TNT The New Trend the iconic family-owned fashion retailer, is celebrating 30 years of style, innovation, and connection.
Founded three decades ago by Arie Assaraf and Carrie Richmond, TNT has grown from its flagship store on Eglinton Avenue to become a staple of the Canadian fashion scene, with locations in Yorkville, Bayview Village, Eglinton, and Montreal, an innovative online business as well as an affiliate in Melbourne, Australia.
As part of this 30 year milestone, TNT opened its brand-new 20,000-square-foot flagship store in Yorkville Village Mall at 87 Avenue Road, Toronto. The expansive space is dedicated to both men’s and women’s fashion, embodying TNT’s unique blend of curated luxury and personalized service. The new design reflects TNT’s ongoing commitment to creating an inviting, modern shopping environment that stays true to its roots of offering eclectic, high-quality fashion, said the retailer.
“We’ve always believed in the power of relationships,” said Arie Assaraf. “Our customers are part of the TNT family, and our close-knit partnerships have allowed us to evolve and stay dynamic over the years.”
The flagship opened in March.
“Men and women together which is the first time we actually had the men and women under one umbrella,” he said. “Usually before that, the women’s store was downstairs and the men’s store was upstairs. And I’ve been working on it since before COVID with Yorkville Village. It made such a huge difference to our business.
“We’ve been 30 years in the business. We’re very local. Super local. Our relationships with our customers are very important. So the growth that we had in 30 years with the business it was organic growth. Everything happened in the time we were ready for it and I knew we were ready to do something more important. I’m a storyteller and I wanted to make sure that we had enough space to tell the story, specifically with all the collaboration we have with a lot of designers. We do a lot of pop ups. We do a lot of events.
“And that space speaks for itself and that makes a big difference. Now everything is on one floor. Before that we had different floors. So it was a little bit more challenging for the customer to see the full picture, the full story, of what we do. And since we opened it the customers really see the full story of my buy, of everything we buy. Also, it’s allowing me as a buyer, allowing us, to tell a better story, a more defined story.”
Assaraf, Carrie Richmond and their children Aidan and Jade are behind the success of the family-operated business, which was founded in 1994 with the original flagship store on Eglinton Avenue.
TNT carries an extensive array of international brands representing the best of both established and emerging designers. A pillar of style and quality, TNT has everything to complete one’s closet from essential wardrobe staples to modern fashion trends. TNT’s highly attentive personalized service creates the ultimate shopping experience for Mens, Womens and Kids fashion.
The retailer has built a brand where customers, team members, and partners are treated like family. This core value has been a driving force behind TNT’s lasting success in an ever-changing retail landscape. For the past three decades, TNT has served three generations.
As the retail world has transformed over the past three decades, TNT has remained a leader by embracing change while staying true to its commitment to offering best-in-class brands, a dedicated team, and an exceptional shopping experience. From essential wardrobe staples to the latest trends, TNT continues to curate a diverse selection of international designers, bringing the best of both established and emerging talent to its loyal customers, added Assaraf.
“Our success is a reflection of the people we’ve worked with—our dedicated team, incredible designers, and loyal customers,” said Carrie Richmond, co-founder of TNT. “It’s the synergy between our staff and the brands we carry that allows us to create an exceptional experience .”
Assaraf said he is very positive for the future in retail.
“A lot of people wrote off retail and they were saying the future is about online, ecom, ecom, ecom. I never believed in ecom being the dominating factor for retailers like us. We have our ecom of course that we launched during COVID that was focusing on the Canadian customer. But we look at it as more the window of opportunity us so people are going to know us more. Of course, we do very good business in Canada online but they represent only 20 per cent of our business,” he explained.
“And I really believe in retail because I feel specifically now we’re seeing the difference. People want the experience. The customer wants to come in to have a personal shopper to take care of them because we are full closet. When I buy, I buy for the full closet.
“So I feel for us in Toronto with the landscape of what’s happening today, I feel very positive. But we’re very cautious, we’re very optimistic, working really hard to bring new brands, new experiences. Definitely every month we have pop ups happening, events happening. I think today that’s what the customers really need today. Number one they need also newness every season and that’s our job. I travel everywhere. We bring small brands, we experiment with brands and of course we also have some of the bigger brands that we do bigger stories.”
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