If 2017 proved anything, it’s that pop-up shops in Toronto aren’t just a trend – they’re here to stay.
From Queen Street to Ossington to Yorkville and Leslieville, it seems pop-up shops sprung up everywhere in Toronto this year. Once reserved for warehouses, pop-ups have gone on to occupy street fronts, corners within existing stores and, most notably in the past year, even prime mall space, allowing limited time engagements for brands to sell their products.
And it’s a retail strategy that’s been working! Here are some of Toronto’s best pop-up shops of 2017.
IKEA Play Café
In June, the IKEA Play Café came to Toronto where shoppers and IKEA-lovers alike could sample the company’s famous meatballs, play games and shop a limited selection of the brand’s kitchen products.
Gordon Ramsay’s Cobalt Social
The grocery store in front of Cobalt Social
2017 wasn’t just about retail pop-ups; pop-up restaurants became prevalent as well. Celebrity Chef Gordon Ramsay partnered with American Express to open Cobalt Social, an exclusive restaurant hidden behind a grocery store shelves in Toronto’s Kensington Market.
Glossier
Cult beauty brand Glossier opened a pop-up in Toronto this past fall, giving shoppers the chance to finally shop the beloved beauty products in person and even meet founder and CEO Emily Weiss. The pop-up also hosted special in-store events, including a free screening of Sofia Coppola’s Somewhere, with complimentary Prosecco and popcorn.
Everlane at Nordstrom
Everlane joining forces with Nordstrom in September for a six-week pop-up shop — or as Nordstrom likes to call them, pop-in shops. Vancouver and Toronto got the chance to experience Everlane’s ethically-made denim line, as well as the brand’s must-have cashmere pieces and footwear styles.
Sunwing
Sunwing popped up on Queen Street West for Black Friday this year for guests to enjoy vacation deals and learn about different destination hotspots. The pop-up shop featured a vending machine with special gifts, travel vouchers and free vacations.
INDULGE at Yorkdale
Yorkdale introduced shoppers to its rotating food pop-up this past year called the INDULGE shop. The space features multiple grab-and-go counter-style presentation from some of Toronto’s food favourites such as Uncle Tetsu, Eva’s Original Chimneys and Pie Squared.
Starboy from The Weeknd
For the second time in Toronto, The Weeknd’s opened a temporary store for his fans this past spring. The pop-up appeared inside Nomad on Queen Street West for one weekend only to showcase what’s essentially concert merch without the concert.
Toronto Urban Collective
Popping up for its third year in a row this past summer was Toronto Urban Collective. The unique market brings together the city’s finest artists, designers, craft-makers and photographers along with a great line-up of food, drinks and music.
goop at Nordstrom
Nordstrom partnered with Gwyneth Paltrow’s goop lifestyle brand for an in-store pop-up shop back in May. This marked goop’s first partnership with a major retailer and was the first time the lifestyle brand had a physical presence in multiple retail markets at once. This was one of the only chances Canadians had to shop goop products as the California-based site doesn’t ship to Canada.
INLAND
Dubbed one of the best Canadian fashion pop-up shops in the city, INLAND pops up each spring to offer shoppers over 70 fashion, apparel and accessory brands for women and men in a 2-day, market style event.
House of Vans
Image: Instagram/@vanscanada
Returning for its second year in a row this past March, House of Vans popped-up in Toronto’s Queen West area. The action-packed four-day event including a live performance from Mac DeMarco, a market showcasing local Toronto creatives, an art exhibit and a full-size replica of iconic San Francisco skate spot Pier 7.
Sleepover
Sleepover is from the people behind thisopenspace and was a pop-up event celebrating everything you love about sleep. Running from October through December, the store featured over 35 brands that outfit your goodnight and good morning.
CONCEPT
Not an actual pop-up shop, but rather a pop-up facilitator, Yorkdale’s CONCEPT opened its doors this past spring to offer a 3,600-square foot space designed specifically for rotating pop-ups. Such a storefront allows local, smaller brands the opportunity to connect with a larger audience. Some brands featured at CONCEPT in 2017 included Peace Collective, Mary Young, Hayley Elsaesser, inkbox and more.
Did we miss any pop-up shops opened in Toronto in 2017? Let us know in the comments!
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Just in time for the busy holiday season, Yorkdale has you covered when it comes to security and parking. Lots of new features have been added for the convenience of busy shoppers. We spoke with Claire Santamaria, General Manager, Yorkdale Shopping Centre and she told us about her three-year plan to simplify parking. “We will prove parking is not a problem at Yorkdale,” she said. The plan began in 2014 when she designed a system to track vehicles coming in and out of Yorkdale. There are over 600 cameras that capture real-time video, with 200 dedicated to overlook the parking lot. This increases safety and security. The security team knows the average time guests stay at the Centre and manages the communication of where parking is available. Right now, Yorkdale is in first place for best mall parking in the city. 
The ‘Parking Concierge’ program began Black Friday weekend and continues until Christmas weekend. You can check out 8,000 parking spots on their website, as well as their live hotline call in. You can also check online to pre-plan your visit and find spots in advance. The new system offers real-time lot status that directs cars to open slots.
The program will be active on all busy days, with more than half the monitors helping shoppers find parking spots. There are even 20 members on duty on site to help direct confused customers who cannot find a space. This is an on-going project that will continue through 2018 if needed.
The newly-built, well-lit underground parking also features a red-light and green-light system that is ideal for counting traffic. It allows drivers to easily find a parking space with smooth traffic flow.
Pick up and drop off bays for Uber were recently launched to make it easier for shoppers to get picked up at specific locations as opposed to getting confused. This will also increase the movement of cars from one location to another. Three valet bays were also just put into place.
