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CF Fairview Pointe-Claire to See Substantial Renovation Amid Area Redevelopment

By
Mario Toneguzzi
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Rendering of the future development planned for CF Pointe Claire. Rendering: GH+A Design Studio

The CF Fairview Pointe-Claire shopping centre on the West Island directly west of downtown Montreal is under renovation with an investment of about $30 million including the addition of retailer Simons in the old Sears space.

Jeroen Henrich, Vice President of Development for the eastern portfolio of Cadillac Fairview which operates the shopping centre, said the renovation includes new flooring throughout, new railings, and LED lighting.

“That’s exciting news for the centre. The other very important milestone for us here is that the old Sears box is being repurposed which includes bringing Simons into that end of the mall. Simons has been a great partner for CF and we have them in all three of the other Quebec assets so we’re very excited to bring Simons to the West Island which will be a great addition to the centre,” said Henrich.

“That Sears box was actually one of the biggest we had in the portfolio with 180,000 square feet – three floors with what used to be Eaton’s. Simons will be taking the second and third floors and we’re relocating the food court into the ground floor which will become our new dining hall as well as a number of signature restaurants.

“Overall, in terms of the centre being elevated now with Simons and of course new food offerings, the West Island does not have a huge selection of dining opportunities so we’re very excited to bring some new restaurants and of course the dining hall into the ground floor. We’ll be backfilling the existing food court with two new retailers. I can’t divulge who they are.”

He said the dining hall is slated to open in September and Simons will open in August 2021. Construction is underway. Renovations to the mall are being phased and will also be completed by the time Simons opens.

RENDERING OF REDEVELOPED FOOD COURT. RENDERING: GH+A DESIGN STUDIO

“Retail is obviously constantly changing. It’s a question of staying relevant for our shoppers. Fairview Pointe-Claire is the last one of the four (in the Montreal area) to not have had a renovation in some time. With the arrival of Simons and the new dining opportunities we felt it was an appropriate time to reinvest into the centre adding some new retailers, some new blood if you will, and also by staying relevant,” explained Henrich.

“The centre will have a new contemporary look. It will be a very clean look, lots of glass and light colours, LED lighting, to really put focus on the retail shop windows and draw the eye to our various retailers to make sure that we’re relevant and we continue to offer that shopping experience that people are looking for.”

The current food court is on the north side of the shopping centre on the second floor. That space will be demised into two new retail units. Those tenants will be announced by the time the new food court area opens. The existing food court is about 30,000 square feet and the new dining hall is similar in size. But three to four signature restaurants will be added to the new food area.

Cadillac Fairview’s portfolio consists of four centres basically at the four extremes of Montreal – CF Fairview Pointe-Claire in the west, CF Galeries d’Anjou in the east end of the island, CF Promenades St-Bruno in the south, and CF Carrefour Laval in the north.

“Our portfolio basically covers the four main suburban areas of Montreal,” said Henrich.

RENDERING: GH+A DESIGN STUDIO

“Pointe-Claire does quite well. Our Carrefour Laval is sort of higher than the other three. Fairview Pointe-Claire has about eight million visitors.”

The square footage of the centre is 842,000 square feet without the Sears space. After the redevelopment project it will have more than one million square feet of leasable area.

Another very exciting part of the Fairview Pointe-Claire story is that Cadillac Fairview purchased a few years ago the land adjacent to the shopping centre, just west of the centre. That’s a 50-acre piece of land.

“We’ll be announcing in the next 12 months or so some exciting new developments there. We’re planning basically the new downtown for the West Island which will include residential buildings, high density residential, hotel, some office, some public realm. So the transformation of Fairview Pointe-Claire will become a major anchor for that new development,” said Henrich.

“Montreal is building a new light rail system and we will have a station. The station’s name will be Station Fairview Pointe-Claire. That’s exciting. We’re very excited to have a light rail station on our property which will greatly improve public transportation access to both our shoppers and residents around.”

How Canadian Retailers Can Use Social Media to Increase Online Sales

By
Retail Insider
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INSTAGRAM ADVERTISING. IMAGE: FORBES

By Josh Newman

We know that there are fewer online purchases being made in Canada compared to the global average. We also know that Canadians appreciate being able to see, feel, and experience a product in-store prior to purchasing.

So, how can Canadian retailers leverage the power of social media to help increase online product sales? Let’s discuss.

First, know what social media channel your customers use.

Before you can even begin to start using social media to try and attract customers, you need to know where your customers are, digitally.

While online sales might be down in Canada compared to the global average, this doesn’t mean Canadians aren’t online. They certainly are, but you just need to know where to find them.

For instance, Instagram can be a very effective social media channel for helping with brand awareness; however, if your target demographic is an older generation (i.e. 65+), you have a much better shot at success if you’re using a social media platform like Facebook.

