Luxury Apparel Market in Canada to See Continuous Gains into 2023: Report

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November 4, 2019

holt renfrew bloor — PHOTO: HOLT RENFREW

A new report estimates that the Canadian luxury apparel market over the next five years will increase by 5.8 per cent in 2019 and by 18 per cent from 2019 to 2023 to $3.2 billion.

“Over the period 2019-2023 the Canadian luxury apparel market will increase at an average annual rate of 3.6 per cent, while the overall yearly growth rate for the Canadian total apparel market during the same period will average between 1.6 per cent and 1.9 per cent,” said the 2019 Canadian Luxury Apparel Market report by Trendex North America, a marketing research and consulting firm.

“The growth of the Canadian luxury apparel market will be driven in 2019 by a 7.8 per cent increase in luxury women’s apparel sales while men’s luxury apparel will increase by 5.2 per cent. As purse suppliers will be introducing fewer styles in 2019, the growth in the luxury purse market should increase by a maximum of 4.8 per cent in 2019.”

PHOTO: RETAIL INSIDER (BOTTEGA VENETA, YORKDALE)

The report said the competitive intensity in the Canadian luxury apparel retail market over the next five years will continue to increase and will be driven by a number of developments including:

● An increase in the number of luxury apparel retailer doors, both in A malls and on “High Streets”;

● An increase in luxury apparel brands flagship stores on High Streets and in A malls;

● An expansion of the traditional boundary for High Street areas in both Toronto and Montreal

● Increased presence of luxury apparel retailers in Canada’s better off-price malls (e.g. Toronto Premium Outlets)

● Additional luxury mono apparel brand specialty retailers entering Canada for the first time;

● Growth of luxury apparel e-commerce sales. To what degree will the increase expand luxury apparel sales or simply replace traditional luxury apparel sales in brick and mortar stores cannot be determined; and

● Luxury apparel mono brand apparel/accessories retailers upgrading/expanding the size of their existing Canadian stores.

PHOTO: MICHAEL MURAZ (VALENTINO, TORONTO)

Randy Harris, president and owner of Trendex North America, said it’s important to note that the luxury apparel market grew by 6.5 per cent last year versus the 1.8 per cent growth for the total apparel market.

“The first reason for the market growing is the unprecedented boom in luxury apparel retail, meaning both the increase in the number of stores and the size of the stores,” he said. “That is partially due to the fact that Canadian malls have been reconfigured to host luxury apparel brands including their flagship stores and the expansion of the luxury zones, primarily in Toronto and Montreal.

“In addition to that we have a growth in ecommerce purchasing for luxury apparel which historically has not been a big factor but is becoming increasingly more so. We have an increase in foreign tourism too . . . Then lastly we have an increase in Millennial purchasing and those are the people that are buying a lot of aspirational luxury brands.”

The key is the accessibility. Quite simply, today there are more luxury retail stores in Canada which exposes many more Canadians to that segment of the retail market.

But Harris has a couple of concerns regarding the luxury market which include a potential decline in tourism which could really happen if the Chinese economy slows down significantly. There are signs that is happening although it’s a gradual decrease versus a big drop.

“The second concern I have is a decrease in Canada’s economy. The forecast for the next couple of years is lukewarm at best. I don’t think anybody believes that the economy is really going to take off. On the other hand, it could slip back depending on what eventually happens with the revised NAFTA agreement that has yet to be signed,” said Harris.

“The third thing I’m worried about is I believe we’re getting to the point that there’s going to have to be a shake out in the market as far as retailers grow because the amount of luxury buildings and outlets that are coming into play far exceeds the rate of which demand is increasing. So if you will, supply is probably growing at a rate that is 50 per cent greater than demand which means that the market is very vulnerable if all of a sudden there is any kind of a downward trend in the growth of the market.”

It’s also aggravated by the growth of luxury apparel retailers in the better outlet malls which never existed five years ago.

“At some point you’ve got to be almost Pollyannish not to think that the market is going to take a hit at some point. So at one hand we’re crowing about all the influx of new luxury retailers in the market for the first time. That’s good news. Always more choices are better for the consumer and you will note when these new people come in they only open one store,” said Harris.

“But I’m worried about it long term if this keeps happening. Bottom line no curve goes up all the time. There’s got to be a downward move. I’m waving a red flag and saying that people need to be cautious.”

The report said the Canadian luxury retail apparel market over the next few years will become more competitive. There will be a slow but steady decrease in the number of Canadian-owned better independent apparel specialty retailers. Flagship store development will continue as the larger stores will be seen as providing a competitive advantage. Premium outlet malls will continue to gain share of the luxury apparel/accessories market.

Gucci – Toronto, ON – Holt Renfrew Yorkdale

A number of secondary luxury apparel mono brand retailers will either leave Canada entirely, or will relocate from “high streets” to less expensive locations. Holt Renfrew will continue to invest in its stores in order to retain its position as Canada’s preeminent luxury apparel retailer. Simons will come to define a unique niche of luxury apparel retailing. Luxury apparel retailers will develop separate marketing programs targeted to affluent foreign tourists, Improvements in technology will allow for greater customization of the services that luxury apparel retailers provide their customers.

The report said luxury apparel retailers will increasingly compete on both the in-store experience they provide their customers along with their marketing campaigns targeted in some cases, to specific demographic niches (e.g. Asians, Millennials, etc.). The battle for luxury apparel market share will increasingly equally be fought in Canada’s A malls, on expanding “High Street” areas in Vancouver and Toronto and to a lesser degree in Calgary and Montreal.

