Vancouver-based Native Shoes planted a temporary retail flag in downtown Toronto this weekend with a four-day pop-up shop. From immersive workshops to vibrant green walls and display installations, the marketing activation offered great value for all of its visitors regardless of things like age or areas of interest. The pop-up officially launched on September 26 and was open to the public until 7:00 p.m. on September 29.
The brand, which offers consumers the chance to “Live Lightly” through its lightweight and minimalistic footwear products, offered visitors to the pop-up something unique on the majority of days that it took place. On September 26, the first 50 visitors in line were given coupons for $80 off their choice of Native products, a significant sum considering that the company’s classic shoe, the “Jefferson,” generally starts around $55. On September 27, the first 100 guests were gifted floral bouquets from local Toronto company, The Delicate Flower.
And, on September 29, the pop-up offered kids a chance to participate in a “design-it-yourself” session where they were tasked with colouring and designing their very own Jefferson shoe. Additionally, all Jeffersons were 20 percent off between 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. to coincide with the workshop.
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INSIDE THE NATIVE SHOES POP-U ALL PHOTOS: POP-UP GO
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Native Shoes was originally founded a decade ago by Scott Hawthorn, who remains the company’s CEO. The brand is now available in countries around the world and has reached elevated levels of success as a stylish-yet-practical alternative to stereotypical runners or boat shoes. Made for adventure, Native Shoes can easily be cleaned and are surprisingly durable for a shoe designed for stepping outside of our respective comfort zones.
The Toronto pop-up embraced this brand identity and the entire company ethos with a healthy dose of positive marketing materials relaying the company’s environmentally friendly goals. In line with these goals, the company’s website was shut down for the day on October 27 in support of the Global Climate Strike while the pop-up and its messaging attempted to educate its visitors on Native’s recycling program called “Project Remix” on the street level.
The pop-up took place at 639 Queen St. W., which has become a holy grail of sorts for brands seeking to launch temporary activations of late. Prior to Native Shoes, the space was recently occupied by pop-ups for the National Football League (NFL) and Frank And Oak. Local pop-up incubator, pop-up go, worked with both the NFL and Native on their pop-up planning, and has been a major catalyst for a large number of recent short-term activations across North America.
Dan LeBaron
Dan LeBaron has an extensive background in editing, writing, event management and content creation. He sharpened many of these skills while acquiring a master’s degree in journalism at Ryerson University. He also has significant experience in sports media, legal communications and content creation in the start-up and tech space. When he’s not in the office, he can be found spending time with family or exploring Toronto’s bevvy of outdoor hockey rinks and independent coffee shops.
SITE OF BARRY’TS BOOTCAMP NEW VANCOUVER LOCATION 1035 W PENDER STREET VANCOUVER BC VIA GOOGLE MAPS
California-based high-intensity workout concept Barry’s Bootcamp has secured a space in downtown Vancouver for its first location in British Columbia. It will be the fourth location for Barry’s Bootcamp in Canada after the concept entered the country via Toronto in in late 2017.
The downtown Vancouver Barry’s Bootcamp will be located on the main level of the 1035 West Pender Street ‘Oceanic Plaza’ commercial building in downtown Vancouver, which includes a 25 storey office tower with retail at its base. Barry’s Bootcamp will occupy just over 5,100 square feet. Martin Moriarty and Mario Negris of brokerage CBRE in Vancouver handled the transaction.
Barry’s Bootcamp opened its first Canadian location in Toronto’s Entertainment District at 310 Richmond Street West in late 2017, in an 8,000 square foot two-level space that is the largest in the company. in May of 2019, it opened its second location in Toronto’s affluent Bloor-Yorkville area. The 5,000 square foot Yorkville location is at the back end of the 100 Bloor Street West commercial podium and faces towards Cumberland Street and Village of Yorkville Park.
