Poliform Furniture, in partnership with Aeon Group, has launched a 5,000-square-foot two-storey mono-store in downtown Vancouver. Poliform Vancouver joins a vibrant downtown retail area between the Financial District and Downtown and is seeing 20-30 people coming in daily.
Located at 779 West Pender Street, in the former FedEx depot (closed 2017) and across from the popular Starbucks Reserve in CF Pacific Centre, Poliform Vancouver is in an ideal high-traffic location. The new location employs six full-time persons and affords the brand access to more resources, designers, architects, builders, developers and homeowners on the west coast than ever before.
Reflecting the global retail concept of the ‘Poliform home,’ the brand has created a space which is designed to inspire where visitors experience ‘home’ within a chic and sophisticated environment. The collection is set out as a wide diversified choice and includes systems and furnishing accessories for the whole house: bookcases, complements, wardrobes, beds, kitchens, sofas, and armchairs.
Space is spread over two levels with an open, contemporary layout, an abundance of glass partitions, and dark wood and natural stone used on floors and walls. As visitors move through the space, they will discover rooms dedicated to all aspects of living, entirely furnished and styled with Poliform systems and furniture collections.
In addition to housing Poliform’s comprehensive product range, Poliform Vancouver will offer design services to help guide clients through all stages of their projects.
Poliform is a leading player in the international furniture scene with 30 locations in China, 3 in Mexico, and 11 in United States. The highly successful result of adventurous enterprise, the company has always based its vision on the search for quality by updating its lines in keeping with all that is good in contemporary lifestyle trends.
Toronto-based Quesada Burritos & Tacos has a big expansion strategy for the future. This month, the company also launched a Beyond Meat offering, joining the 1% for the Planet movement.
“We’re growing at a pretty good clip right now. I feel like I’m always looking at sites or we’re signing franchisees. We’re kind of on a pace of 25 to 30 locations a year. Things have picked up a little bit now. So probably at the higher end for this next coming year,” says Steve Gill, President, CEO and Founder and CEO of Quesada.
“There’s more than enough room for us to get to 300 locations in Canada even with all the other competition that’s growing around us. That’s kind of in the traditional market. We’re also getting into more universities, and hospitals. Things like that. We’ve got one airport hopefully coming down the pipeline. Hopefully more than one.”
“There’s more than enough room for us to get to 300 locations in Canada even with all the other competition that’s growing around us. That’s kind of in the traditional market. We’re also getting into more universities, and hospitals. Things like that. We’ve got one airport hopefully coming down the pipeline. Hopefully more than one.”
The first location for the Mexican restaurant chain was in May 2004 in Toronto. Gill had been working in Colorado and came to love the food. “The experience of sort of a hand-held full meal in a wrap kind of thing.”
But he left Colorado in 2002 and came back home to Toronto.
“I started looking for locations, working on the business plan and the recipes and opened 2004. The first store was right downtown Toronto about one block from the Skydome or Rogers Centre,” said Gill.
Today, the chain has about 128 locations across Canada – and is constantly growing.
Gill said he’s always believed that he got lucky with the right idea at the right time.
“I have quite a lot of experience now but then I didn’t. Right from day one people were lining up right on the sidewalk when we just had the one location. And driving from very far because no one was doing it at that time. We had people coming in from the suburbs to downtown for a burrito or tacos,” he said.
“At that time, it was the trend towards getting healthier food fast instead of saying fast food. And what I’ve seen since we opened is just more and more people looking for more variety and taste buds have gotten more adventurous over the years. We’ve seen that even in our own restaurant from day one until now. It was about three or four years before we added a really spicy chipotle chicken onto our menu and that’s the most popular thing we sell. The whole spice level has gone up over the years. We started at the right time for that trend.”
Keeping up with trends, Quesada recently launched its Beyond Meat Burrito as a permanent menu item.
“We were catering for the Toronto Film Festival two or three years ago. And we were just testing out a sweet potato item as well as the traditional meat like pork and beef and chicken. I’m not sure why but I just asked this one guy that was in line ‘can I ask you a personal question? Why did you order the sweet potato?’ and he goes ‘to tell you the truth I’m not a vegetarian I’m just a tourist in the vegetarian world’,” said Gill.
“That kind of struck me because I think I saw the same thing in myself but I never put a label to it and since then we’ve been noticing it more and more. We’ve been getting more requests for additional vegetarian items. Even before the word plant-based became popular. That marketing of it has really made a difference and opened it up to a lot of people who just want to eat healthier.”
