Canadian outerwear brand Rudsak is looking to expand internationally while giving a new look to its locations in Canada.
Rudsak currently has twenty-two stores in Canada, and instead of placing resources into opening new stores, the retailer will be improving the stores it currently has in the country.
“We are really focusing on retail to modernize and renovate our stores as we want to give our stores a more modern image. 2023 is a good year for us and we are excited to be also expanding internationally in e-commerce that allows us to now ship everywhere in the world and creates more brand awareness,” says Evik Asatoorian, the founder of Rudsak.
Modernizing Stores and Perfecting Customer Service
Alex Kocun, the Vice President of Operations at Rudsak, said the company is focusing on reconstructing its current stores in Canada to include modern finishings, central furniture, digital windows, incorporated LED windows, will update mannequins, clothing displays, add modern tables, and the store will be redesigned to have a more open concept for consumers.
“Customer experience is really our main focus as well. We are going to modernize the payments so the old cashier is going to disappear as we now have portable devices and there will be more one on one. The customer from the start will be welcomed and will be able to have one on one interaction with our employees, and that will enhance the customer experience,” says Kocun.
Omnichannel Updates
On top of the new renovations, Rudsak will also be improving its omnichannel experience for consumers, making a seamless shopping experience online and in retail stores.
Rudsak will start using Shopify as its e-commerce platform as of next month and Asatoorian said it will improve and elevate consumers’ experience as it will enable new shopping features such as online orders, pick ups, shipping from the warehouse, and consumers will be able to book stylist appointments.
“Consumers will be able to book appointments with our stylist from our website, so we will be able to improve our relationships with our clients and it allows us to take a new step in adding more depth to different products categories, so you can meet with a stylist in the store and really experience that personalized shopping where they are really being able to complete the look that they want at Rudsak,” says Kocun.
Along with the updates with the e-commerce platform. Rudsak is also going to be relaunching its warehouse as it is looking to rebrand products to be more focused, clear, and more of an outdoor luxury brand. Asatoorian said they are going to be very selective, but already have a few stores in Canada where they will start wholesaling with and are also going to be wholesaling in the United States and see where it goes from there.
Entertainment Concept
Rudsak has been known to also include an entertainment aspect to its stores, such as having an area of the store with fake snow where consumers could interact more with the products and the brand. This concept, Kocun said, is something they are looking to expand in Canada.
“We are trying to add entertainment areas in our stores. We did a concept with fake snow and the consumers loved it. They were interacting with the concept, taking selfies, and sharing photos on their social media pages. We want to create a fun activity in our stores because it is all about experience – and we really want to improve that,” says Kocun.
As adding entertainment areas in all stores will take some time and planning, Kocun said they will start to expand the concept gradually and will start with its flagship stores, but eventually the goal would be to have an entertainment area in every store in Canada.
Rudsak International
Rudsak has announced it will be expanding into the US market as it has seen growth in the US retail and online. It will be opening its second store in Fall of 2023 in Roosevelt Field Mall on Long Island in New York and as previously mentioned, will be launching wholesale in the US as well. In addition to expanding into the US, Rudsak has also added a pop-up store in China. The pop-up store is currently open and the company will be looking at opening permanent locations in the future.
Rudsak was founded in 1994 when Asatoorian opened its first store downtown Montreal. Since then, the brand has grown with the presence of both physical and digital stores with a luxury outerwear variety for men, women, children, and unisex options. Consumers can also notice Rudsak’s focus on sustainability as 95 percent of its products have been made from recycled materials, such as recycled leather and fabrics and staying sustainable is important to the brand while moving forward.
