Italian luxury brand Furla is seeking retail space in Canada for new stores, as the company expands its direct-to-consumer operations into new markets. Furla has partnered with Halcyon Brands for a joint venture in Canada and brokerage Aurora Realty Consultants for its brick-and-mortar expansion into the Canadian market.
Furla was founded by the Furlanetto family in 1927, and it remains family-owned. The company produces various product categories that include leather goods such as handbags and shoes, as well as an expanding category of accessories that include eyewear, jewellery and watches. The company’s goal is to become something of a lifestyle brand. Furla’s headquarters are in Bologna, Italy, in an historic 18th-century villa and in 2015, the company opened a five-storey tall ‘Palazzo’ in central Milan.
The brand’s pricing is a bit lower than that of some of its competitors, which Furla says gives it a competitive advantage. “It is the only brand in the fast-growing premium segment that gives customers an authentic Italian experience with an attractive value for money proposition, positioning itself as one of the major global players in the leather goods market,” according to the company’s website. Furla also has regional headquarters in New York City, Hong Kong and Tokyo.
Furla employs more than 1,600 people and interestingly, about 90% of these are women who represent more than 100 nationalities, with an average age of 36.
Jeff Berkowitz of Aurora Realty Consultants is representing Furla in its Canadian expansion.
In Canada, Furla operates a licensed shop-in-store at the Peace Arch Duty Free store on Highway 99 in Surrey, south of Vancouver, which might fall under the company’s ‘travel retail’ classification.
Furla’s Canadian expansion is timely — the company continues to expand its network of stores in the United States, which tend to be located at prestigious addresses. For example, a Boston store is located at Copley Place, while a New York City flagship has an address in the heart of Fifth Avenue. Furla also operates outlet stores in selected markets.
It’s also not the first time that Canada has seen standalone Furla stores, though previous locations were franchised. A Furla boutique was located at 41 Avenue Road south of the former Hazleton Lanes years ago, and a location in Vancouver operated across from the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver at the southwest corner of Burrard Street and West Georgia Street (1008 W. Georgia Street).