Do the research to figure out the top social media platform where your target audience hangs out, and from there, learn everything you can about marketing using that platform. It might be tempting to be on every platform, but the more you learn about one, the better chance you have at mastering that platform and having success.

IMAGE: THE DRUM

Now that you know your platform, you need to serve quality content.

Knowing your audience is great, but even if you know your audience is on the platform that you picked to master, you still need to drive people to your social media by creating quality content that serves value to your target, while also simultaneously coming up with a marketing strategy that distributes that content.

In other words, you need to play the long game and come up with a strategy, or you need to set aside some room in your budget for advertising costs.

Yes, you can absolutely create advertisements on social media, and if you do it right, they can be extremely beneficial for getting your product in front of your target.

IMAGE: THERATHERMCANADA.COM

That being said, you need to have the right messaging in your advertisement.

It’s one thing to put up an ad and hope people click it, but it’s a whole other thing to carefully consider the copy, images, and messaging on the ad.

For each social media platform there will be different guidelines and methods you’ll have to follow, but in general, there are three specific suggestions we have for when creating advertisements that target Canadian customers on social media:

  1. Highlight free shipping: If you’re a Canadian consumer then you know shipping within the country can be pricey. You also likely know that most people don’t want to pay shipping costs on their purchases. Not only is it expensive, but when you can get something on Amazon Prime in two days without having to pay shipping, which retailer are you likely to choose? Highlight low cost shipping for Canadian customers, and you’ll likely see an increase in sales.

  2. Point out Canadian made: If you don’t want to point out shipping in your ad, draw attention to the fact that you’re a Canadian company. Canadians are more likely to support a Canadian brand, and most savvy online shoppers will instantly recognize the benefits of shipping within their own country (i.e. no duties or border fees).

  3. Don’t forget about your competition//Be professional: Remember, on platforms like Instagram, you’re competing within a global market. Most of your customers are following brands and influencers from all over the world who are constantly pushing products. Because of this, Canadians are exposed to a lot of well-established, professional brands. Make sure your branding, messaging, and customer service is up to par with the competition. Keep your social media profiles and pages professional, because just like customers prefer to touch and feel a product before buying it in-store, customers also like checking out a brand’s social media before purchasing online. Make that first impression a good one by taking the time to curate your social media to something that would appeal to your ideal customer.

As mentioned, even if Canadians are shopping less online, it doesn’t mean they’re not looking for products and brands. It simply means brands aren’t targeting Canadians effectively. Follow some of the tips from above, so you can start leveraging social media as a Canadian retailer, and just watch as, slowly but surely, your sales start to increase.

Josh Newman

Josh Newman is an entrepreneur with a broad business and marketing background having worked with major brands as well as starting several boutique e-commerce companies like JJ Suspenders. Marketing and business aside, Josh also has a love for design. Despite having no fashion experience prior to co-founding JJ Suspenders, his aesthetic eye quickly helped him learn what worked and what didn’t in the fashion world, be it colour combinations, packaging, or customer experience. His motto: build a remarkable product and the rest will follow.

Dynamic Female Leadership in the Retail Industry

By
Retail Insider
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JUDITH MCKENNA. PHOTO: WALMART

By Sarah Hoodspith

Over the last decade, North American consumers have modified their purchasing habits due to various factors, including experience-spending taking priority over material goods and homes, casual fashion becoming more acceptable in the work environment, as well as the exponential rise in online shopping, to name just a few. The retail industry is complicated, swiftly changing and sometimes contradictory, making it challenging.

To highlight International Women’s Day, the following features a selection of dynamic female leaders using innovation to succeed despite these obstacles.

Judith McKenna, President and Chief Executive Officer, Walmart International, has been instrumental in driving the company’s successful online retail strategy. In Canada, through its Women in Retail Program, Walmart has achieved an impressive milestone – more than half of the country’s full-time managers are women. The concept of McKenna’s program follows Forbes’ study entitled “Global Diversity and Inclusion: Fostering Innovation Through a Diverse Workforce,” which recommended including mentorship programs and ‘stretch assignments’ that enable women to take on senior management responsibilities on a temporary basis while still working at middle management positions.

BONNIE BROOKS. PHOTO: CANADIAN ENCYCLOPEDIA

Many retailers, which have maintained the same management for extended periods, have stagnated and, in some instances, have even gone bankrupt. Examples include Sears and Kmart. Although most retail analysts do not point to the issue of gender diversity when analyzing why Sears, for example, failed, they do describe them as stuck in the past. The Network of Executive Women, a leadership organization serving the retail, consumer goods, financial services and technology industries, recently published their “Women 2020: The Future of Women’s Leadership in Consumer Products and Retail Report”, which states that customers feel more comfortable when the workforce reflects their own characteristics. This report also maintains that a diverse workforce fosters more innovative solutions.

