Culture Craze, a Canadian retailer known for body jewellery and self-expression, operates 13 locations across four provinces, company president Lisa Hayward said in a recent interview, adding it has plans for continued growth.
The first Culture Craze store opened in Central City, Surrey, in 2001. Hayward joined the company as a manager 20 years ago and purchased it from previous owners in 2007. She now leads the company, which has locations in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
“Our heart and soul is body jewellery and self-expression. We are really all about defining oneself,” Hayward said. “We’ve expanded into clothing and accessories and leaned into fun, expressive, inclusive items. We really are creating a safe atmosphere for people to be themselves and to celebrate unique sides of themselves.
“We’re trying to be that store where everyone walks by and says ‘ooh what’s that?’ It piques the interest of anyone in the shopping centre.”
The company’s newest location opened in Medicine Hat in July. Culture Craze also recently expanded its Sherwood Park kiosk into a full store, Hayward said, noting both locations are performing well.
Stores vary in size from 700 to 2,500 square feet, with an ideal location around 1,300 square feet, she added. “We’re looking for malls that will support us and locations that allow us to make a good home with not a large investment,” Hayward said.
“We’re trying to be smart. We’re not going to expand too quickly. But we are looking to expand next year.”
Culture Craze targets youth aged 18 to 25 who are “expressive, diverse, unique, colourful” and values self-expression over traditional demographic labels, she said.
Hayward said the company carefully evaluates potential mall locations, including co-tenants and sales per foot, and uses data analysis to guide expansion. While Culture Craze currently has a kiosk in Calgary, it hopes to open a full inline store there in the future and also considers small- to medium-sized towns with populations around 100,000 as ideal expansion locations.
The retailer gained additional national exposure after appearing on Dragons’ Den five years ago, which Hayward said helped connect Culture Craze with the LGBTQ community and increase awareness of the company’s philosophy.
“Since then our company has just skyrocketed.”
“We’re rolling into 2026 knowing it’s going to be another good year. We’re on fire right now,” Hayward said. “We’re expanding slowly but we’re very excited for the future.”
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