BRIEF: Victorinox Exits Mink Mile, Club Monaco Opening Store in Laval

The three-level Victorinox store in Toronto at 95A Bloor Street West has shuttered permanently after operating for more than eight years. The store featured an expansive assortment of Victorinox-branded apparel, travel gear, watches, and Swiss Army knives that the brand is best known for. Victorinox opened the Bloor Street store, located in a corner space at St. Thomas Street, in June of 2012.  

The 5,357-square-foot building is being offered for sublease by JLL Canada. The main floor and second floors span 1,787 square feet each, with the third floor spanning 1,783 square feet. The basement level adds an additional 1,783 square feet and the previous tenant used it for back-of-house activities. 

The 95A Bloor building has housed various retailers over the years. In 1956 the building was renovated to house a Georg Jensen storefront – Georg Jensen is a highly respected silversmith from Denmark that once had several stores in Canada. In 2005 Sporting Life moved into the space for a time, followed by tenants including Far Coast Café and eyewear retailer ILORI. 

Victorinox was founded in 1884 in Switzerland as a knife manufacturer. In 1909 founder Karl Elsenser named the company ‘Victoria’ in honour of his late mother. In 1921 the company adopted the Swiss coat of arms for its logo and changed its name to ‘Victorinox’, a combination of “Victoria” and “inox”, an abbreviation for acier inoxydable, the French term for stainless steel. In 2014, Victorinox acquired the TRG Group from Centric Group. For several years, TRG Group was the Victorinox licensee for the manufacturing of luggage and travel oriented products. Victorinox integrated TRG Group in the company as the Victorinox Travel Gear division. In 2017 Victorinox decided to close the apparel division with the purpose of focusing in other core product lines.

Iconic Canadian-founded fashion brand Club Monaco will open a store this month at CF Carrefour Laval near Montreal. It’s the first new Club Monaco store to open in recent memory in Canada.

The store will replace Vero Moda in a 3,177-square-foot space near La Maison Simons. We’ll report back when the store opens, as we’re not yet aware what Club Monaco’s new store concept will look like. Club Monaco is marking 35 years in 2020.

CF Carrefour Laval is considered to be the leading suburban shopping centre in Montreal in terms of brands and per square foot productivity.

Club Monaco was founded in 1985 by Joe Mimran, Saul Mimran, and designer Alfred Sung. The company was bought by Ralph Lauren in 1999.  Club Monaco is known for its well designed casual clothing. Club Monaco operates stores throughout Canada primarily in shopping malls and the retailer also has several street front and outlet stores. Club Monaco also has stores in the United States, UK, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, South Korea, and Sweden.

Chocolate lovers looking for new ways to celebrate and connect safely this winter holiday season can virtually bring the World Chocolate Master, Elias Läderach, into their homes for an exclusive Swiss Chocolate Factory tour and tasting.

For the first time, the leading premium Swiss Chocolate retailer, Läderach, will virtually transport viewers to their chocolate factory in the Swiss alps for a behind-the-scenes look at how their hand-crafted holiday chocolate creations are made from the bean-to-the chocolate shop. At the end of the tour, Elias will guide a holiday chocolate tasting. The virtual event, available in English and German, will kick off on November 28th and be accessible to view until December 31st at www.laderach.live.

“This holiday season, we could all use some extra sweetness to indulge ourselves with deliciously fresh chocolate,“ said Elias Läderach, World Chocolate Master. “My brother and I are excited to host chocolate lovers from around the globe to our chocolate factory in Switzerland for a fun, immersive way to help kick-off their holiday celebration and change the way they taste chocolate.”

Läderach opened its first store in Canada about a year ago at CF Toronto Eaton Centre.

IKEA Canada has launched the company’s first-ever IKEA Collection Lockers in North America at its four Greater Toronto Area (GTA) stores in Burlington, Etobicoke, North York, and Vaughan.

The new $5 flat rate Collection Locker service enables customers to select and buy purchases online and pick up their goods 24/7, without having to enter the store.

