Street sign with directions to either NEW BEGINNING or INSOLVENCY
The online publication Insolvency Insider highlighted 244 insolvency filings in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on the financial viability of many companies in Canada throughout various industries.
Retail led all industries with 45 filings mentioned, followed by real estate with 23 filings, manufacturing with 17 filings, food and accommodation with 16, and cannabis with 15.
The publication said 112 filings mentioned were in Ontario, followed by 45 in Alberta and 35 in Quebec.
Dina Milivojevic
Dina Milivojevic, Editor of Insolvency Insider, said the number of filings in 2020 in the retail sector was not as high as perhaps expected.
“One of the reasons from a landlord’s perspective is probably that some landlords aren’t enforcing (full rents) because it won’t be good for business in the post-COVID era to have lots of empty un-leased space,” she said. “So to the extent that they can keep their tenants alive I think that’s what they’re trying to do.
“From a tenant’s perspective it may not make sense to file even if they are struggling financially because one of the biggest incentives for filing was potentially having to pay rent and a decision out of Quebec recently made it clear that even if you file for CCAA (Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act) protection you’ll still have to pay rent to your landlord.
“And so that would have been one of the biggest stressors on a debtor’s cash flow and if they can’t avoid paying rent then it may not make sense to file. And sort of in the same vein, debtors may also be waiting to file as long as possible so that overdue rent accrues in the pre-filing period and that makes it a pre-filing debt. If they file, they will have to pay rent post-filing to stay in the space.”
Milivojevic said that in a typical cycle many retailers file for protection in the first quarter of the year after the holiday season after they’ve looked at their numbers and figured out whether it makes sense to file or not.
She said the industry expects there will be more filings in 2021 because landlords are probably getting a little bit more impatient, lenders are probably getting a little bit more impatient and the Canada Revenue Agency too.
“From the retail perspective we’re still in a stalemate at this point so it’s really hard to predict,” added Milivojevic.
“The holiday season is typically a retailer’s busiest season and a lot of the money they make over the course of a year is made in the months of November and December and so if they haven’t had a good holiday season then they might not have enough cash to service their obligations. So they would typically be filing at this time of year. But for the reasons I’ve described it might not happen this year.”
Milivojevic said retailers can only hold on for so long as the pandemic continues.
“Retailers are trying to hold on for dear life because they’re hoping that if they can stay afloat financially and they can avoid a filing and avoid shutting down then in the post-COVID environment competition will be much less because we’ve already seen a number of retailers that have filed. There will be fewer players in the market and then they’ll be servicing a market that has less competition. So I think that’s what they’re hoping for and another reason why they’re holding out,” she said.
“But it can only go for so long. The longer it goes on the more filings we’ll see for sure.
With the number of CCAA filings, the hope is that companies will be able to restructure. Many businesses in the service industry were impacted by COVID.
“The longer that stores and restaurants aren’t able to have people in their businesses the more likely they will be to file,” added Milivojevic.
“The longer that it goes the more likely that even bigger retailers will be closing their doors in the future. Some companies have been more successful than others in transitioning to online sales. The bricks and mortar shops that drive most of their sales from in-person buying are really, really struggling whereas the Amazons that were already established online are doing very well.”
The vast majority of filings in 2020 were in Ontario most likely because many of the companies are headquartered in that province. For Alberta, the number of filings also may reflect the economic downturn the province has experienced not only due to COVID but also to lower oil prices.
Entrance to the Retail Innovation Lab on the McGill University campus.
McGill University and Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. have recently partnered to launch one of Canada’s first retail innovation labs. The initiative is part of the retail innovation studies program at the Bensadoun School of Retail Management, acting as a live testing ground for innovative and frictionless technologies that address the retail sector’s future challenges.
In the wake of COVID-19 and the countless obstacles it imposes on retailers, the university and the global retailer have come together to create one of North America’s first live, open laboratory stores, in a bid to transform the customer experience at this critical time.
Located on McGill University’s downtown campus on prestigious Sherbrooke Street West, the lab is led by two research directors at McGill, Professor Maxime Cohen of the Desautels Faculty of Management and Professor James Clark of the Faculty of Engineering. Governed by a joint steering committee, preliminary research themes are set to focus on helping customers make healthier, more sustainable consumer choices, and finding equilibrium between personalization and privacy within the shopping experience.
Professor James Clark (left) & Professor Maxime Cohen (right)
“By combining artificial intelligence and retail management, this retail innovation lab at the Bensadoun School of Retail Management will allow our researchers to develop new initiatives and technologies to improve the customer experience for the retail sector with the help of industry partners,” said Professor Morty Yalovsky, Dean of McGill’s Desautels Faculty of Management. “We are excited to welcome one of Canada’s largest retailers, Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., as the first industry partner of our lab to help shape the future of retail during this pivotal moment in history.”
The lab provides researchers with state-of-the-art artificial intelligence tools, while also ensuring stringent data privacy and confidentiality protocols, to improve demand forecasting and customer recommendations, as well as virtual reality to make it easier for customers to find what they are looking for.
Deb Hall Lefevre
Inside the lab, a Couche-Tard Connecté section is specially designed with frictionless technologies to allow autonomous and contactless checkout. Using an app, customers can unlock the door to walk into the Connecté section, pick up items, and leave. The items selected will be recognized in real-time, and payment will be processed automatically in the app. A first in Canada’s convenience store sector, the frictionless store will allow Couche-Tard team members to provide elevated service, speed up in-store visits, and create a more straightforward shopping experience for customers.
“This new store on the McGill University campus is a unique demonstration of our commitment to find new ways to make our customers’ lives a little easier,” said Deborah Hall Lefevre, Chief Technology Officer, Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. “At Couche-Tard, we are always searching for innovative solutions that improve the experience for our customers in our stores. By having a live laboratory, we are confident that the research projects and technologies successfully tested at the lab may eventually be implemented in some of our 14,220 stores across our global network,” she added.
In addition to enabling ground-breaking research, the lab will allow McGill students to deepen their knowledge through on-site experiential learning in an innovative commercial environment.
Sophie Provencher
“We are proud to deploy this new store with McGill’s Bensadoun School of Retail Management, and in doing so, contribute to developing the next generation of entrepreneurs, offer a differentiated customer experience with the latest technologies, and provide an even more rewarding and safe work experience to our current and future employees,” said Sophie Provencher, Vice-President Quebec West – Operations, Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. “Through this partnership, we will build on the great customer service our store team members provide every day, by making their jobs a little easier and giving them more time and opportunity to delight our customers,” she added.
The lab is currently open at reduced hours and allows for a limited in-store capacity until local public health authorities in Quebec deem it safe to operate at full capacity.
The lab is funded by the Bensadoun Family Foundation and Bensadoun School of Retail Management Founders Circle, of which Alain Bouchard, Founder and Chairman of the Board of Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., is a member.
