South Hill Home Opens Large New Furniture Showroom in Toronto

By Megan Harman

Toronto-based interior design destination South Hill Home has opened a large new showroom as the high-end furniture retailer celebrates its 15th anniversary.

South Hill Home specializes in upscale furniture and lighting from around the world.

“Our success has been in bringing collections to Toronto that have yet to be seen,” says Richard Bertrand, director of marketing at South Hill Home. “People like the unique appeal of our collections because the brands are somewhat unknown.”

In particular, South Hill Home carries an extensive array of South Asian, American and European brands. It carries an especially strong collection of French design brands, such as CVL Luminaires, Kifu Paris, Jean-Louis Deniot and Pouenat Ferronnier. Although many of the store’s featured brands are relatively unfamiliar to the average consumer, they’re highly coveted within the interior design community, according to Bertrand.

“We’re probably one of Canada’s largest French design destinations,” he says.

South Hill Home carries a wide range of home furnishings, such as chairs, tables, sofas, beds, dressers and cabinets. Approximately 95% of the retailer’s customers are interior designers, according to Bertrand.

Unlike many companies that cater to the trade community, however, South Hill Home also invites consumers to browse its showroom. “We’ve always had an open-door policy,” Bertrand says. “We’ve always allowed people to come in and visit our showroom.”

South Hill Home’s new showroom, located at 146 Dupont St., is just down the street from the company’s previous location at 200 Dupont St.

At 13,000 square feet, the new location is nearly three times the size of the previous space. That provides South Hill Home with the space necessary to expand its offerings and enhance the presentation of its collections.

Unlike the open-concept nature of the previous showroom, the new space has been divided into different sections. Each section showcases furniture for a different room of the house, such as the dining room, living room or bedroom. That makes it easier for customers to focus on what they’re looking for and visualize items in their own home, according to Bertrand.

“Each section becomes an experience in itself,” he says.

The space was designed by interior designer Jentry Chin, with a focus on creating a shopping experience that’s easy to navigate.

“I call it very contemporary chic,” Bertrand says. “It’s a nicely curated, contemporary environment – one that promotes our collections very well.”

The new showroom is situated prominently within Toronto’s South Hill area, located at the busy Dupont St. and Davenport Rd. intersection. “We’re getting a lot more foot traffic,” Bertrand says.

Since the showroom is located in close proximity to many fabric suppliers and interior design services – as well as being close to Yorkville, Rosedale, midtown and downtown – it’s a convenient location for the retailer’s clients, Bertrand says. “It’s all about location for us,” he says.

South Hill Home has no plans to open additional locations, according to Bertrand. “We still like being the destination store that we are,” he says. “We don’t think we need to spread anywhere else in the city.”

**Photos provided by South Hill Home via NKPR

Megan Harman is a business reporter based in Toronto. She writes about topics including retail, financial services and technology. Megan covers Toronto’s retail industry through her blog Retail Realm (torontoretail.wordpress.com). Follow her on Twitter at @meganmharman.