Aisle 24, the fully automated, cashier-less convenience store chain, is accelerating its growth in British Columbia with the launch of its first location on Robson Street in Vancouver, officially opening on May 9, with grand opening celebrations running through May 11.
The company’s BC expansion is being led by Ken Oki, who serves as the Master Franchisee for the province. Oki and a business partner took over the rights to the region with the goal of building out at least 25 locations over the next three to five years.
“We took over the region for BC to help develop the market over the next five years,” said Oki. “Along with our group, we’ve taken the build-out and rights to grow Aisle 24 in British Columbia.”
Following the Robson launch, a second location is set to open this summer in Richmond, near Richmond Hospital. The expansion strategy includes plans for new locations in Burnaby by 2027 in partnership with Anthem Properties, as well as ongoing discussions with real estate developers to secure optimal sites across the province.
“These are wonderfully sizable stores, so we can get into some pretty tight spaces in residential complexes where there might be gated security,” said Oki. “But we can also get into the bigger public spaces—we have quite a bit of flexibility in where we can fit.”
He said Vancouver’s retail space is tight, but the team is identifying solid opportunities. “Usually right now we’re in the bases of condominiums—that’s where we’ve been seeing a lot of locations, especially in Ontario. We’re also exploring university campuses.”
Store sizes vary depending on location. “The Robson store is about 2,000 square feet—one of our larger locations. The Richmond location will be around 1,000 square feet. So the average or happy medium is about 1,500 square feet,” said Oki.
He said the concept fits well in Vancouver due to the city’s dense urban population and work-from-home trends.
“Especially with the shift to working at home, and people living in the downtown core and in these master-planned communities that big and small developers have been building—it’s a widely accepted concept,” he said. “People don’t want to run to a grocery store and spend an hour or two just for milk and eggs. They can just run downstairs, grab what they need, and get back to their day. That’s the feedback we get from a lot of users in Ontario.”
Currently, there are 35 Aisle 24 locations in Canada, with several more set to open in early May in Toronto.
“With those and our Robson location, that will bring the total number of stores to 38.”
Although the BC focus is top of mind, Oki confirmed the brand is eyeing further western Canadian growth. “We’re looking to open in Calgary as well. There’s already one in downtown Edmonton, but Calgary is definitely an up-and-coming area for us.”
Oberfeld Snowcap represents Aisle 24 in its retail expansion.
