UK-based luxury fragrance brand Jo Malone will open three standalone stores in Canada next year as part of the company’s global retail expansion. The three boutique spaces will open in 2021 with two stores in Toronto and one in Vancouver.
The stores are part of a growth strategy for the brand, which for years has been carried in Canada at Holt Renfrew, as well as Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Sephora.
The Jo Malone brand, founded by a well-known perfumer by the same name, is known for its unique customizable fragrances that include perfumes, candles, bath products, and room scents.
Jo Malone Picks 3 Leading Shopping Centres in Canada for Expansion
For the Canadian expansion, Jo Malone chose three of Canada’s leading shopping centres to open its first stores. In Toronto, Jo Malone will open stores at CF Toronto Eaton Centre as well as at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre. The 860-square-foot CF Toronto Eaton Centre boutique will be located on the third level of the shopping centre next to Club Monaco and across from jeweller European Boutique. The 600-square-foot Yorkdale Jo Malone boutique will be located next to Ladurée and across from the mall’s Chloé and recently-opened Louis Vuitton stores.
In Vancouver, Jo Malone will open an 800-square-foot boutique on the upper level of CF Pacific Centre in a retail space located between Canada Goose and a Zegna store, across from Harry Rosen. The upper level of CF Pacific Centre is home to other upscale retail tenants including Max Mara, Maje, and Mackage, with a large Holt Renfrew store across a pedway over Dunsmuir Street.
All three Jo Malone stores will be located in retail spaces formerly occupied by another UK-based luxury brand, Links of London, which shut its operations globally earlier this year due to financial struggles.
Jane Baldwin, Senior Vice President at Lennard Commercial Realty negotiated the deals on behalf of Jo Malone. Ms. Baldwin represents Estée Lauder brands in Canada as real estate representative. Cadillac Fairview is the landlord for CF Toronto Eaton Centre and CF Pacific Centre while Oxford Properties manages Yorkdale.
Jo Malone founded her eponymous brand in 1983 in London. The brand took off in the United States in the 1990s after Ms. Malone appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show. She sold the Jo Malone brand in 1999 to Estée Lauder which owns the brand to this day.
Eric Douilhet, General Manager at Estée Lauder Canada, spoke to Retail Insider about the expansion. He said that the new standalone Jo Malone stores are part of an effort for the brand to create a curated experience for customers.
Stores also act as a marketing conduit for Jo Malone to create brand awareness in markets. And in markets where Jo Malone has opened stores, sales in multi-brand retailers carrying the line also see a boost.
Mr. Douilhet said that the three Canadian Jo Malone stores will likely open in May or June of 2021, depending on when construction is finished. Jo Malone takes possession of the three retail spaces early next year he noted.
He also noted that the Jo Malone store expansion is part of a direct-to-consumer movement for the beauty industry that has been ongoing for the past 15 years or so. Estée Lauder-owned MAC Cosmetics has operated its own stores for years, and more recently Estée Lauder has opened standalone stores for its brands including Le Labo and Clinique among others. Estée Lauder also recently regained control of the company’s Aveda stores in Canada which for 25 years were operated by a Canadian distributor.
Besides Jo Malone’s wholesale accounts in Canada, the brand also has a dedicated Canadian e-commerce site. Jo Malone also operates a store at Pearson International Airport in Toronto as part of a travel retail division.
Mr. Douilhet said that Estée Lauder will review the productivity of the three new Canadian stores before deciding to open any more locations.
We will follow up on this article when Jo Malone begins opening its Canadian stores next year.
