Luxury Zurich-based legwear and knitwear brand Fogal of Switzerland will close its last Canadian location on December 24th. Located at The Colonnade at 131 Bloor Street West in Toronto, the boutique was one of only two Fogal stores remaining in North America. Its former Vancouver shop, located at 1012 Alberni Street, closed in August of this year.
The 646 square foot corporately owned Toronto boutique opened in the winter of 2011.
At one time, Fogal had free-standing locations in some of North America’s most exclusive shopping areas, including Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills and North Michigan Avenue in Chicago. All have since closed, except for Fogal’s remaining free-standing North American location at 611 Madison Avenue in New York City.
Fogal now operates 24 boutiques internationally, including nine locations in Switzerland and six in Japan. When we reported on the Vancouver store closure in August, Fogal had 28 store locations. Fogal continues to retail at selected upscale stores worldwide.
Given that fogal’s legwear products are intended to be sold via one-on-one salesperson interaction, it remains to be seen what the future will hold for the brand. Once considered to be the world’s most prestigious hosiery label, Fogal has struggled in recent years.
Fogal’s first Toronto location opened in 1988, with the expansion of Hazelton Lanes shopping centre. At the time, it was considered to be a major coup for Toronto, as few cities boasted free-standing Fogal locations. Hazelton Lanes, at the time, was considered to be one of the world’s most prestigious shopping plazas, boasting boutiques such as Hermes, Valentino, Emanuel Ungaro, Gianni Versace, Krizia, Guy Laroche, Givenchy, Davidoff, Penhalligan’s, Polo Ralph Lauren and Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche, among others. All have since closed, and the mall is slated for major redevelopment, to be rebranded as ‘Yorkville Village’.
