cacruden
Senior Member
There e-commerce store was crap. Surprised the new owners have not replaced it though.
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Skeezix
Senior Member
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Bay takes its battle against Holts to Paris
Iconic retailer aims to boost high-end offerings as part of makeover
Mar 13, 2009 04:30 AM
Diana Zlomislic
Living Reporter
In the cobblestone alleys of Paris this week, one of Canada's stodgiest retailers launched a rearguard assault on an unlikely fashion rival.
The Bay's hit on Holt Renfrew has been months in the making.
"Hehehe," is the indecipherable sound emitted by Bonnie Brooks, the Bay's newish chief executive, when asked about her unit in Europe. "So you know we have a team in Paris."
Her secret weapon – though not so secret if you understand the vagaries of twitter – is Nicholas Mellamphy, whom she hired to revive the company's high-end collection.
"At the Rick Owens shop in the Palais," he tweeted yesterday to a few dozen followers. The Bay's new creative director of the St. Regis Room, who brings designer expertise from Chanel, Gucci, Holts and Hazel, and a big black book of industry contacts, is on a mission. He's been in Europe for nearly three weeks with two associates hunting for exclusive merchandise to bring back to Toronto. Boss's orders.
"You have to have compelling, competitive advantage," Brooks says. "And one of the competitive advantages is most certainly exclusivity."
In Paris, as the lights went down for the beginning of the Lanvin collection, Barbara Atkin, vice-president of fashion direction for Holt Renfrew, bared her teeth at the notion of the Bay as competition. "There are certain things they have that we don't want and there are certain things they would like that they can't have," she told the Star's fashion editor David Graham.
Back in Toronto, Brooks smiled when the comment was relayed at a private dinner party this week to promote an exclusive menswear line for the Bay by Joseph Abboud.
"They do have things that we can't have," she says. "They also have things that we wouldn't go after."
Brooks has a knack for reinventing retailers. She's known throughout the industry as a go-getter. Born in Windsor, Brooks most recently served as president of Lane Crawford Joyce Group in Hong Kong, where she worked for a decade. She transformed the merchant into a luxury retailer not unlike Holt Renfrew.
At the Bay, boosting the company's high-end merchandise is just a piece of a much bigger plan. The Bay is not abandoning its roots, she assures, but returning to them.
"We have always had a strong European designer business at the Bay, particularly in the St. Regis Room which was developed over the past two decades under the iconic Margery Steele," Brooks writes in an email.
Those were the days when customers were invited to elegant picnic lunches on the third floor of the flagship store at Yonge and Queen Sts. When models in the latest dresses paraded down a runway so loyal shoppers could purchase pieces in advance. The 72-year-old Room is showing its age.
"I was in there probably about a year ago and you were kind of looking to see if anybody was sleeping in a corner," says a retail analyst.
Mary Symon, a publicist in the luxury industry who was introduced to the St. Regis Room by her grandmother and mother, hasn't shopped the third floor since the mid-90s. She's looking forward to Mellamphy's revamp.
"His ability to target designers and the collections that really are relevant is, I think, unbelievable."
Brooks's plan to rescue the Bay relies on much more than luxe items. It's about what she calls "white space" – that gap between the Bay's merchandise and what Holts sells. Tapping that market, especially in this economy, is critical.
"We've just spent many months and an enormous amount of funds working with outside consultants to ... establish how big that white space is and what to fill it with."
Since joining the Bay in August, Brooks has received piles of feedback from Canadian shoppers.
"I'm surprised at the amount of customers who are actually contacting me directly about products, about ideas, about things they'd like to see in the store," she says.
A woman from Kitchener wrote to Brooks, concerned about the sizing and assortment of bras.
"When we really looked into the inventory, we found that there was a void," Brooks says.
"We're changing some of our assortments as a result." In fact, the entire lingerie department will be rehauled, she says. The letter writer is now a product tester. "She's trying out things for us right now as we speak and giving us feedback."
So the Bay's arsenal ranges from mystery lingerie woman to the not-so mysterious Mellamphy, from Kitchener, Ont., to Paris – and ultimately, to the Boss.
Even arch-rival Atkin bows respectfully to Bonnie Brooks's retailing "genius."
But there's a but. "Can she do it in five years – exact her influence enough to change the company?"
"That," says Atkin, "remains to be seen."
Iconic retailer aims to boost high-end offerings as part of makeover
Mar 13, 2009 04:30 AM
Diana Zlomislic
Living Reporter
In the cobblestone alleys of Paris this week, one of Canada's stodgiest retailers launched a rearguard assault on an unlikely fashion rival.