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This fall, Barry’s Bootcamp will open its first ‘hybrid’ storefront in partnership with Canadian athletic brand Lululemon, which will become Barry’s Bootcamp’s third Canadian location. We previously reported that both brands will share a building in Calgary’s Mission/Cliff Bungalow area at 2308 4 Street SW in the historic Bannerman Block that was built in 1911.
In a previous interview, Barry’s Bootcamp said that it was looking to open approximately 10 locations in Canada. We were told that other potential markets include Montreal and Edmonton, and Toronto could see two or more Barry’s Bootcamp locations open, depending on finding the right spaces.
And finding the right space is critical. Barry’s Bootcamp is a decidedly urban concept that locates in areas featuring an upper-income population that is able to afford its per-class and monthly fees. Toronto’s Entertainment District, for example, is home to thousands of young and upwardly mobile professionals, and is also a significant employment centre. Toronto’s Bloor-Yorkville area is known to be Canada’s wealthiest high-density neighbourhood and it’s growing quickly with several thousand more residents expected to be added over the next five years. Calgary’s Mission/Cliff Bungalow is home to many Millennials in a growing area and is also near affluent areas such as Mount Royal, Roxboro, Rideau Park and Elbow Park. Downtown Vancouver is home to some of the most expensive condominium residences in Canada, including waterfront penthouses in the Coal Harbour area that cost in the tens of millions of dollars each.
BARRY’S BOOTCAMP WILL SHARE SPACE WITH LULULEMON IN THE HISTORIC ‘BANNERMAN BLOCK’ IN CALGARY. RENDERING: CERTUS DEVELOPMENTS
According to its website, Barry’s Bootcamp classes cost $32 per session, with packages also available. A package of five classes cost $155, 10 classes cost $300, 20 classes cost $580, and 50 classes will set one back $1,360. There are also monthly memberships costing $315 (“Barry’s Star”) for 12 sessions and $415 (“Barry’s Legend”) for 30 sessions monthly.
Barry’s Bootcamp locations include a ‘Red Room’ workout space — the soundproof Red Room provides visitors the opportunity to participate in high-intensity interval training workouts, alternating treadmill cardio conditioning with strength training. Thumping music keeps patrons motivated and personal trainers set the tone.
Top-of-the-line Woodway treadmills used at Barry’s Bootcamp are said to lessen the impact on people’s joints. Several dedicated classes throughout the day include a fitness trainer who leads the group classes — the trainer is there to challenge and encourage clients to push beyond their limits and achieve new goals. Barry’s says that the experience combines “the motivation of a personal training session with the energy of a group workout” that can be tailored for all fitness levels.
OUTSIDE THE TORONTO LOCATION AT 310 RICHMOND STREET WEST. PHOTO: BARRY’S BOOTCAMP
As with other locations, Vancouver’s Barry Bootcamp will feature a ‘Fuel Bar’ which serves nutritional items including a range of smoothies. A retail space within will feature various merchandise including Barry’s original workout and athleisure apparel as well as Lululemon workout gear in a wholesale partnership. Upscale change room areas for men and women include high-end post-workout products for guests who have finished their workouts.
A timeline of Barry’s history from its website:
1998: LA based celebrity trainer Barry Jay has the idea for a one-stop cardio and strength training workout that actually works. Barry Jay partners with John and Rachel Mumford to open the first Barry’s Bootcamp in West Hollywood and together they launch the boutique fitness studio revolution;
2004: Barry’s CEO Joey Gonzalez joins the company and becomes a star trainer at Barry’s;
2009: Barry’s expands outside of Los Angeles for the first time, opening in San Diego;
2011: Barry’s takes Manhattan! The first NYC studio opens in Chelsea, which sees the first Fuel Bar launch and first use of its signature Woodway treadmills;
2015: Barry’s goes global! Studios open across the world in Norway, London, Boston, Miami, Nashville, and San Francisco. Expansion continues across New York City and the Hamptons. Barry’s retail hits new levels of success with expansion of the collection to Bloomingdale’s;
2016: Over 40,000 members of Barry’s FitFam take class every week ( celeb clients include Ellie Goulding, Mandy Moore, David Beckham, Harry Styles). The first studio opens in Chicago; and
2017: Barry’s readies for expansion into several new markets — both domestic and international.