First impressions. They are one-time occurrences that for many helps to begin shaping their initial perceptions and interpretations of individuals, communities, pieces of art, or anything else. They provide a frame, a sketch, a partial introduction or sneak-peek at the bigger picture, often leaving behind lasting effects. For retailers and other businesses, the first impression can mean everything, piquing curiosity and interest in prospective customers and establishing the voice and tenor of the brand. It’s a notion, and the importance of which, that is well-understood by Gregory Signs – a leading Toronto-based signage company that’s been working with businesses, helping to satisfy their branding and signage needs for more than four decades.
Forty Years of Growth
Founded in 1981 as an engraving shop by Gregory Kaminsky, the company began operations with the opening of its first retail location at 2899 Steeles Avenue West in Brampton, northeast of Toronto. Excelling within his craft, it wasn’t long before Kaminsky, who recognized an increasing need for the development of different types of signage, started to grow the business and the base of customers that it served. And, a little less than ten years following its founding, in response to its exponential growth and aided by the advent of new technologies, the company increased its product line, moving its operations to Petrolia Road in North York. It represented an incredible start for the company whose mission early on was to earn the recognition of its customers, employees, suppliers and communities it serves as one of the highest quality performers in the sign industry. And, as it turns out, the operations and reputation of Gregory Signs were only just beginning to flourish.
Boris Kaminsky
In 2006, due to an ever-increasing demand for the company’s services, as well as the commissioning of larger-scale projects, it once again moved its operations, this time to a larger freestanding manufacturing facility in Concord, Ontario. Sales have continued to escalate during the decade-and-a-half that’s followed, in concert with a widening portfolio and broadening scope of work that the company has taken on. In 2019, in efforts to support its impressive success, Gregory Signs opened a new Head Office in Concord, resulting in increased space at its nearby manufacturing facility. Shortly thereafter, the company opened additional sites, including a brand-new sales, showroom and manufacturing facility in Barrie, Ontario and a sales showroom in downtown Toronto. The growth and expansion of the company since its founding has been steady and quite impressive. But, according to Boris Kaminsky, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Gregory Signs, the organization remains focused on continuing to build its reputation within the industry and communities it serves, and dedicated toward sustaining the extraordinary success it’s enjoyed to date.
“The company was built on a foundation of providing excellent customer service and expertise for the clients we work with,” he says. “And because the signage industry is one that’s constantly evolving with consumer and market trends and the introduction of new technologies, we make sure we continue to adapt every day. We’re constantly exploring ways that we can continuously improve the way we do things and expand the range of products that we offer. But, in the end, our success is all about working with retailers and other businesses to consistently help them develop and display the signage that best represents their operations, conveying the story of the brand to the customer.”
End-to-End Services and Solutions
To help its clients achieve these goals, Gregory Signs offers a full range of signage services, from conceptual planning and design through to fabrication and installation. And, as Kaminsky points out, there isn’t a business that the company will turn away, servicing all types and sizes of operations from all walks and industries. Specializing in developing and installing exterior signage, the company also offers an incredible array of other services, from delivering on interior, structural and custom signage needs to the development of wayfinding and digital signage, and just about everything in between. Each service is part of the overall custom solutions that are available to clients of the company who, according to Kaminsky, range with respect to the needs of the organization.
“We work with clients right across the spectrum who are all at different stages of their businesses’ development with varying signage requirements,” he explains. “Some of our clients come to us with a logo and branding that’s already been developed and implemented and they need our help in fabricating and installing it at locations. Some of our clients are at the prototype stage of their branding and require our expertise in making recommendations as we work with them to finalize their signage. And we also work with clients that come to us with very little in terms of branding and ideas. That’s when we’re able to leverage our full complement of experience and industry knowledge, providing consultation and our project management skills to help them develop their identity from scratch. We understand the importance of signage and how it can help differentiate brands. This, in combination with our decades of experience and know-how, helps to set our clients apart from their competitors.”
Expanding Presence and Portfolio
Its experience and know-how, it seems, also helps to set Gregory Signs apart from its competitors, too. As one of the few full-service signage providers, it long ago established itself as a market leader. Today, the company works with a breadth of organizations and brands, including the Toronto Transit Commission, the Ontario Provincial Police, Oracle, Puma, and Holmes, to name a few. The company has also been responsible for the recent development of a range of eclectic projects that include design and consulting work, as well as interior and exterior signage creation and installation, for the new Niagara Entertainment Complex, a number of temporary sign installations at construction sites, in addition to the development of cemetery wayfinding signs. And, although the majority of the clients that the company works with have operations based in Ontario, its services are also engaged by a substantial number of businesses outside of the province, in Alberta, British Columbia and Manitoba, as well as in the United States and other parts of the globe.
As part of its suite of services, Gregory Signs also works to ensure permits for their clients and assurance that their signage needs fit within local bylaws. And if a bylaw variance is necessary in order to fulfill the signage needs, the company will do the work required to assess the cost and viability of the variance for the business. Otherwise, it’s also able to make insightful recommendations concerning adaptations to the sign that will allow it to adhere to bylaws while retaining its desired impact. In addition, the company is also becoming more involved in the architectural design of store facades, adapting to market needs and extending its services even further, beyond the sign, to include the development and construction of a businesses’ entire first impression.
Agility During Difficult Times
The ability that Gregory Signs has shown through the years in its efforts to respond to market trends, shifting and adapting its service to meet client demand, has been remarkable. It’s a characteristic and attribute of the company that Kaminsky says has always been a part of its culture. And he explains how the impacts of COVID-19 presented yet another opportunity for the company to extend its services even further to help fill new and emerging needs and requirements amongst some of its clients.
“When the impacts of COVID started, we needed to pivot a little bit to make sure we were able to provide our clients with the services they required,” he says. “For instance, we received a lot of initial requests from dentist’s offices for the fabrication and installation of temporary enclosures and plastic doors and dividers to help close off open spaces for the safety and comfort of patients. We’ve been fortunate enough to be able to remain open for business because of these essential services that we provide and the projects that we’re involved in, including work with the TTC, hospitals and other medical and government buildings.”
Signs of Optimism
Although he recognizes the negative impacts that the global pandemic has had on some of the company’s competitors and the industries that it serves, Kaminsky explains that Gregory Signs is forging ahead with aggressive growth plans, nonetheless. Over the coming year, the company is intent on continuing to expand its presence, grow its customer-base and extend its portfolio of projects even further. In doing so, he suggests, its operations will be well placed to service the signage needs of a retooled and revitalized business landscape.
“Results of the pandemic on businesses, retailers in particular, have been severe. We’ve witnessed the impacts firsthand as a company through the services we provide. There have been a lot of bankruptcies and closures. And, we’re unfortunately expecting to see more before this all comes to an end. I don’t think we’ve yet seen the full impacts of the pandemic. But this situation isn’t going to last forever. With this in mind, we’re currently hiring in order to meet today’s demand, and to help prepare us for the future, too. We’re also going to be opening two new locations in Ontario, east and west of our current offices and facilities. We’re hopeful and optimistic that business will bounce back. When protocols are lifted and they’re allowed to fully open up again, when people feel comfortable going out and entering stores and other enclosed spaces, we’re anticipating an increase in the demand for the services that we provide. And, supported by our growth and the expert work that we do, we’ll be ready to meet that demand.”
