San Francisco-based Benefit Cosmetics will open its first free-standing Canadian location in April. The brand will reportedly open several Canadian boutiques over the next five years as it looks to expand its storefront operations.
Benefit’s free-standing boutiques offer a wider variety of services than its shops-in-stores, including salon/spa services such as brow rehabs, body waxing and faux tanning. In Canada, Benefit Cosmetics are primarily carried at Sephora and Shoppers Drug Mart locations, lacking services offered in free-standing Benefit shops.
Benefit’s first Canadian location will be at 2614 Yonge Street in Toronto, half way between Eglington Avenue and Lawrence Avenue. The two-level, 1,500 square foot retail space includes a 724 square foot ground-level and a 782 square foot finished basement level. The upscale retail area includes a number of chains such as Lululemon and The Gap, as well as the flagship for upscale sports retailer Sporting Life. Benefit Cosmetics, itself, will locate between Club Monaco and Bluboho Jewellery. The retail space was recently profiled on Spacelist.ca and according to the website, net asking rent was $75 per square foot annually, plus an additional $16 per square foot annually for taxes, maintenance and insurance.
According to Cosmetics Magazine, Benefit Cosmetics will look to open more Canadian boutiques over the next five years. We’ll update you when we learn where.
Founded in San Francisco in 1976 by twin sisters Jean and Jane Ford, Benefit Cosmetics is the world’s largest employer of aestheticians, with over 3,000 working for the company. It boasts over 3,000 counters in retailers around the world, as well as over 1,000 brow bars. It currently operates 58 boutiques around the world, and appears set for an international free-standing store expansion. Benefit Cosmetics is now a subsidiary of French luxury conglomerate LVMH, which bought the brand in 1999. Benefit’s sales in 2014 exceeded $ 1 billion (U.S.).
Thank you ‘Toronto Shopkeeper‘ for directing us to this article in Cosmetics Magazine.Â
