Marc Cain Announces Canadian Expansion After Initial Success

Upscale German fashion brand Marc Cain will open three more Canadian stores this year, after seeing success after entering the country with its first stores in the fall of 2015. Marc Cain is also launching its first American stores this spring, and it will use its Canadian distribution centre to fulfill operations in the United States. 

Marc Cain currently operates five stores in Canada, and it also wholesales in upscale retailers nationally. The company’s first three Canadian stores opened in October of 2015 at CF Carrefour Laval near Montreal, at Place Ste-Foy in Quebec City, and at CF Chinook Centre in Calgary. A store at Mississauga’s Square One followed in March of 2016 and, most recently, Marc Cain opened at CF Toronto Eaton Centre in April of last year. 

The Canadian operations are seeing considerable success, according to Marc Cain’s Canadian managing director Stephen Belfer, prompting the company to further expand its base of stores in this country. In late spring of this year, Marc Cain’s first Vancouver store will open at Oakridge Centre, in a 2,200 square foot retail space next to Tiffany & Co., and across from Harry Rosen. In the fall of 2017, West Edmonton Mall will see that city’s first Marc Cain location, when it opens a 2,150 square foot store on the mall’s second level, between Kate Spade and True Religion. And towards the end of this year, Marc Cain will enter the Ottawa market with a 1,400 square foot unit at CF Rideau Centre, near Nordstrom

Marc Cain works with brokerage Oberfeld Snowcap for its Canadian real estate deals. 

Looking into 2018, Mr. Belfer noted that Marc Cain could further expand into the Greater Toronto Area, as well in the Vancouver area. One might speculate that Toronto’s upscale CF Sherway Gardens, Bayview Village and Yorkdale Shopping Centre could be targets, as might Park Royal and CF Pacific Centre in Vancouver. 

Marc Cain will also be opening three stores in the United States over the next four months, as it begins with an expansion south of the border. The company’s Canadian warehouse will act as a fulfillment centre for the US stores, and a retail office was recently established in New Jersey. Mr. Belfer is also overseeing Marc Cain’s American expansion. The retailer’s first US store opens this month at Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus, NJ, followed by May openings at The Westchester in White Plains, NY and at the King of Prussia shopping mall, outside of Philadelphia. 

Founded in Bodelshausen, Germany in 1973, Marc Cain operates 210 stores in 34 countries, as well as almost 300 shop-in-shops and 387 franchised units. It also sells in over 1,000 specialty stores in 61 countries. 

*Photos via Square One/Oxford Properties Group.

Canadian Retail News From Around The Web: March 27, 2017