The 1% for the Planet’ is a growing global movement and non-profit organization focused on environmental change in Canada, and around the world. By joining, Quesada commits to donating one per cent of annual sales of its Beyond Meat Burrito to support environmental non-profit partners focused on issues such as sustainable food systems and climate change.
“We’re excited to welcome Quesada to our growing, global movement,” said Kate Williams, CEO of 1% for the Planet. “Currently, only three per cent of total philanthropy goes to the environment. The planet needs bigger support than this, and Quesada is among corporate leaders doing their valuable part to increase giving and support on issues that matter to consumers and our planet.”
The organization was founded in 2002. Today, 1% for the Planet has more than 2,000 members in over 45 countries who have given back more than $225 million to environmental non-profits.
“Joining 1% for the Planet aligns with our company-wide goal to make positive environmental changes from the inside out. We want to inspire our customers and employees to want to do more for the earth,” said Gill.
Quesada will work with 1% for the Planet to develop giving strategies that support Canadian environmental non-profits. In addition, Quesada is developing meaningful ways employees can support environmental causes in their own communities.
“The beauty of it is that at the same time as we’re helping support them with funds I think they’re going to provide us with some education on how to do things better,” added Gill. “They have resources we don’t have.”
This month, Finnish design house Marimekko is launching its first ever street wear collection, called Marimekko Kioski. This new innovation is now available to Canadian’s through an exclusive partnership with national retailer gravitypope. Featured in gravitypope locations in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, and Toronto, Marimekko is showcasing their new Kioski line in unique in-store kiosk-style displays.
Marimekko Kioski is a shift in direction for the well-loved home and design house. Kiosks feature a range of carefully curated unisex hoodies, t-shits, scrunchies, key rings, caps, sneakers, and socks. All of which include some aspect of Marimekko’s most recognized and authentic patterns. Marimekko Kioski is aimed at a new demographic, and sees the brand venture into previously unknown territory. When asked about the inspiration behind the street wear collection, Sanna-Kaisa Niikko, Marimekko’s Director of Global Creative Brand Marketing, says “Marimekko Kioski is a curated collection of androgynous wardrobe stables celebrating creativity. The collection introduces the Marimekko brand and values to a new generation of urban youth, with reinterpretations of our iconic patterns in new colour ways and products for the first time. The collection in especially inspired by our iconic Unikko print that stands for creativity.”
As one of the country’s most popular independently owned boutique retailers, Edmonton-based gravitypope focuses on unique and handcrafted footwear, clothing and accessories, from all over the world. Known today as a footwear institution, gravitypope, is the perfect partnership for Kioski, as CEO, Louise Dirks says “their new streetwear concept perfectly fits with our demographic and as I already loved their design aesthetic, and attitude, I did not have to think hard about doing this partnership.”
Both the Toronto and Calgary gravitypope stores provide ample room for the Kioski stands, and despite the cozy nature of the Vancouver location, gravitypope managed to carve out a nook for the installation. With the exciting move and expansion of the Edmonton location, Louise said the gravitypope team were able to design an area specifically for the kiosk in the new space. Both brands are committed to making sure this partnership thrives and is easily accessible for Canadians in the cities listed, and online for those elsewhere.
Marimekko’s homeware and fabrics have been sold in select Canadian stores for many years, and are widely loved by many across the country. Marimekko’s consistent Canadian presence, including a home goods partnership with EQ3, has allowed the company room to branch out into a new realm of retail, all set to re-invigorate interest in the brand with a mainstream, urban audience. Louise Dirks says that up until this point, Marimekko clothing has been harder to access than their well-known homeware products. “People may be less aware of the clothing as it has not been as easy to find and that is why I think Canadians will be very eager for this new offering. Every time I tell someone about the Kioski concept, they are always very excited to hear about this new division of clothing.”
Designed under the talent that is President & CEO Tiina Alahuhta-Kasko, Kioski demonstrates a more youthful offering from a brand that has long been celebrated worldwide for its bold, original prints and colours. Known as one of the world’s first lifestyle brands, Marimekko’s expression of joyful living through their home decor, fashion, and accessories has been empowering people to express their personality since 1951. When designing this new Kioski line, it was important to Marimekko that the end products would be available at accessible price points while still remaining exclusive and of the highest quality, two elements that have always rang true of the Marimekko brand.
