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Bloor-Yorkville Scene

I can't wait for the day when Winners vacates Bloor! May not happen for a while but that would certainly free up enough space for a mini-department store with high end shops in it. I liked it better when Chapters was there.
 
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prosperegal said:
Mendocino hasn't even shut down yet...

Is it possible that that's a temporary location? Seems very small. Maybe they're moving into current LV (or Tiffany's) spot once it opens up?
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This is now what I'm thinking too. They just finished renovating in 2007 and an article from The Globe indicated that it was one of their most profitable stores. I find it hard to believe they would be downsizing that much. I don't have the link to the article but it was posted in UT at the time. Here's the article...

From the Globe, Toronto Section:

RETAIL: BLOOR STREET GETS A FACELIFT
Powering up on the boulevard of glittering dreams
DEIRDRE KELLY

The Mink Mile is getting a makeover.

Not only has Davids at the corner of Bay and Bloor just unveiled a sparkling $3-million transformation of its 5,000-square-foot flagship store - imbued with glass and steel, Lucite and suede (and that's the floor covering, not the footwear) - but now Harry Rosen, at the corner of Bloor and Bellair, is making way for a $20-million broom-sweeping.

What's more, international luxury-brand giants Cartier, Prada, Gucci, Tiffany & Co., Chanel and Louis Vuitton have all recently undergone - or are about to embark on - costly renovations to give them greater star power.

Call it the gilding of Bloor Street. With the development of several multimillion-dollar condo projects in and around Bloor Street West and nearby Yorkville Avenue, as well as the imminent arrival of luxury hotels such as the Hazelton (opening in June) and a new five-star Four Seasons Hotel on Avenue Road, the strip is tarting itself up to satisfy the appetite for high-end luxury goods in dazzling settings.

As Chestnut Park real-estate agent Jimmy Molloy says, "Even if these new purchasers are Canadians, they have homes in other international cities like London, New York and Paris."

"There's no doubt that Bloor Street is Canada's Fifth Avenue, the country's Rodeo Drive," says CEO Larry Rosen, son of the venerable men's-wear shop's founder.

Harry Rosen is adding two floors to the two it already has, increasing retail space to 50,000 square feet from 32,000. Employing steel and glass, the construction will be modern in design. "Having an address on Bloor Street is such that you have to make your retail store into a gem and forget the costs," Mr. Rosen adds.

Retail consultant John Williams calls it "keeping up with the Joneses" syndrome. Or you could think of it as a domino effect, down the strip.

The strip will be anchored at the southeast corner of Bloor and Yonge by a new $500-million 80-storey commercial/residential tower (in 2011) and, to the west, by luxury condo towers going up across from the newly crystalline Royal Ontario Museum.

Rents have doubled in four years, causing Bloor Street to rank as the 22nd-most-expensive retail location in the world in 2006.

"The economy is sound, the stock market is booming, the housing market is seeing tremendous value and so people are feeling good, and when they feel good, they spend," Mr. Williams says.

Glenn Abugov, managing director of ICI Construction, the Toronto company that has overseen the renovations of Prada, Gucci and Cartier, thinks the retail boom is tied to the city's cultural renaissance: "There's probably a soft correlation with the fact that we have the design talents of Frank Gehry at the Art Gallery of Ontario and Daniel Libeskind at the Royal Ontario Museum," he says.

Among the international all-star jewels is Cartier North America, soon relocating to a larger, more spectacular location on Bloor.

The new boutique, styled by renowned Paris-based designer Bruno Moinard, will be decorated with oak panelling. Oak floors and glass display fixtures trimmed with

requisite bronze will be found throughout. The new design will boast a sophisticated atmosphere with an open environment to beautifully showcase Cartier jewellery, watches, accessories and fragrance collections.

Escada started a major $3-million overhaul of its 10-year-old boutique in February. Scheduled to move into its new digs late next month, the Toronto Escada store is switching its formerly pale palette for one that is now elegant in black and grey. Spotlighting will be replaced with "high-efficiency lighting that will make the clothes stand out more against the background," general manager Vivi Elo says.

The redesign was planned by the head office in Germany, which oversees 240 Escada stores worldwide. Toronto was among the 10 chosen for a makeover this season, because the city boasts such high sales volume. "Toronto is an international city and it deserves international retailing," Escada president Joe Caporella says.

The design, by a Zurich-based company, is not unique to the Toronto store. It is similar to those in Paris and Vienna and soon to be seen in Beverly Hills, Mumbai and anywhere else the luxury retailer has a presence. In effect, luxury retail giants are deploying a kind of McDonald's style of branding. "It is a trend worldwide with high-end stores to keep the look the same," Ms. Elo says.

That experience, says Kin Wong, general manager at Prada Toronto, enables the customer to feel a sense of comfort as soon as he or she walks through the chrome-and-glass doors. "When we renovated, it was to keep up with the other Prada stores, in particular the Fifth Avenue store in New York. ... It helps us sell more bags, for sure. Because no one on the street is going to tell you that even a minor facelift is just about image."

