Screen Shot 2017-11-20 at 9.56.25 PM.png

Screen Shot 2017-11-20 at 9.56.35 PM.png

APM Monaco Opens 1st Canadian Store: Monaco-based jeweller APM Monaco has opened its first Canadian boutique in Toronto, with more expected to follow.

The 1,700 square foot Toronto store is located at 89 Bloor Street West, across from Harry Rosen and Holt Renfrew Men. APM Monaco’s store design is inspired “by the Monaco lifestyle” with a signature navy and white colour combination. The attractive retail space was built by Montreal-based Vergo Construction, which works with national and international retailers on their store build-outs.

The Toronto APM Monaco retail space was most recently occupied by Roots Kids — Jordan Karp and Ryan Morein, now with brokerage Savills, represented APM Monaco (for both the Bloor deal as well as for its national rollout), and CBRE Downtown Toronto’s Arlin Markowitz, Alex Edmison and Jackson Turner acted on behalf of the landlord in a sublease deal involving Roots.

APM Monaco was founded in 1982 by Ariane Prette as a jewellery brand specializing in creating traditional gold, diamond and precious stone pieces for other jewellers. In 2011, the Prette family launched the new APM line (standing for Ariane Prette Monaco) that is made from the purest form of silver, carefully selected cubic zirconia and one-of-a-kind freshwater cultured pearls, among other high-quality materials.

Its products are handmade with their own manufacturer to ensure consistency. Designs are also “influenced by Monaco and the South of France,” according to the company, "with a touch of Monegasque flair”. Creative director Kika Prette (daughter-in- law of Ariane Prette) introduces four new collections a month with 12 fashion themes a year.

APM Monaco has over 160 stores worldwide, and it’s growing quickly — a rapid US store expansion is currently in the works and sources confirm that Vancouver is a target for at least one APM Monaco store location.

Browns Shoes Continues Store Expansion: Popular Montreal-based multi-brand Browns Shoes continues to open stores in Canada, maintaining its position as a significant national retailer.

The company has revealed that it will be opening several stores over the next few months — this fall, a Browns store will open at Les Promenades Gatineau in Quebec, and in early 2018 the retailer will open a Browns store at Hillcrest Mall in Richmond Hill, north of Toronto.

Eric Ouaknine, Director of Retail Experience at Browns Shoes, says that 2018 will be a busy year for the company — new stores will open under the company’s Browns and B2 banners, and some existing locations will also see renovations, expansions or relocations. We’ll provide updates as they can be revealed.

Browns Shoes currently operates 60 stores throughout Canada, and is represented in Canada by brokerage Oberfeld Snowcap. Browns Shoes is a family-owned business, founded in 1940 in Montreal by Benjamin Brownstein. The company is now third-generation run. Stores feature designer brands as well as in-house brands including Mimosa, Browns Couture, The Wishbone Collection, Luca Del Forte, Intensi and B2. The B2 brand became so successful in its own right that it now boasts its own freestanding stores, which also carry various other designer brands.

Canada Goose Opens 2nd Canadian Store in Calgary: Toronto-based outerwear and fashion brand Canada Goose has opened its second standalone Canadian store in Calgary. Canada Goose’s first store in the world opened at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre in October of 2016, and the company now has stores in New York City, Chicago, Tokyo and London, with a unit to open soon in Boston.

The 3984 square foot store at CF Chinook Centre replaces BCBG, which vacated its Canadian stores several months ago.

Canada Goose says it plans to operate between 15 and 20 stores globally by the year 2020.

Canada Goose’s second Canadian store was intended to be in Vancouver, according to sources, but securing real estate was a problem.

Screen Shot 2017-11-21 at 10.33.44 PM.png

Screen Shot 2017-11-21 at 10.34.32 PM.png

Zadig & Voltaire Montreal Location Revealed: It was a bit of a secret where Zadig & Voltaire would be opening its Montreal store. The Paris-based fashion brand opened its first standalone Canadian store this month at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre, in a 2,000 square foot space.