This is just the beginning for Marimekko Kioski and its partnership with gravitypope. As street wear becomes increasingly popular, it’s safe to assume that these brands will continue to reinvent themselves. Louise Dirks believes that targeting a young market, eager for fresh design and colour is going to mean big things for Kioski; “as Marimekko plans to refresh product offerings on a regular basis, I think we can have fun with this Kioski for years to come.”
Marimekko Kioski has been launched globally, with exclusive retail partners such as Dover Street Market in Ginza, Tokyo, and at flagship stores. In Canada, gravitypope was selected as the exclusive retailer and Kioski is now available in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, and Toronto locations. Marimekko Kioski is also available online at gravitypope.com.
SIR RICHARD BRANSON WITH SWOB CO-FOUNDERS STEPHANIE AND ALEXANDER FLORIO
By Stephanie Florio
is a social recruiting platform to help employers and HR professionals in high turnover industries find local talent, using our smart recruiting service. Sir Richard Branson even endorsed Swob™ as the Number 1 social recruitment platform amongst millennial job seekers.
STEPHANIE AND ALEXANDER FLORIO
The idea for Swob came from my brother, Alexander, who was in the process of applying for jobs, and thought there needed to be an easier way. Prior to launching in November of 2017, we spent a year meeting with Millennials and Gen Z’ers to learn about how they apply to jobs, and their frustrations in doing so. What quickly became evident was the lack of resources and tools to help them in their employment search. While the ‘full-time, professional’ market has resources, there was no relevant resource available for young job seekers.
Not only did we meet with young job seekers, we also met with employers to understand what they would like to see in a recruiting platform. We were surprised to learn that a lot of employers struggle to recruit top young talent, and that many are looking for new and innovative solutions.
It was clear that the job boards already available were not sufficient in helping these struggling employers recruit. We built our website based on the feedback we received from the human resources departments at McDonald’s Canada and Recipe Unlimited.
Employers in high turnover industries face common problems and we have addressed these pain points with our employer dashboard. All of the different features available on Swob came from employer feedback. For example, a Tim Hortons store owner in Toronto mentioned to us his frustrations when posting on other traditional job boards. He mentioned that when he would post part-time roles for his store in Toronto, he would receive applications from candidates in Vancouver, which was upsetting for him.
Once we heard this, we took his feedback and developed a solution on our website called ‘Maximum Applicant Distance’, where employers have the ability to select how far they want candidates to apply from, ensuring local applicants. We heard a problem, and we developed a solution. Some of the key features that makes Swob unique include our filters, which allow employers to filter candidates by age, availability, education and experience, reducing the time spent screening applications.
Another feature we developed for employers using Swob is saved job descriptions, which lets employers duplicate an existing job without having to complete the job details again. It was after meeting with numerous employers that we learned that many other job boards don’t save the job description, even though employers might need to duplicate the post. Employers also have access to the applicants full application and Swob profile, and can use our automated emails to start the conversation with these candidates.
It’s becoming increasingly difficult for employers to retain and find talent, with turnover exceeding 80% per year. With more young talent looking for tools like Swob, it’s clear they are moving away from traditional methods. For many employers, they want to ensure they adapt to new innovations, and not fall behind on advanced trends. Employers posting roles on Swob no longer have to go through physical stacks of resumes, rather they can post jobs, screen applicants, and communicate with the candidates they are interested in right on Swob.
This new technology captured the attention of Sir Richard Branson in May of 2018, as Swob was awarded $10,000 and named the first ever Canadian company to win Richard Branson’s “Pitch to Rich” contest.
To date, Swob has helped many young job seekers find meaningful employment and is working with companies such as McDonald’s, Virgin Mobile Canada, The Source, Tim Hortons, Cactus Club, etc.
Use the platform and language that millennials resonate with and understand. Let Swob focus on bringing the right candidates to you.
THE BRICK’S NEW WEST EDMONTON MALL FLAGSHIP PHOTO: THE BRICK
The Brick, Canada’s largest retailer of furniture, appliances, mattresses and electronics, has opened a new 55,000-square-foot flagship store in the West Edmonton Mall with elements of the new concept to be rolled out to other stores across the country.
“Our customers want the best of both worlds — an exceptional and innovative in-store experience, as well as a convenient and always-open online experience,” said Dave Freeman, President of The Brick. “Our new, bigger store in West Edmonton Mall uses technology to bridge the gap between digital and in-person shopping, giving customers everything they expect from one of Canada’s leading retailers.”
The company said the new space carries 8,600 individual pieces displayed in inspirational room settings that focus on modern urban living. It features large screen digital displays where customers can browse even more inventory and visualize their own Designed2B custom furniture configurations. Each member of the sales team also carries a tablet. In addition to looking up information and completing transactions, they also use them to help customers see their Designed2B creations in augmented reality, said the company.
