Upscale Swiss menswear brand Strellson will expand its Canadian flagship. When completed, the ‘Mink Mile’ location will be Canada’s largest Strellson location. We spoke with Mark Altow, President of Strellson Canada, to learn more about his plans for the Toronto store.
Mr. Altow explained how Strellson is seeing exceptional sales in Canada, and how the current 1,500 square foot Bloor Street location warranted more space to meet increased consumer demand. The Bloor store opened in the fall of 2012 at 170 Bloor Street West, as the base of Toronto’s Park Hyatt Hotel. Construction on the roughly 800 square foot expansion will commence shortly, with fixtures manufactured by leading retail store fixture company Canada’s Best Store Fixtures, facilitated by Norman Katz, Director of New Business Development. The expansion will be particularly unique, as it will provide Strellson with an interior entrance to the hotel for guests, complimenting the store’s existing exterior entrance onto Bloor Street.
Strellson currently operates two free-standing Canadian stores — the 170 Bloor Street location, as well as at Bayview Village. It also stocks almost 20 shops-in-stores at selected Hudson’s Bay locations. Canada’s third free-standing Strellson store will open this fall in downtown Vancouver, in the same retail complex as luxury brands Versace and Brunello Cucinelli. The Vancouver store will be only slightly smaller than the Bloor Street store, measuring just over 2,200 square feet.
Founded in 1984, Strellson is Switzerland’s largest menswear manufacturer. Owned by Holy Fashion Group (the original owners of German brand Hugo Boss), it produces mid-to-high priced menswear (both dressy and casual), accessories and related products, targeting men in the 25 to 40 age range. It retails in about 40 countries.
Mr. Altow explained how he plans to expand the Strellson brand nationwide, with multiple free-standing locations. He will also expand the brand into the United States, and we’ll discuss this further soon, in a separate feature article.
