Canadian technical apparel brand Kit and Ace has opened its new Victoria flagship, marking another milestone in the company’s accelerating national growth strategy. The 2,200-square-foot boutique at 1221 Government Street occupies a prominent heritage location at the intersection of Government Street and Trounce Alley, reinforcing the brand’s renewed focus on disciplined, Canada-first expansion.
The Kit and Ace Victoria store takes over roughly half of the historic space previously occupied by W&J Wilson, Victoria’s oldest continuously operating business, before its flagship closed in 2021. The move signals both a symbolic and strategic return to Vancouver Island for the brand, which has been rebuilding its physical retail footprint.
Under the ownership of Unity Brands Inc., co-founded by David Lui, Joe Mimran, and Frank Rocchetti, Kit and Ace has grown from just four stores in 2023 to 15 locations across Canada as of February 2026.
Blending Heritage With Brand Identity
CEO David Lui said the Victoria location reflects a thoughtful balance between heritage preservation and the brand’s modern identity.
“It is heritage buildings, and we honour all the guidelines,” Lui explained. “We wanted to have a bit of a blend of who we are and a blend of heritage. It may not come out in the pictures, but it’s a bit more localized, something that speaks to the community.”
The boutique follows the company’s updated retail concept, emphasizing minimalist design, high-performance fabric storytelling, and intuitive navigation intended to encourage longer dwell times. However, the Victoria execution incorporates localized elements tailored to the surrounding historic streetscape.
Lui noted that the opening generated immediate local interest. “We already had a mini lineup at the opening,” he said. “That was good to see without advertising really pushing.”
Capturing Local and Tourist Demand
The Government Street corridor is Victoria’s busiest pedestrian zone, drawing both residents and tourists throughout the year. While peak summer tourism has yet to arrive, early indicators appear positive.
“One good thing is we get to track from our e-commerce sales and guests coming into Vancouver where they’re from,” Lui said. “We have a lot of existing guests that reside in Victoria, in the mainland and the island. Of course, we expect tourism to be a big contributor over the summer.”
He added that even during the softer winter season, ferry traffic remains steady. “The ferries are quite busy too, which is good for the local economy.”
The initial customer mix reflected a broad demographic range. “You’ve got people walking by, mixed demographic, which is great to see,” Lui said. “We serve a wide range of demographics.”
Womenswear Gains Momentum
Product evolution has played a central role in the brand’s resurgence. While Kit and Ace initially built its reputation around technical fabrics and elevated essentials, recent data shows meaningful growth in womenswear.
“Women’s has been increasing in terms of overall share of incremental revenue,” Lui said. “Women’s has been around fifty-five, forty-five percent roughly. We’re attracting a lot more women, which is great.”
He added that women represent nearly three-quarters of store traffic. “That’s good because our men’s sales are very strong. It’s telling us she’s buying for him, which is good.”
The Victoria store carries a full assortment of men’s and women’s technical apparel, including the brand’s well-known Navigator pants, core essentials, French Terry pieces, and expanding sweater and outerwear programs.
“Our sweaters are very strong, both men’s and women’s, and we practically sold through,” Lui said. “So we’re increasing our sweater programs. We’ve expanded our outerwear. We have our Oslo, our legendary Oslo, but we’re expanding the range and the detail and some of the designs.”
The company is also building out its parka program for next fall. “Sweaters and outerwear will be a very key component,” he said.
Women’s pants continue to be a standout category. “In womenswear, it’s hard to find the right fit. If they find the right fit, they’re loyal. Our pants have been selling really strong.”
Fabric First, including in-home
Beyond apparel, Kit and Ace is expanding its partnership with TJX banners, including T.J. Maxx and HomeSense in the home category.
“We started some throws with them. That was a big program,” Lui said. “Then some sheets. As we continue to grow with them, you’ll see a broader range. Throws have been selling really well. Bed sheets, bedding, pillows, a pretty broad range of home.”
Lui emphasized that the extension into home remains consistent with the company’s core philosophy.
“It’s all built around what our brand stands for, fabric first,” he said. “We have a separate production team that works on all of that.”
Disciplined Expansion Across Canada
The Kit and Ace Victoria store forms part of a broader rollout planned for 2026. Lui confirmed that five or six additional Canadian openings are targeted for this year.
“After Victoria, we plan to do five or six more for this year in Canada,” he said. “We want to be up to about twenty or twenty-one stores by the end of this year.”
The Victoria opening follows a high-velocity expansion in late 2025, including the November 2025 openings of a 3,500-square-foot store at Park Royal in West Vancouver and a new boutique at CF Rideau Centre in Ottawa. Earlier that fall, the brand debuted at Bayview Village in Toronto and completed a full-scale renovation of its CF Market Mall location in Calgary in September 2025. These milestones built upon the brand’s major summer move in July 2025, when it relocated to a 4,100-square-foot flagship at the CF Toronto Eaton Centre, following successful 2025 launches at The Well in downtown Toronto and Metropolis at Metrotown in Burnaby.
“We’ve been happy with most of the new stores we’ve opened,” Lui said. “Not everyone is one hundred percent, but in most cases, yes.”
E-commerce remains an important complement to physical retail. “E-commerce has been really strong. It went down a bit and then it went back up this year. We’ve seen growth in e-commerce and growth in comp stores.”
A Broader Unity Brands Ecosystem
Lui’s leadership extends beyond Kit and Ace. Unity Brands’ portfolio includes Tilley and other retail ventures, with additional expansion underway.
“We just signed a lease for Tilley at Bayview Village,” Lui said. “We’re also opening Tilley at The Well in Toronto and in Victoria. There’s a lot happening on that side of the business as well.”
The company is also advancing franchising initiatives under other banners, underscoring a multi-brand growth trajectory.
Still, Kit and Ace remains a central pillar. The Victoria opening reinforces the brand’s recommitment to premium Canadian markets, particularly high-traffic urban corridors with strong local communities.