PHOTO: THE BRICK VIA FACEBOOK
“We’ve also got electronic price tags we’re using in our appliance and electronics department today in that store. What’s great about that it allows us to immediately move corporately on pricing. So if we need to change pricing we can do it right from the office here if we’re reacting to competition or even just providing better value for our customers. We can do it from here.”
Freeman said The Brick has been in the mall for about 34 years. A few years ago, it moved locations and increased its size in the mall.
“When the opportunity for the Sears building came along, we worked out a good compromise with the mall to move to a standalone that gave us parking and immediate mall access and we got to be a bit bigger footprint as well,” he said.
PHOTO: CRAIG PATTERSON
“It’s a brand-new layout for us. We have a lot more space. It’s more shopable for our customers. Lots of opportunity for the product to breathe and really let the product be the hero. So we’re happy with that. From a frequency of visit perspective, we’ve got a lot more accents and accessories and we’ve got new processes in place that make that frictionless for our customers buying that kind of product for less. We think that will really benefit us from a repeat customer perspective. Of course, we’ve got our online offering but this complements that with that type of product too where customers can come in and take most of it with them right at the time of purchase.”
Freeman said the iPad use by staff and electronic pricing are a test for the company but “as we move along in due course we’ll just convert the majority of our stores to that over time.”
“The other thing two things we’re excited about part of the Design2B configuration we’re speaking of is an augmented reality version to it and then we’re working on VR (virtual reality) as well which will come along fairly shortly. It’s a convergence of what does that online experience look like, can I start to shop at home on my laptop or on my mobile device and then walk into the store and get the same look and feel,” he said.
INSIDE THE BRICK’S NEW WEST EDMONTON FLAGSHIP STORE PHOTOS: THE BRICK & CRAIG PATTERSON
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“As the success grows with those things as we transition new stores, or renovate new stores, or open new stores, they’ll all come with most of these elements.”
The company has 214 stores in The Brick group – 181 are full line Brick stores which are a combination of corporate and franchise stores; 24 standalone Brick Mattress stores; and nine outlet stores.
“We’ve got a number of distribution centres right across the country from Vancouver and we currently stop in Montreal but we’re going to be opening a new distribution centre in Halifax probably 15-18 months out and that will springboard us in. We’ve got stores today – corporate and franchise stores – in the Maritimes but this will springboard us to the next level. There’s two or three deals that are signed and a couple in the works for out East,” said Freeman.
PHOTO: THE BRICK VIA FACEBOOK
“We’re always looking for franchise opportunities, infills, second stores in markets as markets grow. We think we’re covered pretty good right across every province but as we work through Quebec and the Maritimes – even out in Ontario we’re still looking for either franchise or corporate opportunities all the time. We’re in growth.”
Freeman said while the company has put in a large format flagship store in Edmonton it also still believes in smaller format stores like it has on Yonge Street in Toronto and on Granville Street in Vancouver which are in the 6,000 to 7,000 square-foot range. Expansion of this format could move into several major markets in Canada.
In the flagship store, there is also the Charity Corner, which sees a section of The Brick’s new location dedicated to supporting the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation. This comes in addition to The Brick donating $1.5 million to the Children’s Miracle Network in 2018.
PHOTO: THE BRICK
“Since 1985, West Edmonton Mall has had a successful relationship with The Brick as part of the opening of phase three of the mall. West Edmonton Mall and The Brick share common goals to continue being the best in class — for the mall as a shopping and entertainment destination and for The Brick as the gold standard for the sale of furniture in Canada,” said David Ghermezian, CEO, West Edmonton Mall.
“The Brick’s West Edmonton Mall location expanding to flagship status at the highest profile of the complex is common to both of our goals to deliver the ultimate shopping experience for our more than 30 million annual visitors. We look forward to at least another 35 years of growth and success together.”
The Brick opened in 1971 and today has more than 5,000 employees across Canada.
Continuing to build on the goal of bringing its premium practice to yogis across the country, YYOGA is announcing today the availability of franchising opportunities to Canadians.
“We’re thrilled to embark on this next chapter and have been immensely grateful for our founding communities in Vancouver and Toronto who continue to support us,” said YYOGA president, Carey Dillen. “Fueled by this energy, love and passion, we’re excited to bring our signature offering to more cities across Canada with the help of our partners!”