Bonnie Brooks, the former Vice Chairman of Hudson Bay, revolutionized and modernized Canada’s oldest clothing retailer’s inventory and presentation style. This significant upgrade enabled the iconic retailer to become viewed by Canadian consumers as a dynamic upscale retailer, reflecting both her style and that of its target customer.

From a local perspective, neighbourhood vacancies have propelled the growth of female entrepreneurs that are leveraging a number of trends including sustainability and direct to consumer retailing. She joined Chico’s FAS last year as CEO and over the past 10 months, she has been instrumental in leading the turnaround of our company. That includes driving three quarters of sequential sales growth for the company and in Q4 of the year and securing the first positive sales comp quarter for all three of Chico’s brands.

LINDA FARHA. PHOTO: SUPPLIED

In 2016, Linda Farha, Founder and Chief Connector of pop-up go, saw a void in the marketplace and the growing demand for short-term tenancy and launched this firm dedicated to connecting landlords with brands and supporting both parties. From testing new locations to creating brand awareness through experiential marketing campaigns, pop-up go provides retailers like Fresh Produce, Native Brands and others the opportunity to connect with their target markets in a non-traditional way. Most recently, Farha has partnered with Grace Donati, founder of  IN Lifestyle Event Space, an advocate for women’s leadership in retail and business. Donati’s commitment to young entrepreneurs is evidenced by her preferential lease rates extended to the community.

Women held 31% of senior management roles in North America in 2019 – the highest number ever recorded. However, the sector is lagging behind with the percentage of women-helmed CEO positions in S&P 500 retail companies standing at 5.6%. We are still far from a gender balance. The retail sector must capitalize on the formidable talents, perspectives and strengths that women bring to the table and needs to better meet women’s aspirations to fulfill such leadership roles by providing more opportunities for them to lead. Gender diversity has been credited for driving innovation, renewing a connection with target markets and, at times, creating a competitive advantage.

CF Masonville Adds New Retailers Amid Increasing Mall Productivity

By
Mario Toneguzzi
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CF Masonville Place - PHOTO: CADILLAC FAIRVIEW

Since a redevelopment in 2016, CF Masonville Place in London, Ontario, has seen some significant growth as the shopping centre is being buoyed by strong demographics in the expanding marketplace.

Sandra Lorentiu, General Manager of CF Masonville Place, said the mall has been really fortunate in the market to bring unique retailers that are not available within southwestern Ontario such as Zara, Disney, Lululemon, The Keg, and the Rec Room.

“That continues to allow us to have a strong foothold in the market and positions us as the predominant destination within southwestern Ontario,” said Lorentiu of the Cadillac Fairview property.

The Keg CF Masonville Place PHOTO: CADILLAC FAIRVIEW

The shopping centre first opened in 1985 and has about 680,000 square feet with about 165 stores. It is located in the northern part of London.

According to the Canadian Shopping Centre Study 2019, by the Retail Council of Canada and sponsored by Engagement Agents, CF Masonville Place was listed as the 14th most productive mall in Canada with sales per square foot of $974 which was an increase of 2.96 per cent compared with the year before. In 2018, sales growth was 1.39 per cent from 2017.

Marshalls CF Masonville Place PHOTO: CADILLAC FAIRVIEW

During the redevelopment, the shopping centre took back the parcels of space for the former Sears and Target stores and was able to reconfigure and re-merchandise units.

“Within the kind of Sears box we were able to introduce the likes of Zara and H&M and The Keg and some other great CRU (commercial retail unit) that has seen some great success since their opening in 2016 as well as last year we opened what was formerly the Target box and backfilled the Target space with the likes of TJX’s HomeSense and Marshall’s as well as a 40,000-square-foot Rec Room,” said Lorentiu.

“This year we have the likes of Nike joining us as well too. A Bailey Nelson which is an eyewear concept as well we are expanding our American Eagle, expanding our Shoppers Drug Mart Beauty Boutique concept and next year an exciting component for us from a retail perspective is that we’ll be enhancing and renovating our food court.”

The food court right now produces over $2,000 per square foot in sales and the shopping centre will be adding more seating and replacing the existing seating. Out of the 14 food vendors on site, 10 of them will be bringing in new concepts. Enhancements will be made to the washrooms as well as the introduction of a universal washroom.

“This exciting project kicks off in January of 2021 and we should have it wrapped up by September of 2021,” said Lorentiu.

“We know that food spend is an integral part of the shopping centre. You’ll see at several centres coast to coast that we’ve enhanced that offering. There was a point in time that shopping centres had one or two restaurants. At this point, we have at least four on the site with various specialty food offerings. So we know that the food court is a destination and is part of the shopping experience. And it’s important for us to ensure that the food courts remain relevant and inclusive and from a service perspective provides what families need when they’re here.”