We’ll continue to report on Barry’s Bootcamp as it continues to expand into new markets in Canada.
LVMH-owned Swiss luxury watchmaker and accessory brand Hublot will open its first standalone Toronto storefront this year at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre. It will be the second store for Hublot in Canada, after the company opened its Canadian flagship in Vancouver in the summer of 2017.
The Yorkdale Hublot boutique, located next to the mall’s Van Cleef & Arpels boutique, will locate in a 700 square foot space formerly occupied by a Purdy’s chocolate store. Other luxury brands are located nearby. Directly across from the new Hublot will be Canada’s first TAG Heuer boutique which is set to open in November, as well as an Oliver Peoples eyewear store, which was the first to open in Canada in October of 2018.
Steps away are boutiques for luxury brands such as Montblanc, Piaget, Panerai, IWC, Vacheron Constantin, David Yurman, Saint Laurent, Burberry and others — Yorkdale has achieved the status of having the highest density of luxury brands of any location in Canada, with even more said to be on the way.
In the summer of 2017, Hublot opened its first standalone Canadian store in Vancouver at 1080 Alberni Street. The impressive two-level store spans about 2,800 square feet and is one of the brand’s largest locations globally. Vancover’s Hublot is located in The Carlyle retail podium that houses luxury retailers including Prada, Saint Laurent, Moncler and Off-White, with a De Beers store (operated by the same local franchisee) located next door. Other luxury retailers can be found nearby on Alberni Street as well as adjacent Thurlow Street, Burrard Street and West Georgia Street. This month we profiled the impressive new Hermes flagship store that opened nearby.
Hublot watches are crafted to precision in a variety of styles, which have proven to be popular by luxury buyers worldwide. Prices are often well into the thousands, and some styles cost in excess of $1 million each.
Hublot was founded in Switzerland in 1980 by Italian Carlo Crocco — a scion of the Italian Binda Group dynasty, best known for making Breil watches. Hublot is named after the French word for “porthole”, and the first watch that he created featured the first natural rubber strap in the history of watchmaking — a feat that took three years of research to create. In 1998, Hublot was acquired by French luxury conglomerate LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy), and it continues to operate as a subsidiary.
Hublot operates freestanding stores in various global cities. On a commercial level, the network of stores currently stands at more than 70 exclusive boutiques around the world. In the United States, Hublot stores are in New York City, Beverly Hills, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Dallas, Houston and Orlando, Florida. The Miami area boasts four Hublot stores — in Bal Harbour, Miami Design District, Boca Raton and in Palm Beach.
Yorkdale is Canada’s most productive shopping centre in terms of annual sales per square foot, according to Retail Council of Canada’s Canadian Shopping Centre Study. A 2019 version of the study will be released this fall (sponsorship opportunities are available).
This week Craig and Lee talk about Dior, Barry’s Bootcamp, Ladurée, Hublot, Midtown Plaza and Oxford’s Omnichannel Platform.
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Chatters, a leading Canadian hair salon chain, has aggressive plans to expand its footprint across the country, which now includes 116 locations in seven provinces.
Recently, the company acquired Ontario-based Enviro Trends and its five locations. Current locations for Chatters include: 26 in British Columbia, 41 in Alberta, 10 in Saskatchewan, seven in Manitoba, 25 in Ontario, four in Newfoundland, and three in Nova Scotia.
Greg Moreau, the newly appointed President and CEO of the Red Deer, Alberta-based company, has a mission to put Chatters on the map as a nationally-acclaimed Canadian success story.
