There is no denying the drastic shift that has occurred in the way individuals are now consuming information. Mobile usage is at an all-time high with users spending more time on their mobile devices than ever before. This shift has transformed the way companies are communicating and interacting with their consumers, as well as bringing their products and services to market...
Upscale Swiss menswear brand Strellson is looking to open Canadian stores. An anonymous source at the company tells us that several Strellson stores could open in Canada, even though there are currently no Strellson stores in the United States...
Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) CEO Richard Baker indicates that he may sell some the company's best stores. HBC owns several massive Canadian flagships, with a combined worth into the hundreds of millions of dollars. Similar to how the company recently sold its Toronto flagship, other Hudson's Bay stores could be sold to adjacent mall landlords. Proceeds from these sales could renovate existing Hudson's Bay stores, not to mention fund Saks Fifth Avenue's Canadian entry. We'll provide an analysis of some top locations and what Richard Baker may have planned...
Canadian luxury retailers are targeting Chinese shoppers like never before. It should come as no surprise, given the tremendous spending power of Chinese tourists. Sources at Holt Renfrew's Vancouver store, for example, confirm that many of the store's top spenders are Chinese, and that sales volumes from Chinese tourists are substantial. Other upscale retailers, especially in Toronto and Vancouver, say that they target Chinese tourists based on some of the statistics discussed below...
Last year, over a third of all first locations for retailers entering Canada were at one shopping centre. 2013 wasn't an unusual year for the mall, however. From the inexpensive to luxurious, it has been Canada's entry point for many foreign retailers for a number of years...
Upscale sporting goods retailer Sporting Life plans to open stores across Canada. Its goal is to open two stores a year, with locations sought in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, and Montreal. Its stores will be large, measuring in the 30,000-50,000 square foot range. Its expansion goals are lofty, especially considering that Sporting Life hasn't opened a new store in 14 years...
Nordstrom's Canadian stores will look somewhat different than most of its American locations. The company will adopt a more contemporary look for its store interiors, with windows providing natural light, while most American Nordstrom stores feature a conservative cream-colour aesthetic, void of sunlight...
Holt Renfrew will have to fight to maintain its status as North America's most productive department store. With per square foot annual sales exceeding $1,000, Holt Renfrew far surpasses productivity at Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom. However, competition will increase for Holt Renfrew as Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom both open in Canada, and online shopping becomes commonplace. An unintended consequence could be an over-saturation of Canadian luxury retail...
Interesting videos on the future of Canadian retail: exciting technology, increased online sales, how expanding American retailers already know what we like from what we order online, and how stores become 'showrooms' where customers buy products to be shipped, while larger stores become 'distribution centres'...
We're updating our previous article, revealing Eataly's plans to eventually open in Canada. A source with the company confirms that not only is Eataly considering opening in Toronto, it may be interested in other Canadian cities as well. We provide further discussion to our previous story, that Eataly is working with a Canadian business partner to locate retail space...
