This fall, the world’s first comprehensive Versace Home flagship will open in Vancouver’s historical Gastown area. It will be the Italian luxury brand’s first location to feature its entire home collection, from furniture to fixtures. Versace is confident that it will do well in Canada, as it plans to open multiple locations over the next several years.
According to Versace Home’s website, there are currently only three Versace Home stores in the world, located in Milan, Beirut and Dubai. A number of Versace stores also carry selected items from the Versace Home Collection. Opening a location is Vancouver is a major coup.Â
Located at 310 West Cordova Street, Versace Home will carry furniture as well as tiles, lighting, bathroom fixtures, bath accessories, porcelain, textiles, fabric, decorative pieces and wallpaper. The Vancouver store is a partnership between Versace and Major Global, according to a source familiar with the new store.
A source at Versace confirms that the store will occupy about 2,000 square feet of retail space, in a building measuring about 3,000 square feet. According to SpaceList, 310 West Cordova was recently for lease. The retail space features 16 to 18 foot ceilings, as well as exposed brick on both side walls. It has access to a courtyard at the rear, and there are four large parking garages within two blocks.
Versace Home replaces consignment store deLuxe Junk, which operated out of the space for over three decades. Founded in the late 1800’s, Gastown was Vancouver’s original downtown core. Although a transitional area for many years, it is fast becoming increasingly upscale, with more higher-end clothing and home furnishings retailers opening shops in the area.
Versace Home replaces consignment store deLuxe Junk, which operated out of the space for over three decades. Founded in the late 1800’s, Gastown was Vancouver’s original downtown core. Although a transitional area for many years, it is fast becoming increasingly upscale, with more higher-end clothing and home furnishings retailers opening shops in the area.
Versace plans to open as many as five Canadian stores within the next several years, according to a source familiar with the company. Versace expects its new Canadian locations to break even within a year of opening, and expects them to be profitable within two years.
Currently, Canada’s only free-standing Versace store is located at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre. The 2,800 square foot location opened late last month. Versace’s current Vancouver location, which opened in 1987, is a licensed shop-in-store within multi-brand luxury retailer, Leone.
Vancouver has a history of Versace store locations, besides its current boutique inside of Leone. In 1993, the company opened North America’s first Versus by Versace store, occupying about 2,500 square feet at the southwest corner of Burrard and West Georgia Streets. In 1995, a franchised Istante by Versace store opened at 769 Hornby Street, across from the Vancouver Art Gallery. Both closed several years after opening.
Interestingly, another Italian luxury brand is planning to open its first Canadian home furnishings location. We’ll report on it soon, as we are awaiting further details.Â
Wow. Versace’s housewares are pretty ugly.
TACKY!
Buy from independent boutiques before luxury brands ruin the bespoke shopping experience in Gastown. My school project blog post about a beloved store that disappeared overnight.
http://ofcakesandale.wordpress.com/2014/11/23/turning-deluxe-junk-co-into-just-deluxe-junk-how-lux-brands-destroy-local-legacy/
Wow! Tracy, would you be open to us featuring a modified version of your article on Retail Insider? I really like your perspective – I’m a ‘local’ like yourself and despite reporting on big brands, I’m a fan of smaller retailers. Please email me: craig@retail-insider.com
Thank you, – Craig Patterson
URGH. This makes me so sad and a little bit angry. Areas change, but who wants to see a retail community destroyed for "luxury" because the area is "on trend"? This isn’t what Gastown is about. If you don’t get that, don’t come here.
I’ve still never seen a person in there and I really hope it stays that way. Every time I walk by I hope it fails.
Many out there share your sentiment, and we appreciate Gastown’s uniqueness. At the same time, remember that Sonia Rykiel Paris had a store at 199 Water Street in the 1990’s, and Polo Ralph Lauren was at 375. A decade before that, Sears was at Harbour Centre and before that it was Eaton’s, replacing luxury department store Spencers.
What we’re saying is that a neighbourhood’s uniqueness should be embraced — at the same time realizing that neighbourhoods change. Gastown has seen many interesting retailers over the years and with time, it will become home to more upscale retail. Brokers are involved. This will also happen in the Downtown Eastside, to the chagrin of some DTES advocates.
Looking at the bigger picture, Vancouver’s "old town", once its downtown, has seen constant change since its reconstruction after the fire of 1886.
Fucking hipsters. Noone expects you to wear versace or have it on the brick walls of your homes, stick to your typewriters and stfu