PHOTO: KINGSWAY MALL
“It’s time to share the Chatters story. Fundamentally, it’s about our guests and our teams. You look at any study, and you’ll see that one of the most loyal relationships consumers have in retail is the one they have with their stylist. That defines Chatters,” he said.
“More than 35 per cent of our market is based in Alberta. We’re certainly putting a push on to be able to grow in Ontario. We’re currently at 25 stores in Ontario. We have actually a good penetration. We have seven salons now in Ottawa. We’ve done a good job of filling that marketplace. Now we’re looking in Ontario. We’re going to close that gap as quickly as we can on having 41 in Alberta and only 25 in Ontario. With the population base being what it is, we feel there’s a great opportunity to grow.
“My strategy in terms of growth in Ontario is to work with the major landlords – the Cadillac Fairviews, the Ivanhoe Cambridges, the Oxfords – to be able to expand our brand presence. And we’re looking not only through the traditional leasing measures but also we’ll continue to be open for business on acquisition.”
Chatters Twitter
The company uses Oberfeld Snowcap for its real estate needs in enclosed malls and JLL for its outdoor portfolio in western Canada.
Chatters offers a full-service hair salon, but Moreau said the point of differentiation from other similar businesses is that it is the third largest distributor of professional hair care goods in North America and single largest in Canada.
Moreau said the business is about 60 per cent retail on average and 40 per cent services.
“As we prepare to grow, we are laser-focused on listening to our customers, better anticipating their needs, elevating our in-store experience and curating an assortment of the best beauty and hair care products in the world. We’re making significant investments in technology to accomplish our goals: launching a new POS system, and revamping our loyalty and membership programs to provide a seamless omni-selling experience – set to launch in 2020,” said Moreau, who has previous executive retail experience at Roots, Guess and Lucky Brand.
“Our core customer is about 80 per cent female, 20 per cent male. Certainly a professional woman. A lot of families and that is one of the wonderful things we see. And we certainly do have the dads in our kind of barber business as well as young kids that will come in with their moms. We can hit the entire demographic of the whole family. But I’d say the core is really the 30 to 55 year old woman. It is interesting because we are putting more focus now especially with our great value proposition, with our pricing, we’re putting more emphasis on our chatters.ca and there our highest demographic is the 24 to 35 year old woman. We certainly see a Millennial and a younger audience there. We’re also seeing that in our social media. For a Canadian company that was western based we have over 100,000 followers on Facebook which is a good number and we put a lot of emphasis on Instagram and the last two months we’ve picked up more than 5,000 followers and again in that younger and important demographic.”
In-store and online, Chatters carries over 6,000 hair care products covering 80 per cent of all top professional brands in the world, including world-class names like Redken, UNITE, DevaCurl, Pureology, Moroccan Oil, and more.
All Chatters locations are certified Green Circle Salons, diverting 95 per cent waste.
Landlord Oxford Properties announced that it has launched a unique omnichannel initiative that will allow shoppers the opportunity to see what products are available in stores prior to visiting Oxford’s shopping centres.
The landlord says that it is the first to create a ‘true seamless omnichannel experience’ where consumers can shop a variety of stores in its malls both digitally as well as in-store.
The new Search. Find. ShopNOW platform allows customers to see what products are offered by selected retailers in one online search. If a shopper was looking for a black dress, for example, Oxford Properties’ shopping centre websites showcase all products that fit the search, allowing consumers to contact to the store to check availability, visit the store itself, or purchase the item directly from the retailer’s online website.
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EXPLORE OXFORD PROPERTIES’ MALL ASSETS
QUARTIER DIX30
GALERIES DE LA CAPITALE
HILLCREST MALL
KINGSWAY MALL
SQUARE ONE SHOPPING CENTRE
UPPER CANADA MALL
SCARBOROUGH TOWN CENTRE
YORKDALE SHOPPING CENTRE
To simplify the process, Oxford Properties has made the search feature accessible from its mall website navigation bars. The idea is to simplify the shopping process by allowing for searches across all channels at any time and anywhere, while offering a competitive advantage to retailers that lease space in various malls operated by the landlord.
