Zellers’ Last 2 Remaining Stores to Close [Analysis]

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August 13, 2019

SUBURBAN OTTAWA ZELLERS STORE. PHOTO: MONIKA JASKOLKA VIA GOOGLE MAPS

The last two remaining Zellers locations in Canada will finally shutter. Product in both stores is now being cleared out in anticipation of the permanent closure of the once iconic retail chain. Both of the existing stores are still owned by the Hudson’s Bay Company and for the past several years, have been used as clearance centres for merchandise from Hudson’s Bay’s main stores. The closures come at a time of unprecedented competition amongst value-priced retailers. Not all may survive in the end as they fight for market share while international retailers continue to enter the market.

Online news publication Narcity was first to announce that both locations would be shuttering, after signs went up last week on the front of a suburban Ottawa Zellers location indicating that the store would be closing permanently. Retail Insider phoned both stores and confirmed that while there isn’t a specific timeline for the Ottawa closure, the Toronto location will close at the end of January 2020, if not before.

The Toronto Zellers store is located at 1255 The Queensway in the city’s Etobicoke area on the west side of the city. The store is located in the dated Kipling Queensway Mall and spans about 90,000 square feet on one level. Kipling Queensway Mall is visible from the busy Gardiner Expressway and is near a large Ikea store. Kipling Queensway Mall includes an enclosed mall component as well as several smaller anchors surrounding it on the site, including a location for restaurant chain Mandarin as well as discount chain Brands Gone Wild, which replaced a former Winners store.

TORONTO ZELLERS STORE. PHOTO: DMITRY MARKOU VIA GOOGLE MAPS

ZELLERS PHOTO: RISSA SANT’ANNA VIA GOOGLE MAPS

The suburban Ottawa Zellers store is located in the Bells Corners area of Nepean. That Zellers, which spans about 100,000 square feet on one level, shares the complex with a Loblaws grocery store. The Nepean Zellers store was once a Kmart location back when the company had stores in Canada. The 112 store Kmart chain was acquired by Zellers in 1998 and stores were either closed or converted to become Zellers stores that year.

ZELLERS CLEARANCE PHOTO: CLINT BUTLER VIA GOOGLE MAPS

Both of the remaining Toronto and Ottawa Zellers stores sell clearance product from Hudson’s Bay’s mainline stores as well as from the now defunct Home Outfitters chain.

The closure of Zellers is part of some of the big changes to the Hudson’s Bay Company under the direction of CEO Helena Foulkes, who has been involved in strategic decisions including the shuttering of Home Outfitters as well as some Saks OFF 5TH locations in the United States. Last week WWD reported that clothing subscription rental website Le Tote was in talks to acquire US-based Lord & Taylor chain, also currently under the Hudson’s Bay Company corporate umbrella.

In January of 2013, Retail Insider reported that three Zellers stores would be operational in Canada after Hudson’s Bay Company Governor Richard Baker sold most of Zellers’ units to Target, which had announced its expansion into the Canadian market. At the time, the Queensway Zellers location in Toronto was to operate alongside a Zellers store at Place Bourassa in Montreal, as well as one at the Semiahmoo Shopping Centre in Surrey/White Rock, south of Vancouver.

The Place Bourassa store closed in early 2014. Interestingly, a previously shuttered Zellers location in suburban Ottawa reopened in April of 2014 and is now one of the two remaining units open as of today. In September of 2014, the Semiahmoo Centre Zellers closed permanently.

Value-priced Zellers was founded by Walter P. Zeller in London, Ontario, in 1931. The Hudson’s Bay Company acquired Zellers in 1978. The Zellers logo, visible on the last two remaining stores, was adopted in 1975. In 1976, Zellers thrived with sales in excess of $400 million annually and in the same year, Zellers acquired discount chain Fields. Joseph Segal, who at the time was president of Fields, was appointed president of Zellers as part of the transaction.

At its peak in 1999, Zellers had 350 stores across Canada. Walmart, which entered the Canadian market in 1994 after acquiring Woolco, became a significant competitor to Zellers. The Zellers chain lost significant market share as a result. In 2006, the Zellers chain had 291 stores and saw losses of $107 million on sales of $4.2 billion.

In 2008, the Hudson’s Bay Company and its subsidiaries, including Zellers, came under the ownership of NRDC Equity Partners, which was headed by Richard Baker. Hudson’s Bay’s namesake stores were positioned as more upscale under the creative direction of retail veteran Bonnie Brooks, while Zellers was seen as a drag on the business.

In January of 2011, the Hudson’s Bay Company announced that it would sell the Zellers lease agreements for up to 220 Zellers stores to US-based Target for $1.825 billion. Zellers subleased the properties and continued to operate them as Zellers until March of 2013. At the time, Zellers was down to 273 stores.

The Hudson’s Bay Company retained 64 Zellers locations for a time and in July of 2012, the company liquidated the Zellers chain entirely, which concluded in the spring of 2013.

In 2013, Target ended up acquiring 189 of Zellers locations. Target then re-sold 39 units to Walmart Canada. Target identified between 125 and 135 Zellers locations that it would utilize for its own brand stores as Target made a bold entry into the Canadian market. Target failed for various reasons and in March of 2015, the Minneapolis-based retailer announced that it had filed to bankrupt its Canadian division and close all 133 Target stores — Target said that it expected to report about $5.4 billion in pre-tax losses for its fourth quarter amid the Canadian Target debacle.

Over the years, Zellers found a place in the hearts of many Canadians. A teddy bear named ‘Zeddy’ was used as a mascot to advertise the retailer’s toy selection starting in 1986, including a children’s miniature Ferris wheel-type ride that cost $1 and played carnival music when in use. In the 1980’s, Zellers’ marketing slogans included “Only you’ll know how little you paid” and “Shopping anywhere else is pointless”.