*Partner Content. To work with Retail Insider, email: darryl@retail-insider.com
DALLAS – January 19, 2021 – Centennial, a real estate investment firm with a national portfolio of shopping, dining, entertainment and mixed-use destinations (www.CentennialREC.com), announced today that, in March, it will launch the next phase of its innovative and first-in-the-U.S. “Shop Now!” omni-channel shopping platform, originally introduced in September of last year, with the first phase rolled out to all Centennial properties nationwide in time for the 2020 holiday season. Developed for Centennial by Adeptmind, a leading technology company specializing in artificial intelligence and e-commerce, the platform’s newest iteration will offer a host of new benefits to consumers, including a streamlined single-cart checkout process, same-day delivery, and near 100% retailer participation at each Centennial shopping center. For downloadable photos of the Shop Now! platform, click here: http://ow.ly/4q3d30rdvaq.
“Shop Now! is a game changer in the retail industry,” says Whitney Livingston, Centennial’s COO. “It’s a tool that merges the brick-and-mortar and online shopping experience in ways consumers never imagined were possible before. As the next phase of the Shop Now! platform rolls out in Centennial malls across the nation, shoppers will be able to search the in-stock, local inventory of all of their favorite stores, purchasing through a single consolidated online shopping cart, and picking up their purchases in person or opting for same-day home delivery, providing customers with the ultimate in shopping convenience and accessibility.”
The next phase of Shop Now! will be launched first at just one Centennial shopping center beginning in March. Centennial expects to have the new phase of the platform rolled out to all of its shopping centers nationwide before the end of the year.
“The newest phase of Shop Now! will deliver even more conveniences that change the way Americans shop at the mall,” says Jesse Michael, Managing Director, Adeptmind. “Together with Centennial, we are especially proud to announce that, as the next phase of the Shop Now! platform is introduced, we will have achieved 100% participation from all retailers in each Centennial shopping center, giving customers online access to all of the products carried by each local retailer. Now, shoppers can truly have an omni-channel shopping experience at the local level, shopping as easily online as they do in-person in their local mall.”
How It Works
The Shop Now! platform gives shoppers at each of Centennial’s properties the ability to search all products from all stores, and in-store inventories from select stores in their local Centennial mall via that property’s existing website. To get started, shoppers simply click on the Shop Now! tab at the top of the mall’s home page. Shoppers can then search for the product they are looking for – “blue jeans” for example – and the site will display all the blue jeans available from the center’s directory of retailers. To refine their search, they will be offered filters and guided discovery tools. Shoppers can then decide if they prefer to use the tool to purchase online or simply pre-plan their in-person visit. Additionally, visitors to each shopping center’s website can book services like hair and nail appointments or order food from mall restaurants through each center’s website directory.
New Additions Coming Soon
Streamlined Checkout: In the first phase of the Shop Now! program, shoppers completed their purchases via individual retailer transactions at checkout. The next phase of the Shop Now! platform will include a streamlined single-cart checkout process, a change which greatly simplifies the platform’s use.
Same Day Delivery: In the initial phase of the platform, shoppers could use the tool to pre-plan an in-person visit or purchase online, picking up their purchases in store, curbside (where available), or choosing to have their purchases shipped to their homes. In the new phase, shipping options will be replaced with curbside pick-up and same-day delivery for all stores, a move which makes the Shop Now! process more convenient than any other online experience.
Enhanced Retailer Participation: When Shop Now! was initially rolled out nationwide just before the holiday shopping season began, Centennial malls had greater than 70% retailer participation. By the time the new phase rolls out, each center will have 100% retailer participation, giving consumers digital access to explore each retailer’s products and purchase from select retailers’ in-stock local inventory.
About Adeptmind
Adeptmind was founded in 2017 by two former employees of the Microsoft-exited tech startup Maluuba. As the leading AI based, e-commerce product discovery company, Adeptmind uses innovative active and deep learning techniques to enhance the customer purchasing journey. With offices in Toronto, San Francisco, and Paris, Adeptmind supports more than 400 partners, including Ulta Beauty, Decathlon, Cadillac Fairview, Centennial, U.S. Polo Assn., and more with innovative technology. To learn more about Adeptmind, please visit adeptmind.ai and follow Adeptmind on LinkedIn and @adeptmindai on Instagram.
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.
Dynamite and Soft Moc at Avalon Mall - January 2021 (Photo Crombie REIT)
As years go, 2020 turned out to be a bit of a black swan, to say the least. The impacts of the COVID-19 global pandemic have wreaked havoc on the societal norms that we’ve all been so long accustomed to, interrupting everyone’s lives in some of the most drastic of ways. For many businesses and industries, the results have been near-catastrophic, highlighted by hindered markets and trade, representing one of the most turbulent and uncertain economic periods the world has ever collectively experienced. And as government-imposed lockdowns and restrictions on businesses continue in conjunction with a seemingly diminishing availability of abatements and other aids, it’s safe to suggest that the real impacts of the pandemic have not yet been fully realized or understood. In light of the current ambiguity, many are leveraging this time as an opportunity to rethink, reassess, and retool where possible. And, according to industry expert, Stan Boniferro, it’s exactly what shopping centre landlords across the country have planned for 2021 and beyond.
“The last ten months or so have obviously been very difficult for the retail industry as a result of the impacts of COVID-19,” he says. “The severity of these impacts varies from province to province, with Ontario and Quebec being the hardest hit. But lockdowns and restrictions have prevented stores across the country from being open and customers from visiting them. The lack of footfall has drastically reduced, if not removed, impulse purchases, which is one of the pillars of the philosophy around creating a shopping environment like the shopping centre. And when traffic is limited and sales are down, you’ve got to expect a shopping centre experience in the future that is not exactly like the experience that existed pre-pandemic. Landlords and developers will be taking a good look at their mix over the coming year, in combination with the function of their centres within the areas they serve, and will start to innovate to evolve what the shopping centre of tomorrow will look like.”
Shift Toward Non-Traditional Retail
Though he recognizes the significant effects that COVID has had on the retail shopping centre environment and the customer experience, he’s also quick to point out the fact that the changes that are afoot are actually all part of an evolution based on market and consumer shifts that had already started to take hold before the onset of the pandemic. Trends including the consumer’s migration toward making more of their purchases online, their increasing penchant for ease and convenience, and a revaluation on the part of both retailers and shopping centre landlords concerning the way commercial space is used, have all been accelerated by the impacts of COVID rather than directly influenced by them. Nonetheless, Boniferro sees change coming for shopping centres across the country. Though the change that occurs, he suggests, won’t be the same across the board.