MALL MAP: LEVEL 1. IMAGE: CF MASONVILLE PLACE
MALL MAP: LEVEL 2. IMAGE: CF MASONVILLE PLACE

CF Masonville Place’s success is being helped by the explosive growth in London – one of the fastest growing communities in Canada.

“We have the fourth largest hospital in Canada as well we have probably out of all our shopping centres and communities the largest density of students when we’re at our peak. So between (the University of) Western (Ontario) and Fanshawe (College) a total of probably 70,000 students,” said Lorentiu.

“When it comes to awareness and visitation of shop, we are the destination. This is the only kind of spot within 150 kilometres that people can come to for a fulsome shopping experience and having all sorts of great brands from the Zaras of the world to The Keg to even having HBC at our doorstep. We are the destination.”

CLICK FOR INTERACTIVE MAP

Last fall, the shopping centre reinvented its guest service area to be more accessible to all consumers. It collaborated with Level Playing Field Inc. and Community Living London to ensure it was designed with inclusive accessibility in mind.

CF Host Services offers the following new features: iPad with accessible forms of media; open and accessible space for all; mixed textures and materials focused on accessibility and sustainability; enhanced services including lost and found and wheelchair rental; motorized wheelchair and scooter charging; and a water station to refill your bottle and rehydrate service animals.

“We’re testing it right now and it will be the standard for us moving forward at Cadillac Fairview at how we interact with our guests,” added Lorentiu.

Big Rig Kitchen & Brewery Announces 2 New Locations Amid Aggressive Expansion Plans

By
Jessica Finch
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PHOTO: BIG RIG FACEBOOK

Big Rig Kitchen & Brewery is living up to its name, with expansion plans that will see the company grow across the country.

The Ottawa-based microbrewery has announced the upcoming opening of two new locations in Ontario. The first is set to open mid-May at Heartland Town Centre in Mississauga, closely followed by another in Richmond Hill.

These Greater Toronto Area debuts mark the company’s first locations outside Ottawa, with promises that this is just the beginning.

PHOTO: BIG RIG FACEBOOK
  • PHOTO: BIG RIG FACEBOOK
  • PHOTO: BIG RIG FACEBOOK

Founded in 2012, Big Rig Restaurants is iconic amongst Ottawa natives. Famous for its signature brews and menu (the name pays tribute to former Ottawa Senators defence man Chris Phillips), its brand’s promise is simple: ‘We are a microbrewery; committed to serving the best beer and a menu of comfort food favourites!’

Offering a casual dining atmosphere, homestyle food, and craft beer, it is a family-friendly restaurant with two popular locations, currently both in Ottawa. The craft beer list is extensive with various IPAs, radlers, and ales available.

The last 8 years have been busy for Big Rig. 2014 saw the addition of a state-of-the-art brewery, allowing the brand to expand its distribution of beer into retail outlets. Today, Big Rig’s award-winning beer is available in more than 1,000 locations in several provinces.

In June 2019, Foodtastic Inc., the Quebec-based franchisor of multiple restaurant concepts, acquired the Big Rig Brewery and Big Rig Restaurants brand.

As part of the deal with Foodtastic, award-winning brew master Lon Ladell stayed on board and continues to work his magic. "Foodtastic is an amazing company and I'm thrilled to continue being a part of Big Rig brewery's exciting future,” Ladell said at the time. “With the financial support from Foodtastic we can now expand our operations throughout Canada.”

Foodtastic, which operates 90 restaurants under 12 different banners, including Au Coq, La Belle et La Boeuf, Benny Rotisseries, Blossom, Gatto Matto, Monza, Carlos & Pepe's, Chocolato, Souvlaki Bar, Nickels, and Bacaro, is a leader in the restaurant franchising business with $170 million in annualized sales.

  • NORDSTROM RACK AT HEARTLAND TOWN CENTRE. PHOTO: MISSISSAUGA NEWS
  • PHOTO: HEARTLAND TOWN CENTRE

Recently, the company acquired two Les 3 Brasseurs sites—Heartland Town Centre in Mississauga and York Boulevard in Richmond Hill—renovations are underway to turn both into the highly-anticipated Big Rig locations.

The Heartland Town Centre is one of Canada’s largest and busiest power centres, with brands often choosing Heartland as a suitable home for expansion. Often described as a hybrid centre due to its mixture of full-price and outlet stores, Heartland welcomed retail giant Nordstrom Rack in September 2018.

This recent announcement is merely the first step in a larger plan to aggressively expand the Big Rig brand throughout the Greater Toronto Area and Vancouver.

MAP OF TWO EXISTING BIG RIG LOCATIONS IN OTTAWA. CLICK FOR INTERACTIVE MAP.

This expansion is in keeping with Foodtastic’s vision for the brand and its mandate to ramp up growth with new and existing brands following a $47-million investment from Restaurant Royalty Partners in December 2018.