In the late 1980’s and early 1990’s the popular “Where the lowest price is the law!” was used in Zellers advertising. Included were animated commercials featuring Batman and Robin with the villains like the Joker, the Penguin, Catwoman and the Riddler.

In the 1990’s, Zellers adopted the slogan “Truly Canadian”. Between 1997 and 2000, “Better and Better” was a slogan and “Everything from A to Z” was part of the retailer’s marketing messaging between 2000 and 2013.

ZELLERS’ FORMER MASCOT “ZEDDY” PHOTO: VIA CTV NEWS BC

Product is currently being deeply discounted at both the Toronto and Ottawa Zellers stores, and staff at both said that the stores are busy as a result. Those looking to get one last look at a piece of Canadian history may want to visit one of the two before they’re gone forever, though neither location carries the same product that was in the original Zellers stores that closed in 2013.

Over the past decade, competition in the value-priced and off-price retail realm has been fierce. TJX group, which operates Winners, Marshalls and HomeSense banners in Canada, has continued with a multi-year store expansion that has resulted in hundreds of locations across the country. Saks OFF 5TH entered Canada in 2016 and now operates 18 stores here, and some of its product is also clearance product from Hudson’s Bay’s namesake outlets. Nordstrom Rack entered the Canadian market in 2018 with six locations, and the retailer is expected to open more if all goes as planned.

At the same time, Walmart continues to innovate to gain market share as it opens new stores and expands others. The retailer is experimenting with tech innovation and we recently reported on its prototype store at Toronto’s Stockyards, which utilizes Amazon-Go like technology. Amazon, itself, continues to gain market share in online sales as Canadians embrace the Amazon Prime free and fast shipping model. Costco is very successful in Canada, with a greater store penetration in Canada per capita than in the United States. Other inexpensive retailers such as Dollarama and Dollar tree continue to expand, while Chinese value retailer Miniso plans to open hundreds of stores. There is unprecedented competition for value-priced retailers seeking to gain and maintain market share in Canada, and more international chains are also looking at making the move into the Canadian market.

Other value-priced international brands such as Dutch value-priced retailer HEMA are also entering the Canadian market this year, while sources say Copenhagen-based Flying Tiger will also soon announce plans to open stores here. Other retailers are also said to be on the way.

American-styled outlet malls are also a recent phenomenon in Canada and can now be found in the metropolitan regions of Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Montreal and in Southern Ontario. Crowds are flocking to many of these outlet centres in search of discounted designer goods. Warehouse sales are also big business in Canada, with companies such as Newmarket Ontario-based OPM Sales holding massive clearance sales almost monthly. Next month, as well, entrepreneur Mal Coven and partners will launch the ‘Biway $10 Store’ concept, which will be a deviation in strategy from Mr. Coven’s Biway chain that he ran until the early 1990’s when it was divested and was subsequently shuttered. Canadian consumers will no doubt benefit as all of these retailers and concepts seek to gain market share, making one question if all of them will survive or if we will see more chain exits/closures in the years to come.

Canadian Retailer ‘Mark’s’ Launches New Mall Concept Store [Photos]

By

Mario Toneguzzi

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August 12, 2019

Marks CF Market Mall — Marks at CF Market Mall

Canadian clothing retailer Mark’s has launched a new mall concept store in Calgary’s CF Market Mall that it plans to roll out to other Canadian cities.

The mall concept store opened in CF Market Mall last month in 6,700 square feet, with about 5,000 square feet for retail space.

“The overall concept would be seen as functional, genuine and authentic and you’ll see that through the fixturing, the materials, the graphics, the lighting and even the technology that has been incorporated to enhance the customer journey and the overall experience,” said Deborah Delaney, Associate Vice-President (AVP), Store Design and Construction.

Meghan Vallance-Morin, Associate Vice-President (AVP), In-store Experience, said everything is different about the mall concept store compared to a regular Mark’s store.

“Everything from walls, colouring, finish, fixtures, all completely different from our regular stores. We’ve also taken a different strategy and approach to the signage package in stores. How we speak to customers as well as the display,” said Vallance-Morin.

“In our typical stores, I think you’ll feel a bit of a warehouse feel and a bit more of an industrial ambiance whereas this store in particular we wanted it to feel more familiar, more comfortable, more easy to shop. We really wanted it to feel like a friend was speaking to you through the signage for example than a retailer. There’s also quite a difference in the product assortment. So beyond the design itself the product assortment is extremely curated.”

While a regular store has a wide variety of products, the new mall concept store’s focus first is jeans and footwear and the rest of the assortment is built around that. Another big change from the typical Mark’s stores is the service level.

“Our standard stores are very much a self-serve environment and this store is all about creating a personalized, one-to-one full-service environment. So the sitting rooms are completely re-designed with some really great sitting room call buttons that are plugged into the technology that the staff are wearing. We’ve got cell phone chargers in there too. Our footwear wall is another big piece that’s really different. It’s completely self-serve in the standalone stores and in our mall concept stores it’s completely full serve,” said Vallance-Morin.

Typical Mark’s stores range from 10,000 square feet to 25,000 square feet. There are 380 Mark’s stores in Canada. The first store was in Calgary in 1977.

Vallance-Morin said one of the reasons for the new mall store concept is to increase productivity. The retailer realizes it has to do more in less space. The new concept is going to help it achieve that.

The company is also shifting perception of the brand.

“We know a lot of people outside of Mark’s still know us for being a work wear retailer. And we really want to shift that so people think of us for the casual categories. Jeans and footwear, first and foremost,” she said.

The new concept is also a way to attract a new customer.

“We’ve got a really great customer base that know and love us for what we’ve been for the past 40 some years but we need to attract a new customer to the brand to ensure growth,” said Vallance-Morin.

Delaney said that two years ago Mark’s did a rebrand to Well Worn to attract new customers. There were pop-up shops in Calgary, Toronto and Nova Scotia.