“Modifications that are going to take place within shopping centres in the near and immediate term are going to depend on the type of centre,” he asserts. “Major malls like Yorkdale, CF Toronto Eaton Centre, CF Pacific Centre, and CF Chinook Centre, as well as primary malls serving smaller towns and cities, are environments that offer something for everyone. Most of them have significant food offerings and entertainment offerings as well. And given the pre-COVID sales volumes that many of them were experiencing and the strength of their attraction to the shopping public, they’ll survive these trying times. But they’ll certainly look to diversify their offerings which will be represented not only by different retail concepts, but by multi-faceted properties that will include residential, office, entertainment, and institutional spaces. The second tier of shopping centres could very well be converted to completely different uses than what we see today, moving toward a more convenience and personal services-driven use. And the third level of the shopping centre is unfortunately likely destined to disappear.”
Providing Greater Ease and Convenience
A potential shift toward non-traditional retail offerings will help landlords assign spaces that have been vacated by businesses not fortunate enough to have survived the initial impacts of the pandemic. It could also serve as a means to address the consumer’s growing desire for ease and convenience, providing significantly more than the traditional retail offering, becoming something of a hub of the community and attracting a new type of shopping centre visitor to the properties. Another way in which landlords will look to add value and convenience to the shopping centre experience of tomorrow, suggests Boniferro, will be in concerted efforts to enhance the level of services that are provided by their centres, namely through the expansion of availability of curbside pickup options.
“The advent of curbside pickup is one of the few positives that have come out of the entire pandemic situation,” he reflects. “It presents landlords and their tenants with a great opportunity to provide their customers with the convenience they crave while solving challenges that exist in the last mile of delivery, which is the costliest for them. It shifts the burden onto the consumer who is showing a willingness and preference to pick their purchases up at physical locations. It presents a big opportunity, one that the country’s major mall operators realize, resulting in the current development of common curbside pickup services that will be available for all tenants to leverage.”
Repurposing to Meet Evolving Needs
It’s a trend, and a move by retailers and landlords, that reflects the recent acceleration concerning the migration of purchases from bricks-and-mortar locations to the online channel. And, according to Michael Kehoe, Owner and Broker of Calgary-based Fairfield Commercial Real Estate and Lead Ambassador for Canada at the International Council of Shopping Centers, it creates the perfect scenario and a tremendous opportunity for retailers and mall operators to meet the demand of online shopping by way of utilizing their space accordingly.
“Space is currently being recycled in most shopping centres across the country,” he says. “New restaurants and retailers are evolving. Successful retailers are expanding their footprints. But as consumers continue to become more comfortable shopping online, what we’re noticing is a repurposing of space into fulfillment and distribution hubs. Whether consumers are ordering online to have the product delivered to their home, pick it up in the store or by way of curbside pickup, the ease, convenience, and choice that these options provide is increasing in appeal among shoppers. And it represents an opportunity for retailers and shopping centre landlords to support the experiences they offer, making their locations and properties hubs of omnichannel fulfillment.”
Re-Emergence of Tenant-Landlord Relationships
The shift toward rethinking and repurposing traditional shopping centre space is just one of the ways that mall landlords and their tenants will be working with one another to innovate in efforts to ensure success going forward. After all, the prosperity and longevity of each are pinned to the other. But Kehoe, who has nearly 45 years of experience working within the retail and real estate fields and has witnessed firsthand much of the evolution that has taken place within and around the North American shopping centre, believes that the significant events of the past year have brought with them a re-emergence of the importance of the tenant-landlord relationship, and could lead to more favourable terms for retail tenants.
“We’ve been witness to all manners of behaviour from landlords as a result of the pandemic,” he says. “From reactive to proactive, ranging from evasiveness and denial on one extreme to outright empathy and cooperation on the other. Ultimately, events over the past ten months or so have led to a renewed tenant-landlord relationship, wherein the parties realize that rent is more a function of sales and not just a product of the landlord’s pro forma and budget. Landlord property managers and lease administration personnel were overwhelmed in the Spring of 2020 with rent relief and rent deferral requests and bogged down by the related lease amending agreements. As a result, the major mall swagger devolved into a bit of a stumble and, in some cases, a complete falling-down on the tenant relations front. Fortunately, much progress has been made and a correction is well underway that should lead to a more tenant-focused environment in 2021 and beyond.”
Creating a Safe and Engaging Experience
Another way in which the tenant-landlord relationship has recently been galvanized is their collective need to ensure the comfort and safety of their guests. Both Boniferro and Kehoe agree that most shopping centre operators and their tenants have been working as diligently as they’ve been able to in order to put necessary protocols and procedures in place, attentively limiting the occupancy levels within stores and common areas and providing adequate sanitization and cleanliness throughout the properties. It’s all part of critical work that’s currently required to allay the fears and trepidations of today’s consumer. However, each expert is hopeful and anticipating an end to the bleakness of the COVID era, when a vaccine has been administered and the general public feels safe once again to begin returning to storefronts and malls.
“Over time, as people become more amenable to socializing again and entering shopping centres where there are crowds, I think it will reflect a change in their social behaviour that’s been influenced by events of the past year,” says Boniferro. “People will likely be more mindful of keeping their distance. And shopping centres will also place a greater emphasis on the safety of their patrons. They’ll look at their common area furnishings and amenities, making alterations like spacing out seating and providing more common areas for visitors to walk in. These are just a few of the adaptations that will be made. Retailers and shopping centres have always responded to the needs of the consumer. It’s the name of the game. And the innovation and creativity that’s sparked by the need to adapt will only intensify their efforts throughout 2021 and beyond in order to continue appealing to the Canadian consumer.”
Though the timeframe around the world’s return to something resembling normalcy is still relatively hazy, with estimates ranging from this time next year to perhaps not until sometime in 2023, it seems a return is on the horizon, nonetheless. In the meantime, Kehoe also recognizes the innovation and creativity that’s being executed by retailers and shopping centres and suggests that a greater understanding of the roles they play within their communities and the attitudes and preferences of their customers could result.
“Retailers and shopping centres are always looking to engage with their visitors on a deeper level and in more meaningful ways. There’s a big emphasis on shopping local, and it’s a trend and message that’s gaining traction every day. As we move into 2021 and beyond, you’ll see mall landlords and their tenants really take this to heart and leverage the notion to get even closer to their customers, connecting with them in more significant and personal ways, leading to another shopping centre boom that’s driven by an enhanced experience and elevated service.”
Barneys New York Not Coming to Canada as Announced
Authentic Brands Group (ABG) announced in late 2019 that it had successfully acquired the Barneys New York name for $271 million, following Barneys’ bankruptcy. In a partnership with HBC-owned Saks Fifth Avenue, Barneys New York had been set to open more than 40 ‘Barneys at Saks’ departments in the US as well as in Canada which would have included an initial three locations in Toronto and Calgary.
Last week it was revealed in WWD that the Barneys rollout will now be limited to two Saks locations in the US for the time being. That includes a 54,000-square-foot Barneys at Saks on the fifth floor of the Saks flagship store in Manhattan, which opened last week, as well as talks of a 14,000-square-foot Saks building in Greenwich, Connecticut, which will open at Barneys on January 25, 2021.