Following the Big Rig acquisition, Peter Mammas, Foodtastic president and CEO, said: “We look forward to preserving Big Rig's strong brand, while growing the restaurant system across the region… This acquisition of a homegrown Ontario business is consistent with our strategy of acquiring quality brands with growth potential that complement our existing brand portfolio.”

The search is on for 5,500-square-foot properties with 1,200-square-foot patios in malls, along busy high streets, and in large open-air centres for the next Big Rig Kitchen & Brewery locations. Tony Flanz of Think Retail is working with Big Rig for its real estate selection.

Staffing Shortages Remains a Significant Challenge for Retailers in Canada 

By
Retail Insider
-

Today, more than ever, it is vital to attract and retain the best talent as a core competitive advantage as consumers seek out experiences. A drastic shortage of skilled workers is creating significant challenges for retailers in Canada.

It has been proven that a successful brick and mortar store is invaluable to a brand. Many digitally-native stores are acquiring physical locations or popups as consumer trends shift towards an immersive, experiential shopping experiences.

However, as it stands, the Canadian retail market is struggling to find available and efficient talent to drive sales. Today the number of available jobs vastly exceeds the number of job seekers, proving that the situation is chronic and somewhat of an emergency as Canada is hit with a 40-year low of available and willing staff.

IDC/TELUS STUDY

A a recent IDC/Telus study conducted last year shows that 47 percent of all retailers say staffing is a significant problem, higher than 44 percent across other industries. This dwindling talent pool is decreasing foot traffic and in turn greatly sabotaging sales.

Brick and mortar stores rely on the provision of exceptional customer service and educated sales associates. The retail industry is part of the service industry and brands are struggling to provide adequate service with the calibre of talent available to them, meaning many are failing in their field and no wonder ecommence is thriving.

Retailers and brands can pump investments into every other area of business, but without appropriate employment they run the risk of failing. Retail has to recreate its entire employment programs.

Obtaining staff is high priority and it won’t come cheap in a talent shortage market. Firms that don’t have professional retail recruiting support will find their sales negatively trend downwards.

Studies have shown that some stores are so understaffed that they are unable to adhere posted open times and are being forced to close early or sometimes close for days at a time. This is happening in both neighbourhood retail and major malls. Budgets for recruiting ads are sky-rocketing with lower-than-ever returns as retailers are at a loss as to how to entice new talent.

PHOTO: VOX.COM

To make matters worse, turnover rates are around 80 to 90 percent annually, meaning that even after talent is secured, the odds of employees staying in their respective positions for over 12 months are very low.

Ironically, the current retail landscape sees consumers demanding more engaged customer service than ever before, while simultaneously retail is delivering on this demand less and less due to self checkouts and under-staffed stores. In 2018 Forbes reported on the Gladly Customer Service Expectation survey showing that 68 percent of all customers would pay more to get great service. The same survey reports that 92 percent of people would break ties with a brand that delivers poor service.

Studies have shown that a single vacancy generates four times the monthly salary loss in sales and productivity. In other words, one $3,000-a-month absent employee costs a retailer $12,000 a month in lost sales and productivity.

This retail staffing crisis can be traced to some demographic factors. Baby Boomers are retiring and the millennials taking their place are majorly avoiding the retail industry. By 2025 it is said that millennials will represent 75 per cent of the workforce, and with most choosing other industries, it wouldn’t appear that the crisis will get any better if the state of the industry remains the same.

What is the reason for this adverse reaction to the retail industry?

Research has shown that employees are especially attracted to retailers with a good reputation and they tend to stay longer at organizations who have a purposeful culture; where they feel their leaders create dynamic workplaces that allow employees to grow their potential.

But does the retail industry foster this work environment for its employees? In an industry where the word “innovation” has become ubiquitous, understanding the essential leadership qualities that foster new thinking is critical.

On March 24, 2020, the Retail Council of Canada is hosting the Retail Human Resources Conference, focusing on the HR issues such as unleashing the full potential of your workforce, attracting the new retail job seeker, winning with a positive culture, technology tools to scale the hiring process, and Canadian Retail Trends Survey Results – RCC research.

Set to include various talks from industry professionals, the Retail Human Resources Conference is designed by retailers for retailers and promises to talk about the topics you and your team want to learn about.

IMAGE: BRENEBROWN.COM

An example of a topic due to be covered is a Dare to Lead session, lead by Natalie Dumond. Dr Brené Brown, author of #1 New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller ‘Dare to Lead’ has made a career out of exploring the connection between the ability to embrace vulnerability with the resulting impact being to lead with greater empathy and effectiveness. Dumond, who contributed to Brene Brown’s bestseller will lead the session specifically tailored to the unique ways these techniques can be applied in the retail workplace.

As retail teams all embrace the modern business realities, leveraging the creativity and power of their staff is essential. Learn more at the Retail Human Resources Conference on March 24, 2020.