Located in store parking lots, the new service is one of the many ways IKEA is transforming to create an easier and more convenient shopping experience. The new service features barrier-free access with a low-mount screen and lockers to fit orders of any size

The home furnishing retailer is moving with speed to meet the rapidly changing needs and expectations of customers, always striving to offer a seamless retail experience wherever and whenever customers choose to shop. In addition to the launch of Collection Lockers, this year IKEA introduced new services including contactless Curbside Click & Collect and remote planning for Kitchens, Bathrooms, Wardrobes, and Offices.

Health and safety continue to be a top priority for IKEA Canada. Collection Lockers provide an additional, contactless way to shop and remain open outside IKEA Etobicoke and North York stores, which have temporarily closed to customers. Curbside Click & Collect also remains available for customers to pick-up orders placed online at these stores.

Gosselin, the largest photo and video equipment retailer in Quebec and one of the largest in Canada, has opened a new store in downtown Montreal. This new sales outlet will sit at the corner of Ste-Catherine and Bleury Streets, at the former location of Musique Plus. With a team of 15 employees, the store will offer a wide selection of photo and video products, a classroom, equipment rentals, used equipment purchasing and sales, and a dedicated photo printing area.

The 5,000-square-foot space will be Gosselin’s fifth store in Quebec. This opening marks a milestone in Gosselin’s growth strategy. The investment of more than $2 million is expected to boost Gosselin Photo’s revenue by more than 25%.

Innovative custom lighting company Luminaire Authentik has opened a new showroom in Toronto’s Leslieville neighbourhood at 1027 Queen St. E. – the first for the company outside of Quebec.

Founded in 2015 by Québécoise entrepreneur Maude Rondeau, Luminaire Authentik has become known for its Scandinavian aesthetic, made-in-Canada craftsmanship, and its’ limitless customization options. Luminaire Authentik puts creativity and personalization in the hands of clients by providing a 360-degree design experience —from initial hand-drawn designs to the manufacturing and production of the final product in their Eastern Townships, QC facility. Within each category (pendant, wall-mount, free-standing, and outdoor) there are infinite customizable options, including shape, finish, colour and more. The company even offers a 3D mix & match concept tool to help bring each combination to life.

Luminaire Authentik’s Toronto showroom opened last month and is now available for private appointments, limited to one client at a time for a completely personalized experience. In the wake of the pandemic, the company has also introduced fully virtual consultations for those who aren’t able to visit the showroom in person. Retail stores in Toronto are expected to open December 2020.

In celebration of its fifth anniversary in the Canadian market Planet Fitness, one of the largest and fastest-growing global franchisors and operators of fitness clubs, with more members than any other fitness brand, announced the opening of a new club at 80 Mapleton Rd.in Moncton. This will be the first Planet Fitness club to enter the city of Moncton, and the first-ever club in the Atlantic region.

The new Moncton location is approximately 21,000 square feet, and will offer brand new cardio machines, new fully-equipped locker rooms with day lockers and showers, many full-size flat-screen televisions, a 30-minute express circuit, two massage chairs, two hydro lounges, two hydro beds, stand up and lay down tanning beds, and one Total Body Enhancement booth. The club will be open and staffed 24 hours, seven days a week. The new location is due to officially open its doors in late December 2020

Planet Fitness is currently accepting memberships during its presale for just $1 down online at planetfitness.ca and on-site at the presale office located next door to the club. Members can join through December 16, 2020 for just $1 down and then as little as $15 a month, plus a $39 annual fee.

The Embassy of Italy in Canada, the Italian Trade Commission in Toronto, and Eataly Toronto have announced a joint project as part of a worldwide initiative of the Italian Ministry for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. The campaign’s focus is to highlight the unique characteristics of “Made In Italy” products and, above all, their authenticity and the distinctive traits that make them stand out in the minds of Canadian consumers.

The partnership was announced to coincide with the Fifth Annual Week of Italian Cuisine in the World (November 23-29, 2020) which was dedicated this year to the memory of Italian food writer Pellegrino Artusi, also known as a father of Italian Cuisine and author of ‘Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well’.

Eataly will highlight both the products available in-store and new entries that will complement the richness, diversity, and quality that Eataly has been synonymous with for many years. Consumers will learn about Italian products through seminars and tastings held at the Eataly Toronto location. The promotion will kick off in January and span all of 2021. Information on the campaign, products, and activities will be forthcoming on Eataly’s website, digital channels, and in-store.

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