Barneys had been expected to open combined women’s/men’s fashion departments at Saks Fifth Avenue stores in Canada, including in the Saks flagship at CF Toronto Eaton Centre/Hudson’s Bay, at Saks CF Sherway Gardens in Toronto, and at the Saks store at CF Chinook Centre in Calgary. Sources said that Barneys would have opened as departments in the ‘contemporary’ fashion departments in these stores.
“Beyond the Fifth Avenue and Greenwich locations, Saks has no plans as of now for additional Barneys sites. That’s to be determined based on the degree to which customers take to Barneys at Saks,” as per an article in WWD.
Poppy Barley flagship in Edmonton. Photo: Poppy Barley
Canadian Luxury Brand ‘Poppy Barley’ Launches Cactus Leather Accessory Line
Edmonton-based footwear brand Poppy Barley continues to innovate within the world of sustainable fashion with the launch of its first plant-based product line, PB PLNT. The new concept kicks off with an all-new accessory collection made of Laguaro, Poppy Barley’s eco-conscious cactus leather, and features the Multitasker Backpack, Convertible Belt Bag, and Card Holder.
Unlike traditional leather alternatives that are commonly marketed as “vegan leather” and made from materials like PVC and PU, which are toxic plastics derived from oil, Laguaro is a sustainable and environmental powerhouse. Each PB PLNT accessory is made from harvested Mexican cactus leaves, leaving the rest of the cactus intact, and with cacti being one of Mexico’s most abundant plants requiring little water, this new material just might be the most sustainable plant-based leather on the planet.
The Card Holder and Convertible Belt Bag. Photo: Poppy Barley
PB PLNT parallels the luxurious look and feel of Poppy Barley’s classic leather goods and the accessories are about 80% biodegradable, with Poppy Barley aiming to reach 100% in the near future. The brand also has plans to introduce other innovative plant-based leathers in future collections.
“Our customers have been asking for a leather alternative since day one, but there was never an option that we could stand behind — until now,” says Poppy Barley Co-Founder Justine Barber. “After years of researching and testing, we discovered cactus leather basically next door to our manufacturing facility in Mexico. We finally found a leather alternative that wouldn’t compromise quality or our values when it comes to environmental impact. We believe the future of fashion has no choice but to consider the Earth and humanity, and we want to lead the way.”
PoppyBarley operates stores at Southgate Centre in Edmonton and at CF Market Mall in Calgary. The retailer’s online website is poppybarley.com.
BV x eliteGen event image
Bayview Village & eliteGen Partner to Host ‘Pamper in Prosperity’ for Chinese New Year
Bayview Village in Toronto is celebrating Lunar New Year virtually this year, and is one of the first shopping centres to begin promoting the Chinese holiday in Canada.
From February 6 to 11, Bayview Village is partnering with eliteGen to host ‘Pamper in Prosperity‘ — a series of live virtual sessions to help refresh, rejuvenate, and discover your best self, all from the comfort of your own home.
For $28, customers can purchase an exclusive self-care kit ($200 value) featuring beauty, food, and wellness goods from Bayview Village tenants. For that price customers will also receive access to all six sessions. There will be a daily grand prize draw (valued between $130 to $200) and additional giveaways for attending the sessions throughout the week.
Available for curbside pick-up at BV on Friday, February 5, the self-care kit includes the following products:
Follow @bvshops for the latest updates and to hear about other exciting initiatives for 2021.
Exterior of Simons store at Square One in Mississauga. Photo: Simons
Simons Saves the Corals with New Collaboration
In collaboration with Glowing.org and Pantone Color Institute, Quebec City-based retailer La Maison Simons has created an eco-friendly clothing collection made principally of organic cotton and recycled polyester, all in a concentrated effort to protect our ocean’s endangered coral reefs.
Marking Simons’ first Vision project of 2021, the initiative is part of the brand’s trendy and fashion-forward Twik department.
Simons' new eco-friendly collection to aid the ocean's coral reefs. Photos: Simons
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According to non-profit organization The Ocean Agency, our current environmental situation is putting the ocean’s coral reefs in danger. Determined to fight back against this disturbing phenomenon, Simons will be donating $5 to The Ocean Agency for each piece of the exclusive collection that is sold.
Simons is starting the new year by rethinking its focus and is now committed to reducing its water consumption and carbon footprint. “This new space, a place where we can share our social and environmental efforts, was born out of our deep-seated belief that fashion can be both sustainable and a source of beauty,” Simons said in a press release.
Exterior of Rocky Mountain Soap Company store in Burnaby. Photo: Ivanhoe Cambridge
Rocky Mountain Soap Company Leaves Metropolis at Metrotown
Canadian company Rocky Mountain Soap Company has just announced the closure of its Burnaby store near Vancouver. The location, which is set to close permanently on January 28th, 2021, is located in Metropolis at Metrotown and has been there since the winter of 2017.
The all-natural skin care company originated in Canmore, Alberta, and despite the Burnaby closure, will still have a very active presence across the country with 137 locations, including 11 standalone stores, selling the brand’s soaps and bath products across six provinces and two territories.
The brand was founded in 1995 and in 2017 launched a major expansion plan after taking a couple of years off to reevaluate and perfect its product and customer service experience, as well as upgrade various systems and processes.
Retail Insider recently conducted a photo tour of Metropolis at Metrotown to provide an inside view of the shopping centre with retail insights leading up to the Christmas holiday season. You can enjoy that here.
Simone Rocha for H&M collaboration. Photo: H&M
H&M Partners with Simone Rocha
H&M has added yet another designer to its list of high-fashion crossover projects, this time collaborating with Irish designer, Simone Rocha. The collection between the Swedish fast-fashion retailer and UK-based womenswear designer comes after previous highly-successful H&M partnerships, including Commes des Garçons, Giambattista Valli, and Karl Lagerfeld.
The collection will include womenswear, menswear, children’s clothing, and beauty — many of which are new segments for Rocha.
While the offering hasn’t been revealed just yet, H&M says that we can expect Rocha signatures like delicate tulle dresses, tartan tailoring, beaded shirting, cable knits, trench coats, sparkling jewellery, and pearl-embellished shoes. And it will all come in a romantic colour palette that mixes cream, pink, red, and black.
“Simone Rocha has been on the H&M wish-list for some time. This collaboration offers a new audience the chance to own a very special piece of design history. All of us at H&M have been so inspired to work with a female designer who spends so much time thinking about contemporary femininity, and womanhood, and who is so committed to excellence in craft and design, from the process of developing special fabrications, to pushing silhouettes, shapes and embellishments. Every garment within this collection is unique, special and the result of years of work and meticulous research,” said Ann-Sofie Johansson, from H&M.
The collection debuts March 11, 2021, and will also celebrate a decade of the Simone Rocha label. H&M operates stores throughout Canada.