“This is the first time in Canada that shopping centres, not just a store or brand, can transition to and compete in the omnichannel retail space,” said Lucia Connor, Senior Director of Strategic Marketing at Oxford Properties. “We’re now able to show shoppers beforehand what they can find in-centre and allow them to plan their visits for the greatest efficiency. It also elevates a shopping centre’s participation in product-specific online search results and creates an additional revenue stream for our retailers.”
The Search. Find. ShopNOW platform is also something of a marketing tool, allowing shopping centres and retail tenants to intercept and influence customers to shop participating retail brands at specific shopping centre sites, according to the landlord.
LES PROMENADES GATINEAU PHOTO: OXFORD PROPERTIES
“Innovation is at the heart of Oxford’s retail platform and we constantly examine how we can both improve the customer experience and drive sales for our retailers,” said Bradley Jones, Head of Retail at Oxford Properties. “Search.Find.ShopNOW is a powerful new tool that embeds our shopping centres into the online sales funnel.”
The Search. Find. ShopNOW platform includes thousands of consumer products from a range of more than 70 retailers in Oxford Properties malls. Participating retailers include SoftMoc, Aldo, H&M, Le Chateau, Lululemon, Best Buy, The Body Shop and a variety of others.
Oxford Properties’ latest shopping centre innovation comes at a time of unprecedented competition amongst shopping centre landlords in Canada. Cadillac Fairview, which launched its ‘Ravel‘ innovation initiative in February of this year as covered in Retail Insider, is also looking for ways to draw-in shoppers to its centres. Other Canadian landlords are expected to follow as technological innovation is adopted at a time of digital disruption and shifts in consumer shopping patterns.
The Canadian Gift Association is offering an amazing opportunity to learn the latest retail tips from Canadian designer Cory Christopher. This floral master is hosting two informative webinars that will help you navigate the everchanging merchandising and trend landscape in the industry. These free events are truly a priceless occasion to learn from the best in the business!
Cory’s webinar is being hosted on Thursday, October 3 at 2:00 p.m. EST. He will be sharing his inspiration for visual displays and experiences that will have your customers saying “WOW”! Your imagination will be soaring, and you’ll feel ready to tackle your holiday season with festive flair as he encourages you to try new and exciting merchandising ideas.
The next session will be featured on Thursday, October 24 at 2:00 p.m. EST. The webinar introduces Cory’s retail predictions for next season. From home decor, fashion, gift, floral and everything in between, Cory has his pulse on where the industry is going, how best to capitalize on these opportunities and share them with your customers. Learn how to manage the overall flow of information to ensure you are making informed retail decisions that will result in sales.
Cory Christopher is the dynamic, driving force behind his namesake studio and its well-earned reputation for stunning events, florals and décor. Cory has dedicated his business to creating experiences for his clients. With regular appearances on CTV Edmonton, Global Edmonton and CBC Radio Active, and through workshops, pop-up shops and special events, Cory’s outstanding quality of work is backed by his unique personal style. He is always excited to share smart design tips and fun project ideas that encourage everyone to craft a more beautiful life.
These webinars will set you up for a successful retail season and give exceptional insight into the best décor for the front of your store. To register:
Lightspeed, a leading provider of omnichannel point-of-sale software, solutions, and support systems for over 51,000 independent retail and restaurant locations, have announced the launch of Lightspeed Retail 3.0, available now. Designed for iPads, this innovative navigational model for includes three new tabs – Profile, Sales History, and Retail Manager. Additionally it is designed to ease sales associate workflows and allows managers to perform non-POS operations.
Whether it’s sales, payments, refunds, historical information, or device management, this simplified interface allows Lightspeed users to focus on the task at hand. Managers will have the ability to quickly and efficiently shift to operational settings, such as generating live reports etc. In addition, independent retailers will now be able to perform sales quicker than ever before, increasing productivity for SMBs.