In Memoriam: John Crawford Williams, 1936-2019, Founder of J.C. Williams Group

By

Craig Patterson

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November 1, 2019

image-asset - 2021-01-18T153729.025 — PHOTO CREDIT: MARK WILLIAMS

One of the world’s leading retail analysts and consultants, John Crawford Williams, passed away on September 21, 2019 at the age of 83 while on a trip to visit family and friends in Vancouver. Mr. Williams founded leading Toronto-based retail consultancy J.C. Williams Group amid an illustrious career that included being instrumental in having helped transform the Canadian retail industry over the past several decades.

Mr. Williams was known for saying “I’ve never worked a day in my life” and pursued his passions until his last days. He was born in Vancouver on February 24, 1936. At the age of 15, his first job was in retail as a part-time ‘bagboy’ packing parcels and shelves for 85-cents per hour at a Safeway store in Vancouver while he pursued his studies.

JOHN WILLIAMS IN THE 1970’S AT HIS HOME IN MISSISSAUGA’S LORNE PARK AREA

After high-school, Mr. Williams attended the University of British Columbia and subsequently received a fellowship to attend the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in Illinois, where he earned his MBA. During his studies, he began working at Canadian department store chain Eaton’s which included a summer salesperson position in Eaton’s Vancouver store. His talents saw him promoted to become a head buyer for women’s fashions in Toronto.

Soon after graduating, Mr. Williams continued working with Eaton’s which included a stint as a department manager in Victoria, British Columbia, followed by a promotion that saw him run an Eaton’s store in Chilliwack, British Columbia. Remarkably, at the age of 25, he was the youngest store manager in the entire company at the time.

A YOUNGER MORE SERIOUS JOHN ON HIS WAY TO WORK AT EATON’S IN THE EARLY 1970’S.

Over the course of a decade, Mr. Williams held various senior management and corporate positions, primarily in the realm of women’s fashion, before moving on to work with Canadian advertising giant Vickers and Benson. There, he began a consulting project for Gulf Oil, where he realized that consulting was something that he enjoyed. Given his passion for retail, he took a risk and started his own consulting company.

Mr. Williams founded consultancy J.C. Williams Group in 1974, and his firm grew to become highly respected as he and others worked on a vast array of projects for retailers, consumer goods manufacturers, shopping center developers, downtowns, and governments. Mr. Williams’ specialties included retail and distribution strategy, real estate, and urban revitalization. He traveled the world where he applied his customized “Wow! Factor” to stores and shopping centres globally. Notable clients included the BC Liquor Distribution Company, Henry Birks & Sons jewellers, fashion retailer Le Chateau, Goodwill (Industries) retail, Benjamin Moore paint, MasterCard, Walmart, Levi Strauss, Bell Canada, and others, where he and J.C. Williams Group helped develop new strategic concepts. Under his direction, J.C. Williams Group has also been involved in real estate projects that have included The Dubai Mall, Deerfoot Meadows in Calgary, not to mention many years of work for major landlords including The Rouse Company, Cadillac Fairview, Oxford Properties, and Ivanhoe Cambridge. He delighted in mentoring younger employees and clients over the years.

CELEBRATING CHRISTMAS IN LORNE PARK IN THE 1970’S AT THEIR VERY “BRADY BUNCH” STYLED HOME.

JOHN WILLIAMS WITH CHILDREN MARK (IN FRONT CENTRE), MICHAEL (FACING RIGHT), MEGAN (FACING LEFT), AND ANDREA AS A BABY.

He was also an educator, having given numerous lectures as well as having authored several books. Included was a book called Getting Retail Right! for the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) where he also lectured at the ICSC’s University of Shopping Centers. Mr. Williams also co-authored A Guide to Retail Success for the National Retail Federation, Building a Winning Retail Strategy for the Retail Council of Canada, and Marketing Main Street for Heritage Canada. He was a frequent speaker at industry and association gatherings across the continent.

Mr. Williams received many honours and in 2013, Retail Council of Canada inducted Mr. Williams into the Canadian Retail Hall of Fame.

JOHN WILLIAMS, ON THE BEACH IN THE CARRIBEAN, DURING A WEEK-LONG 80TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION WITH HIS CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN.

He was a fixture at the Toronto Central Y for almost 50 years — he was an avid runner and worked out in the facility. He also gave back considerably by offering his time and expertise to the Y as well as the Toronto Public Library and the Art Gallery of Ontario, among others. He was instrumental in fundraising for his Alma Mater, the University of British Columbia, and he organized reunions there and with his classmates from Magee Secondary School in Vancouver, where he grew up.

As part of Mr. Williams’ legacy, family and friends encourage donations to the The YMCA of Greater Toronto, The Children’s Aid Society Foundation or The Toronto Public Library.

Mr. Williams was married to Maureen Atkinson, who was also a partner in business at J.C. Williams Group and with whom he enjoyed travelling and hosting countless dinners for family and friends at their home in Toronto’s Riverdale area. He was also grateful to his first wife, Betty, for their years together raising their four children. He is survived by Ms. Atkinson as well as his his four children Mark (Laura), Michael, Megan (Lorenzo), and Andrea; his grandchildren Maddalena, Lily, Ginevra, Olivia, Elliot, Emma, Sophie, and Max; his brothers and sisters-in-law Paul and Coe Williams and Donald and Therese Williams; his nieces and nephews; the whole Atkinson clan; and many friends.