Jean-Noel Kapferer stated in his well-known book, The Luxury Strategy, that sales personnel in a luxury store “should never earn direct sales commission”. He believed this was only logical as their role was not to actually sell the product.
Yet, for decades, luxury companies have paid their salespeople on a sales percentage basis. Indeed, extensive research can be found on the impact that commissions have on salespeople’s behaviour. Arguments supporting this practice are numerous: paying a percentage of output motivates employees to always try and do better, it triggers healthy competition between them, and it ensures that rewards are based on performance.
However, most of that research is based on data collected in business-to-business environments and doesn’t consider a luxury retail setting where employees work together, often sharing the same clients and concluding sales that they don’t always personally initiate.
While the practice might work in a business-to-business setting, it is not an effective method of remuneration in a luxury retail environment where customer experience takes precedence over sales.
Commissions Are Not Appropriate in a Luxury Environment
Commissions have always been used to motivate sales teams. Research shows that a well-designed compensation strategy with incentives and rewards keeps hungry salespeople focused on the prize at hand. However, this is an output-based goal benefiting the company but giving little consideration to the customer. It is incompatible with the values of luxury retail. Companies who compensate in such a way forget that the sales advisor’s role in the luxury world is not to actually sell a product. Quite the contrary.
Entering a luxury boutique is like stepping into the lobby of a plush and intimate hotel. The surroundings evoke beauty, calm, and refinement, and are created to transport the visitor into a dream world where all senses are awakened. Price tags and cash registers are invisible to the naked eye.
Hence, the role of the advisor is to deliver an exceptional experience and develop a personal connection with the client “because emotion, not reason drives people to buy a luxury item”. It must remain untinged by real-life concerns such as earning commissions. If advisors have these in mind rather than the client’s well-being, the efforts to deliver a memorable moment will inevitably be tarnished with self-interest.
Clients Expect Exceptional Service Not Competition
Commissions trigger healthy competition between salespeople. The theory is that great salespeople typically thrive on competition and that organizations who want to optimize their performance should pit sales reps against one another. But studies show that even sales teams in business-to-business environments do better when members collaborate.
In luxury retail, collaboration is the foundation of a well-operated store. Teams work in close contact, often sharing identical sets of clients and because the purchase decision isn’t always immediate, they have to cooperate. No matter who looks after them, the clients must feel that the advisor has their best interests at heart.
When individual commissions are paid, there is the risk of a damaged customer experience. The focus is not on the client’s desires but rather on the advisor’s personal needs. This in turn fosters unhealthy competition that leads to dissent between associates. Such a contentious team dynamic can result in a very unpleasant customer experience indeed.
Digitization of Retail Is Changing the Way Performance Is Measured and Rewarded
Commissions reward short term output. An extensive study in business-to-business organizations demonstrates the impact of incentives on performance. While this might yield desired results in those organizations, it is more difficult to achieve in the current luxury space.
Luxury transactions are increasingly influenced by the online channel. An estimated 75% of clients search for products online before entering stores. They know what they want and are often more knowledgeable than the sales advisors. Sales are no longer the main purpose of the physical space.
The rise of online shopping has also boosted the growth in digital advertising. But in an extremely congested space, brands are finding it harder to reach their clients. This is where the physical store prevails. Regardless, clients will keep visiting physical locations as a destination for advice, socializing, and experiencing products. Doug Stephens predicts that the store is now the media, a space where brands can connect directly with their clients in meaningful ways.
As a consequence, previously sales-focused teams will need instead to prioritize informing, demonstrating, and above all, inspiring the clientele. In such a context, evaluating productivity through “sales per employee” and rewarding individual performance becomes obsolete.
A better measurement tool is the net promoter score (NPS). When positive, it denotes the clients’ likelihood to recommend the brand to their social circle. Rewarding the advisors then becomes a team effort based on overall company contribution.
Better Hiring and Training Practices Will Signal the End of Commissions
While luxury retailers won’t eliminate commissions instantly, the current challenges are bound to trigger a shift in the way luxury teams are compensated. Some experts predict that, in the future, the stores will become more of a complementary experience to e-commerce and not the other way around. Yet, this doesn’t signal the end of luxury retail.
On the contrary, the store remains a critical element for discovery and experience, both of which are the essence of luxury shopping. The multisensory moment the physical setting offers cannot be replicated online. But with less foot traffic, the onus is on the human capital to make each visit purposeful and meaningful. Therefore, the role of the store personnel must shift from a straight sales role to that of an expert brand ambassador, their status elevated through training and expanded job responsibilities.
Motivating these new teams won’t be as simple as a carrot-and-stick formula. Forward-thinking retailers have long recognized the power of well-trained experts who deliver on exceptional experiences instead of quick sales. Apple, often considered a provider of luxury-level technology and the world’s most valuable retail company, has never paid commissions to its front store staff. Steve Jobs believed doing so would work against the company’s primary goals: finding the right products for customers, rather than the most expensive ones, and establishing long-term rapport with the brand.
If Apple is able to generate revenue that exceeds the GDP of a small country through training and leadership, luxury retailers can certainly learn from this and achieve excellent results.
Solange Strom
Solange Strom is visionary CEO and entrepreneur in retail with a track-record of driving growth through employee-centric strategies. With 20+ years’ experience helming global brands such as Boiron, L’Occitane, and Repetto, Strom led a customer-focused approach long before client experience was retail’s latest buzz word. Combining her knowledge of European and North American markets with her ability to create profitable solutions rapidly and cost-effectively, Strom increased revenues up to 150%. As a leader galvanizing teams of 300+, Strom proved that prioritizing training and career development for employees was the key to successful customer engagement. Known for her ability to deliver innovative turnaround strategies for brands eager to pivot, Strom is unafraid to challenge the status quo, and thrive in creating pioneering opportunities for retail in times of uncertainty. Strom is currently a guest lecturer at the Ted Rogers School of Management, Ryerson University. She holds an MBA from McGill University, and is a recipient of France’s Ordre National du Mérite. Strom is a French foreign trade advisor and has held board and advisory positions at Mars Ventures. To contact Solange visit www.solangestrom.com
Deep Sea Adventure Lake - Photo by Matthew at Best Edmonton Mall
Retail Insider continues its Photo Tour series of Canadian Malls to provide a glimpse into shopping malls across Canada which may be less frequented due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This edition is the second of a two-part photo tour of the West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton, Alberta. As West Edmonton Mall (WEM) is the largest mall in Canada with over 800 retailers, attractions, and experiences, this edition focuses on Phase 3 and Phase 4 of the shopping centre. We invite you to enjoy the photo tour of Phase 1 and Phase 2 of West Edmonton Mallas well.
We have partnered up with Matthew from Best Edmonton Mall for the images that are used in this photo tour. He visited the mall on December 22nd, 2020 and we wanted to share his experience.
The West Edmonton Mall Map – Photo from WEM website.
