he said.

“So it’s been a very big struggle for commercial tenants. When revenues are down, it would be greatly appreciated this help during this time to get them through.”

He said the Chamber would like the program extended into the fall and winter and it is looking for more flexible criteria to make sure the program can be more accessible to tenants.

Karl Littler, Senior Vice President, Public Affairs at the Retail Council of Canada, said he’s heard that the government most certainly will extend the program but it is looking at the program’s design.

“I don’t think anybody would say that it has been a resounding success save and except for those it has been successful for,” he said. “But obviously if they’re going to do a redesign they’re not going to do it for one month. It’s all conjecture at this point but I am not presuming that the thing is over.

“It’s hugely important for those to whom it’s relevant. There are some people whose curve of recovery is much slower and has not fully kicked in like other parts of retail have. And so for those entities it’s every bit as important today as it was for the others two or three months ago.”

David Lefebvre, Restaurants Canada Vice President, Federal and Quebec, said “the federal government is telling us that they understand the program (CECRA) was not working well enough so they’re working on some kind of new proposition. Unfortunately we have no timelines but understanding that the market will require to have something pretty soon because now there’s nothing”.

“It’s absolutely important and crucial, especially for those that have been shut down for a while because of COVID. In all fairness for those who were shut down, especially for a few months, there should be some kind of rental support or support for the fixed costs that they incurred while they were closed,” he said. “And definitely to make the program better as businesses reopen and can transition from being an emergency support and geared more toward business continuity.”

Massive Daily Lineups at Brandy Melville Stores in Canada a Result of Social Media

By
Jessica Finch
-
EXTERIOR OF BRANDY MELVILLE STORE ON QUEEN STREET WEST, TORONTO.

Italian women’s clothing and accessory brand Brandy Melville has bounced back from the COVID-19 shutdowns seemingly better than ever. Since June, the retailer has enjoyed consistent and lengthy lineups at its Canadian stores, partly due to the brand’s resurgence on social media.

Currently there are three Brandy Melville stores operating in Canada — one on Queen Street West in Toronto, one on Saint-Catherine Street West in Montreal, and one on Vancouver’s Granville Street.

Since reopening stores this summer, all three locations have experienced exceptional in-store popularity, with abnormally long lineups day after day — so much so that the Vancouver Police Department was said to be concerned about crowds at that downtown store.

BRANDY MELVILLE SEEING SUBSTANTIALLY MORE TRACTION THAN OTHER RETAILERS POST COVID

PHOTOS OF THE LINE UP OUTSIDE BRANDY MELVILLE ON TORONTO’S QUEEN STREET WEST. PHOTOS: JESSICA FINCH

This kind of traction has not been experienced by other brands in the wake of stores reopening. On Toronto’s Queen Street West, Brandy Melville is the only store experiencing consistent lineups, despite its close proximity to popular brands such as Aritzia, Lululemon, H&M, and Adidas. Strangely, last year the Queen Street store was up for sublease but now it’s highly unlikely that Brandy Melville will be vacating anytime soon.

Established in 1970 in Italy by Silvio Marsan and his son, Stephan Marsan, Brandy Melville opened its first North American store in 2009 in Los Angeles. Today it operates 96 locations in the US and three in Canada.

Marketed towards teenage girls and young women, Brandy Melville is a one-size-fits-all, fast-fashion brand. Although originally Italian, the company is known for adjusting its prices, clothing styles, and accessory items to fit a North American consumer base. Although to keep a European aesthetic within American stores, Brandy Melville marks the prices of clothing items with fake euro symbols.

EXTERIOR OF BRANDY MELVILLE STORE ON QUEEN STREET WEST, TORONTO.

SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM ‘TIKTOK’ TO THANK FOR BOOMING BRANDY MELVILLE SUCCESS?

Brandy Melville is known for placing little emphasis on advertising, instead relying heavily on social media and word of mouth. The Brandy Melville Instagram account has 3.9 million followers and posts appear regularly, although not every day.

This strategy seems to be working for the brand, however, as social media’s newest networking platform — TikTok — has catapulted Brandy Melville back into the limelight.

PHOTOS OF THE LINE UP OUTSIDE BRANDY MELVILLE ON TORONTO’S QUEEN STREET WEST. PHOTOS: JESSICA FINCH

Appearing to be worn by all of TikTok’s most followed users, Brandy Melville has regained momentum with a new generation of young teenagers who are all active on the social media platform. According to official company announcements, TikTok has over 500 million monthly users, and has been downloaded from the Google Play store over 1 billion times.

The Brandy Melville mania on TikTok has bled into online, peer-to-peer social shopping app Depop, where Brandy clothing is often sold at marked-up prices. Depop — with its 15 million users — operates similarly to a social media site, using hashtags and key words to curate search options. Terms such as ‘deadstock’ (implying an item is unworn and highly coveted), or ‘Y2K’ (referring to a particular retro-futuristic aesthetic from the turn of the century that is making an almighty comeback) are seen frequently as hashtags across the site. Joining the ranks and becoming increasingly popular is the term ‘Rare Brandy’ — a hashtag used to reference Brandy Melville items that are highly sought after. On an average day, over 2.5k new Brandy Melville listings are made on Depop, with 300 specifically tagged ‘Rare Brandy’.