The Bay's hit on Holt Renfrew has been months in the making.
"Hehehe," is the indecipherable sound emitted by Bonnie Brooks, the Bay's newish chief executive, when asked about her unit in Europe. "So you know we have a team in Paris."
Her secret weapon – though not so secret if you understand the vagaries of twitter – is Nicholas Mellamphy, whom she hired to revive the company's high-end collection.
"At the Rick Owens shop in the Palais," he tweeted yesterday to a few dozen followers. The Bay's new creative director of the St. Regis Room, who brings designer expertise from Chanel, Gucci, Holts and Hazel, and a big black book of industry contacts, is on a mission. He's been in Europe for nearly three weeks with two associates hunting for exclusive merchandise to bring back to Toronto. Boss's orders.
"You have to have compelling, competitive advantage," Brooks says. "And one of the competitive advantages is most certainly exclusivity."
In Paris, as the lights went down for the beginning of the Lanvin collection, Barbara Atkin, vice-president of fashion direction for Holt Renfrew, bared her teeth at the notion of the Bay as competition. "There are certain things they have that we don't want and there are certain things they would like that they can't have," she told the Star's fashion editor David Graham.
Back in Toronto, Brooks smiled when the comment was relayed at a private dinner party this week to promote an exclusive menswear line for the Bay by Joseph Abboud.
"They do have things that we can't have," she says. "They also have things that we wouldn't go after."
Brooks has a knack for reinventing retailers. She's known throughout the industry as a go-getter. Born in Windsor, Brooks most recently served as president of Lane Crawford Joyce Group in Hong Kong, where she worked for a decade. She transformed the merchant into a luxury retailer not unlike Holt Renfrew.
At the Bay, boosting the company's high-end merchandise is just a piece of a much bigger plan. The Bay is not abandoning its roots, she assures, but returning to them.
"We have always had a strong European designer business at the Bay, particularly in the St. Regis Room which was developed over the past two decades under the iconic Margery Steele," Brooks writes in an email.
Those were the days when customers were invited to elegant picnic lunches on the third floor of the flagship store at Yonge and Queen Sts. When models in the latest dresses paraded down a runway so loyal shoppers could purchase pieces in advance. The 72-year-old Room is showing its age.
"I was in there probably about a year ago and you were kind of looking to see if anybody was sleeping in a corner," says a retail analyst.
Mary Symon, a publicist in the luxury industry who was introduced to the St. Regis Room by her grandmother and mother, hasn't shopped the third floor since the mid-90s. She's looking forward to Mellamphy's revamp.
"His ability to target designers and the collections that really are relevant is, I think, unbelievable."
Brooks's plan to rescue the Bay relies on much more than luxe items. It's about what she calls "white space" – that gap between the Bay's merchandise and what Holts sells. Tapping that market, especially in this economy, is critical.
"We've just spent many months and an enormous amount of funds working with outside consultants to ... establish how big that white space is and what to fill it with."
Since joining the Bay in August, Brooks has received piles of feedback from Canadian shoppers.
"I'm surprised at the amount of customers who are actually contacting me directly about products, about ideas, about things they'd like to see in the store," she says.
A woman from Kitchener wrote to Brooks, concerned about the sizing and assortment of bras.
"When we really looked into the inventory, we found that there was a void," Brooks says.
"We're changing some of our assortments as a result." In fact, the entire lingerie department will be rehauled, she says. The letter writer is now a product tester. "She's trying out things for us right now as we speak and giving us feedback."
So the Bay's arsenal ranges from mystery lingerie woman to the not-so mysterious Mellamphy, from Kitchener, Ont., to Paris – and ultimately, to the Boss.
Even arch-rival Atkin bows respectfully to Bonnie Brooks's retailing "genius."
But there's a but. "Can she do it in five years – exact her influence enough to change the company?"
"That," says Atkin, "remains to be seen."
Mustapha
Senior Member
'The Bay' doesn't carry much weight of cachet these days. 'St. Regis Room' actually goes back to Simpsons days. Bonnie has a challenge.
There is a belted patch pocketed red wool blanket car coat in the Queen street window this week, quite the item, design and construction wise. Harks back to the 40s. Nicely displayed.