Dividing Up West Edmonton Mall
One of the more challenging parts of the photo tour was bringing 5.3 million square feet of shopping centre to our loyal Retail Insider readers. As a result, we split West Edmonton Mall into two mall tour articles:
Phase 1 and Phase 2 (Part One, our previous article): Completed in 1981 and 1983 respectively; and
Phase 3 and Phase 4 (Part Two, this article): Completed in 1985 and 1999 respectively.
WEM Map. Phase 3 and Phase 4 (in Green) featured in this article. Phase 1 and Phase 2 featured in our previous photo tour article.
All four phases have two main retail levels which we’ll cover from the ground (level 1) up (to level 2). As always, the mall tour will progress through the mall in ‘tour zones’. Each zone will highlight the main retail tenants and a selection of other retailers with related links to other Retail Insider articles. This is not an exhaustive listing as the shopping centre has over 800 retailers and our apologies to any retailers we may have overlooked.
Lower Level Overview at West Edmonton Mall
WEM (Phase 3 and Phase 4) – Lower Level – Tour Zones
To start our West Edmonton mall tour, the lower level is the first level we’ll take you through for phases 3 and 4. For understanding, the lower level has been divided into three tour zones for this article:
Right Zone (Blue) in Phase 3
Centre Zone (Yellow) in Phase 3
Left Zone (Green) including Phase 4
West Edmonton Mall, Lower Level, Right Zone in Phase 2
WEM (Phase 3 and Phase 4) – Lower Level – Right Tour Zone
The first zone for Phase 3 and Phase 4 at West Edmonton Mall focuses on the lower level and on the right side (aka, ‘Right Zone’). This area has Bourbon Street with a variety of restaurants including (but not limited to) Moxie’s Grill, Boston Pizza, Earls, and The Old Spaghetti Factory. Key retailers in this zone include Victoria’s Secret/PINK, GAP Kids, and SJP by Sara Jessica Parker. Related articles for the key retailers include:
Bourbon Street saw a renovation and changed its name to BRBN Street a couple of years ago, coinciding with a renovation. Restaurants and foodservice businesses are often busy with patrons.
West Edmonton Mall, Lower Level, Centre Zone in Phase 3
WEM (Phase 3 and Phase 4) – Lower Level – Centre Tour Zone
The ‘Centre’ tour zone for Phase 3 and Phase 4 at West Edmonton Mall focuses on the lower level. This area is full of attractions including the ‘World Waterpark’, ‘Deep Sea Adventure Lake’, and ‘Professor Wem’s Adventure Golf’ as well as a food court. Key retailers in this zone include London Drugs and Urban Behaviour. Related articles for the key retailers include:
In years past, the Deep Sea adventure featured submarines that visitors could ride to see underwater exhibits, and dolphins were also among the animal shows. The food court saw a renovation in 2015 that created a more modern space, and as tenant leases were renewed it was mandated that facades be updated to create a uniform design touching the ceiling.
The Waterpark has been a major attraction for years and new attractions have been added such as surfing. Sources in the mall say that these attractions have been surprisingly profitable.
In 2014, an expansion wing from entrance 48 was in the planning stages. Included would have been a wing with several retailers anchored by a 150,000-square-foot Nordstrom store. Plans were put on ice as oil prices continued to decline through 2015.
West Edmonton Mall Food Court
Sea Life Caverns
Photo Booth
Social Distancing Signage
West Edmonton Mall, Lower Level, Left Zone
WEM (Phase 3 and Phase 4) – Lower Level – Left Tour Zone
The last stop on the lower level for Phase 3 and Phase 4 at West Edmonton Mall focuses on the ‘Left Zone’. The shopping centre’s ‘Fantasyland Hotel’ and ‘Caesar’s Bingo’ reside in this section with key retailers in this zone including the Lego Store, Indigo, and the Aurora Flagship. Related articles for the key tenants include:
Deep Sea Adventure
Photo by Matthew @ Best Edmonton Mall
In 1985, Vancouver-based department store chain Woodward’s opened a two-level store in West Edmonton Mall. Anchoring the west end of the mall, it was considered to be more fashion-forward than the Bay, Eaton’s, and Sears at the east end of the mall. Woodward’s went bankrupt in 1992 and was acquired by the Hudson’s Bay Company, which operated a second Bay store at West Edmonton Mall in the former Woodward’s space for a limited time.
Experiential retail is now the name of the game in this section of the mall with the recent addition of the Lego store as reported in Retail Insider. Aurora Cannabis opened a storefront a couple of years ago and it also features an interactive and entertainment space along with a retail area.
The Fantasy Land hotel is known for its ‘themed’ rooms and two restaurants. The hotel opened in 1986, sharing the same name as the amusement park that was at the time named ‘Fantasy Land’. After a lawsuit with Disney in 1994, the amusement park’s name was changed to Galaxy Land.
West Edmonton Mall (Phase 3 and Phase 4): Upper Level
WEM (Phase 3 and Phase 4) – Upper Level – Tour Zones
Moving up in our West Edmonton mall tour of Phase 3 and Phase 4, the upper level has been divided into three tour zones for this article:
Right Zone (Blue) in Phase 3
Center Zone (Yellow) in Phase 3
Left Zone (Green) in Phases 3 and 4
West Edmonton Mall, Upper Level, Right Zone in Phase 3
WEM (Phase 3 and Phase 4) – Upper Level – Right Tour Zone
The first area on the upper level of Level 3 and Level 4 is home to several luxury retailers, including Louis Vuitton, a recently opened Saint Laurent,and Tiffany & Co., as well as aspirational luxury retailers such as Coach and Michael Kors. The upper level main run has become remarkably upscale with a clustering of top brands including Canada Goose, Untuckit, Matt & Nat, and others. Gucci will open a 5,000-square-foot store in the spring, and other luxury brands are expected to follow.
The ‘Chinatown’ section of the mall is located north of the Louis Vuitton store leading to the T&T grocery store that is said to do in excess of $50 million in sales annually.
Related articles for the key tenants in this section of the mall include:
We expect this part of the mall to continue to see leasing action into 2021 as brands look to locate near the luxury cluster on the upper level. We may see some existing retailers relocated amid more changes.
In years past, landlord Triple Five was negotiating with Holt Renfrew to open a store, with one option being to redevelop the ‘Chinatown’ section of the mall, including the T&T store, for Holt Renfrew. Ultimately a deal was never reached for a new luxury department store.
West Edmonton Mall, Upper Level, Centre Zone
WEM (Phase 3 and Phase 4) – Upper Level – Centre Tour Zone
The second last zone on the upper level of Level 3 and Level 4 is likely the last highly-dense area for retailers and overlooks key attractions like the ‘World Waterpark’ and ‘Deep Sea Adventure’. Key retailers include H&M, Sport Chek, and Bed Bath & Beyond. Related articles for the key tenants include:
This is another busy section of the mall housing major national and international brands. Club Monaco has been a tenant at West Edmonton Mall for decades, and years ago its store in this part of the mall was substantially larger.