*RETAIL COUNCIL OF CANADA INDUCTED MR. WILLIAMS INTO THE CANADIAN RETAIL HALL OF FAME* *IN 2013. PHOTO: RETAIL COUNCIL OF CANADA*

He and Ms. Atkinson hosted an annual “Wisteria Fest” each spring in their Riverdale garden — he loved bold colours, which was also characteristic of his personal fashion style.

After an extended summer vacation with family in Ontario’s Muskoka area, Mr. Williams’ final days took him to Vancouver for a high school reunion where he joined his brothers Donald and Paul for a road trip from British Columbia to Washington State to visit nieces and cousins. On the last day of summer, near the end of their trip, the brothers stopped for ice cream, which was John William’s favourite food. John died peacefully in the car with his brothers at his side.

JOHN WILLIAMS WITH HIS TWO BROTHERS DON (FACING LEFT), AND PAUL (FACING RIGHT) IN VANCOUVER TWO DAYS BEFORE HE PASSED.

J.C. Williams Group continues to operate under the management of partners Lisa Hutchinson and Patrick Watt. Advising partners include Maureen Atkinson and John A. Torella. Maria Ramage is the administrative coordinator at J.C. Williams Group, Kelly Hansen handles marketing and administration, and Rachel Alencar is a research associate with the firm. Long-time alumni include Cathy Ramsamujh and Suthamie Poolgasingham.

Under Mr. Williams’ direction, J.C. Williams formed a partnership with Ebeltoft Group, which is an alliance of more than 30 consultancies from around the world. Other partnerships include Environics Analytics, MasterCard Advisors, McMillan Doolittle Research Consultants, Okamura Consulting, and Total Management Solutions.

JOHN WILLIAMS WITH HIS SON MICHAEL AND GRANDSON MAX DURING THEIR LAST VISIT TO THE MUSKOKA’S TOGETHER. JULY 27TH, 2019.

A personal message from Retail Insider’s founder and Editor-in-Chief, Craig Patterson

John Williams was a personal friend and will be dearly missed. This is the first time that Retail Insider has published an obituary of an individual, and it’s also the first time that I have written here in my own voice since I founded this publication in 2012.

John’s passion for retail got people excited, and his highly animated presentations were impactful. Several months ago he returned from a trip to Italy and he was excited to meet me to discuss what he had observed. We had lunch to discuss the trip, where he described innovative retailers such as La Rinascente — on my desk right now I still have a map of Milan’s shopping streets that John gave me then. I will miss our lunches in Toronto’s downtown core, including at Nordstrom where we met numerous times.

A PHOTO OF JOHN WILLIAMS IN THE GARDEN OF HIS HOME IN TORONTO’S RIVERDALE AREA

Innovation was part of John’s ethos, and earlier this year we reported on the J.C. Williams partnership with Environics Analytics that launched an innovative e-commerce research platform called ClickSpend. I attended a meeting with John and the Environics team in downtown Toronto prior, and John was clearly excited about what was to come. John would also proudly give me the paper copy of the Ebeltoft Global Retail Trends & Innovations Report that the partnership publishes annually.

He also had an eye on the future, and predicted a time when shopping centres would become high-density communities in a world with autonomous vehicles, drones and other innovations. Sadly he is no longer here to see what is to come, including innovations such as the Toronto waterfront redevelopment by Sidewalk Labs which got the green light to go ahead on Thursday, October 31.

Over the course of his extensive career, John helped shape the retail world that I got excited about in my youth in a small town in Alberta, where I aspired to live in a big city like Toronto. I used to scour newspapers and magazines continuously to learn more about the industry, as I watched retail titans such as Eaton’s and Woodward’s fall. Big city retail got me excited, and John was involved in the initial leasing of the Hazelton Lanes shopping centre in decades past, for example, which I found fascinating — reading about Hazelton Lanes in the 1980’s had gotten me interested in the area of luxury retail, and discussing it with John was like talking to my hero. I wish he were still here so that I could continue to learn more.

Retail Insider has allowed me to chase my own passions, while reconnecting me with my childhood interests which help motivate me to do what I am doing today. In the process I have grown as an individual, and I have made many friends along the way, including incredible people such as John Crawford Williams.

Canadian Apparel Retailer E-commerce Behind that of US Competitors: Expert

By

Mario Toneguzzi

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November 1, 2019

Canadian apparel e-commerce retailers have made great strides during the past two years in improving their programs, and the annual growth rate has for some time been significantly greater than that for the entire apparel market, but compared to the United States it continues to be underdeveloped.

Those are the major findings of the 2019 Canadian Apparel E-commerce Report by Trendex North America, a marketing research and consulting firm.

Randy Harris, president and owner of the company, said three important factors will limit the growth of apparel e-commerce in Canada which reached C$3.45 billion in sales in 2018.

They include increasing cross-border shopping by Canadians; the lack of growth in emerging subsegments of apparel e-commerce including subscription and rental services; and the inability of Canadian apparel retailers to incorporate new technologies into their e-commerce platforms.

“Apparel e-commerce continues to be underdeveloped in Canada compared to the United States. That’s the first major point. The second major point is that Canada has really gotten their act together in the last year – the apparel industry – as far as e-commerce,” said Harris.

“It’s a good news story. Yes, we’re still behind but we’re making great strides. The one statistic that I think is interesting is that e-commerce sales increased by 12 per cent last year for apparel and for the entire apparel market they grew by 1.7 per cent. That’s showing that progress is being made.