“It was shifting the perspective of the landlord too,” said Delaney, “because they typically don’t want workwear within their shopping mall. So when we did these pop-up shops, we earned a bit of street cred with these great landlords. With Cadillac Fairview. So the relationship built from there.”

So why was the launch of the new mall store concept in Calgary?

“What better place to launch something like this than the place where it all began,” said Delaney.

She said the new stores are being built in shopping centres at Hillside in Victoria, at Laurier Quebec in Quebec City, and at St. Laurent in Ottawa. Victoria will open later this year with locations in Quebec City and Ottawa opening early next year.

“We’re moving forward,” said Delaney.

The company is thinking of perhaps 10 of these stores across the country but that’s dependent on real estate and future plans.

Avalon Mall Announces New Tenants Amid Centre Overhaul [Photos]

By

Craig Patterson

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August 12, 2019

The Avalon Mall in St. John’s, Newfoundland, has announced several new tenants as landlord Crombie REIT invests heavily in the regional shopping centre. It’s part of a three-year redevelopment project for what is considered to be the top enclosed retail centre in Newfoundland and Labrador.

That status is expected to be maintained as Crombie invests an estimated $112.3 million in Avalon Mall. The expansion project began in 2017 when the mall celebrated its 50th anniversary, with construction ongoing until late 2020.

The first H&M store in Newfoundland and Labrador has been announced for Avalon Mall, with an expected opening date in the third quarter of 2020. Other new tenants opening next year will include Old Navy, The Gap and Banana Republic.

H&M and Old Navy will backfill the mall’s former Winners/HomeSense location, according to Marcel Elliott, Regional Property and Leasing Manager of Avalon Mall. Last week, Winners/HomeSense relocated from a 42,929 square foot space to 50,405 square foot space in part of the mall’s repurposed Sears space.

H&M will measure about 23,000 square feet, while Old Navy will occupy about 16,000 square feet on one level.

The Gap and Banana republic will be a “combo store” spanning about 15,000 square feet in part of the mall’s new expansion that the landlord is building as part of the mall overhaul.

Mr. Elliott said that there is still about 80,000 square feet of the expansion wing that is now under negotiation, and that the landlord will be making more tenant announcements when permitted.

“We’re very pleased with the progress we’re making on the enhancement and expansion of Avalon Mall. This project aligns with Crombie’s commitment to invest in welcoming, convenient properties that enrich the communities in which we operate,” says Don Clow, President and CEO of Crombie REIT. “Together with the recent opening of The Rec Room, and this week’s opening of Winners HomeSense, these world-class retailers will enhance our customers’ experience and ensure Avalon Mall is the premiere shopping destination in Newfoundland and Labrador.”

Popular UK brand Lush Cosmetics opened its first store in Newfoundland earlier this year, as Avalon Mall continues to attract the kind of retail tenants that one might find in larger cities. Sephora, Lululemon, Aldo, Roots, Olsen Europe and Victoria’s Secret are among the mall’s more than 140 stores and services. Entertainment concept ‘The Rec Room’ opened a 30,565 square foot space on the second level of Avalon Mall in the spring, which has resulted in increased foot traffic to the centre.

The city of St. John’s had a population of almost 109,000 people in 2016, with the metro population exceeding 200,000 residents. The population of Newfoundland and Labrador is at almost 525,000, and Avalon Mall is the dominant shopping centre for the region.

THE REC ROOM AT AVALON MALL PHOTO: AVALON MALL

The $112.3 million Avalon Mall redevelopment and expansion project includes interior common areas that are being transformed with contemporary porcelain tile and acoustic ceiling tiles. Lighting is being updated to LED linear and recessed downlight fixtures. A clerestory will replace existing skylights to bring in more natural light to common areas.

Avalon Mall’s food court will also see updates, including modern finishes as well as new wooden seating and furniture. Contemporary porcelain tile and acoustic ceiling tiles will also be installed.

New storefront design criteria is being implemented during the project as the centre is modernized, bringing Avalon Mall more in line with updated shopping centres in major Canadian markets.

Last year, a four-level 875 space parking structure opened at Avalon Mall, and the project also included a redesign and realignment of vehicular access to Kenmount Road. The new parking structure was part of Phase 1 of the project, which involved an investment of about $54.5 million.

Last year, Retail Insider reported on the substantial overhaul of Avalon Mall, which is the most ambitious renovation of any shopping centre in Newfoundland and Labrador’s history. As part of the redevelopment, about 60,000 square feet of the 137,000 square foot Sears space was chopped off for the new parking structure, and the landlord said that it would also be building out in front of it. Part of the remaining Sears space, itself, is being subdivided to create smaller units as well as mid-size to big-box units, according to Mr. Elliott.

Despite the reduction in the mall’s Sears box, the net gain for Avalon Mall once the expansion is completed is about 20,000 square feet, Mr. Elliot said at the time. In total, more than 35 tenants will be added when the project is completed.

That additional space for retailers will indeed come in handy. For the past decade, Avalon Mall has had an almost zero vacancy rate and has a waiting list of tenants wanting to move into the centre.

Avalon Mall will have about 593,000 square feet of GLA after the expansion project is completed. According to Crombie RETI’s website, the population within a seven kilometre radius of Avalon Mall is 117,144 residents. The Average household income is an impressive $92,056. Last year, annual sales per square foot at Avalon Mall were almost $700, which makes it one of the top performing centres in the Canadian Maritime provinces.

Tim Horton’s Innovation Cafe A Positive Move for the Brand: Opinion

By

Jessica Finch

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August 9, 2019

Tim Hortons-Tim Hortons- to open the company-s first-of-its-kind — Interior of the Tim Hortons Innovation Cafe. Photo: CNW Group/Tim Hortons

Toronto’s 130 King Street West has welcomed it’s newest high-end boutique coffee shop. Hosting a range of espresso beverages such as Nitro Cold Brew and Honduras Trifinio lattes, and with a range of milk alternatives, you would assume it’s yet another elitist, coffee-lovers haven in the heart of the financial district. But you’d be wrong. Tim Hortons has opened its very first “innovation cafe” at the bottom of The Exchange Tower, and everyone is just a little curious.