 

 
 
 
 
 
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#brandyusa

A post shared by Brandy Melville (@brandymelvilleusa) on

 

 
 
 
 
 
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#brandyusa

A post shared by Brandy Melville (@brandymelvilleusa) on

In recent years, the brand closed at least six of its Canadian stores — at Yorkdale Shopping Centre in Toronto, Square One in Mississauga, CF Carrefour Laval near Montreal, CF Rideau Centre in Ottawa, CF Market Mall in Calgary and at West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton. When these locations closed following the US parent company buy-out, it appeared that the brand was slowly being phasing out. No one seemed to be talking about Brandy Melville or its all-American, preppy style, instead the targeted demographic was pivoting to street style and seemingly ‘edgier’ trends.

In the past, Brandy Melville’s one-size-fits-all concept has often been critically referred to as ‘one-size-fits-small’ as the clothing is clearly designed with a petite frame in mind — a business model very much in contrast with today’s body positivity movement. It’s unusual that this criticism hasn’t hindered the retailer’s success. Many refuse to endorse the brand, accusing it of perpetuating the media’s toxic and unrealistic beauty standards. Other’s will say it promotes eating disorders in young women and girls. And while these may well be extremely valid points, the brand seems unfazed and the thousands of Canadian consumers lining up outside even less so.

Evidently, the power of social media is working in Brandy Melville’s favour. Other brands would be envious of such attention, particularly during a pandemic and following temporary store closures over the past several months. Foot traffic is down across the country, but Brandy Melville’s explosive popularity in Canada is evidence that consumers are still willing to shop if they’re excited about a brand or product.

National Retail Innovation Awards 2020 Welcomes Submissions

By
Retail Insider
-
DAVID SOBEY, CHAIR EMERITUS, SOBEYS INC; SPEAKING AT THE NATIONAL RETAIL INNOVATION AWARDS 2019

By Retail Insider

The David Sobey Centre for Innovation in Retailing and Services at Saint Mary’s University is hosting it’s 4th annual National Retail Innovation Awards on October 29th. The awards were created in 2017 to recognize young, up and coming Canadian retailers who have excelled and demonstrated innovation in one of three categories: Customer Experience, Retail Technology, and Sustainability.

“As the largest private-sector employer in the country, retailers in Canada hold a critical role in our economy. And to grow and prosper in a competitive global environment, our retailers are innovating in technology, customer loyalty, store, product design, and much more” as noted at last year’s awards by Diane Brisebois, President & CEO of Retail Council of Canada and a member of the David Sobey Advisory Council.

The event normally takes place in Halifax as a luncheon at the Marriott Harbourfront Hotel and hosts students, faculty, staff, external business community, and government officials to celebrate retail excellence and innovation across the country. This year, however, will be a little different as the awards will go virtual due to restrictions around the ongoing pandemic.

LEFT TO RIGHT: DOUG STEPHENS, FOUNDER & PRESIDENT, RETAIL PROPHET; KATE WYLIE, RETAIL DIRECTOR, POPPY BARLEY; JAMES LEPP, FOUNDER, SIX HUNDRED FOUR; DAVID SOBEY, CHAIR EMERITUS, SOBEYS INC; THOMAS RANKIN & TOMASZ NIEWIAROWSKI, CO-FOUNDERS, DASH HUDSON; DR. RAMESH VENKAT, DIRECTOR, DAVID SOBEY CENTRE

With COVID-19 having such a large impact on the retail sector, the David Sobey Centre has also decided to adjust this year’s awards categories. The National Retail Innovation Awards 2020 will instead recognize Canadian retailers who have displayed resilience, creativity, and innovation in successfully adapting to these trying times in one form or another. The three new categories are:

  1. Retail Business Model Innovation — Many retailers have pivoted in new directions and have implemented new revenue sources or business models in response to many of the challenges and restrictions imposed by the pandemic (ex; distilleries making hand sanitizer). This award will recognize a retailer who has implemented such a unique business model innovation.

  2. Retail Technology Innovation — The pandemic led to the closure of many retail stores and curtailed the operations of many others. But many of these retailers implemented technologies in innovative ways to connect with and sell to their customers. This award could include innovation in technology and fulfillment.

  3. Community Service Innovation — We have read stories about retailers going beyond the call of duty to serve their communities during the challenging times in the past few months. This award will recognize a retailer for their innovative and exemplary display of social responsibility, whether that be towards the community or its employees.

Call for Nominations:

If you know of a retailer that has exhibited innovation in one of these categories and feel is deserving of recognition, we ask that you nominate them using the following short form: https://forms.gle/QUscKk5sDkg3ydjc6

Criteria

  • Must be a Canadian Retailer

  • Must be a young company. Six years old or less

  • Nominations close on September 13

“The David Sobey Centre’s mandate is to help build a vibrant retail sector in Canada. We engage in applied research that guides retailers and supports innovation that solves problems or creates new opportunities for retailers,” said Dr. Ramesh Venkat, Director of the David Sobey Centre. “The National Retail Innovation Awards is a celebration of successful innovation in Canadian retailing. We hope the stories of these visionary entrepreneurs will inspire many others.”

The David Sobey Centre for Innovation in Retailing and Services, founded in 2014, funds and conducts research projects relevant to the retail sector, sponsors retail innovation, and student competitions, and offers executive education for the retail sector.

For any questions regarding the nomination process, the National Retail Innovation Awards, or the David Sobey Centre, please reach out to Austin at davidsobeycentre@smu.ca.

*Partner content. To work with Retail Insider, email: craig@retail-insider.com

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