“The thing that’s holding back Canada to some degree I believe is cross-border purchasing which continues to happen for e-commerce. The United States is just not affected by Americans buying from Canadian e-commerce sites. I mean it’s so minimal it doesn’t probably even register. So it’s kind of a one-way deal.”

Another thing that holds Canada back is that the industry does not have the capital to make the needed changes to be an e-commerce retailer at the level of a U.S. retailer.

“Companies in the United States can throw hundreds of millions of dollars in upgrading their whole e-commerce system and Canadians just cannot do that so their websites are not as specific and they have not been able to move to omnichannel retailing which is the major thing that American companies are doing,” explained Harris, adding there are some exceptions like Harry Rosen which is a great example of an omnichannel retailer.

The industry is also experiencing these days tremendous growth in m-commerce where items are ordered on the phone. And all of the retail sites don’t necessarily have the capacity currently to take advantage of that trend. M-commerce also facilitates e-commerce, making it easier for the consumer especially the younger demographic.

“Also if you look at the sites they’re not as sophisticated. Many cases they don’t tell you the inventory available or the sizes available and those things all cost money to build into an e-commerce platform. It will come. Don’t get me wrong. It just comes at a much slower rate,” said Harris.

“It will never reach the level of the United States. It’s strictly economies of scale and cross-border purchasing.”

Last year, he said, e-commerce accounted for 11.1 per cent of apparel sales in Canada while in the United States it was 27.5 per cent.

“We will never get anywhere near that in Canada. Will we improve? It all comes down to dollars and cents,” said Harris.

“The other thing that’s become more important in Canada but is still not as big as it should be is what’s called bopus – which is buy online pick up in store. That’s a part of an omnichannel program. The number one thing you have to do with omnichannel retailing, which is the ultimate buzzword in e-commerce, is you have to allow the consumer to order from m-commerce or the desktop and then you have to allow the consumer to pick up the purchase at a local store if they want to and thirdly return the purchase at the store as opposed to mailing it back if they choose to do so. You’re empowering the consumer to do it any way they want.”

He said all statistics have shown that when a company has an omnicommerce website and the consumer has the flexibility to do what they want their sales go up disproportionately.

If a consumer purchases online and then goes to a store to pick up an item, they do tend to buy other items at the physical location of the store.

Here are some interesting points from the Trendex report:

Canada in 2018 was home to almost 35 million internet users. Canada’s internet penetration rate exceeds that in the United States and is only slightly less than in the UK and Germany. In 2018 more than 72.6 per cent of the Canadian population made a purchase online. The average amount spent per purchaser during all of 2018 was C$1,493;
From 2016 to 2018 according to Canada Post the number of Canadian online shoppers buying from the U.S. increased by 44 per cent. The highest percentage of online shoppers buying from the United States were in Alberta (73 per cent) and Prince Edward Island (73 per cent), the lowest percentages were those for Quebec (60 per cent) and Newfoundland (62 per cent). In 2018 only 37 per cent of Canadian e-commerce buyers shopped only domestically;
Three reasons are primarily given by Canadians for online shopping in the U.S.: availability of product (69 per cent), better prices (36 per cent), and better selection (26 per cent);
Total Canadian e-commerce sales increased 15.4 per cent in 2018 to C$18 billion, while U.S. e-commerce sales increased 15.0 per cent to US $517 billion;
Growth of Canadian e-commerce sales in 2018 was attributable to: Amazon’s expansion in Canada, and the offering of its Prime service; The specific investments that Canadian Tire, Loblaws, Walmart and Shopify made to expand their e-commerce sales; Growth of omni-channel retailing; The overall growth in e-commerce grocery sales resulting from a fierce battle among Canada’s largest food sellers (e.g. Loblaws, Walmart, etc.) for e-commerce market dominance; and A Canadian consumer who increasingly feels more comfortable purchasing online.

The Canadian 2018 Largest E-commerce Retailers were:

The Canadian 2018 Largest E-commerce Retailers

Estimated Monthly Traffic (millions) was:

Amazon Canada 42.0
Best Buy Canada 33.9
eBay Canada 33.8
Walmart Canada 32.2
Canadian Tire 22.0
Costco Canada 19.6
Home Depot Canada 12.8
Hudson Bay 12.1
Etsy Canada 8.3
Newegg Canada 6.4

Results of Leger ‘WOW’ Customer Experience Retail Monitor to be Released in Toronto November 14th

By

Retail Insider

-

October 31, 2019

By Retail Insider

On the morning of Thursday, November 14, Leger will unveil the results of the 10th Annual WOW study in Toronto. Attendees will learn which retailers are offering a WOW customer experience. Leger will also be presenting the results of the WOW Digital study, which debuted last year.

This exclusive event features a presentation on the 2019 Retail Trends shared by guest speaker Eric Matusiak, Partner at BDO Canada and National Retail Leader.

At the exclusive event, you’ll learn who is winning in the minds of consumers, including:

The retailers delivering the top in-store experiences in Ontario
The retailers delivering the best website experiences in Canada

Leger will also be presenting the changes in the factors driving in-store experiences.

Read more about the study here: https://leger360.com/services/leger/wow/

This is a not-to-be missed event for the retail industry. It is free to attend, but registration is required.

The event will take place in Toronto on November 14, 2019 at St. James Cathedral Centre (65 Church Street). A complimentary continental breakfast buffet will be offered at 7:30 am, with the presentation beginning promptly at 8:00 am.

