Aesop to Open Large Location in Kitsilano

Upscale Australian skin care brand Aesop will open its second Vancouver location later this year in Vancouver’s Kitsilano area. It will be Aesop’s fourth freestanding Canadian location, with more expected to follow. 

Located at 2072 West 4 Avenue. The store will measure 1,950 square feet, and will serve as the primary showroom and distribution hub for Aesop’s Vancouver operations, according to CBRE‘s Martin Moriarty. The deal was negotiated by Mario Negris and Mr Moriarty of Vancouver’s CBRE Urban Retail Team. Mr. Moriarty went on to say: “Mario and I were proud to work with Aesop on securing their flagship Vancouver location. We look forward to seeing the final store, which will be in keeping with Aesop’s world class design standards, and continue the search for additional Aesop locations”. 

A temporary Aesop location at 2072 W. 4 Avenue is already operating, and it will be closed for construction once permits are granted. 

Aesop’s first two Canadian locations opened in July of 2015 — a 615 square foot location at 19 Water Street in Vancouver’s Gastown area, and a 990 square foot store at 880 Queen Street West in Toronto. A Montreal location followed in the fall, at 4968 Sherbrooke Street West in Westmount. Last Friday, a second Montreal Aesop location opened in on St. Viateur Street in Montreal’s ‘Mile End’. 

Aesop was founded in 1987 in Melbourne by hairdresser Dennis Paphitis. Product packaging is simple, and its quality is considered to be exceptional. It sources plant-based and laboratory-made ingredients, and uses only those with a proven record of safety and efficacy. It operates free-standing ‘signature stores’ as well as wholesale operations in a variety of retailers, high-end department stores such as Holt Renfrew and Barneys New York. Canadian stocklists include a handful of smaller independents.

Canadian Retail News From Around The Web: January 27, 2016