Miele, the world’s leading manufacturer of premium domestic appliances, founded in 1899 in Germany is expanding its Canadian retail store footprint.
Miele Canada will open by the end of May its sixth location and second in-mall store at CF Sherway Gardens in Toronto.
“Our future Miele Experience Centre at CF Sherway Gardens reflects Miele’s commitment to continually strengthening our brand while delivering unmatched quality and innovation,” said Nelson Fresco, President and CEO of Miele Canada. “We’re creating a space where consumers can explore the possibility of building their dream home.”
Other locations are at the Yorkdale Shopping Centre in Toronto, in Vancouver, in Calgary and in Montreal. The company’s first store opened in Vaughan in 2006 in 6,000 square feet of space.
Vancouver was initially about 4,000 square feet but expanded to about 5,000 square feet. Calgary is about 4,000 square feet. In 2017 and 2018, the company took a different approach wondering if it really needed so many appliances on the floor. So it decided to go to a smaller footprint with less appliances in the store.
“We opened up Yorkdale in 2018. We really streamlined the lineup and that one’s about 2,100 square feet. So very compact. Our latest one in Sherway mall will be even smaller than that. It will be about 1,600 square feet,” said Fresco. “And really we’re just going to focus on the fast-moving SKUs – dishwashing, laundry, ovens. It’s really about educating the consumer on the brand.”
The new flagship store at Sherway will showcase appliances from Miele’s latest Generation 7000 cooking line, MasterCool built-in refrigeration, W1 and T1 laundry appliances, coffee machines, an assortment of robot, bagged and bagless canister vacuums, as well as the latest Miele Triflex cordless stick vacuum cleaners, and Miele’s own Cleaning and Care Products.
“The introduction of this new retail space presents an exceptional chance for us to showcase our innovative appliances to the residents of the West Greater Toronto Area, while inviting them to discover an exceptional customer experience while exploring the Miele Brand,” said Phil Angemi, Vice President of Sales of Miele Canada.
The store will also allow consumers to experience interactive product demonstrations led by expert sales associates, providing invaluable insights into the world of Miele craftsmanship and innovation.
Besides its retail stores, the brand has a strong presence across Canada in other stores with its products. There’s more than 1,000 points of distribution across the country with many of its smaller products. As for major domestic appliances, they are sold in just under 200 locations across Canada.
“I really want to build the brand in Canada. That to me is number one and I want to do it in partnership with all our partners because we have a lot of partners across Canada,” said Fresco.
“So the stronger I can make the Miele brand and our team here Miele Canada can make the brand the better it is for our partners as well. So this will be our sixth location in Canada. I can see a couple more in the future and really I want that consumer to feel why we’re different than any other manufacturer across the country.
“For me it’s about the customers. Everything we do is about the customer. We really want to make sure that they’re at the centre of everything we do. We have three contact centres in Canada. I don’t know how many brands have that. How many brands have service from Halifax to B.C.? And it’s in a home. Service technicians are Miele employees. We deliver our own appliances. Nobody else delivers our appliances. When you look at other brands, everybody else, the stores do it. They deliver. No, we deliver our own. We need to control that experience.
“Sustainability is another big one for me. We build our appliances to last 20 years. So really the best way to contribute to (sustainability) is buying products that last. When I ask people what they think of Miele, if they say quality, that puts a smile on my face.”
Miele was founded by Immer Besser with a simple phrase meaning Forever Better. Today, the family-run business, now in its fourth generation, employs a workforce of around 22,300, of which approx. 11,200 employees work in Germany. The company has its headquarters in Gütersloh in Westphalia.
Miele Canada was established in 1989 with headquarters located in Vaughan, Ontario.