Reserve your spot here: www.eventbrite.ca/e/2019-wow-customer-experience-retail-monitor-tickets-77514312395

Leger is the largest Canadian-owned market research and analytics company, with more than 600 employees in Canada and the United States. For more information: leger360.com

Every year, for the past 10 years, Leger has been unveiling the list of the best in-store retailers in Quebec and Ontario. Through a web survey, the WOW study assesses more than 200 retailers in Quebec and Ontario and evaluates 20 dimensions of the customer experience. This study considers the respective importance of each dimension within the sector, such as product quality, price competitiveness, employee courtesy, store atmosphere, sense of belonging, store proximity, etc.

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

110: Shoppers Drug Mart, Amazon Business and Under Armour

By

Retail Insider

-

October 31, 2019

This week Craig and Lee talk about Shoppers Drug Mart, Amazon Business and Under Armour.

The Weekly podcast by Retail Insider Canada is available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play, or through our dedicated RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

Sponsored by Oberfeld Snowcap: Founded 40 years ago, Oberfeld Snowcap is a full-service real estate and retail advisory firm that focuses on retail tenant representation, strategic planning, property and project leasing, as well as real estate investment sales.

Discussed this episode:

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Share your thoughts!

Drop us a line at Craig@Retail-Insider.com. You can also rate us in Apple Podcasts or recommend us in Overcast to help more people discover the show!

Share your thoughts!

Drop us a line at Craig@Retail-Insider.com. You can also rate us in Apple Podcasts or recommend us in Overcast to help more people discover the show!

Flexible Work Space Concept Targets Under-Utilized Retailers in Canada

By

Mario Toneguzzi

-

October 31, 2019

image-asset - 2021-02-16T150531.060 — PHOTO: FLEXDAY

A Toronto-based company has developed an app to help people find their ideal flexible work space in under-utilized places such as restaurants, coffee shops, and retail stores.

Flexday curates inspiring and available work spaces to help people become more productive. Each location gives a person fast WiFi and power within reach, perks like unlimited coffee, and remote working peers.

The idea has been hugely successful and the company is looking to expand the concept to other cities in the future.

Justin Raymond, founder and CEO of Flexday, said the company went to market in October 2017 starting with two restaurants in downtown Toronto.

“We wanted to see if the concept was something people were interested in. It’s been fascinating. This is a new product in a new category. It’s very fresh. I think open-minded people and early adopters love it. As a startup you sort of need to listen to the market and business that’s going to be sustainable and beneficial to all parties. So that’s what we’ve been doing. It’s been a lot of fun,” said Raymond.

Flexday is a network of work-friendly spaces across Toronto giving people access to productive work space where and when they need it. The company currently has 42 locations across Toronto and they’re all accessible on demand through the company’s app.

The app will show someone the locations around them. When they are ready they can select a location to check in and they will be issued an entry pass. That entry pass allows people to walk into a location whether it’s a restaurant or a hotel or a retail store or a co-working place and spend as much time as they need there to get their work done.

People will have a guaranteed seat waiting for them. It’s enterprise grade WiFi on a secure network. Power is within reach and perks can include free coffee, tea and other things depending on the location.

“We have over 7,000 members now in Toronto and we’re a four and a half to five-star rated app. People rate their visits every day. They love it. We’re always looking for ways to improve it. So our member base always provides us with ideas or gives us helpful tips or recommend new locations,” said Raymond. “Some people use it one to two times a week. Some people use it three or four times a week. The bottom line is that people keep coming back and they ask for more locations.

“Probably the most compelling stat I can give you is that over last 60 days we’ve had 900 location requests from new members.”

Raymond said the company has plans in the future to roll out the idea to other cities.

“In order to do this properly, you’ve got to do it really well in one city. So you’ve got to create that playbook and have everything flourishing and then once it’s really working then you can move it to new cities and new footprints. We’re building the right mix now of different types of spaces. Once we get that down, we’re planning to roll out literally hundreds of locations in the next year and when we have that roll out down pat we’ll be looking to move to new cities,” he said.

So what is the benefit for a restaurant or a coffee shop to use this service?

“We focus on bringing a tremendous amount of awareness to the location first and foremost. Every day people open up our app and they become familiar with the locations, the restaurants, the retail shops, the different hotels that are in the area. They become familiar with those locations so it’s another great way to showcase what you’re doing and how you’re welcoming people into your space,” said Raymond.

“The second part is foot traffic. We believe and all our partners love the fact that they get to meet new people in their spaces in a new context. Foot traffic is very important because at the end of the day . . . they want to establish relationships with people in their area. They want to be relevant and they want to establish this partnership and help them in what they need to accomplish.”

The bonus spin for the locations is the word of mouth through social media they are receiving when people post where they’re at and what they’re doing.

There is also a revenue sharing component between Flexday and the partners.

“Probably the most exciting partnership we have right now is on the retail side. Ollie Quinn which is a UK-based eyewear store. Beautiful spaces. They’re right across Canada. They believe in community and connecting with the neighbourhoods around their stores. They were telling people that they could come in and use it as a co-working option or a co-working space. But it couldn’t get any traction because it was just a one-off,” said Raymond.

“So they approached Flexday and asked if they could put their space in our network – in our app and share it with our members. We thought it was a fantastic idea and we did it immediately. Over the last four months, it’s been exceptional. It’s been one of our top performing locations. We see several hundred meaningful visits every month now and the relationships that the store has built with their community and their neighbours through this is beneficial for them through a business perspective. All of our members receive a discount on their products and on the eye examination.”