Fantasyland at West Edmonton Mall – Photo by Matthew at Best Edmonton Mall
World Waterpark Viewing Area
World Waterpark
World Waterpark
World Waterpark
West Edmonton Mall, Upper Level, Left Zone
WEM (Phase 3 and Phase 4) – Upper Level – Left Tour Zone
The last zone of the West Edmonton Mall tour (Level 3 and Level 4) is the ‘left’ tour zone bordering the ‘Europa Boulevard’ and also hosts the entrance to ‘Fantasyland Hotel’, the home of the famous ‘Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.’ as well as the offices for Stringray music. The main retail anchor for this area is Quebec-based La Maison Simons. Related articles for Simons include:
Bubba Gump Shrimp at West Edmonton Mall. Photo by Matthew at Best Edmonton Mall
La Maison Simons opened with a big splash on October 31, 2012. The 125,000-square-foot store spans two levels with retail contained to one floor for men, women, children, and home goods. Simons is known for its mix of ‘high-low’ that includes luxury brands as well as an expansive assortment of private label products.
Professor WEM’s at West Edmonton Mall
West Edmonton Mall
Wrap Up of West Edmonton Mall (Phase 3 and Phase 4) Photo Tour
Thank you for reading our tour of West Edmonton Mall’s Phases 3 and 4. The ever-changing West Edmonton Mall will see new retailers and attractions added in 2021 and beyond, and we’ll continue to report on developments at the mall.
Reitmans' New CF Carrefour Laval boutique. Photo: Reitmans
COVID-19 has undeniably affected the in-store experience in 2020. Even among retailers deemed essential and remaining open to the public, such as convenience stores, supermarkets, pharmacies, and hardware stores and renovation centres, the in-store experience leaves little to be desired, according to the recent WOW study released by Leger.
“The dimensions most negatively affected are prices and promotional offers, courtesy, staff competence, and availability, the importance given to customers, and general ambience. In a few cases, the variety of products and new product offerings have also decreased, probably due to the supply difficulties that some have encountered,” said the report.
“Generally speaking, the in-store customer experience for clothing, fashion accessory, footwear, sports, and beauty product stores, as well as stores targeting a more niche clientele (e.g., luxury goods, jewellery), has improved significantly since last year. This is probably attributable to less in-store traffic (visits outside normal business hours, controlling the number of visitors at the entrance to stores, meaning that more service is available for each visitor, distributing traffic over several time slots), but also by the visitor profile, which probably corresponds more closely to retailers’ “ambassador” customers or those who missed their store(s) the most during the closures. One could also infer that consumers were less critical in their evaluations, feeling compassion for the stores who had difficulty staying afloat financially and getting through this difficult period.”
Exterior of Lush Cosmetics at Square One Shopping Centre. Photo: Square One
The report said that 20 percent of consumers find that the health and safety measures implemented during the pandemic significantly affect their shopping experience. These measures seem to impact customers more strongly at beauty stores (cosmetics, creams, etc.), jewellery stores, and some clothing stores, especially those for men. On the other hand, they are less detrimental to businesses deemed essential (supermarkets, convenience stores, pharmacies, hardware stores and renovation centres), where an “experience” is less expected (i.e. expectations are lower), and where certain habits have taken hold. On the positive side, health measures ensure that customers feel safe while shopping, added the report.
The WOW study, by Leger, the largest Canadian-owned, market research and analytics company, looked at the best in-store retailers in Ontario and the best online retailers in Canada. It looked at the customer experience at 145 retailers in Ontario in 20 sectors via an online survey of nearly 13,000 Ontarians. These retailers were assigned a score, the WOW Index, ranging from 0 to 100. This score is calculated based on 16 dimensions of the customer experience, including product quality, competitive price, staff courtesy, store ambiance, sense of belonging.
The list of Ontario retailers who offered the best in-store customer experience in 2020 were:
The WOW Digital study evaluated 22 dimensions of the online experience for 173 Canadian websites and apps, allowing businesses to identify their strengths and weaknesses at each stage of online shopping, from the transaction to merchandise returns. The responses provided by nearly 14,000 Canadians were used to rank the businesses offering the best online customer experience in 2020:
Christian Bourque, Executive Vice-President and Senior Partner with Leger, said stores deemed essential have seen a fairly steep decline in their overall scores for in-store experience.
“It is largely due to the fact that they had to live through all of these new safety measures that were put in place,” he said. “They have suffered. I think there’s a lot of these types of retailers where people say it’s no fun anymore because of physical distancing and all of that. So I think these types of stores — the grocery, pharmacy and so on — will likely have to work on making it fun again.
“As soon as these measures ease up, sort of work on design, work on how they convey information to customers on site so that they do have this feeling that it’s fun again.
“When it goes to the apparel, luxury goods, sort of the Sephora’s of the world and the Lush’s of the world, they actually come out of this looking great, I think because they were closed for a period of time, because there’s strict measures on traffic in stores, whenever we had the chance to go back we were happy to go back and we missed the experience. For them, the amount of pampering they were able to give customers once they reopened again and because of low traffic, will they be able to carry that through once traffic picks up again. I think they were kind of lucky in this way because people were happy to go back and to get that one on one experience again with those types of brands. One thing overall that we see are higher convergence rates, bigger baskets, fewer visits. And I think this will be with us for a while. This is how the customer has changed pretty much forever now. So the odd browsing because I have nothing else to do is something maybe we won’t see anymore. You want to pre-shop, go in, buy, get out and find a positive experience. Aiming for higher convergence and aiming for higher basket size will be where the war in the near future will be won because I don’t know when traffic will be back and will it ever be back to where it was.”
While it once may have been a bet, Bourque said some retailers are great with the customer online experience such as Simons, Lush, and Sephora.
“Close to half of Canadians bought something online through a channel that they never used before in their lives. The reason overall scores tend to be down is the hand holding that a lot of customers now need. Before it was always the same people coming back,” explained Bourque.
“This generated a lot of new traffic that was not only browsing but they were buying and from that perspective the extent to which brands were able to deliver an extremely high level of trust throughout. When we specifically tested for customer experience, buying apparel, for example, there is still a big problem with online purchases. Most likely at the end of this people will go back into the stores, or a lot of them will, but those who will stick it out online, they do still find a lot of fit issues with purchasing apparel online and these have not gone away and likely will still be there.
“However, one thing that I found positive, some retailers that are basically all about the in-store experience, Lush and Sephora for example, can actually make it up the ladder and be at the top of the preferred websites for shopping as well.”
Retail Insider continues its Photo Tour series of Canadian Malls to provide a glimpse into shopping malls across Canada which may be less frequented due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This edition is the full photo tour of the West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton, Alberta. As West Edmonton Mall (WEM) is the largest mall in Canada, with over 800 retailers, attractions, and experiences – so we are excited to share the images.
We have partnered up with Matthew from Best Edmonton Mall for the photos that are used in this tour. He visited the mall on December 22nd, 2020 and we wanted to share his experience.
