Pilgrim, the modern Scandinavian-Canadian jewellery brand, as it continues to expand its retail presence across the country.
With the opening of its new boutique at CF Masonville Place in London, Ontario, Pilgrim continues to extend its presence across Canada, building on a strong foundation in Quebec and Ontario. The company has seven stores currently in Quebec.
This milestone coincides with the brand’s 10-year journey in the Canadian market and marks the opening of Pilgrim’s 10th boutique nationwide.
“London has been part of my life for a long time because of my family, so opening a store here feels personal. The Forest City has this grounded, welcoming energy that matches what Pilgrim is all about – thoughtful, Hand & Heart Made design, sustainability, and jewellery people can truly live in, including our waterproof pieces. We’re excited to become part of the community,” said Robert P. Hayes, CEO of Pilgrim North America.
Founded in 1983 in Denmark by Annemette Markvad Pilgrim is rooted in Scandinavian design principles, with a focus on thoughtful craftsmanship, sustainability, and everyday elegance. The brand was introduced to the Canadian market under the leadership of Hayes, with collections and retail experiences adapted to Canadian sensibilities.
At the heart of Pilgrim is a simple ethos: Extraordinary Everyday. Each piece is hand and heart-made, designed for every soul with clean, simple lines and a subtle edge, bringing a touch of the extraordinary to everyday life. Sustainability is central to this approach, with 70% of the collection made from at least 75% recycled materials, reflecting Pilgrim’s commitment to mindful design and effortless everyday wearability.
“We are a Danish jewelry and sunglasses brand, and our claim to fame is that Annemette actually produced jewelry to get money to be able to go into music festivals. So she would produce outside of the festival, sell the pieces, get money, and then be able to go in. She did this all around Scandinavia. It became kind of a cult classic where people were really impressed with her jewelry. She named it Pilgrim because a music festival is like a pilgrimage. You have everybody from all over coming in together, being able to connect,” said Hayes.
“One of the things that’s really important to Annemette has always been sustainability, even before it was kind of cool, not greenwash, but something that’s always been super important to her in terms of producing things in an ethical way. She’s one of the founding members of the UN Global Compact. She’s also been really big in terms of storytelling and creating, and also working with Doctors Without Borders.
“My story kind of comes in where my cousin was working with Doctors Without Borders and she came to visit me while I was living in Denmark. That’s how I discovered the brand, because they do a necklace or an earring or a bracelet for Doctors Without Borders every season. We had to buy about 50 of them so she could bring them back to her colleagues. I discovered the brand and thought, this is so cool, and it’s ageless, and there’s nothing really like this on the Canadian market.
“I asked Annemette to bring the brand here, and she constantly said no. There were a bunch of people here that wanted it. So what I did is I asked her if I could borrow some samples, went and saw Simons, and walked out with a huge PO. The rest is kind of history. I went back with the PO and said, are we doing this or not? And that’s how the brand was established.”
Hayes said in the first year it did about $700,000 in business and opened about 100 wholesale doors, including Simons. During the pandemic, it pivoted from wholesale into retail. Within four days, it opened its first retail store. Today, 56% of its business is in retail, but it still has a huge connection with wholesale partners, selling in over 400 doors across the country, with 287 independent wholesale customers.
“We decided to build in London because it’s like a test town. It’s a bellwether, a little bit like Quebec City. For us, it’s a way of trying to enter into the Ontario market. We’ve opened Toronto Eaton Centre, but that’s a lot of tourists. Rideau Centre is the same thing. This would be the first real store in everyday Ontario to try to pivot the brand and expand,” explained Hayes.
“Quebec City and London have so many similarities in terms of their e-commerce presence for us, as well as a lot of our wholesale presence. So we thought this would be a really good test market to open in.
“We’re opening Oshawa in about three months from now, which we’ve signed. We’re also in the process of opening a third location this year, but I’m trying to find the right kind of deal.”
Hayes said the brand is also launching its demi-fine collection called xDea.
“We’re getting into the demi-fine jewelry business . . . There are two economies happening right now. There are the high-end people that are doing very well, and then there’s another portion of the economy that’s struggling.
“We’re seeing that within our wholesale customers as well. With the introduction of Dia, we’ll be able to fulfill a segment that was not currently being fulfilled within Pilgrim.”
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