Noah Shopsowitz, a retail designer with ICI Construction, says a brand's consistency is what gives it its potency. "What that speaks directly to is the consumer coming in from other countries, whose experience in Paris, New York, London or Tokyo has to be matched now in Toronto."

Yet when the store is Canadian, like Hugo Nicholson in Hazelton Lanes, undertaking a multimillion-dollar expansion and renovation is totally about the bottom line, "without a doubt," says Eleanore Rosenstein, one of the owner-operators along with her sister, Carole.

"We are hoping to see increased sales of our dresses and we are absolutely confident that that will occur because our clients are already warming to the changes that Noah has introduced," she says, referring to ICI's involvement.

These include adding 400 square feet of retail space and a series of new Tiffany-like windows showcasing clothing treasures. In "the salon," where $15,000 gowns by Carolina Herrera or Gianfranco Ferré are on display and a bottle of Veuve is conspicuously on ice, the new floor is creamy marble. As well, Mr. Shopsowitz has ordered the walls to be covered with a hand-mixed iridescent paint that will support the store's logo, embossed with crushed Swarovski crystal.

The intent, Mr. Shopsowitz says, is to reposition the Toronto boutique as something international - on par with Prada, Gucci and Chanel.

As he stands inside the store, already seeing in his mind's eye the twinkle of the crystals on the walls, he imagines he could be in New York, Paris, London. "This could be any international city in the world," he says with excitement, warming to his theme. "But it's Toronto."

"The wagons, as they say, are circling."
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ACT7 said:
Interesting. And another flagship location opens up...
How big is their location now? My guess is close to or over 10,000 sq. ft.
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I recall reading somewhere a while back that the current Escada store on Bloor Street is about 13,000 square feet.

Sorry about not knowing that Mendocino is still open... keep in mind I live in Vancouver and haven't been back to Toronto in a few years, though I still keep track of what's going on in Toronto cause I'll always consider it to be one of my homes :). That and let's face it... Toronto is 'Downtown Canada' :p
 
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This MUST be temporary because it seems odd to move from 13,000 sq. ft to under 4,000 and go from one of the biggest stores in N.A. to one of the smallest. Doesn't make any sense. But, hey, at least Mendocino is moving out :)
 
If all the low end stores move out, there will be enough space for others to move in. Since space is limited, this area should be exclusive for the high end boutiques to congregate in. Having said that, I kind of like the combination of all boutiques being in the same area, but unfortunately we can't have it on that part of bloor.
 
Well I confirmed with Escada that they are in fact moving permanently - although they weren't exactly forthcoming as to why, other than saying it was a head office decision. It's sad and disappointing to see that kind of downgrade so it makes me wonder if they're doing the same to other stores. The Vancouver stores is 16,000 sq. ft and was recently moved and renovated so I find it hard to believe that Edmonton, Montreal, and Vancouver would all have significantly larger stores while Toronto's is being decapitated on the most prestigious street in the country.
 
If I remember correctly, I had read somewhere that escada as a brand is in fact not doing that well. Could it be that they are in the process of downsizing their stores in general????
 
vatche said:
And btw I live in Montreal and the Montreal store is not really nice.
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I'll be in Montreal in a week so I'll be sure to check it out. Not that I don't believe you :)

As much I don't wish that Escada is struggling, I secretly wish they are now so at least this move makes more sense! So the silver lining in this other than Mendocino vacating is that there is now about 13,000 sq. ft of flagship opportunity available for Dior, Dolce and Gabbana, Donna Karen, Versace, etc...
 
ACT7 said:
Well I confirmed with Escada that they are in fact moving permanently - although they weren't exactly forthcoming as to why, other than saying it was a head office decision. It's sad and disappointing to see that kind of downgrade so it makes me wonder if they're doing the same to other stores. The Vancouver store is 16,000 sq. ft and was recently moved and renovated so I find it hard to believe that Edmonton, Montreal, and Vancouver would all have significantly larger stores while Toronto's is being decapitated on the most prestigious street in the country.
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I was shocked when our 16,000 sq ft Plaza Escada closed here in Vancouver. It has since moved to a much smaller (and permanent) location at 710 Thurlow Street in our alleged "luxury zone" (which includes Canada's first Dollar Tree store and Michael's Crafts, LOL). I'd be surprised if our new Escada store is even 3000 square feet... so the tentative Toronto location might be permanent.

Escada locations used to be large because they were intended to be 'multi-brand' stores owned by the Escada umbrella. The multi-brand umbrella no longer exists, so the Escada monobrand doesn't need so much space:

"When the property, known as Escada Plaza, first opened in 1991, the retailer leased a bigger space with ambitions of launching new product lines that never materialized. Ultimately, space was subleased back to the landlord and to other tenants, according to the court filing."

Source: http://www.chicagorealestatedaily.c...gown-retailer-escada-may-close-mag-mile-store
 
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