Speakers: http://rcchrconference.ca/speakers

Link to Agenda: http://rcchrconference.ca/agenda

Tickets: http://rcchrconference.ca/register

Questions:

events@retailcouncil.org

*Retail Insider has partnered with Retail Council of Canada on events. To work with Retail Insider, email: craig@retail-insider.com

Kingsway Mall Embraces Female Retail Entrepreneurs

By
Mario Toneguzzi
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KINGSWAY PHOTO: OXFORD PROPERTIES

Kingsway Mall in Edmonton has made a commitment in the last few years to empowering women and championing gender equality in the retail sector.

With International Women’s Day set for March 8, the shopping centre will once again hold a number of events and activities to celebrate that day as one of its key goals in the area of community engagement is to specifically support women and female entrepreneurs.

Susan Denney, general manager of the mall which is owned and operated by Oxford Properties, said the shopping centre has had a lot of success in practically looking for ways to celebrate and support those Edmonton women wherever possible.

“We have some great female entrepreneurs in our centre already. We partnered with The Makers Keep, Glass Earth, Mon Amour, Keravie Lash Loft. The list goes on and on. It’s really quite interesting because they built their own community within our centre as well,” said Denney.

“We’ve always quietly been champions of supporting women in business. I myself have been a female in business. So there’s a bit of a connection there. And I think Edmonton has a real entrepreneurial spirit. There’s a lot of those businesses and opportunities out there that have allowed us to partner fairly easily.”

The shopping centre has also provided support for female-focused charities such as Aspiring Women in Leadership and Legacy and Girls in Film and Television as well as creating opportunities for local women-led businesses to grow in the community. Also, nearly all of the more than 150 store managers in the mall are female and a number of Kingsway’s management team are women.

“Along the lines of supporting these retailers as they enter our shopping centre, it’s more about just offering space and I think that’s the really important part. Aside from just offering space, we help them with their marketing plans, we help them with store design and construction, help educate them on the logistics of operating in a shopping centre. Just general coaching around what it takes to enter into brick and mortar space because some of our retailers maybe haven’t operated in a capacity other than online or from their homes,” said Denney.

“What’s really great is we have the flexibility that helps to remove some barriers that they might have when they’re entering into a traditional shopping centre environment.”

Is there a difference in what women bring to the retail experience compared with men?

“What’s unique about the female entrepreneur is they do a really great job of partnering amongst themselves so for example some of the businesses they’ll do activations in the centre and they’ll do it collaboratively. They seek out ways to support each other,” explained Denney. “That’s the unique piece.”

KINGSWAY MALL IS CENTRE LOCATED ONLY MINUTES FROM EDMONTON’S DOWNTOWN CORE. ITS ACCESSIBLE LOCATION MAKES KINGSWAY MALL A DOMINANT RETAIL DESTINATION IN CENTRAL AND NORTH EDMONTON. IMAGE: OXFORD PROPERTIES

Kingsway, which is located in central north Edmonton with square footage of about 950,000 square feet and about 160 stores, will hold a number of events on Sunday March 8 for International Women’s Day including a women’s wellness speaker series, a community yoga class, free massages, a Women’s Day photo booth and pledge wall, and more.

In the last few years, Kingsway has invested about $70 million in redeveloping the former Target space to accommodate new retailers as well as a big renovation and redevelopment of new washrooms which included family, nursing and universal washrooms.

“Upcoming this year we’re also committed to spending another $2 million in redeveloping our food court which will add about 100 seats and new amenities like charging stations and multi-purpose space,” said Denney.

Food Concept ‘La Prep’ Plans Significant Expansion

By
Mario Toneguzzi
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LA PREP LOCATION AT YORK UNIVERSITY REBRANDED AS ‘LA PREP SOCIAL BISTRO.’ PHOTO: LA PREP INSTAGRAM

La Prep, an upscale bistro-style quick-service restaurant specializing in freshly prepared and made-to-order food, is expanding its footprint with its new Social Bistro concept.

Naveen Seth, CEO of La Prep which is based in Toronto, has 48 restaurants across the country and big plans for expansion are in his sight.

“We want to double the size of the company over the next four years,” he said.

The locations used to be known as La Prep Daily Fresh but since Seth took over the company in 2017 the daily fresh tagline was dropped due to changes he made with the concept. It has become known as La Prep Social Bistro.

LA PREP LOCATION AT CALGARY AIRPORT REBRANDED AS ‘LA PREP SOCIAL BISTRO.’ PHOTO: LA PREP FACEBOOK

La Prep has been in business since 2010 and prior to that it was known as Cafe Supreme which had been in business for about 25 years.

Before he took over, Seth was the master franchisee for La Prep in southern Ontario. He became the master franchisee in 2000 and opened 35 restaurants until 2017 in the Greater Toronto Area. In 2017, he bought the entire brand and became the franchisor of the company.