“Lightspeed Retail 3.0 was developed to make processing sales as easy as possible through a completely new user experience that focuses on the needs of retailers and their customers,” says Dax Dasilva, Founder and CEO of Lightspeed. “This past Summer we made significant updates to our inventory management capabilities, and this all-new app will provide increased efficiency for our SMB customers worldwide. Together, these innovations showcase our commitment to the continued success of independent retailers.”
Some key features seen with the introduction of Lightspeed Retail 3.0:
Sleek Design: Created for beautiful stores to further elevate their point-of-sale.
Navigation Settings: Improved and simplified to make movement between POS functions increasingly easier.
In-Progress Sales: Park sales for a consistent process that doesn’t interrupt the sales workflow.
Mobile Friendly: Ensures consumers an improved shopping experience.
Lightspeed Retail 3.0 is focused on speed and efficiency by providing employees with extensive product information, the ability to link retailed items together for larger transactions, and access to stock quantities both local and otherwise, this updated version of the app promises to add ease to an already powerful sales tool.
While the new navigation model emphasizes point-of-sale workflows, Lightspeed Retail also continues to give small and medium-sized retailers access to other core Lightspeed technologies such as Lightspeed Payments, Lightspeed Loyalty, and Lightspeed Analytics for a full suite of services. With latest release, Lightspeed Retail continues to transform the in-store experience. More announcements are planned in the near future that will further strengthen the relationship between retail locations and their customers.
PHOTO: LIGHTSPEED
Lightspeed is a cloud-based commerce platform, powering small and medium-sized businesses in approximately 100 countries around the world. It is an all-in-one solution, helping restaurants and retailers sell across multi channels, manage operations, engage with consumers, accept payments, and grow their business, all via a smart, scalable, and dependable point of sale system. Headquartered in Montréal, Lightspeed is trusted by many popular local businesses, where the community goes to shop and dine. Today Lightspeed has over 800 employees, with offices in Canada, USA, Europe, and Australia.
In the last two years, the Prairie Mall in Grande Prairie, Alberta, has set a scorching pace of adding new retailers to the popular shopping centre.
And for good reason.
The Grande Prairie Primary Trade Area is growing and includes about 110,000 people but the mall believes that number is likely much larger. There’s a young, affluent and captive market with a median age of 33. And the average household income is close to $130,000.
Those are all good demographics for mall owner Morguard Investments which has been able to attract national and international brands to the northwestern Alberta city. Prairie Mall has about 100 stores and services in 278,255 square feet.
Kelly Pekalski, Senior Manager, Retail Leasing, with Morguard Investments, said the mall, which is the largest indoor shopping centre in northwestern Alberta, is performing at about $682 sales per square foot.
CLICK FOR MAP OF PRAIRIE MALL SHOPPING CENTRE
“We were able to secure a few key national retailers about 18 months ago and that just led to a lot of growth in terms of bringing great, strong national brands to Grande Prairie. Albertans love national brands, especially Grande Prairie. The response from tenants is that they’re super happy with their sales here,” said Pekalski.
In the fall of 2017, the mall welcomed Marshalls (24,000 square feet), Ardene (17,000 square feet) and Urban Planet (21,700 square feet) in the former Target space.
More stores followed in 2018: Sephora (4,000 square feet, August); Saje Natural Wellness (1,330 square feet, October); Lululemon (4,000 square feet, November); and Starbucks (1,500 square feet, November).
INSIDE PRAIRIE MALL SHOPPING CENTRE ALL PHOTOS: MORGUARD
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This year Quarks opened in April; Eclipse in June; Mountain Warehouse in July; and Laura will open in November. Poko Popcorn will also open this fall.
Pekalski said a Purdy’s store will open in February 2020 and a Warehouse One will be opening in March 2020.
The mall is currently about 92 per cent leased.
“Hopefully we’ll have a few more nationals to announce but nothing I can officially announce at this time,” she said.
