THE DYSON DEMO STORE IS SET TO OPEN AT CF CHINOOK CENTRE IN SEPTEMBER

The Calgary ‘Dyson Demo’ store will showcase the brand’s latest technology courtesy of a trained team of employees, while also providing visitors the opportunity to purchase various Dyson products. On display will be products such as supersonic hairdryers, air purifiers, commercial hand dryers, and various vacuum models. The store will sell LED lights which were created by Jake Dyson, son of company founder Sir James Dyson. Amid COVID-19, the air purifiers may be a draw — the Calgary storefront will showcase Dyson’s full range of air treatment products including the Dyson Pure Hot+Cool, which launched in January 2019. It’s essentially an air purifying fan and heater that detects particulate matter and gasses with intelligent sensing and then automatically captures them so they are removed from the air.

Construction hoarding went up last week for the new Calgary Dyson Demo store, which will be located on the main floor of CF Chinook Centre across from the entrance to the mall’s Saks Fifth Avenue location and one storefront away from the mall’s highly productive Louis Vuitton store. The Calgary Dyson space measures about 2,340 square feet according to lease plans supplied by landlord Cadillac Fairview.

*CF Chinook Centre Dyson location highlighted in red. Click image for interactive mall floor plan*

The first Dyson Demo store in Canada opened at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre in December of 2017, spanning about 2,000 square feet. The Vancouver location is about 2,500 square feet in a prime location at CF Pacific Centre and was open briefly before the COVID-19 store shutdowns. Sources say that there has been interest in a location at West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton and possibly in downtown Montreal.

Dyson’s first store in the world opened in Tokyo in the spring of 2015, followed by locations in Paris, Moscow, Jakarta, and London. More have since opened in major centres globally. The United States is home to four Dyson Demo stores in New York City, San Francisco, suburban Washington DC, and most recently a location opened at Westfield Century City in Los Angeles.

THE DYSON DEMO MODEL COULD BE ADOPTED BY OTHER RETAILERS DUE TO COVID-19

The Dyson Demo store model could be one that more retailers utilize as chains downsize amid crippling rent payments. With one location per city, Dyson’s presence allows for a local ‘foot on the ground’ while creating legitimacy, education and brand awareness for the region. While visitors to a Dyson Demo location may not make a purchase in the retail space itself, a subsequent purchase online or in a wholesale retailer is another possibility. Dyson’s wholesale distribution in Canada is extensive. Many major retailers across the country carry Dyson products, including Canadian Tire, Best Buy, Hudson’s Bay, Bed Bath & Beyond, Walmart, Costco, Leon’s, The Brick, Lowe’s, and others.

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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