“La Prep’s strategy has always been to be mainly in office towers and locations where there’s a captive audience, captive markets,” said Seth. “When we rebranded from Cafe Supreme to La Prep, we wanted to convey the message to our customers that La Prep is all about fresh food prepared daily and that’s how the tagline La Prep Daily Fresh came about. At that time it made sense to have that tagline and let people know we prepared everything fresh in-house.

PHOTO: LA PREP FACEBOOK

 

 
 
 
 
 
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Salad bowls your way! Create your own balanced salad bowl at La Prep Social Bistro 🥗 #laprep #laprepsocialbistro

A post shared by La Prep (@laprep_official) on

 

 
 
 
 
 
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The art of coffee. Come try one of our speciality coffee beverages at La Prep! ☕️ #laprep #laprepsocialbistro

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“But the concept of freshness evolved over time. In the last five years, we saw a significant change. What was perceived fresh food 10 years ago which was if you’re making it fresh every day in the morning that’s considered fresh. That changed. Now people are more keen in getting food made in front of them. So open kitchen concepts were being assembled in front of people. And that’s what we wanted to bring.

“And my second reason of dropping the tagline daily fresh and coming up with the Social Bistro concept was I said if I was going to expand outside the office towers and into street-front locations would people understand La Prep Daily Fresh? What is it? If they had not heard of La Prep, what would La Prep Daily Fresh mean to someone on a street-front location? It could be a grocery store. It could be a health food store. It could be a cafe. The message was not clear. So that’s why we came up with this new line Social Bistro so when people read it they know it is a bistro, this is a place where they can go to have a meeting or light snack, light lunch, coffee, speciality coffee.”

Seth said the company also opened up its kitchen and its way of serving is focused on fresh, prepared in front of the customer, food.

  • PHOTO: LA PREP FACEBOOK
  • PHOTO: LA PREP FACEBOOK

Many of the older locations still carry the La Prep Daily Fresh moniker. Now all new locations – six of them – are under the La Prep Social Bistro banner.

“Our goal is to convert the Daily Fresh locations into this new Social Bistro concept. They’ll all be called La Prep Social Bistro,” said Seth.

“I see Toronto as being our main market where I see potential of significant growth but all of the markets, Western Canada too. To further make it easier to grow this concept and double the size we’ve also invested almost $2 million in setting up our brand new commissary kitchen – the central kitchen – where we plan on producing a lot of our unique dressings, soups, hot entrees that will be supplied to La Prep locations across the board through distribution channels.”

Avalon Mall Announces New Retail Tenants Amid Centre Redevelopment

By
Mario Toneguzzi
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PHOTO: AVALON MALL

Avalon Mall in St. John’s Newfoundland & Labrador has announced a number of new international and national brands for the shopping centre this year as part of its $112-million redevelopment.

Arie Bitton, Senior Vice President of Leasing & Operations for Crombie Real Estate Investment Trust which owns the property, said the redevelopment began in earnest in 2017.

“We began with the parkade redevelopment and when Sears exited, we ended up going through and demolishing a portion of the former Sears and designed a new racetrack layout that is going to be there for the grand opening this fall,” he said.

RENDERING: AVALON MALL
AVALON MALL FLOORPLAN
AVALON MALL FLOORPLAN

“Before, the mall terminated at a certain juncture and you couldn’t get all the way around. With this redevelopment and with the Sears demolition, we’re actually creating a racetrack that will enable the customers to go around the entire mall seamlessly.”

The shopping centre said SportChek, Tommy Hilfiger, Skechers, Bikini Village, and Michael Hill will open at Avalon Mall this year occupying approximately 40,600 square feet. Bath & Body Works, EB Games, and Bentley will relocate from their current locations, all in expanded footprints, and Tip Top opened their doors in a new expanded location in early February. Bentley launched a new store design last year and the new Avalon Mall location will become a flagship location.

The Brick will open its first store in Newfoundland & Labrador with a new 46,000-square-foot pad site. The expansion area of Avalon Mall is now approximately 90 per cent leased, with more retailers to be announced in the coming months. Total Avalon Mall gross leasing area is approximately 593,000 square feet.

  • AVALON MALL STOREFRONTS. PHOTOS: AVALON MALL
  • AVALON MALL STOREFRONTS. PHOTOS: AVALON MALL
  • AVALON MALL STOREFRONTS. PHOTOS: AVALON MALL
  • AVALON MALL STOREFRONTS. PHOTOS: AVALON MALL

Last year, Crombie announced that H&M, Old Navy, Gap, and Banana Republic would occupy approximately 53,000 square feet in the newly-constructed and renovated areas of the mall.

Earlier in 2019, the mall opened Winners and HomeSense (50,400 square feet) in their expanded location as well as The Rec Room by Cineplex (30,600 square feet).