Retail Insider’s Montreal correspondent, Maxime Frechette, has discovered the location of Zadig & Voltaire’s Montreal store, which opens this fall. Signage went up yesterday at 4891 Sherbrooke Street West in the city’s affluent Westmount community, in a space formerly occupied by UGG. The stretch of Sherbrooke Street West has a terrific mix of contemporary brands, and Zadig will fit right in.

Jeff Berkowitz of Aurora Realty Consultants represents Zadig & Voltaire in Canada, and negotiated the Westmount deal. Montreal-based Axxys Construction is building the store, and recently completed the Yorkdale unit.

Until several months ago, Zadig & Voltaire was carried at Holt Renfrew — Holt’s is parting ways with some brands as it amends its retail strategy to include carrying some of the world’s most popular luxury brands -- with many of those operating as shop-in-store concessoins.

*(The Cheesecake Factory Canada - Instagram)*

Cheesecake Factory Opens 1st Canadian Location at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre: Popular full-service American restaurant chain Cheesecake Factory has opened its first Canadian location, spanning in excess of 10,400 square feet with two covered patios. We’re seeing full-sized restaurants opening in Canadian malls more than ever, as landlords diversify their properties with more food and beverage offerings.

There were substantial lineups on opening day.

Cheesecake Factory replaces a Milestones restaurant that occupied a space facing north, near Yorkdale’s Hudson’s Bay store. The restaurant features imported limestone floors and custom wood columns, hand-painted murals and modern lighting.

Cheesecake Factory is known for its extensive food offerings, including having a menu with over 50 signature cheesecakes and desserts. Cheesecake factory opened as a bakery in Los Angeles in 1972, and its first restaurant opened in Beverly Hills in 1978. The Company, through its subsidiaries, owns and operates 208 full-service, casual dining restaurants throughout the United States and Puerto Rico, including 194 restaurants under The Cheesecake Factory® banner; 13 restaurants under the Grand Lux Cafe® banner; and one restaurant under the RockSugar Pan Asian Kitchen® banner. As well, the company has 15 international restaurant locations that operate under licensing agreements in the Middle East, Asia and Mexico.

Lindt Opens Retail Space and Cafe in Vancouver: Swiss chocolate brand Lindt has opened a retail concept and cafe in downtown Vancouver. The 1,800 square foot space opened earlier this month at Vancouver’s recently overhauled Exchange Tower.

While most Lindt locations are dedicated to selling chocolate, the Vancouver space takes things one step further with an in-store cafe, with a menu including chocolate truffles, chocolate bars, Lindor Truffles, and a chocolate drinks bar — not to mention premium chocolate bars that can be gift wrapped for the holidays.

Acting for the landlord in Lindt’s new retail space were the CBRE Vancouver team, under the direction of Mario Negris, Adrian Beruschi and Martin Moriarty.

*Photos: Martin Moriarty.

Mark's Rebrands: The retailer formerly known as Mark’s Work Warehouse, and most recently as simply ‘Mark’s’, is again rebranding to become Mark’s Well Worn. The new positioning seeks to drive growth with a net new consumer for the retailer, while maintaining a deeply entrenched sense of pride and respect for the brand’s industrial roots. We’ll be doing a more in-depth feature later this week on what it all means for the company, which operates under the Canadian Tire umbrella.

Hermes Prepares to Open Mink Mile Flagship: Construction hoarding is coming down on the large new Hermes flagship at 100 Bloor Street West in Toronto, which is scheduled to open to the public on Wednesday, November 29. We’ll feature an article on what will become one of the brand’s largest locations globally, including interior photos of the space.

Construction has been ongoing for months on the two-level space, which replaces a Williams Sonoma store that closed in January of 2017. A standalone Holt Renfrew Men’s store is located immediately east of Hermes, and it will soon be revealed that a luxury brand has leased space on the west side of Hermes as well.

Signage at the current 130 Bloor Street Hermes indicates that it is closing temporarily for about a week prior to the opening of the new store. The new store's facade is a light coloured stone -- see photos directly below, taken the afternoon of Tuesday, November 21.

Retail Insider will now be regularly including these briefs as part of our expanding reporting mandate. For more information, contact Editor-in-Chief Craig Patterson at: craig@retail-insider.com.

For more of today's retail news, visit:

Canadian Retail News From Around The Web: November 22, 2017