Known for its “always fresh” brewed coffee and grab-and-go nature, Tim Hortons has been the backbone of Canada’s coffee culture since 1964. The company’s ‘Double Doubles’ and ‘Timbits’ are iconic, and despite Starbucks and various others infiltrating the market on such a large scale, a Tim’s can still be found on almost every city corner, travel pitstop, and shopping mall across the country. Despite our love for the brand, associating luxury and Tim Hortons seems alien for the average Canadian. Perhaps in particular for Torontonians who are used to their indie coffee spots like Boxcar Social and Jimmy’s coffee supplying them with cortados, flat whites, and everything else one’s caffeine-obsessed heart could desire.

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Yet here we are, faced with a Timmy’s that asks for your name when you order and offers you different types of espresso depending on your preference. Recent times have seen Tim Horton’s expand its retail vision to include vegan options, such as the beyond meat burger, and add the nutritional value to their menu items. Assuming this is all in an effort to keep up with competitors, both independent and franchise alike, perhaps this new project shouldn’t come as a such a shock.

Hundreds of people lined up on the morning of July 25 to grab their now-lavish iced capps and maple bacon “Dream Donuts” to start their day just right. The location is spacious with ample seating and display cases filled with bakery and lunch items. A “Dream Donut Tower” sits next to a classic glazed donut, with a turkey avocado club sandwich and decadent yogurt parfaits also in attendance. A bar runs down one length of the counter where you can sit and enjoy your draft latte, pulled to your liking by one of the baristas, or charge your phone using a wireless charing station.

130 King is a modern interpretation of the Tim Hortons brand and is a unique space to test new menu items and technology initiatives. (CNW Group/Tim Hortons)

This flagship location definitely pays homage to Tim’s hockey background, with the head of global design for Tim Hortons, Brian Noviski, noting that part of the driving factor behind the concept was the idea of merging two of Canada’s favourite things: coffee and hockey.

Contemporary Toronto is changing fast. Our needs are perpetually becoming more elaborate and our expectations exorbitantly higher. The press release for this “innovation cafe” described the new location as “a modern interpretation of the Tim Hortons brand” and as “a unique space to test new menu items and technology initiatives.” Some argue that Tim Hortons should stay in their lane; continue to do what they do best and leave the opulence to others. This cynicism seems contradictory to what we all seem to strive for in today’s retail world. Let’s allow Tim’s to do their thing; let them reinvent themselves and explore new markets. We know we’ll still love them either way, whether it’s for their Vanilla Dream Cold Brew or their plain old Double Doubles.

Expanding Pharmacy Services in Canada Increases Health-Care and Revenue Outcomes: Expert

By

Retail Insider

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August 9, 2019

By Grant Alexander Wilson, University of Saskatchewan

Unlike many other health-care professions, pharmacists have both professional and business objectives. The majority of Canadian pharmacies are located in communities as opposed to in hospitals, selling retail products, like cosmetics and food, in addition to filling prescriptions.

Despite their dual professional and business responsibilities, Canadian research suggests pharmacy managers demonstrate high levels of professionalism and the retail setting does not compromise their ability to serve their patients.

Today, Canadian pharmacists’ professional roles are expanding and broadening to further emphasize their professional scope. Pharmacists are taking on expanded roles and are increasingly being recognized as the medication management experts of the health-care team. The comprehensive list of the expanded service offering by province and territory can be found on the Canadian Pharmacists Association’s website.

My original interest in this topic started when I was a PhD student at the University of Saskatchewan. Now, as a faculty member in the Department of Management and Marketing at the Edwards School of Business, this continues to be one of my active research areas. In a forthcoming paper in the Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship, my University of Saskatchewan co-authors — Jason Perepelkin and David Di Zhang — and I find that when retail pharmacies implement expanded services, they ultimately achieve both better professional and financial outcomes.

Regulation changes

Recent regulatory changes have allowed pharmacists in Canada to expand their professional services and play a more active role as health-care providers. Depending on the province or territory in Canada, pharmacists have some prescriptive authority, can adapt prescriptions or make therapeutic substitutions, provide flu and travel vaccines and order and interpret lab results.

A pharmacy’s decision to offer expanded services depends on where the pharmacy is located, its organizational strategy and capabilities. Despite the varying degrees of legislation, 81 per cent of Canadian pharmacists have intentionally expanded their role. Both the legislation and corresponding publicly funded remuneration programs have been implemented. Moreover, 45 per cent of Canadian pharmacists plan to further expand their role as legislation changes permit.

Although pharmacists have evaluated their implementation of expanded services as successful, it remains to be seen how these new services impact patient health and the profitability — dual objectives — of retail pharmacies.

Outcomes of expanded services

Using data from 259 western Canadian retail pharmacies, we found that entrepreneurial pharmacies were the most likely to participate in the expanded services. Entrepreneurial pharmacies were those that were self-described by their owners and managers as actively innovating, willing to take some business risks and making proactive business decisions.

We also found that the implementation of expanded services was related to favourable patient health outcomes. Favourable patient health outcomes included overall quality of care, patient prescription knowledge and prescription error reduction as reported by the pharmacy owner or manager. This suggests the expansion of pharmacy services is working as intended and patients are benefiting from the new activities performed by pharmacists.

For example, the ability to get an emergency refill from a pharmacist resulted in better medication management by patients. Although this relationship was one of the study’s most noteworthy findings, it is unclear if the addition of services would also have positive impacts for patients. It will be interesting to see if the industry regulatory bodies advance the scope of practice and if these services have the same outcomes.