“We are very pleased with the retailers that have joined us and with our existing retailers committed to expanding their presence at Avalon Mall as part of redeveloping this flagship property,” said Don Clow, President and CEO of Crombie REIT. “They enhance the experience of our shoppers and visitors, and are an integral part of what makes us the premier shopping and entertainment destination in the province.”

The REIT said securing strong global brands complements the existing mix of stores, entertainment and services at Avalon Mall, with product lines that appeal to a wide range of demographics and customer needs. The multi-phase redevelopment was aimed to enhance the mall’s position as the dominant shopping and entertainment centre in Newfoundland & Labrador.

The redevelopment also included interior common areas being transformed with contemporary porcelain tile and acoustic ceiling tiles, and updated LED lighting fixtures added. The food court has been expanded with modern finishes, additional seating and furniture, and sorting stations that allow the mall to divert organic waste to an on-site composter.

A four-level, 875 space parking structure opened in 2018, and the project included a redesign and realignment of vehicular access to Kenmount Road.

RENDERING: AVALON MALL
RENDERING: AVALON MALL
RENDERING: AVALON MALL

Bitton said mall sales have held really, really well throughout the renovations of the last couple of years. For 2019, it had about $700 per square foot for a non-anchor tenant.

“What we’re doing is we’re trying to service the St. John’s customers. Newfoundland like other provinces is becoming more and more urban and what we’re seeing is growth within the city,” said Bitton. “Avalon Mall really is the premier destination in St. John’s.

Avalon Mall
THE REC ROOM AT AVALON MALL PHOTO: AVALON MALL

“We started with the experiential Rec Room within the property. So that was the first Rec Room east of Ontario. Now we’re adding on some more of the fashion brands that don’t exist. A lot of what we’ve announced are really first to market and we’re really excited about that.

“We’re scheduling a grand opening for this fall.”

WAXON Introduces ‘South’ Female Products

By
Jessica Finch
-
IMAGE: WAXON

Focused on providing fast and affordable hair removal, Toronto-based laser and waxbar, WAXON, has introduced a new line of feminine hygiene products in a bid to revolutionize the stigma surrounding “below the belt wellness.”

WAXON founder and CEO, Lexi Miles has announced the launch of ‘South’, a clean, intimate, “down there skincare” line of products. Made by women for women, South strives to open up the dialogue around feminine hygiene and eliminate the taboo around women’s self-care.

Offering efficient, competitively priced, and unique waxing services, WAXON has been successful in its field to date, reinventing the process of hair removal and making it unlike any other laser experience in Canada, and now it’s branching out.

  • PHOTO: SOUTH/WAXON

Over the years Lexi and her team have been privy to the dialogue that happens behind closed doors at WAXON. For Lexi, the gaps in knowledge surrounding “down there skincare” and “below the belt wellness” were prevalent. Lexi’s understanding of the needs of WAXON customers and what products they were missing in their routines initiated the creation of the South product line, attempting to educate women on proper self-care and fill the gap in the current feminine hygiene product market.

Made with high-quality, PH-balanced formulas, and clean ingredients, South features five core feminine products for the every-day woman. The probiotic formulas are simple yet effective, and South’s products are packaged to reflect the purity of the ingredients in minimalist packaging, also making them easy to throw in a gym bag or leave on bathroom counters without any embarrassment. All products retail under $35 are available at WAXON stores and online at South in Canada and the U.S. (followed by availability on the WAXON website in March).

LINE OF SOUTH PRODUCTS. PHOTOS: SOUTH/WAXON

South products are currently available through e-commerce for Canadian and U.S. customers on South’s website, and Lexi is planning for the South products to be available in the U.S. for future through wholesale opportunities, and eventually through the expansion of WAXON locations throughout the U.S.

In addition to South, Lexi has also created a resource for women with the launch of her new blog We Go There to educate women about “down there skincare.”

We reported on WAXON in October 2018 when it introduced laser treatments to its waxbar. This relaunch served to further enhance WAXON’s service capacity, introducing Vectus Laser machines and providing state-of-the-art technician training for staff. This service expansion meant that WAXON could now offer fast, convenient, and pain-free permanent hair removal solutions for all skin and hair types in under 10 minutes a session.

The use of the laser provides clients with high volume permanent hair reduction in fewer sessions. Each Vectus Laser comes with Skintel technology that reads skin melanin levels, which allows technicians to tailor the treatment to each client’s needs, achieving effective results on average within just four to six sessions.

In addition to single service pricing and interest-free financing options for laser treatments, WAXON provides flexible BAR TAB packages for both waxing and laser, giving the brand an additional edge in the hair removal industry.

It is clear that WAXON is thriving as it continues to grow its range of products and services, with talks of possible expansion plans in the pipeline that includes introducing the brand to the US market.

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