The demographics are a key to attracting retailers to the mall.
PHOTO: BEACHAMP PHOTOGRAPHY VIA PRAIRIE MALL FACEBOOK
“Even when Alberta’s down, which it is as we know, the whole economy may be down as well but it starts from such a higher threshold. The PTA average household income is at the $130,000 per year. So when you start from there if you’re off call it 10 per cent there’s still enough of a disposable income that our retailers see positivity and see growth in a market like that,” added Pekalski.
“And in the secondary trade area the average household income is about $115,000. Over 80 per cent of the population is under the age of 45. That’s a huge factor. Grande Prairie’s such a young demographic. People move there just to work. We’re not just reliant on oil and gas. It’s obviously important. But there’s a strong health-care hub, forestry. It’s not just a one-horse town per se.”
The Prairie Mall also has a pop-up program in place.
“Morguard overall has a really great pop-up program. We have a pop-up program at the mall that has been really, really well received especially in smaller markets like this where they don’t have the exposure to sometimes some of the more unique brands. It got leased up really, really quickly,” said Pekalski.
Exterior of L.L.Bean first Canadian store at Oakville Place. Photo: George Pimentel
Eileen Halpin-Tarrant has a career in retail that dates back to June 5, 1984 and over those years she’s experienced massive changes in the industry.
“It’s obviously a completely different world considering we didn’t have the connectivity and accessibility to the degree that we do now. Especially when considering online shopping and Amazon. The landscape has drastically changed in how retailers view shopping centres and retail space – and ultimately how much space they need,” said Halpin-Tarrant, who is President – Client Services, Broker of Record (Ontario) / Managing Broker (British Columbia) with Oberfeld Snowcap Realty, Brokerage.
“Bricks and mortar retail has to be much more ‘promotional’ today to get consumers’ attention. We are seeing trends that many retailers are perpetually on sale. This tactic is understandable given that consumers have instant access to price comparisons and convenience via online shopping. You’ve got to really be focused on continuously implementing sales promotions to gain and hold traction,” she said.
EILEEN HALPIN-TARRANT
“It’s a different experience for the customer today. The retail environment is much more “experiential”. Consumers typically still want to touch and feel the products before buying them, however getting them in the doors is now one of the core challenges to the industry. Before online shopping took off, it seemed like you would just open your doors and in came the customers. Now, you really have to speak to them at every level – and that means retailers that are emphasizing omni-channel marketing are reaping the benefits.”
“This extends to the landlords now as well. Certainly, malls and shopping centres are increasingly positioned as their own brands with distinct omni-channel marketing schemes. It’s not enough today to simply be a well-positioned mall with a strong lineup of retailers. Major landlords have marketing teams (that are winning awards for their work) dedicated to connecting to consumers and occupying space in their minds as the best places to live, shop, work, and play. Remember Yorkdale’s seemingly viral “Fashion Santa?”, or how about celebrity meet-and-greets at major malls? Today, retailers increasingly rely on landlords to drive traffic and develop centres that remain competitive, especially as shopping options for consumers continue to expand.”
“At the end of the day, the customer is really the one running the show. If you don’t speak to them and you don’t give them what they’re looking for, then they’re on to the next one – whether that’s the next mall, the urban street-front locations, or online shopping mediums. The loyalty factor is gone. There’s not as much attachment to brands as there once was, that’s for sure.”
PHOTO: MATT & NAT
Halpin-Tarrant’s first position in the retail real estate industry was with Bramalea Limited, in the shopping centre division. She started in an entry level position and progressed to the role of Leasing Manager where she focused on the leasing of various shopping centres in their portfolio at the time, including Yorkdale Shopping Centre, Scarborough Town Centre, as well as the Halifax Shopping Centre redevelopment, to name a few.
Then in 1993, she went to work at Burnac Leaseholds as Director of Leasing responsible for various properties throughout Atlantic Canada and Ontario. After spending five years there, she went to SMARTCentres where she was Vice President, Leasing for six years.