There is a belted patch pocketed red wool blanket car coat in the Queen street window this week, quite the item, design and construction wise. Harks back to the 40s. Nicely displayed.
urbandreamer
recession proof
Oh, at first I thought the article was saying the Bay was opening an HBC boutique in Paris, selling chic Canadiana. Damn. (The concept: Made furniture (the shop on Dundas W that sells contemporary Canadian furniture) + HBC heritage blankets etc = $$$ in Europe.)
In Canada, HBC's strategy should be: keep one big space/million people, and have smaller urban format stores like Sobey's scattered around Main Streets, maybe 1/100,000 ppl.
In Canada, HBC's strategy should be: keep one big space/million people, and have smaller urban format stores like Sobey's scattered around Main Streets, maybe 1/100,000 ppl.
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johnr
Active Member
The Lane Crawford formula is not going to work in Canada. Hong Kong shoppers crave luxury while Canadians are very price sensitive and conservative. Selling $1000 Rick Owens deconstructed sweaters at The Bay is laughable.
If Nicholas Mellamphy had such a good eye for fashion, Hazel would not be having a $7M bankruptcy sale.
If Nicholas Mellamphy had such a good eye for fashion, Hazel would not be having a $7M bankruptcy sale.
syn
Senior Member
This seems like a very foolish move by The Bay. They aren't exactly considered a high end retailer; not only will they have to work very hard to overcome that perception, they'll probably alienate a lot of their current customers.
None of it will matter if they don't fix their lousy customer service. It seems like the new owners want to turn The Bay into something like Eatons before it went under.
None of it will matter if they don't fix their lousy customer service. It seems like the new owners want to turn The Bay into something like Eatons before it went under.
adma
Superstar
Mustapha
Senior Member
The Aubergine commercial is at YouTube.. search under 'aubergine'. A dream to watch.
prosperegal
Senior Member
Don't forget that there are Hong Kong Canadians here who still like the luxury. And they're tired of just going having Holt's. My mom is always joking about wanting another luxury retailer's going to open in Canada. She once mentioned something about wanting everyone who isn't Whole Foods out of Hazelton Lanes so a department store can take over.
Art Vandelay
Active Member
One can't help but see it as being a head of its time in light of the influence if not popularity of AMC's Mad Men.
DavidJamesTO
Active Member
They had great intentions with the rebranding of Eaton's. Pity their follow-through didn't succeed.
If they're trying to go upscale with HBC, they need to look into the past to see the mistakes made with trying to make Simpson's upscale. It's a shame Sears owns the Simpsons copyright; they could have resurrected it for the high-end market.
If they're trying to go upscale with HBC, they need to look into the past to see the mistakes made with trying to make Simpson's upscale. It's a shame Sears owns the Simpsons copyright; they could have resurrected it for the high-end market.
prosperegal
Senior Member
And I guess Sears isn't willing to sell the trademark. Honestly, if they aren't going to use it, they should put it on the auctioning block. It's like cybersquatting.
officedweller
Senior Member
HBC operated separate Simpsons stores around TO in the late 1980s/early 1990s before rolling it into The Bay - I don't think that Sears owns the trademark - I think it was some sort of joint venture in the 1970s (and 80s?).
Reading the article - The Bay isn't going as high end as Holt Renfrew (i.e. so not as high as Eatons was aiming for) - it's going for the gap between The Bay and Holt Renfrew - what the article calls the "white space" - the upper middle category - maybe what "Brettons" was aiming for in the 1990s.
In Vancouver, The Bay's menswear department has been revamped and is far better than it was before. Was really surprised at the change when I went in there around Christmas. It has change rooms in almost every designer section - and the doors aren't locked so you don't have to hunt aimlessly for a clerk.
Reading the article - The Bay isn't going as high end as Holt Renfrew (i.e. so not as high as Eatons was aiming for) - it's going for the gap between The Bay and Holt Renfrew - what the article calls the "white space" - the upper middle category - maybe what "Brettons" was aiming for in the 1990s.
In Vancouver, The Bay's menswear department has been revamped and is far better than it was before. Was really surprised at the change when I went in there around Christmas. It has change rooms in almost every designer section - and the doors aren't locked so you don't have to hunt aimlessly for a clerk.
DavidJamesTO
Active Member
They do own the Simpsons trademark; they bought it in 2001 from HBC--who probably sold it out of a desperate need for ready cash. A shame, really; they could use it now.
cacruden
Senior Member
If they convert all of the Bay into the new upscale store they will fail. Most Simpsons stores were a drain, only the major cities could really use an upscale retailer (Montreal, Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver), the rest.... it is a waste.