In addition to patient health outcomes, our research suggested that retail pharmacies financially benefited from the implementation of expanded services. Specifically, pharmacies that implemented new services reported higher levels of revenues, margins and profits over the previous year. While pharmacies’ motivation to implement expanded services is related to advancing the profession, it is evident from these findings that it supports the financial objectives too.

Expanding services and profits

Given the dual objectives of retail pharmacy, our research suggests that the implementation of expanded services can help achieve both. Faced with such opportunities, retail pharmacies should look to implement at least some of the permitted services in their province or territory, as it appears to be a win-win.

Unfortunately, because the implementation of such services is completely voluntary and an individual pharmacy decision, it creates some market confusion for patients. Therefore, which pharmacies and how many services they engage in is highly ambiguous. As the implementation is clearly effective, perhaps efforts should shift to communicating clearly which pharmacies provide which services.

Overall, the findings of our study are beneficial to patients, pharmacists, technicians, managers and owners and highlight the effectiveness of the industry’s expansion of care offerings. The results suggest the expansion of expanded services improves patient access to care and ultimately improves their health. At the same time, these new services offer new revenue streams to retail pharmacies and increase their profits. It is this combination that yields the greatest benefit overall and achieves the dual objectives of retail pharmacy.

Popular Temporary Tattoo Concept ‘Inkbox’ Launches New Brand in First Permanent Retail Space

By

Mario Toneguzzi

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August 8, 2019

Inkbox, a Toronto-based startup whose tattoos have been featured in Stranger Things, Russian Doll and The Greatest Showman, has opened a new retail space on Queen Street West unveiling a new brand, a new product and expanding to include permanent tattoos.

“Inkbox is a tattooing system that supports and celebrates the story of you. That’s our high level mandate and purpose,” said Tyler Handley, co-founder and CEO of Inkbox.

“We’re a direct to consumer tattoo brand. We invented a new type of tattoo that lasts one to two weeks that’s applied at home easily and painlessly. You can choose over 4,000 designs or create your own on our website inkbox.com and they’re delivered to your door.”

Inkbox launched in February 2015 as a business which allowed people to get tattoos that lasted for one to two weeks. The specialty designs for the temporary tattoos are purchased online from Inkbox artists and people can apply those tattoos themselves to wherever they would like on their bodies.

The new location offers tattoo designs and a retail space that combines the company’s temporary designs with an area for permanent tattoos.

“Like any other direct to consumer brands online our traffic was driven by Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, but as we’re looking to expand we’re looking to get that into physical retail,” said Handley. “This is our first store that we opened. It’s our first foray into a permanent retail shop whereas we did pop-ups before but nothing that’s ever been like our own store.”

Handley said the store, in about 2,500 square feet, is located along one Toronto’s premier shopping destinations.

“We’re using the store as a way to launch our new products – the new version of our core products. There are current products that we sell still. You get it at home but there’s a lot of steps to apply it. So it’s a bit of a cumbersome application process . . . The new product we’ve launched is an elevated product experience on our core products,” he said.

“First of all, it’s really effortless to apply. It’s much, much easier. And what we’re also excited about is it enables a vast array of different styles of artwork. We can enable artists to upload designs exactly as drawn by hand or with a tablet what have you and it would look exactly like they drew it on the skin. We weren’t able to do that before. So it’s really exciting for us.”

Handley said a percentage of customers use Inkbox to test tattoos for possible permanent tattoos.

So Inkbox has created a sister brand called Inside Out which is the permanent side of the company.

“In the shop itself, in front of it is Inkbox, where people can get tattoos for now and at the back of it is a tattoo studio where we have two resident artists and two other rotating artists coming through. We hired Canada’s most Instagram followed tattoo artist Curt Montgomery to run the shop and it’s really all part of our mandate to just really make tattoos more accessible and more inclusive.”

Handley said the company chose the Queen Street West location because it’s a prominent shopping destination and many people come in to window shop and browse.

“We wanted a spot that would not only act as a storefront to obviously attract revenue but to act as basically a piece of advertising that could increase exposure to the brand locally and really increase brand recall locally,” he said. “So the customer is anyone who is walking down Queen Street. We’re particularly angled towards younger consumers between the ages of 18 to 24 who are curious about tattoos but still in search of their identity.”

Handley said as a startup the company says it is firing balls before firing cannon balls – meaning that the retail storefront is a test to make sure that not only does it drive local traffic to the store and to sales but also drive indirect sales on its website by having that local exposure.

The hope is to expand in the future across North America in terms of retail space in main markets.

“What’s great about being a direct to consumer brand is we have a lot of data, a lot of sales data . . . that we can pull from to understand what markets are best for us to go into,” said Handley. “One of the first markets we would expand outside of Toronto would be Los Angeles because our data shows us that it’s a big city, lots of concentration of customers, but there’s a lot of strong indicators for metrics that show L.A. is a great market for us.”

Handley said about 80 per cent of the company’s online sales are in the United States, 10 per cent in Canada and the rest international. The company sells to about 80 different countries.

*Aurora Realty Consultants handles Inkbox’s real estate needs, under the direction of Jeff Berkowitz.

Luxury Brand ‘TAG Heuer’ to Open 1st Standalone Corporate Store in Canada

By

Craig Patterson

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August 8, 2019

Swiss luxury watch and accessory brand TAG Heuer will open its first standalone Canadian storefront at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre this fall. It’s yet another international brand to open a direct-to-consumer retail space in Canada at a time when multi-brand retailers are fighting for market share. It’s also another coup for Yorkdale, which launches more first-to-Canada retail brands than any place in the country.

Construction is now underway for the Yorkdale TAG Heuer boutique, which will measure about 740 square feet according to lease plans. The store will be located in the centre of the mall next to prestigious eyewear brand Oliver Peoples that we featured in an article last year, with nearby luxury brands including Montblanc, Van Cleef & Arpels, Piaget, Panerai, IWC Schaffhausen, Vacheron Constantin, David Yurman, Chloé, Saint Laurent and others.

