Italian luxury brand Furla has expanded its footprint in the Canadian market with the opening of its third location in the country at the McArthurGlen Designer Outlet retail complex at the Vancouver Airport.
Its first store opened October 2019 at the Yorkdale Shopping Centre in Toronto then its second store was launched in October 2020 in the Toronto Premium Outlets retail mall in Halton Hills, Ontario.
Carole Teitelbaum, President of Halcyon Brands which operates the Furla brand in Canada, said it’s always been the company’s intention to take Furla nationally.
“With Toronto being our first foray into the market, we thought it was quite timely to now move out West. Vancouver is a very, very strong retail market. And this project in particular has a very high traffic component, particularly from the airport,” she said. “So as travel resumes we’ll only see that increase as well.
“There was also a demand for the brand out in Vancouver and we just thought in the climate it was really great timing.”
The Vancouver store is 1,500 square feet at the open air mall with a very bright and clean design that truly enhances the product.
“Customer reaction in the first few days has been phenomenal. We’re pulling the local clientele but as well pulling tourists and travelers from across Canada.”
The Vancouver store is the same square footage as the Yorkdale location but about double the size of the store in Halton Hills.
Halcyon, which is based in Montreal, was established in 2019.
“We are very experienced in the Canadian market. I myself have brought in American brands and expanded them across the country and have a great passion for retail and opening retail shops here in Canada where we feel there’s white space. Furla is our first brand in this venture,” said Teitelbaum.
“We have a spectacular store in Yorkdale. Great location. Corner. We’re very, very pleased with that store. Then came the dreaded pandemic and things in Ontario were very difficult. We were closed probably in the last two years for about eight months due to government mandated closures but we’ve reopened in Yorkdale since July of 2021 and now we’ve just opened our third location in Vancouver which we’re very, very excited about.
“It’s another jewel in our crown.”
Teitelbaum said notwithstanding the pandemic years the company is pleased with the results from the Toronto locations.
“Customer reaction has been extremely positive. We have a lot of Furla fans out there,” she said. “Furla is a premium luxury brand which sells handbags, designed and manufactured in Italy. They’re all proprietary designs from our design house in Milan and it’s a family owned business that was established 90 years ago. The head office is based in Bologna and the design and product development office is in Milan.
“The future is very cloudy right now in my crystal ball. But I really do foresee further growth for the brand (in Canada). Definitely. We just hope we have clear sailing as far as health and safety of Canadians and we no longer face restrictions in being able to conduct business and expand our brand across the country.
“What sets us apart in the marketplace is the Italian craftsmanship, the wonderful quality, price, the value quotient of the bags and that’s been really embraced by the Canadian consumer.”
Jeff Berkowitz of Aurora Realty Consultants is brokering lease deals for Furla as it opens this and other stores in Canada.
