The world’s largest made-to-measure menswear company, Vancouver-based INDOCHINO, has opened its second retail showroom in the Lower Mainland at Metropolis at Metrotown in suburban Vancouver. The 2,088 square foot store is also INDOCHINO’S first mall-based location in the region, following the 2015 opening of a highly successful showroom in Vancouver’s Yaletown area.
INDOCHINO opened an impressive three showroom locations in the span of about a month — all are in Western Canada, and all three are contained within highly successful enclosed shopping centres. Metrotown, which opened on Friday April 28, is INDOCHINO’s seventh Canadian retail space. On April 6, INDOCHINO opened at Calgary’s CF Chinook Centre and a week prior to that, West Edmonton Mall saw the opening of its first permanent INDOCHINO showroom.
INDOCHINO’s other Canadian showrooms are in Vancouver (Yaletown), Toronto (King Street East and Yorkdale Shopping Centre), Mississauga (Square One) and in Ottawa at CF Rideau Centre.
The Vancouver Yaletown showroom is currently the company’s top performer, according to INDOCHINO CEO Drew Green. “We’re committed to becoming a global brand that Vancouver can continue to be proud of. Before expanding further in the US, we felt that Metrotown would be a very convenient and accessible option for many of our existing customers and open our experience to new customers,” he said.
The new Metrotown showroom is situated on the mall’s Upper Level Atrium Court, as per the floor plan below. Metropolis at Metrotown is the largest shopping centre in British Columbia and the third largest in Canada, according to Retail Council of Canada’s Shopping Centre Study. The mall is also the busiest in the province in terms of annual visitors, and is also one of the top performers in terms of sales per square foot.
Fixtures in the new store were created by Vancouver-based Peregrine, which works with some of the country’s leading retailers and their interiors.
INDOCHINO used Toronto as a test market — it was the first region to see multiple showroom locations. The company’s downtown Toronto showroom was recently joined by two suburban mall locations. “When we tested multiple locations in Toronto, we found that the lift and efficiency we achieve across the region is significant,” Mr. Green said. “We’re using the same winning strategy out on the West Coast, augmenting the success of our Yaletown flagship with our new Metrotown showroom.”
INDOCHINO, which grew 54% year-over-year in 2016, is on track for over 50% year-over-year growth in 2017 — and it’s already 10% above plan in fiscal 2017. As well for its fiscal year-to-date, the company has shipped over 50% more sales dollars globally than for the same period last year. In February 2016, the company announced a US $30 million strategic investment by Dayang Group — the world’s largest suit manufacturer — which has helped accelerate the company’s expansion plans, significantly enhanced the product offering to its customers, and generated additional operating efficiencies.
Things are no doubt going well in Western Canada, as well as company-wide. “Our showrooms in Edmonton and Calgary have each achieved over 200% of plan, while overall growth in Canada fiscal year-to-date is over 60% compared to the same period last year,” said Mr. Green.
INDOCHINO announced a major international expansion last year, with the goal to open about 150 retail stores globally while selling a million suits annually by the year 2020. The company was founded in Vancouver in 2007 as an online custom suit retailer and in late 2015, co-founder Kyle Vucko was replaced as CEO by Shop.ca founder Drew Green.
INDOCHINO’s retail showrooms are an extension of the company’s online made-to-measure experience. INDOCHINO customers are paired with a Style Guide in-store, who helps them design one-of-a-kind suits or shirts. Style Guides take measurements, assist with fabric selection, and walk shoppers through custom options including buttons, vents, pockets, lapels and monograms. Each garment is made to order and delivered within four weeks, when customers can return for a second fitting to ensure a perfect fit. The showroom works in tandem with INDOCHINO’s e-commerce website, so men can access their profiles and reorder at their convenience. The showrooms are designed to be modern and bright, boasting comfortable reception areas and lounges dedicated to serving groom parties and other groups.
Oberfeld Snowcap represents INDOCHINO as brokerage in Canada, with future showrooms ideally ranging between 2,500 and 3,500 square feet.
Canadian Retail News From Around The Web: May 1, 2017