Halpin-Tarrant has now been with Oberfeld Snowcap for the past 15 years.
Despite the massive evolution in the retail industry in recent years with the explosion of online shopping, bricks and mortar remain a key part of a retailer’s success, she says.
PHOTO: SHOPPERS DRUG MART VIA FACEBOOK
“It’s changed. Typical footprints for retailers at 20,000 square feet for instance now may only be 10,000 square feet. Retailers are required to do more with less space to remain profitable. The number of locations has changed too. Certain retailers potentially don’t need as many locations. Many brands now take the ‘storefront-as-showroom approach.” said Halpin-Tarrant.
“If landlords are open to negotiating – and I find they are more than ever right now – retailers can find favourable deals with major landlords when they position themselves as first-to-market concepts that need incubation. You typically see this with online concepts who want to go to bricks and mortar, and that’s what we need more of to keep the shopping centres unique and on trend. We need landlords to continue to be creative with options for these brands.”
Halpin-Tarrant says that landlords are also looking for alternative uses, and not just fashion, as much as it is still a dominant retailer in shopping centres. Entertainment, food and beverage, and unique offerings are trending as more alternative attractions in shopping centres to attract more people and increase their dwell time which is ideally then captured in the gross sales volumes of the shopping centres.
PHOTO: THE TEN SPOT VIA FACEBOOK
“Anything that’s unique, that’s experiential, that’s really where you’re going to see the trends in the future,” added Halpin-Tarrant.
She explained how shopping centres have evolved over the years simply because they had to. “They can’t stay static in this ever-changing world where online shopping has become more popular. They’ve evolved to offer more of a community place to gather versus just being a place to come and shop. We are seeing residential being added to shopping centres also in order to build traffic and add to that experience of shopping, dining, being entertained all within steps to your residence.”
“At the end of the day, we’re social creatures. We still want to get out there and be part of the experience. The landlords that design their centres towards that concept are the ones that are going to be successful,” she said.
PHOTO: CARREFOUR DE L’ESTRIE VIA FACEBOOK
Halpin-Tarrant has been on both sides of the retail real estate transaction – representing landlords and tenants.
What are the major differences between the two?
“It’s interesting because when I first started working on the brokerage side, and specifically the tenant advisory side, I felt like I wasn’t in control. When you’re on the landlord side, you’re the one making a decision on the merchandising mix of your centre, and you know that whatever happens that it was your call at the end of the day,” she said. “But on the tenant side, it’s definitely a different experience. Just after I joined Oberfeld Snowcap, I said to myself ‘I don’t know if I like this – I can’t make decisions for my client’. In reality, you’re the one that’s advising and bringing the parties together and by doing that, that’s how the decisions are made.”
“So it’s less about making decisions, and more about offering solutions. We’re finding the middle ground between both parties. At Oberfeld Snowcap, we’re facilitating the deal – driving both parties towards an end result with the right deal that works for everyone involved.”
Halpin-Tarrant said the appeal for her in working in this industry is the realization that she, and those who work in the field, are instrumental in helping retailers grow their brand across the country.
“I’ve always had the mindset when providing advice to our clients as if it was my own business. The recommendations that I put forward are always based on the question – ‘what would I do here?’. To me, when you see your clients go from store one to store 100, that’s exciting. That has been a core motivation which has translated into a love for what I do,” she said.
“Today, the foundations of that motivation are still there, but the goals have evolved for me. I have always been proud and focused on building a strong team at Oberfeld Snowcap. We have some of the best people in the industry who have a passion for what they do and for the success of our clients. I’m now more focused than ever on passing my experience on to others. At this point in my career, that feels right to me – sharing my knowledge, and witnessing those around me grow. That inspires me!”
*Oberfeld Snowcap is a valued partner of Retail Insider. To work with Retail Insider, email: craig@retail-insider.com