Michael Kehoe, a broker and retail expert with Fairfield Commercial Real Estate in Calgary, said familiar patterns of work and the workplace are being upended as the race toward innovation intensifies and organizations and professionals around the world work on a project-based and hype-collaborative manner in the gig-economy.

“Organizations and their in-house teams or outsourced contractors are hyper-collaborators who navigate a fluid, fast-paced flow of information, interdependent ideas and the places they work have changed dramatically.

Workspace providers are innovating in new ways, disrupting the traditional office space/landlord/tenant model,” said Kehoe.

“Mobile professionals seeking temporary work spaces as now seen as a valuable commodity and are being courted by workspace providers to activate venues by occupying seats in restaurants and cafes in non-peak dining hours by providing complimentary amenities such as a place to plug in, WiFi and coffee and loss-leaders to drive sales of other services or menu items. Attracting these mobile professionals on a regular basis provides an excellent opportunity for food service and other venues to build community, increase customer dwell time and footfall that will lead to increased sales in their spaces. Mobile professionals are future potential longer-term office space tenants as their business grow and flourish.”

Chinese Grocery Giant ‘Sungiven Foods’ to Enter Canadian Market

By

Mario Toneguzzi

-

October 31, 2019

sungiven foods — Sungiven foods PHOTO: CURIOCITY

Chinese grocery giant Sungiven is signalling its intention to expand into the Canadian marketplace by first opening new stores in Vancouver and then reaching out potentially to other urban markets in the country.

Terence Fong, senior vice-president of the chain, said the first store will open in the early part of November followed by other store openings in early December and in early 2020.

The company, which only has stores in China right now, is looking at up to 15 locations in B.C.’s Lower Mainland over the next few years.

PHOTO: “OFFICEDWELLER”, SKYSCRAPER FORUM VANCOUVER (PHOTO OF CITY SQUARE LOCATION)

When asked if the company expects to expand to other parts of Canada, Fong said: “Yes, in our minds. But first we want to make it in Vancouver first and then after that elsewhere in Canada.”

The first store will be in Vancouver’s City Square shopping centre near City Hall.

“We plan to open it in mid November,” said Fong. “That store will be about 14,000 square feet.

“We’re working on three stores in the Vancouver area.”

Fong said the company has 100 stores in China. There are no stores anywhere else right now.

“Vancouver is our first overseas destination. Our owners immigrated from China to Vancouver in 2004. So they are now Canadian,” said Fong.

Vancouver’s strong Asian population was a key reason why Sungiven decided to venture to Canada with its first international expansion.

“We believe there’s a niche market for us because we don’t see any Asian stores right now that is offering high quality at this moment. We don’t want to be like a big box. We are not a big box. We want to be focusing more on our quality and our price.”

According to its website, Sungiven is a grocery chain with private brand products, self-constructed channels such as retail stores and self-customized supply chains, covering business mainly of retailing, wholesaling, importation, exportation, E-commerce, especially of its own chain of retail stores as the core.

“Sungiven Foods is dedicated to providing foodstuff, which is natural, less processed and less artificially added at its best for families who love cooking, focus on safe food and health. Sungiven Foods runs at international standards and global marketing,” says the company, adding that its vision is to be a world-class food enterprise and its mission is to source globally to provide healthy daily meals of high quality and great value.”

Several of the company’s private labels will be sold in Canadian stores as well as its in-house non-GMO products.

The Sungiven retail stores were established in July 2011.

“Since the very beginning, Sungiven Foods has tied its fate to food safety together, positioning its food to be ‘natural, less processed and less artificially added at its best’,” says the company.

Its E-commerce site was established in July 2013.

Centralized Decisioning Key to Consistent Customer Engagement: FICO

By

Mario Toneguzzi

-

October 31, 2019

FICO, a leading global analytics company, is helping businesses improve their bottom lines by using analytical models and data to create solutions and efficiencies for organizations and consumers.

“We’re really an analytics company and we’ve been in business for 60 plus years. Our focus is around helping clients meet the needs of their customers and helping consumers have a better customer journey,” said Kevin Deveau, vice-president and managing director for FICO Canada and the North American insurance practice leader.

FICO believes that centralized decisioning is key in allowing businesses to collect and utilize personalized customer information, resulting in a faster time to market and consistent customer engagement.

“We have a number of solutions, or tools, if you want, that allow us to do that. A lot of our business is in the financial services sector – probably 70 per cent of it – and then the remaining 30 per cent is in retail, government, supply chain and other industries.”

In the retail space, he said, it really comes down to how you do one-to-one marketing. How do you serve the end-consumer so that the services, solutions and products that you sell are relevant to that individual consumer, are timely, and that the journey the consumer has is seamless?

Being able to directly market to customers and provide them with a unique experience is how organizations will set themselves apart and create a returning customer base. This is where centralized decisioning is beneficial.

Deveau said many different technologies and tools are used by FICO to come up with that critical information for retailers.

“Centralized decisioning uses a combination of various tools and capabilities, ranging from analytic models, machine learning and AI, in order to stream data from various sources, to build rules and optimize the data into decisions, all in a sub-second time frame,” said Deveau.

Most businesses store their information in siloed business units, making it difficult to pull the information when needed. Centralized decisioning allows organizations to store all customer data in one unified system, letting businesses view and understand their relationship with consumers by providing a 360-degree view of customer data.

