Canadian retailer SUKOSHI MART is moving quickly to scale across North America under new branding SUKOSHI, adding new stores in influential and high-traffic centres while sharpening its brand for a bigger stage. Founded in Toronto and headquartered in the Greater Toronto Area, the company has built a strong following around Asian beauty, lifestyle and culture. The pace of openings has intensified in 2024 and 2025, with a pipeline that favours A-class shopping destinations and dense urban trade areas.
In a recent conversation with Retail Insider, CEO Linda Dang set out the intent behind the next phase. “Our head office and full team remain in Canada, but we are building a North American brand,” said Dang. “The U.S. is a major focus through the end of the year, and every market we are entering is intentional.” That emphasis on placement, rather than pure door count, is central to the SUKOSHI North American expansion.
SUKOSHI opened its first Toronto location in 2018, introducing a curated mix of Asian beauty and lifestyle products to Western consumers. What began as a neighbourhood concept has grown into a national platform, with a presence in the country’s top enclosed centres and a store format that invites discovery. The retailer now operates more than a dozen Canadian locations that include CF Toronto Eaton Centre, Square One, Scarborough Town Centre, CF Markville, CF Fairview Mall, Upper Canada Mall, and CF Rideau Centre. At CF Rideau Centre, the company opened a flagship of about 4,300 square feet in 2024, a move that signalled its intention to compete at scale in core urban markets.
Quebec has been a priority as well. SUKOSHI added stores in Montreal’s Royalmount, CF Carrefour Laval, and in Brossard at Quartier DiX30, building local awareness through cluster strategy before moving into new regions. The approach has helped the brand reach critical mass in key metros while controlling marketing costs and amplifying word of mouth.
Vancouver-based Cutler is providing interior design and project management services for multiple new locations, including the three Montreal stores as well as sites in New York’s Upper East Side, Aventura (Miami), Bellevue (Washington), King of Prussia (Pennsylvania), Garden State Plaza (New Jersey), Lenox Square (Atlanta), and Valley Fair (California).
The U.S. push focuses on influence and visibility
International growth began with New York, where the company opened the city’s largest Asian beauty store on the Upper East Side. That launch set the tone for a U.S. program that favours high-visibility destinations. “We are selecting centres that shape retail culture and attract the right demographic,” said Dang. “Aventura Mall in Miami, Bellevue Square in Washington, Lenox Square in Atlanta, and King of Prussia in Pennsylvania are exactly the kinds of environments where we want to anchor the brand.”
Each of those properties draws millions of annual visits and is known for a tenant mix that combines luxury, premium lifestyle and digitally native leaders. Securing space in such centres puts SUKOSHI alongside international names while preserving its identity as a Canadian-founded innovator in Asian beauty. The placements also serve the brand’s goal of making every opening a regional event, a tactic that has become a hallmark of the SUKOSHI North American expansion.
Rebrand aligns the banner with the core offer
As the footprint grows, the company is refining how the brand shows up. The evolution from Sukoshi Mart to SUKOSHI reflects a clear shift to beauty as the centre of gravity. The store is no longer a generalist “mart.” It is a focused expression of Asian beauty with supporting lifestyle and culture.
“We have moved beyond the ‘mart’ concept,” said Dang. “Beauty is at the heart of who we are, and the rebrand to SUKOSHI reflects that shift.” New and renovated locations feature updated fixtures, a refined colour palette, modern display systems and dedicated beauty zones. The result is a layout that supports exploration, easy basket building and a visual language suited to social media.
SUKOSHI’s assortment spans K-beauty, J-beauty and C-beauty, curated through a lens of quality, innovation and storytelling. “K-beauty leads in brand identity and packaging. J-beauty is premium and understated. C-beauty is emerging fast in technology and design,” said Dang. “Bringing them together under one roof is what sets us apart.” That breadth gives the retailer latitude to refresh displays frequently, respond to seasonal demand and activate launches that resonate with distinct customer communities.
Stores as media, openings as campaigns
The expansion plan treats every store not only as a sales channel but as a content engine. SUKOSHI stages in-store events and activations to create a sense of occasion that carries into digital. “Every time we enter a new market, in-store events and activations create awareness that carries over online,” Dang noted. “Even if customers are not local to a store, they recognize the brand, and that drives digital momentum.”
The strategy relies on local creators, community partners and regional media to extend reach. At the same time, the visual language of the stores is designed for shareable moments, from feature walls to launch tables. By building openings as campaigns, the brand is able to accelerate familiarity in new markets, a key advantage when the goal is to scale in both Canada and the United States.
Omnichannel that travels across borders
SUKOSHI’s e-commerce business has grown as the fleet has grown, with the two channels reinforcing each other. The retailer differentiates between online and in-store experiences, using limited-edition drops and collectibles to keep digital engagement high across regions. The strategy has broadened the audience beyond North America. “Our K-beauty advent calendar is selling in Italy, Spain, Poland, and the U.K.,” said Dang. “It shows the reach and relevance of the category and the brand.”
That international demand informs merchandising decisions, packaging and service levels. It also creates a feedback loop that can guide local content and in-store curation. When a product gains traction online in a market without a store, SUKOSHI has an early indicator for future real estate, which supports the long-term cadence of the SUKOSHI North American expansion.
A female-led team moving with speed and cultural intuition
One of the company’s defining traits is the makeup of its leadership and broader team. “We are a Canadian company led predominantly by women,” said Dang. That perspective shapes everything from the brand’s voice to its in-store service scripts. It also helps SUKOSHI keep pace with a category that evolves quickly, where speed of read and speed of response can separate leaders from followers.
The stores are designed to feel welcoming and modern rather than transactional. Adjacent categories, such as licensed collectibles or cultural merchandise, are used to invite new customers into beauty. The aim is to lower friction for first-time shoppers while giving experienced beauty enthusiasts a reason to return for newness.
Real estate discipline and the long view
SUKOSHI’s site selection shows a preference for centres that serve as regional flagships, with strong tourism, high household incomes and stable leasing ecosystems. In Canada, the retailer continues to prioritise super-regional centres and dense suburban nodes where cross-shopping is strong and category adjacency supports discovery.
The company’s direction remains grounded in a simple idea, delivered with clarity. “We are selecting centres that shape retail culture and attract the right demographic,” said Dang. The thesis is straightforward. Put the brand where shoppers already look for the next thing, tell the story with precision, and let stores and digital feed each other. With every opening, the circle widens, and awareness follows.
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