PHOTO: BRITTNEY GILL
Founded in 2007 by Terry McBride, YYOGA began as one studio in downtown Vancouver. Today, there are twelve locations, all dedicated to serving Canadians in both B.C. and Ontario. Inspired by the idea that yoga and meditation can change the world, YYOGA has spent the last twelve years creating a community of likeminded Canadians, all intent on connecting on a deeper level, both with themselves and with those around them. “We’re living in an often disconnected world, and many are searching for reflection and purpose. YYOGA provides our members with a safe environment to explore their boundaries through the practice of yoga and the power of mindfulness”, says Carey.
Since opening their doors in 2007, YYOGA has served almost 300,000 yogis with almost 400,000 classes. Including, but not limited to, YHot, YRide, YSculpt, and Yin and meditation, YYOGA provides a wide range of classes committed to different aspects of Canadians’ wellbeing, all of which are taught in studios designed to ensure a comfortable and inviting environment for everyone and every body. Offering over 800 classes a week with some of the highest quality teaching available, there is certainly something for every preference and every level of ability.
YYOGA president, Carey Dillen, ensures that with the introduction of each new class, the core value of alignment and mindfulness is not lost. “We’ve very much maintained our yoga-centric environment throughout the introduction of high-intensity workouts, and have made sure to stay true to our yoga spirit,” she said. Most recently, YYOGA launched an on-demand class steaming platform called YYOGA at Home. The goal? To provide top-quality yoga classes to people all across Canada, to be enjoyed at their own leisure from the comfort of their own homes.
True to their word, YYOGA has proven that yoga can truly have a positive impact on the world. By creating a place where people can go to feel safe, challenged, and fulfilled, YYOGA has managed to establish an increasingly socially aware community, one whose mission is to create opportunities for all people to practice yoga together. The We Move Together movement was born of this idea, and today YYOGA funds numerous projects, and organizations, in addition to providing use of their physical space for people to come together in the spirit of inspiring change. Some of their past partnerships include BC Women’s Hospital and Health Centre and the Red Door Shelter Toronto.
PHOTO: BRITTNEY GILL
Celebrated as the country’s original yoga network, YYOGA has maintained their vision of making the world a better place through the application of yoga and mindfulness, and now you can be a part of this journey. As of September 17th 2019, YYOGA is extending their commitment to making their services more accessible across Canada, as they seek franchise owners to join the movement. “Our goal is to be coast to coast; accessible to all Canadians”, says Carey. Cities like Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Montreal, and Winnipeg are all high on the list of dream homes for future YYOGA studios, as well as hoping to add to the already existing studios in both Toronto and the Greater Vancouver Area.
As YYOGA opens their beloved community to the potential of new cities and new franchisees, the preservation of their core values are paramount. Seen as the heart and soul of YYOGA, future franchise owners will be chosen with great intent and purpose. “Finding the right fit to ensure YYOGA’s culture is maintained remains top priority”, says Carey. Extensive training and support will be provided to potential franchisees as they begin the journey to becoming the new faces of YYOGA’s coast-to-coast expansion. If you’re interested in learning about becoming a franchise owner go to ownayyoga.ca for more information.
Connect with YYOGA and become part of the ever-growing community at yyoga.ca, @yyoga, and @yyoga.at.home
French luxury brand Hermès opened an impressive flagship store in downtown Vancouver on Friday of last week. The new location replaces a former storefront located nearby, and is part of Hermès’ Canadian expansion that has seen the brand substantially grow its Canadian footprint over the course of more than 40 years.
The new two-level Vancouver Hermès flagship at 717 Burrard Street includes an expansive frontage on West Georgia Street in the Burrard Building. The store features almost 5,000 square feet of retail space, more than twice the size of its former store that occupied the Burrard and Alberni Street corner for well over a decade.
The new Hermès store was designed by Parisian architecture agency RDAI in collaboration with Gensler. The two-level moulded concrete white terrazzo facade now dominates the busy Burrard and Georgia Street intersection. Translucent glass canopies protect pedestrians from the rain as they walk past the store’s recessed windows that are trimmed in bronze.
In a statement, Hermès says that the store’s interior has an “emphasis on natural materials and tonal accords creates an airy ambiance that evokes the land and sea.” Terrazzo flooring in the store features a “Faubourg” patterned mosaic. The store took more than a year to complete.
The main level of the new Hermès flagship includes a front area for jewellery and watches. Further back is an area for the brand’s iconic silk scarves and accessories, as well as a “perfume discovery area”. A leather goods area faces the store’s staircase, and is next to a display for Hermès’ equestrian collection. At the back of the main floor is a men’s section that includes ready-to-wear as well as accessories and footwear offerings.