“For us, when you think of central decisioning it’s a multitude of things bringing together data in a common repository,” said Deveau. “And leveraging that data to be able to determine a specific action or an event and being able to manage that for the full consumer base or the individual retail customer.”

A prime example of centralized decisioning in the retail space is the PC Optimum loyalty program.

“We have a great customer here in Canada, Loblaw and the Shoppers Drug Mart “Optimum” and the “PC Plus” loyalty programs, which were recently merged together to form “PC Optimum” – creating a true vision of the implementation and execution of direct marketing.”

“We work with Loblaw to bring in all kinds of data on their end consumers. What are their previous purchases? What are their preferences? From there, the system Loblaw has implemented takes all these different combinations of data from the billions of different food skews and the 19 million combined loyalty consumers from the two combined programs, and generates billions of scores, based on buying preferences each week.”

“At the end of the week, each of the 19 million combined loyalty members can log onto their accounts and get up to 20 of the most relevant offers specific to them. These solutions and product offers are tailored to those individual consumers based on weekly and monthly basket types, sizes and frequency of purchases.”

Deveau said there is still a lot of work to be done for retailers as technology becomes a more integrated part of the retail space. As the digital mindset expands, retailers that are not able to keep up with this fast-paced, constantly changing world will be left behind. Those who are leveraging data, analytics and are able to support multiple channels will be the leaders going forward.

FICO is an acronym of Fair, Isaac, and Company which was founded in 1956. William Fair, an engineer, and Earl Isaac, a mathematician, were the original founders of the company which is today based in Silicon Valley. It was created to help businesses focus on making smart business decisions by using math and engineering.

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

Sportswear Brand ‘Under Armour’ Launches Canadian Store Expansion with 1st Location [Photos]

By

Craig Patterson

-

October 30, 2019

attachment-5db6177e8cf08675afc0d796 — Under Armour Storefront. PHOTO: UNDER ARMOUR

Baltimore-based sportswear brand Under Armour has opened its first ‘brand house’ flagship retail space in Canada amid a direct-to-consumer retail expansion that will see locations open in major markets over the next several years.

Last week, Under Armour opened a 3,100 square foot retail space at CF Toronto Eaton Centre. Located on Level One of North America’s busiest shopping centre, the Under Armour store features a range of apparel for men and women as well as footwear and accessories. Included are footwear styles featuring HOVR footwear cushioning technology as well as UA RUSH and UA Recover apparel for both men and women. Product is geared towards running, training and basketball.

Josh Denton, VP Global Retail, Under Armour, said, “We know Toronto has a huge sports fanbase and the fitness community is booming with boutique gyms opening up across the city. Being located in downtown Toronto will make the store accessible to people from all over the city.”

Under Armour’s own branding features prominently, as the US brand gears up for a Canadian expansion that will include a network of full-priced ‘brand house’ stores.

“The CF Toronto Eaton Centre brand house represents our new concept which is smaller in size than our traditional brand house. We are representing an edited assortment of our bestselling seasonal items balanced with our heritage core products for the best edit of products that make athletes better. Similar smaller footprint stores have opened recently in San Diego and Los Angeles,” said Mr. Denton.

While the CF Toronto Eaton Centre flagship is the first of its kind for Canada, Under Armour has operated a network of outlet stores in Canada for several years. The brand refers to these as ‘Under Armour Factory House’ stores with suburban locations in major markets typically located in outlet centres, hybrid outlet centres, and in big-box retail centres. Those markets include greater Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Montreal, and Southern Ontario, which has numerous locations with a focus on the Greater Toronto area. According to its website, Under Armour also operates stores in the United States, Mexico, the UK, and China.

Under Armour also wholesales in various multi-brand retailers throughout Canada. Sport Chek, The Running Room, and Golf Town are among larger chains carrying the Under Armour brand, while numerous other multi-brand chains and independent retailers also carry Under Armour merchandise.

It’s unclear if Under Armour’s direct-to-consumer retail strategy will result in the brand reducing distribution in multi-brand retailers. Corporately-owned brand stores are becoming more common for brands such as Under Armour, as such retail locations give brands the opportunity to showcase a wide range of product in specific retail environments housing product specialists. Margins also tend to be higher in mono-brand stores, and other sports brands are also expanding distribution through their own direct-to-consumer retail channels.

In some cases, the direct-to-consumer trend has been met with controversy. Last month it was reported that sportswear behemoth Nike had communicated to multi-brand retailers in the UK that is was planning on pulling distribution of Nike products as the brand expands its international network of direct-to-consumer mono-brand stores. As a result, some predict the demise of some multi-brand retailers relying on Nike for a substantial percentage of retail sales. As consumers increasingly turn to brand websites to buy product as well as to gain knowledge, many brands are pulling back on wholesale distribution in an effort to sell directly to customers both online as well as in stores. In Canada as well, Nike is expanding its network of mono-brand stores in a partnership with Fox Group, which will include a large Niketown flagship that will open at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre next year.

It’s not yet clear if Under Armour’s strategy will be to pull back on its wholesale accounts as it sells its goods directly to consumers, though competitors such as Adidas are already doing so. Some multi-brand retailers, which have helped create brand awareness for brands in various markets, could eventually perish if profitable brands pull-out. And the phenomena isn’t just happening with sports retailers — luxury brands have been opening stores in Canada at a rapid pace over the past five years, and fashion brand Canada Goose has been pulling back on its wholesale distribution as it continues to open its own direct-to-consumer storefronts in major markets in Canada as well as globally.

