By Helen Siwak, Retail Insider Brief Editor

*Rendering of the massive Toronto Muji flagship set to open this fall, provided by Muji.*

MUJI Goes Big in Canada for Fall/Winter 2018: Minimalist Japanese retailer Muji continues to grow its presence in Canada as it expands two of its stores to become significant flagship locations. Last week, Muji unveiled its expanded Metropolis at Metrotown store, which grew by more than 50% to span 12,305 square feet on one level. Only the Robson Street flagship in Vancouver is larger, measuring 14,507-square-feet, according to the company.

In Toronto as well, Muji is preparing to open its largest store outside of Asia at The Atrium complex on Dundas Street West near Yonge Street. A temporary location will close on October 29 and when the new one opens late fall, it will span a whopping 19,110-square-feet over two levels. It will be the first two-level Muji in Canada and will feature a central escalator well.

MUJI Yorkdale

MUJI Metrotown

MUJI Robson Street

MUJI Richmond Centre

MUJI Scarborough Town Centre

MUJI Markville

MUJI Square One

In a press release, Muji said, “MUJI Atrium will offer many products and services never seen before in Canada. Additional details regarding the store will be released at a later date.”

Brokerage CBRE has been involved with MUJI's negotiations across Canada, led by Arlin Markowitz, Senior Vice President of CBRE's Downtown Toronto Urban Retail Team. CBRE Vancouver's office, including Martin Moriarty and Mario Negris, were involved in the Metrotown/other Vancouver-area deals.

Oakridge & QuadReal To Launch Exhibition with Kengo Kuma Fazioli: In mid-November, QuadReal Property Group will unveil the next step of the Oakridge Centre transformation. The Westbank Exhibition Centre will be assembled and housed in the former Zellers location and will feature a series of installations, which will culminate with the unveiling of a Kengo Kuma designed Fazioli piano commissioned through Showcase Pianos. The world-renowned Japanese architect designed the case which was built of Hinoki Wood over a one year period and comes with a price tag of $890,000.

Currently dismantled and residing in the Showcase Piano’s warehouse in a series of boxes, owner Manual Bernaschek will oversee the assembly of the piano at the location. After the exhibition space is closed, the Fazioli will be moved to the lobby of the ‘Kengo Kuma’ building which is under construction at 1550 Alberni Street.

Fazioli Piano for Westbank Oakridge (1).JPG

Fazioli Piano for Westbank Oakridge (2).JPG

Fazioli Piano for Westbank Oakridge (3).JPG

The exhibition is part of the transformation of Oakridge Centre, which is a 574,000-square-foot shopping centre, which sits on 28 acres of land in the heart of Vancouver’s affluent West Side. It will be transformed into a major 4.5-million-square-foot hub of retail, residential, workspace, parks, and civic space.

Oakridge Vancouver 2018-01 Running Loop.png

Oakridge Vancouver 2018-01 Park Spaces.png

Included will be a massive community centre, public library, performance facility, dance academy, daycare, 100,000-square-feet of curated culinary experiences and an approximately nine-acre park — as well as office space and residential towers that will house about 6,000 people in more than 2,600 homes. Oakridge will anchor an up-zoned neighbourhood that is projected to grow by more than 50,000 people within a kilometre radius over the next two decades. QuadReal partnered with Westbank Corp. and together have engaged Henriquez Partners Architects, Tokyo-based interior design firm Wonderwall, and other design partners for this initiative that will be a model for future high-density retail mixed-use redevelopments globally.

Photo credits: Manuel Bernaschek

Boucheron Parters with Holt Renfrew on Vancouver Pop-Up: Paris-based luxury jeweller Boucheron has popped-up at Holt Renfrew’s mega-productive Vancouver flagship at CF Pacific Centre. Boucheron could end up with a permanent presence at Holt’s if things work out as planned. It is also on display at the Yorkdale store in Toronto.

A source in the industry said that Holt Renfrew has an established budget of $5-million for Boucheron jewellery and will carry several millions more worth of “exceptional jewellery pieces in trunk shows across its top stores in Canada”. If Holt’s sells enough over the eight-month window, Boucheron could end up opening at least one standalone boutique in Canada, according to the source.

Boucheron has limited distribution in Canada and in Toronto, Saks Fifth Avenue houses a Boucheron shop-in-store at its flagship CF Toronto Eaton Centre store. Product is sparse on the quiet sales floor which houses other luxury jewellery brands such as Piaget and De Grisogono.

The tiny Vancouver Boucheron boutique is located on the store’s ground floor accessory hall, which is said to do astronomical sales numbers in its shop-in-store and concession environment. Vancouver’s Holt Renfrew is said to be selling about $400-million annually in its 188,000-square-foot space anchoring the north end of CF Pacific Centre.

Holt’s Vancouver store also recently launched a Givenchy shop-in-store and this fall, a Valentino accessory ‘hard shop’ will be opening as well — a first for Holts. Valentino ‘hard shops’ are also located at Nordstrom in Vancouver and Toronto (Yorkdale) as well as at Saks in downtown Toronto. In several weeks, Valentino’s first standalone store in Canada will open at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre.

The two photos below (Valentino and Givenchy) and the top image of Boucheron were taken by Helen Siwak last week.

Screen Shot 2018-10-22 at 10.50.58 PM.png

WAXON Taps Laser Technology and Relaunches as WAXON Laser + Waxbar: After a year of planning and raising capital WAXON Laser + Waxbar, has added laser services at all 13 of their Canadian locations. With the introduction of Vectus Laser machines and providing state-of-the-art technician training for staff, WAXON now offers fast, convenient and pain-free permanent hair removal solutions for all skin and hair types in under 10 minutes a session.

In September 2018, MarketsAndMarkets Inc. reported that by 2023 the medical aesthetic market internationally would be worth 17.07 billion dollars. The transition from manual beauty services to technology-assisted offerings is how small business like WAXON will stay competitive in the increasingly lucrative beauty business.

The use of the laser provides clients with high volume permanent hair reduction in fewer sessions, saving time and cost. Each Vectus Laser comes with Skintel technology that reads skin melanin levels, which allows technicians to tailor the treatment to each client’s needs, achieving effective results on average within just four to six sessions.

In addition to single service pricing and interest-free financing options for laser treatments, WAXON provides flexible BAR TAB packages for both waxing and laser, giving the brand an additional edge in the hair removal industry.

Cashmere Collection Celebrates 15 Years of BT Couture for Breast Cancer: The 15th annual Cashmere Collection fund- and awareness-raiser for the breast cancer cause showcased Canadian designers with a theme of ‘crystal.’ This year’s collection was curated by Canada’s own Mosha Lundstrom Halbert; the New York-based internationally recognized fashion director, editor, writer, and stylist.