The store’s second level includes women’s ready-to-wear fashions, footwear and accessories, as well as a private shopping salon for VIP guests. Clothing is tailored to the local market, with fewer heavy sweaters than in the Toronto flagship, as well as fewer suede bags because of Vancouver’s rainy weather. The second level also houses Hermès’ home furnishings with a selection of homeware, tableware and wallpapers on display.
HERMÈS’ NEW VANCOUVER FLAGSHIP PHOTO: TREVOR BRADY
Both levels are joined by a staircase in oak and glass with steps that “appear to float”, according to Hermès. The staircase was designed and built by Canadian firm EeStairs. On the back wall of the staircase is a Pegasus flying horse relief by French sculptor Christian Renonciat.
The store caters to uber-wealthly clients with special orders via its ‘Horizons’ division which has outfitted private jets and luxury cars. And next year, an area for makeup will be coming to the new Burrard Street store, according to the company.
For the opening of the Vancouver flagship, Hermès created several exclusive products for the store. That includes roller skates that reflect “the activity of the city” as well as special Kelly bags and a limited-edition Twilly scarf.
“This beautiful new store reflects the longstanding relationship between Hermès and Vancouver, which is built on shared values and a deep appreciation for innovation,” said Jennifer Carter, President and CEO of Hermès Canada.
HERMÈS’ NEW VANCOUVER FLAGSHIP PHOTO: TREVOR BRADY
HERMÈS’ NEW VANCOUVER FLAGSHIP PHOTO: TREVOR BRADY
The new Hermès is located in the Burrard Building that was designed by Vancouver architect C.B.K. Van Norman in 1955. The Hermès store was made possible by joining five retail units into one, including former storefronts for Bell Mobility, Montblanc, and a hair salon on the second level.
Occupying the Burrard and Alberni Street corner of the Burrard Building is Tiffany & Co., which unveiled an expanded 9,762 square foot flagship in spring of 2017. Several other luxury brands occupy the base of the Burrard Building. On the Alberni Street side, tenants include Jimmy Choo, Montblanc, Vacheron Constantin and a CIBC Bank, with a vacant two-level space that once housed an Italian restaurant. The Georgia Street side of the Burrard Building podium houses two luxury boutiques — Graff and Patek Philippe — which are operated by Maison Birks.
HERMÈS’ NEW VANCOUVER FLAGSHIP PHOTO: TREVOR BRADY
Across the street from the new Hermès flagship is the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, which houses flagship locations for brands including Dior, Louis Vuitton, Omega, Gucci and St. John Knits.
On West Georgia Street, boutiques for Chopard and Stefano Ricci have opened over the past couple of years, joining an impressive lineup of luxury brands occupying spaces on Alberni Street as well as nearby Thurlow Street. Other ‘Luxury Zone’ retailers include Panerai, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Lao Feng Xiang, Hublot, Tory Burch, Prada, Van Cleef & Arpels, IWC, Escada, Burberry, Rolex, Brunello Cucinelli, Versace, Saint Laurent, Moncler, and Off-White.
The former Hermès space at 755 Burrard Street will be replaced by French luxury jewellery Cartier, which will relocate from its current retail space at 456 Howe Street. Cartier’s parent company Richemont is said to have bought the strata unit, which spans 3,218 square feet according to BC Assessment records, several years ago.
The area around Howe Street and West Hastings Street, which includes retailers such as Leone and at one time Chanel, Escada, Hugo Boss and Alfred Dunhill, was being positioned to be a retail ‘luxury zone’ for the city. Brokers have since focused on creating the the current ‘luxury zone’ clustering that has grown between the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver and the Shangri-La Hotel, which is one of Canada’s top-three luxury shopping areas in terms of the number of standalone storefronts for the world’s biggest brands. The other two Canadian luxury zones are in Toronto, including the city’s Bloor-Yorkville area as well as Yorkdale Shopping Centre.
Hermès has had a presence in Vancouver since the early 1990’s when multi-brand retailer Collections International operated a 150 square foot Hermès boutique at the back of its store at 1005 Alberni Street (I visited the tiny shop in 1992 when it carried a selection of scarves, several handbags, and a few styles of clothing for men and women). In 1995, Jennifer Carter relocated the Vancouver Hermès boutique to Holt Renfrew, where it occupied a 1,000 square foot space for more than a decade prior to moving into its 755 Burrard Street space in 2006, which before that was occupied by fur/variety retailer Saitoh.