Last week, Under Armour’s founder and CEO, Kevin Plank, stepped down from his role after the announcement that the company’s chief operating office Patrik Frisk would replace him. Mr. Plank will become executive chairman and brand chief as part of the shift. Mr. Plank made headlines recently when he spoke out against US President Donald Trump, including defending Baltimore after Trump criticized the city over the summer. Mr. Plank founded Under Armour in 1996 and moved its headquarters to the city in 1998.

Under Armour’s expansion comes at a time when the brand has struggled to maintain market share amid growth of rivals Nike and Adidas, while at the same time smaller brands such as Puma and Fila have gained market share.

We’ll continue to follow Under Armour’s expansion into the Canadian market with its ‘brand house’ stores. In the United States, Under Armour has been opening large-format ‘brand house’ retail locations which include a 53,000 square foot location in Manhattan, a 30,000 square foot flagship in Chicago, a 19,000 square foot store in Boston, and a 20,000 square foot flagship in Beijing, among others. Given the relatively small size of the CF Toronto Eaton Centre Under Armour location in comparison, larger Canadian stores could also be on the way as part of the brand expansion.

Levi’s Sees Success in Canadian Concept Store Expansion [Photos]

By

Mario Toneguzzi

-

October 30, 2019

Levi’s has a rich history dating back to 1853 and the retailer has become synonymous with denim jeans, but over the years the giant retailer has adapted to the ever-changing market, tweaking its product offerings to meet customer demand.

“Levi’s created the denim category. So clearly we have a heritage and a provenance that I think the most recent entrants into apparel space don’t have,” said Nicolas Versloot, managing director for Levi Strauss and Co. in Canada. “But we’re not resting on our historic laurels. We’re continuing to innovate in terms of product. We’re also continuing to market.

“One of the reasons why we’ve been successful is we’ve managed to not only maintain absolute denim leadership position with our heritage jeans or men’s bottoms but we’ve also targeted the female consumer with a more lifestyle proposition. So if you look at our growth rates, our tops business and our women’s business is growing faster than our men’s bottoms business.

PHOTOS: LEVI’S

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“It’s been very deliberate. We’ve given that assortment more space because we were a very male-biased brand and we know that the female consumer shopper shops more, spends more. So that’s why we’ve moved more into a lifestyle proposition. The other thing worth mentioning is that we’ve really positioned the brand as the centre of culture. We target major music festivals and events – and we’re also targeting personalities like Alicia Keys, Justin Timberlake, etc.”

The brand began in 1853 when Levi Strauss, an immigrant from Bavaria, opened a dry goods company in San Francisco at the height of the California gold rush. He recognized that there was a need for hardworking people to have clothes that were built to last. That led to the blue jean being created in 1873. Today, the retailer has more than 500 stores worldwide in about 100 countries.

The brand has 33 retail stores in Canada with the most recent being Levi’s in Ottawa which opened August 31 at the CF Rideau Centre.

“We’re continuing to expand,” said Versloot. “What we would typically do is we do a market mapping exercise and we identify opportunity based on malls, power centres, and when vacancy becomes available, we will pursue them. But we’re quite prescriptive about size, traffic, footfall, location. We may have a plan to open a certain number of doors but we might not be able to fulfill that plan because the opportunities don’t come up,” said Versloot.

He said Levi’s appeals and resonates with both adults and a younger demographic.

“We frame that as being very democratic, very approachable, not pretentious. I think the other thing we’ve done is we’ve continued to make it relevant. Drawing an emotional connection to the brand. We say that people wear jeans but you live in Levi’s. There are lots of people with amazing anecdotes about their first pair of Levi’s and they talk very emotionally about it. Even when they can’t wear them anymore they still hang onto them. So there is that very strong emotional connection,” said Versloot.

“The other way we’ve kept it relevant is through innovation. We have a waterless platform which is part of our sustainability discussion which resonates with young people.”

The company’s latest Canadian store in Ottawa features a tailor shop which takes up a fair bit of real estate at the location which would normally be used for selling product. But the company has invested in elevating the consumer experience, said Versloot, “because our trend research and our consumer insights have identified that sort of mega trend of mass customization as being replaced by personalization.”

“So people really want to make a statement about who they are as an individual.”

People are trying to carve out an identity for themselves as individuals and so the tailor shop gives them that opportunity. Clothing can be embroidered. People can have patches put on the clothing. They can be distressed in a particular way to their liking.

“That really resonates with young people,” said Versloot. “We like to describe it as the tailored trucker jacket is the apparel equivalent of a tattoo. That captures the essence of the tailor shop opportunity. That’s a very distinctive feature of the Rideau store. Not all of our stores have a tailor shop.”

He said in the future Levi’s could introduce a system where a consumer could come into the store, scroll through an iPad looking at clothing items, identify a design they like, and personalize it to their liking.

Levi’s opened its Canadian flagship store at Toronto’s CF Eaton Centre in June 2018.

“One of the things we are trying to do in Canada, across the board, is really elevate the consumer experience and that’s why we opened the store in the Rideau Centre, that’s why we’re doing tailor shops, that’s why we opened the Toronto Eaton Centre flagship store. But we’ve also put a tailor shop in a couple of our wholesale partner stores as well because I don’t think the consumer necessarily differentiates. If we can elevate the experience online, offline, wholesale, retail, outlet, I really think that’s the recipe for future success,” said Versloot.

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