Retail construction specialist Amachris Corporation will build out the Yorkdale TAG Heuer space — Amachris recently completed construction on a stunning 6,000 square foot Gucci concession at Holt Renfrew Yorkdale (we’ll showcase it next week in Retail Insider).

CLICK IMAGE FOR INTERACTIVE YORKDALE MALL MAP

CONSTRUCTION HOARDING AT YORKDALE SHOPPING CENTRE IN TORONTO. PHOTO: CRAIG PATTERSON

TAG Heuer is a Swiss luxury manufacturing company that designs, manufactures and markets watches and fashion accessories. It also licenses its name for eyewear and mobile phones, and markets a line of men’s accessories including wallets, belts, bags, jackets, bracelets and cufflinks. The company was founded in 1860 by Edouard Heuer. In 1999, French luxury goods conglomerate LVMH acquired 100% of TAG Heuer. The name TAG Heuer combines the initials of “Techniques d’Avant Garde” with the founder’s surname.

Prices for TAG Heuer watches can be well into the thousands of dollars, depending on the design and materials used. The company has innovated with its designs over the years. In 1911, Heuer received a patent for the “Time of Trip”, which was the first dashboard chronograph that was designed for use in automobiles and aircraft. Its design includes two large hands that are mounted from the center pinion to indicate the time of day, while a small pair of hands, mounted at the top of the dial (12 o’clock position) indicates the duration of the trip.

Today, many of TAG Heuer’s watch designs are chronographs, and are highly desirable to a market seeking quality as well as brand recognition. TAG Heuer has also paid numerous celebrities over the years to endorse its products with a few names such as Tiger Woods, Leonardo DeCaprio, Brad Pitt and others.

TAG Heuer’s corporate store comes at a time when there’s unprecedented competition amongst multi-brand jewelry stores in Canada. Retailers are fighting for market share at a time when some retailers are struggling. The average consumer is less likely to wear a watch at a time when most carry smart phones, and consumer shopping patterns are also shifting.

At the same time, luxury watch brands have been opening standalone units in Canada, many of which are corporately-owned. At Yorkdale last year, luxury conglomerate Richemont opened units for Panerai, Vacheron Constantin and IWC Schaffhausen while in Vancouver, the same brands have opened stores along the city’s Alberni Street luxury run. Breitling opened a partner shop at Yorkdale last year and Patek Philippe opened a standalone unit in partnership with Birks in Vancouver earlier this year as well.

In the Toronto area, several prominent jewellery retailers carry the TAG Heuer brand, and all are fighting to maintain market share as well as keep rights to distributing the brands carried in their stores. Maison Birks’ Yorkdale, Bloor Street, CF Fairview Mall, CF Sherway Gardens and CF Fairview locations feature small TAG Heuer shop-in-stores. Family-owned Toronto-based multi-brand jeweller European Boutique opened a licensed TAG Heuer boutique in its renovated CF Sherway Gardens location in the fall of 2017, and the retailer also features TAG Heuer areas in its CF Toronto Eaton Centre and Square One locations. Hudson’s Bay’s CF Toronto Eaton Centre flagship carries an assortment of TAG Heuer watches, as do jewellers such as Bandiera, Berani, L’Oro, and several others carry the line. Raffi Jewellers’ Yorkdale location includes a selection of TAG Heuer. The standalone Yorkdale TAG Heuer could take market share from multi-brand retailers and there’s always a question of if brands will pull lines from multi-brand stores as the brands themselves increasingly adopt direct-to-consumer retail models.

Now more than ever, brands are foregoing franchised and licensed boutique locations and are instead opening corporately-owned storefronts. Some multi-brand retailers are saying that the phenomenon is causing frustration because of increased competition. If brands don’t already have Canadian e-commerce sites, they are often introducing them as part of the market penetration strategy as brands also open brick-and-mortar corporate stores.

Canada is expected to see more corporately-owned TAG Heuer storefronts after the opening of the Yorkdale location this fall. TAG Heuer is popular amongst Asian consumers, which indicates the possibility that the brand will seek at least one location in the Vancouver area. As in Toronto, various multi-brand retailers in the Vancouver area carry the TAG Heuer line, and they will no doubt be watching as TAG Heuer continues to expand its direct-to-consumer stores in the Canadian market.

Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre has seen a flurry of leasing activity recently, including the addition of several new luxury retailers. Over the past several months, storefronts for brands such as Bottega Veneta and Valentino have opened, and luxury anchor Holt Renfrew is also adding large luxury brand concessions for brands such as Gucci, Fendi, Dior and Burberry, all of which will be considered ‘world of’ boutiques that carry brands’ full assortments of bags, accessories, footwear and ready-to-wear. Hugo Boss is relocating its Yorkdale store into a much larger space nearby, and sources confirm that several more luxury brand announcements will be coming for the shopping centre in the coming weeks and months. Yorkdale boasts the highest concentration of luxury brand stores of any place in Canada, surpassing the luxury brand store count of Toronto’s Bloor-Yorkville as well as downtown Vancouver’s ‘Luxury Zone’. Yorkdale is also Canada’s most productive shopping centre in terms of annual sales per square foot, surpassing $1,900 last year according to a Retail Council of Canada study.

TAG Heuer is the latest international brand to enter the Canadian market by opening a standalone storefront. In 2018, we tracked more than 30 international retailers that entered Canada by opening stores, and more than 50 in 2017. The momentum seems to be ongoing and in January, we’ll review all of the new 2019 entrants in a feature article.