Vancouver’s Burrard Street ‘luxury zone’ was formed in the early 1990’s when Chanel opened a 1,300 square foot store at 755 Burrard Street where Coach is currently located. Multi brand retailer Collections International opened a Celine boutique next to Chanel, and also once operated small storefronts within the Burrard Building for Alfred Dunhill, Valentino, Gold/Pfeil and Fendi — Tiffany & Co. now occupies all of those former shops. The current corner of Burrard and West Georgia Street that is now occupied by Hermès once housed North America’s first standalone location for Versace’s diffusion line ‘Versus’ which opened in 1992, and after it closed, Italian leather brand Furla operated a store at the corner for several years before the space was leased to Bell Mobility.
Hermès has been expanding its Canadian operations for more than 40 years. The Westwood family brought the brand to Canada in 1976 with a 600 square foot boutique at Toronto’s Hazelton Lanes (in 1981 it expanded to carry ready-to-wear under the ownership of Hazelton Lanes developer York Hannover).
Jennifer Carter bought Hermès Canada in 1989 and relocated the Toronto boutique to a 2,240 square foot space at The Colonnade at 131 Bloor Street West (currently occupied by Mulberry) in the spring of 1992. In the summer of 2008, she relocated Hermès to a 3,965 square foot space at 130 Bloor Street West.
In the fall of 2017, Hermès relocated its Toronto location to its current and considerably larger space at 100 Bloor Street West. Hermès leased nearly 13,000 square feet of what was formerly a Williams Sonoma store, with about 5,800 square feet of retail space, according to the retailer. Hermès’ Canadian corporate headquarters are located at the back of the second level of the Toronto flagship, including a board room, offices and storage.
Hermès also operates shop-in-store concessions at Holt Renfrew stores in Calgary and Montreal. The Calgary boutique, measuring nearly 1,500 square feet, opened in 2009. The Montreal Holt Renfrew concession, which opened in 1995, will relocate to the new Holt Renfrew Ogilvy early next year and will span about 3,000 square feet on the ground floor of the 250,000 square foot Holt Renfrew Ogilvy store. Hermès also operates a Canadian e-commerce website that sells millions of dollars of product annually, according to the company.
With two large flagships and two concessions, Hermès has grown its Canadian operations substantially over the past 43 years. Over the past four years alone, the company is said to have tripled its retail space in this country while its online sales have grown substantially as well.
Landlord Cadillac Fairview has announced that it is investing a further $67.5 million in its CF Promenades St-Bruno shopping centre property to create a “market-style food hub” that it says will reinforce the centre as a key destination for Montreal’s South Shore community. Cadillac Fairview says that it will be the first of its kind for the landlord’s shopping centre portfolio. It’s all part of a much larger investment on the part of Cadillac Fairview in CF Promenades St-Bruno, which has seen more than $175 million spent over the past several years on updates and expansions.
The new 113,000 square foot ‘Marché des Promenades’, which will open in the fall of 2020 in CF Promenades St-Bruno’s former Target space, will be a “unique food, beverage, and entertainment experience” according to Cadillac Fairview. Included will be a 35,000 square-foot Avril Supermarché Santé, a Saint-Houblon Brewery, as well as a diverse mix of restaurants, specialty and artisanal retailers and producers. Selections will include both permanent and seasonal food vendors offering the best produits du terroir from Quebec, Greater Montreal and its surrounding agricultural regions, according to Cadillac Fairview.
Cadillac Fairview continues major investment in CF Promenades St-Bruno with unique food and beverage marketplace, Marché des Promenades, opening Fall 2020. (CNW Group/Cadillac Fairview)
Besides the retailers mentioned above, other tenants announced for the new Marché des Promenades will include:
Bar à Gaufres
Beignes d’Antan.
Fromagerie Boivin
Galeries des Viandes
Just Pressed
Küto
Pasta Bella
SAQ
SOS Fondue
YOKO Gâteau au fromage
Cadillac Fairview says that the project will include interior and exterior spaces as well as an outdoor public plaza designed to host a wide variety of year-round events, and will also include dedicated patio spaces for new restaurants.
Brian Salpeter, Senior Vice President, Development at Cadillac Fairview, said, “This latest project is a continuation of our significant investment at the property, with exciting new food and beverage offerings to enhance our overall customer experience.” Mr. Saltpeter told La Presse that there will be nothing quite like it anywhere in the world.
