By Craig Patterson

New York City-based men’s casual brand UNTUCKit, known particularly for its shirts that are meant to be worn untucked, has opened its fifth Canadian store in just 12 months as the retailer rapidly expands its operation across Canada. UNTUCKit operates stores in Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary and Edmonton, and last week a second Toronto location opened at the highly productive Yorkdale Shopping Centre.

The Canadian expansion has already been a success — UNTUCKit’s top-selling store in the entire chain is at Toronto’s CF Sherway Gardens, which was its first to open in Canada in September of 2018 in a 1,565 square foot space. Hockey superstar Wayne Gretzky, who is an investor in UNTUCKit, attended the CF Sherway Gardens opening. Next month, Gretzky will also visit the West Edmonton Mall store — in the 1980’s he led the Edmonton Oilers to win four Stanley Cup championships.

After opening the CF Sherway Gardens store in September of 2018, UNTUCKit took time to observe the Canadian market before rapidly opening three other stores in the summer of 2019. That included stores at Ottawa’s CF Rideau Centre (June 2019), at West Edmonton Mall (July 2019), and at Calgary’s CF Market Mall (July 2019).

UNTUCKit opened its Yorkdale Shopping Centre location last week in a 1,693 square space in a central corridor of the mall that will eventually include a first-in-the-world entertainment concept up the hall. The UNTUCKit store carries the full line of the brand’s men's apparel. Over the past eight years, the brand says that it has expanded to offering 50 fit combinations and 13 product categories—ranging from T-shirts and polos to sports jackets, outerwear and pants.

Yorkdale Shopping Centre is Canada’s most productive shopping centre in terms of annual sales per square foot, according to Retail Council of Canada’s Canadian Shopping Centre Study. A 2019 Shopping Centre study will be released this fall, authored by Retail Insider’s Craig Patterson [Details Here].

Retail brokerage and consultancy Oberfeld Snowcap is representing UNTUCKit as it continues to expand further into Canada, under the direction of Rob Hart. Oberfeld Snowcap will be at the ICSC Toronto Conference this week in booth 1407 in the Main Hall of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

SLIDESHOW: Swipe for More

INSIDE UNTUCKIT’S NEW YORKDALE STORE

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Last year, UNTUCKit launched an e-commerce platform for the Canadian market as well as a product fulfilment centre that is based in Toronto. Both were launched in anticipation of a cross-Canada expansion that will see numerous UNTUCKit stores open in various markets.

Oberfeld Snowcap is said to be in talks with landlords to open more UNTUCKit stores in Canada. The Vancouver market is one of the targets, and the Montreal region is also expected to see at least one location as the retailer moves into new provinces. Secondary markets such as Kitchener/Waterloo are also said to be targets for UNTUCKit, recognizing male demographics with a casual style and spending power. The Greater Toronto Area, boasting a population in excess of six million people, is expected to see at least one or two more store announcements as part of the expansion.

UNTUCKit’s expansion via direct-to-consumer storefronts is a trend becoming more common among brands of all price points. As a result, shoppers interact directly with the brand store that includes curated product and dedicated staff with specific product knowledge.

Canada was UNTUCKit’s first market outside of the United States. In November of this year, the retailer will begin expanding into the United Kingdom where it will open two stores in London.

According to UNTUCKit’s website, the retailer currently has 75 stores in the United States and Canada, and the retailer is rapidly opening its direct-to-consumer stores in the United States, as well.

“You want to look good but these days everyone’s dressing casual. There isn’t a better way to do that than our product. People wear them to work because they look so neat. They don’t look sloppy,” said Chris Riccobono, one of the retailer’s founders and executive chairman, in an earlier interview with Retail Insider.

We’ll continue to report on UNTUCKit’s Canadian expansion as the retailer continues to open more stores.

Now located in Toronto, Craig is a retail analyst and consultant at the Retail Council of Canada. He's also the Director of Applied Research at the University of Alberta School of Retailing in Edmonton. He has studied the Canadian retail landscape for the past 25 years and he holds Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws Degrees. He is also President & CEO of Vancouver-based Retail Insider Media Ltd. Email Craig: craig@retail-insider.com

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