Drake’s ‘OVO’ Brand Continues Canadian Store Expansion with High Profile Location [Photos]

By

Craig Patterson

-

August 7, 2019

OVO CF TORONTO EATON CENTRE (PHOTO: CRAIG PATTERSON)

World-renowned Canadian musical performer Drake’s fashion retail concept October’s Very Own (OVO) has opened another standalone unit in Canada. Over the weekend, crowds lined up to get a glimpse of OVO’s new CF Toronto Eaton Centre store, which carries some product exclusives not found in OVO’s other stores globally.

The opening coincided with ‘OVO Fest’ that was held in Toronto over the weekend. The shopping centre was also busy because of the Caribbean Carnival, and the new Streaming by CF that was launched in the centre last week has also brought in some high profile guests.

The 2,890 square foot CF Toronto Eaton Centre OVO store is located in a retail space that was formerly occupied by Canadian retailer Lululemon on the third level of the busy shopping centre. Lululemon recently relocated to a nearby space formerly occupied by J.Crew (spanning almost 8,300 square feet).

CF TORONTO EATON CENTRE FLOOR PLAN, OVO HIGHLIGHTED IN RED

The store features a Calcatta Volakas facade and interior columns imported from Portugal. Included inside are matte black steel fixtures with Nero Marquina marble stone plinths and a cash desk sourced from Italy. The store opening included an exclusive “Yonge Street Dreams” Shop Tee, the launch of the So Far Gone capsule collection, OVO collaboration pieces, and the staple OVO Essentials collection.

Brokerage JLL has partnered with OVO for its expansion. Dianne Lemm and Chris Canuel negotiated the CF Toronto Eaton Centre on behalf of OVO. Cadillac Fairview is the landlord for CF Toronto Eaton Centre, which is one of Canada’s most-productive shopping centres with annual sales per square foot now surpassing $1,600. The centre is also the busiest in North America, with nearly 54 million annual visitors — Mall of America in suburban Minneapolis is second with about 40 million visiting the centre last year.

“When people think of iconic tourist destinations, they think of CF Toronto Eaton Centre and when people think about iconic Torontonians, they think of Drake and the OVO brand,” said Sheila Jennings, General Manager, CF Toronto Eaton Centre. “The two joining forces makes total sense and launching on the weekend of the Caribbean Carnival is also perfect—the city’s vibe is fun, and electric, and we’re proud to be a part of the experience with this great Canadian brand.”

OVO’s direct-to-consumer store expansion has seen the retailer expand outside of Canada with units in New York City, Los Angeles and London. OVO also currently operates five units in Canada.

OVO’s first-ever store opened in Toronto in December of 2014 at 899 Dundas Street West. The small boutique was the brainchild of OVO’s co-founder Oliver El-Khatib, and it followed a summer of 2014 pop-up that was held in the same retail space.

In December of 2015, OVO opened its second store location at 130 N. La Brea Avenue in Los Angeles, spanning about 2,400 square feet. In December of 2016, OVO’s third store location opened at 54 Bond Street in New York City. A store in London UK opened at 30 Berwick Street in the city’s Soho area in 2017.

Drake made news in June of 2017 when he released a one-minute video announcing the opening of OVO’s fourth store at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre. The video involved him and others riding through the mall in a Cadillac Escalade to the tune of his hit song “Gyalchester”. The 1,580 square foot Yorkdale OVO store opened in August of 2017.

OVO opened another Toronto-area store in November of 2018 when it unveiled a 2,920 square foot unit at Square One in Mississauga. It was the first to include a children’s wear area. OVO expanded into the Vancouver market when it opened a 2,000 square foot store at 1044 Robson Street in Vancouver. That store also saw long lineups on opening day, as is common for many first-to-market concepts in the city.

Drake, whose real name is Aubrey Drake Graham, is known worldwide for such hits as ‘Hotline Bling‘ and his 2016 studio album ‘Views‘, which included a photoshopped image of Drake sitting on the edge of the CN Tower (and sold millions of copies). Fans, eager to associate with the musician, are buying up branded products under his OVO label, which was founded in 2008 and features OVO’s trademark owl logo. OVO also collaborates with various other brands.

Drake grew up in Toronto and was a star on the hit TV Series Degrassi The Next Generation. He continues to be a booster of Toronto, a city which he is clearly fond of. He mentions Toronto often in interviews and in his music, and spends a considerable amount of time in the city when he’s not traveling. He’s also investing in the city as he builds a 40,000 square foot mansion in the wealthy ‘Bridle Path‘ neighbourhood in North York.

More standalone OVO locations are expected to open globally as the brand continues to see considerable awareness, which no doubt leads to high profits. The direct-to-consumer model means that OVO doesn’t have to pay fees associated with wholesaling in other retailers — a trend we’re seeing more of as international brands continue to enter the Canadian market by opening stores at an unprecedented pace.

OVO is noticeably absent from Canadian markets such as Montreal, Edmonton and Calgary. The company hasn’t revealed concrete plans to open any more stores in Canada as of yet, though given the penetration in the Toronto market, multiple units in other cities are a possibility.

IRDC Conference 2019: September 30-October 2, in Beautiful Boston

By

Retail Insider

-

August 7, 2019

HARRY WINSTON 200 POST ST, SAN FRANCISICO — Image: IRDC

Retail Insider readers are invited to head to Boston next month to attend the one-of-a-kind IRDC Conference. It takes place September 30-October 2. Early Bird pricing is available until August 15th. [Register Now and Buy Tickets Here]

Presented annually by VMSD (Visual Merchandising + Store Design) magazine, the one-of-a-kind IRDC conference includes three days of design dialogue centred on innovative store design, evolving trends and fresh strategies aiming to engage shoppers while maximizing resources. The conference is recognized as the premier educational and networking event for the store design and visual merchandising community.