Cadillac Fairview has already invested $175 million in phased property upgrades at CF Promenades St-Bruno. That began with a $49 million redevelopment of the property that was completed in October 2015, which included a renovation of all public areas in the mall as well as major upgrades to its dining amenities.
A subsequent $35 million redevelopment of the mall’s former Sears location includes a flagship 53,975 square-foot Sports Experts/Atmosphere store that opened in May of 2019. This fall, a new 43,500 square-foot Winners store will open in the mall nearby, while unique Quebec City-based novelty retailer Imaginaire will also open a flagship store as its first location in the Greater Montreal area.
INSIDE SPORTS EXPERTS AT CF PROMENADES ST-BRUNO ALL PHOTOS: CF PROMENADES ST-BRUNO VIA FACEBOOK
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Work is also underway for the updated two-level $30 million flagship La Maison Simons store at CF Promenades St-Bruno, which was reported in July of 2018 in Retail Insider. Simons will expand its CF Promenades St-Bruno store from 65,600 square feet to nearly 90,000 square feet over two levels. Simons will remain open throughout the expansion and the new expanded store will be completed in 2020, and will be the retailer’s only location in Montreal’s South Shore area. CF Promenades St-Bruno is also home to many best-in-class retailers such as Zara, Aritzia, H&M, Sephora, Browns Shoes, Victoria’s Secret, Starbucks, Aldo, Michael Kors and others. Besides La Maison Simons and Sports Experts/Atmosphere, CF Promenades St-Bruno is anchored by a 130,600 square foot Hudson’s Bay department store.
“We’re proud to continue showcasing CF Promenades St-Bruno as a unique and vibrant gathering place, as a hub for this community where people want to meet, with best-in-class retailers and the addition of a new food destination that is the first of its kind in CF’s portfolio and unique to Quebec in its vision and scale,” said Mr. Salpeter.
Cadillac Fairview built the two-level CF Promenades St-Bruno in 1978. Retail Council of Canada’s Canadian Shopping Centre Study has recognized the shopping centre as one of the most productive malls in the Montreal region. The centre’s annual per square foot productivity for non-anchor reporting retailers is well over $600. Remarkably, its food court sees annual per square foot sales exceed $1,800, according to Cadillac Fairview.
Simons
CF Promenades St-Bruno houses 158 retailers in the 792,500 square foot centre which has about 5,900 parking spaces. About three quarters of the mall’s visitors are female, with the average shopper being 47 years old. The average annual household income of shoppers at CF Promenades St-Bruno is more than $97,000. The centre’s primary trade area is more than 500,000 people with a total trade area approaching a population of 900,000. About 22% of visitors to CF Promenades St-Bruno are said to be tourists, according to the landlord’s leasing documents.
INSIDE CF PROMENADES ST-BRUNO ALL PHOTOS: CADILLAC FAIRVIEW
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One of the most anticipated food experiences is Eataly, which will open its first Canadian location at the Manulife Centre in Toronto at some point this fall (sources have said possibly late October or November). The concept is a hybrid grocery store and restaurant, or ‘groceraunt’ as some have called the concept. Eataly recently told the Financial Post that it is looking at possibly opening a second Toronto location at some point, as well as locations in either Vancouver or Montreal, or both cities depending on real estate opportunities.
Other Canadian shopping centres are also expected to see expanded food and beverage offerings as landlords look to attract customers from wider trade areas while at the same time increasing visitor frequency and dwell times. We’ll continue to report on the trend as landlords innovate to compete for consumer dollars.
In recent months, with more headlines bringing attention to active shootings and aggressive customers in stores, there is greater appreciation of the critical role retail loss prevention professionals play in both protecting people and assets.
To understand the extent of retailers growing concerns about violence in retail stores, unconscious bias, data security threats, digital payment fraud, organized retail crime networks, and cyber threats and shrink, Retail Council of Canada is asking its members participate in the Loss Prevention Shrink Survey.
Results of the survey will be shared on September 24, at Retail Secure 2019, Retail Council of Canada Loss Prevention conference where leading security, protection and prevention experts will present best practices and improvement strategies for retailers.
Retail Secure 2019 will be held at the International Centre in Mississauga.
Some of the speakers and sessions at Retail Secure 2019 will include:
For more information on RETAIL SECURE 2019, being held during the day on September 24th, please visit: rcclpconference.ca/agenda
This week Craig and Lee talk about Toronto’s Bloor-Yorkville, Hamleys, St. John and Fashion Rentals.
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