Attention Shoppers — Page 2

“When people are talking about global retail concepts, they will ultimately talk about this store in Vancouver,” says Mark Janson of Janson Goldstein, the New York-based architectural firm behind the expansion, which has also built signature stores for Georgio Armani, Ferragamo, Donna Karan and Saks Fifth Avenue’s Beverly Hills location. Janson speaks of a “dialogue” between Holt Renfrew, the customer and the city. “We’ve designed a glass façade at street level that provides unobstructed views into the interior while reflecting the colour, light and movement of the city.”

Part of Holt’s strategy may be to appeal to mid-market buyers—bring in Bay and Sears customers and try to move them up. “A longstanding Holt’s customer will always be a Holt’s customer,” says Vancouver-based retail consultant David Gray, “but to get all those new shoppers in the front doors, they’ll have to change their image of being snobby and inaccessible, and become attainable to a larger market. It’ll be interesting to see how they pull it off.”

The signs are promising. Retail in North America has been in expansionary mode since 2000. The media have partly fuelled this consumerism. “There’s an intense scrutiny of what celebrities are buying, and it’s the under-35s that are driving that market,” says Gray. “Generation Y has cash and credit, and has latched on to brands in a huge way—a drastic change in the last 10 years. Remember No Logo? It wasn’t that long ago.” Boomers, he points out, are engaging in less conspicuous consumption than they have in the past; even the most affluent spend their money on the experiential—high-end spa trips and luxury travel. It’s the younger group that’s driving the demand for products and labels.

The luxury market used to mean an elite set of stores for an elite set of customers, but now, says Gray, we’re seeing “a democratization of luxury.” Most luxury stores have added entry-level products that make them more accessible. The idea is to let more people “touch the brand.” Holt’s, like all elite global brands, is trying to reach a broader market. This represents a changing of the retail guard, and it can be risky. At what point do you lose the patina of exclusivity? If more and more people shop there, is it really exclusive?

“Vancouver’s mentality is aspirational right now,” says Gray. “We want to be a world-class city and we think of ourselves that way. We will see a spike in the first couple months as people come in for curiosity’s sake. But what will be telling is how many bags actually come out of the store.”
Gray points out that our population is roughly equal to Portland’s. “Sure we’re part of the big three in Canada, but we aren’t a top-tier city. My biggest concern with Holt Renfrew is that they’ve overestimated the market. They have almost always made savvy decisions, and they’re the only successful department store in Canada at the moment. But doubling the space ties up a lot of money. This is a very aggressive move.”

Is the Asian market the key to Vancouver? The growth of luxury retail can be seen right across North America, says Gray, including in cities without large Asian populations. “Chinese put a lot of value on the face of a brand, and with people moving up the income ladder, there’s been a huge swell in the middle- to upper-income class. Elite brands appeal to an Asian market, but these brands also want to be seen in destinations all around the world to reinforce perceptions of the travelling classes. That’s why you saw these brands in Maui, Whistler, or even Banff before you saw them in Vancouver. Now Vancouver has become attractive over and above the local population. And of course the Olympics have played in.”

Which is why, along with the building boom and soaring real estate prices, we’re seeing the emergence of Vancouver’s answer to Rodeo Drive or Fifth Avenue: the Burrard and Robson and Alberni corridors where, in the past two years, Gucci, Hermes, and Tiffany have joined the likes of Louis Vuitton, Coach, and Betsey Johnson. Then there are the luxury retailers—like Birks, Chanel, Hugo Boss, Dunhill and Cartier (which also doubled its retail space earlier this year)—down by the waterfront.

A few blocks away, another expert has her own take on the changes to the city’s retail landscape. “We can afford to take more risks now,” says Maria Leone, “because we live in a much more cosmopolitan city.” Her perfectly manicured hand raises an espresso cup briefly to her lips. “Our retail stores and restaurants compete on the world stage. This is very new. It’s not how it used to be.”
We’re seated in the bustling L2 café in the basement of Leone, the luxury department store in Sinclair Centre that she founded with her husband, Alberto, 20 years ago. Her smooth face is age-defiant: she’s 60, a fact she reveals only after proudly mentioning her five grandchildren. She’s been head of merchandising for the iconic store since it opened in 1987, but today she quietly hints at retirement. “My children came with me on buying trips starting when they were very young. They were raised in this store. So it’s just a matter of passing the torch."

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