This year’s IRDC conference will take place at the Westin Copley Place Hotel, located in the city’s highly-retailed ‘Back Bay’ area. The Copley Place shopping centre, anchored by luxury department store Neiman Marcus, features a roster of other prestigious retailers with beautiful retail design. The adjacent Shops at Prudential Center includes Saks Fifth Avenue and ‘grocerant’ concept Eataly, and nearby Newbury Street is also home to a range of brands, including luxury flagships for Chanel, Burberry, Bulgari and Cartier. The area also includes some of Boston’s best attractions, including incredible restaurants and bars, spectacular parks, not-to-be-missed historic sites and a plethora of inspirational retail settings just waiting to be explored.

Montreal’s own Ǣdifica will be just one of the presenters at this year’s event, partnering with the unconventional mens’ apparel store, PsychoBunny, to explore the unique, disruptive ways that helped move it to the forefront in today’s rapidly changing retail environment.

This year’s IRDC program also features sessions on such timely topics as designing the brand experience, sustainability practices, customer engagement, cutting-edge technology, buyer psychology, East Asia/India’s retail growth, and many more cutting-edge issues. Additionally, the 2019 event will feature more interactivity, including more panel discussions, more engagement with IRDC presenters, and added networking opportunities to connect with retail design peers.

IRDC has extended its Early-Bird pricing until August 15. PLUS, save an additional $200 off the individual full-conference rate when you use the exclusive RI discount code RETAIL2019 during the registration process at irdconline.com.

In addition, Visual Merchandising + Store Design (VMSD) is offering a free trial subscription for Retail Insider readers. The publication provides ideas and solutions to create unique, engaging, in-store designs and visual presentations. Every issue profiles the retailers, projects and designers creating inventive retail spaces. [Subscribe to VMSD here]

To register for IRDC, as well as for more information on speakers, sessions, networking events, sponsors and the conference hotel (The Westin Copley Place Boston), visit irdconline.com.

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

Les Galeries de la Capitale Prepares to Open Innovative Food Hall Component

By

Mario Toneguzzi

-

August 6, 2019

PHOTO: LES GALERIES DE LA CAPITALE VIA FACEBOOK

Shopping centres today are spending more time developing and creating different and unique ways to entice consumers to spend more time in their malls.

Dwell times have become a buzz word in the retail industry. After all, the more time spent in a place the better the likelihood that more money will be spent as well.

The key for landlords across the country is creating those destination places that today include a greater element of entertainment and dining.

Oxford Properties has taken that philosophy to a new level with what it has done and is doing with the Les Galeries de la Capitale 1.5 million-square-foot shopping complex in Quebec City.

PHOTO: LES GALERIES DE LA CAPITALE VIA FACEBOOK

Earlier this year, it opened its fully redesigned Mega Parc with 18 rides, including 14 new ones, with a Steampunk theme as well as the first spokeless Ferris Wheel in North America.

Next to open and enhance the customer experience is an impressive new food hall, Les Galeries Gourmandes, which is scheduled to open October 9.

“It’s a great addition to Les Galeries de la Capitale. Our mall has been renovated. We added Mega Parc last January and the food market will be a great addition to bring people to enjoy the shopping centre but then get something fresh to go home. We will have a fish monger, sausage, cheese, bread, cookie dough, donuts, flowers and many other uses,” said Marie-Christine Paré who is Senior Property Manager at Oxford.

“We’re going to have a demo kitchen as well with many exhibitions. We plan to have 250 exhibitions per year minimum just to make sure that people can taste and try and can learn some cooking tips to make sure they can bring food home and have great ideas – to live the experience of a food market in a shopping centre.”

The food hall will have two restaurants – RICARDO Boutique + Café is already open and the second restaurant by Restos Plaisirs will open in December but a name for that establishment has not been announced yet.

Paré said there will also be another 20 tenants in the Les Galeries Gourmandes which will occupy 46,000 square feet.

The l’Atelier Gourmand is a 48-seat demo-kitchen space. The management of the calendar for that space was entrusted to Eventouch, a specialized firm in culinary events.

The list of confirmed merchants for the food hall are:

À chacun son pain. Bakery
Aliments Victorius. High quality sausages
Beignes d’Antan. Donuts
Boucherie Florent & Fils. Butchery
Cookie Bluff. Raw cookie dough
Élodie Fleuriste. Flower counter
Jos Croustilles. Homemade chips
Kanel. Salt and spices mix
Laiterie Charlevoix. Fine cheese
Les Canardises. Duck products
Les Cochons tout ronds. Delicatessen
Ma Cabane en Gaspésie. Maple products
Nutra-Fruit. Québec cranberry products
Pied Bleu. Delicatessen cooked meat counter
Poissonnerie Némeau. Fish counter

“We’ve seen food and beverage increases in the world. It increases in Canada. At Oxford, we believe that food and beverage is very important,” said Paré. “Yes people want to come and shop. They want to have fun. We have the Mega Parc. But they also want to eat. They want to taste new stuff. They want to see who made it. They want to have the contact with the person that made the cheese or the bread. That’s all the experience. It’s getting popular.

“Also for us, people will stay longer in our mall. They will come more often. They will want to discover their local bread or local little fish monger or new product . . . It’s the third one in Oxford Properties. The other two are in Newmarket and Mississauga.”

Les Galeries de la Capitale has existed for about 40 years. The Mega Parc was an addition in 1988 and the renovation to Mega Parc cost $52 million.

“The renovation of the mall is all finished. The mall looks beautiful. So if people haven’t come in the last couple of months or for years, they should come back because it has changed a lot. Oxford believes in this property. This asset has the momentum. People like us. They love us in Quebec City. Even tourism,” said Paré.

“We’re talking about shopping centres have a difficult time. Well in Les Galeries de la Capitale the reality is quite different. Our traffic is increasing. Our dwell time is increasing. Our sales per square feet are increasing. So we’re very happy about it. People want something different. When they see a place that’s renewed, and listened to what customers want, I believe they trust us, they follow us and they want to come back. They rediscovered Les Galeries de la Capitale. I think that’s what’s going on.”

And obviously when the new food market opens that’s only going to add to the momentum.

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