Lots of exciting new projects are happening at Yorkdale. This year they expanded by 300,000 square feet, including 17 new stores. The fresh new pop-up, CONCEPT just opened with amazing food from some of the best street food in Toronto.
Dyson and Laduree will open at the Centre by the end of 2017. In fact, there were more store openings in 2016 than 2017! Yorkdale surveys their consumers every few months and gets upwards of 3,000 responses. They will continue with their surveys to ensure satisfaction for their loyal shoppers.
Make parking easy again! Check here for hours and directions.
What do you think about the new Yorkdale parking services? Let us know in the comments.
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Another month, another takeover in Yorkdale Shopping Centre‘s CONCEPT space.
Since its inception, the space has been home to many-a-pop-up, including Instagram-worthy food vendors like Uncle Tetsu and Eva’s Original Chimneys, and beloved fashion brands like Peace Collective and Mary Young. And now CONCEPT has ushered in a creative environment from one of Canada’s leading travel companies.
Sunwing, North America’s largest vertically integrated travel company, has recently partnered with the Jamaica Tourist Board to move into Yorkdale. Visitors of the Sunwing CONCEPT store can swipe through a multi-user touch table and find potential vacation spots based on price range, activities, and locales, with the opportunity to win the trip of their dreams.
Along the walls, visitors can awe at ‘Sunwing Experiences,’ as well as take part in their own in the kite-surfing simulator room.
And once visitors work up an appetite from all the kite-surfing, they can mosey over to the Jerk Brothers grab-and-go counter, which offers authentic Jamaican cuisine like Jerk Chicken, and Ox Tail.
With winter just around the corner, the Sunwing CONCEPT shop comes at the perfect time. Even though the weather is warm, it’s never too early to start thinking about your winter escape. Plus, who knows? By visiting the shop, you may even get your dream trip for free.
The Sunwing CONCEPT Space will be open at Yorkdale until November 4.
All images provided by Sunwing
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Nordstrom has recently announced that it is trying something drastically different… Stores without inventory.
On Monday, Nordstrom revealed that the chain is planning on rolling out a new line of stores called Nordstrom Local.
The new stores are set to be designed on a much smaller scale, with the typical Nordstrom Local store measuring only about 3,000 square feet, compared to a typical store which is usually 140,000 square feet or larger.
What makes this concept really interesting is the fact that customers will be able to try clothes on in the stores, but will not be able to take items out of the store with them. After the products are tried on, customers can choose to have the product shipped to their home or office from online inventory or inventory from full-sized stores. Additionally, if it’s easier, customers will be able to pick up items from a Nordstrom anchored mall. Lastly, if shoppers purchase something before 2:00 pm in the Nordstrom Local shop, they will have the opportunity to have it same-day delivered.
Shoppers that visit Nordstrom Local will have the opportunity to interact with Nordstrom personal stylists who will curate looks and outfits for you, as well as steer you towards new and interesting items and collections.
According to CNBC, Nordstrom Local shops will also have “bars” in stores where visitors can order juices and alcoholic beverages.
As of now, there has yet to be any news on when this concept will roll into Canada, but hopefully, it does 🙂
What do you think of the Nordstrom Local concept? Do you think it will work?
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As one of Canada’s premier shopping destinations, Yorkdale has just recently launched a permanent space that will give innovative brands an anchor position in the shopping centre.
Dubbed “CONCEPT” the new space will be home to some of Toronto’s top home-grown talent starting on May 18th, 2017.
Shoppers that wish to explore the best that local Toronto retailers have to offer have an opportunity to shop fashion and food and experience some of downtown Toronto’s most interesting and socially conscious entrepreneurs.
The new CONCEPT space is an ambitious effort brought to you by Yorkdale. The space will be used to allow innovative brands the opportunity to showcase new product lines, innovative design approaches and capsule collections in an environment other than their own retail footprint. This will give smaller brands access to a larger shopping market and will give established bigger brands the opportunity to experiment with product and concepts without disrupting their traditional retail model.
When the new space opens to the public on May 18th, Yorkdale shoppers will have the opportunity to shop the best from Peace Collective, Bather, MARY YOUNG, HAYLEY ELSAESSER, HEIRKid, inkbox temporary tattoos along with Peace Collective’s Peace Treats milkshakes andLola’s Cloud organic gourmet cotton candy – all in one place.
The entrepreneurs behind these newest CONCEPT brands share a common goal of raising awareness and funds for causes connected to their businesses.
The newest CONCEPT retailers include:
Peace Collective + Peace Treats – Shoppers will recognize this brand for their “Toronto Vs. Everybody” gear. This lifestyle brand will be selling Peace Collective clothing including the new Blue Jays line at Yorkdale, alongside their gourmet milkshakes – Peace Treats, the Peace Collective’s signature treat bar. These treats are lighting up Instagram, and it’s a stop shoppers won’t want to miss. Every garment sold provides two healthy meals to a Canadian child in need through its Peace Foundation.
MARY YOUNG – The lifestyle lingerie and loungewear brand is ethically produced in Montreal, Quebec with garments designed to embrace the natural woman’s shape and empower the wearer to feel comfortable and confident. MARY YOUNG is donating $3 dollars from every item sold at CONCEPT to Raw Beauty Talks, a non-profit society promoting the mental and physical health of girls and young women by increasing their self-confidence and cultivating positive body image.
Bather – This Toronto-based streetwear-inspired beachwear for men is the perfect stop for shoppers looking to reinvigorate their summer wardrobes. Their fashions are designed for men to look and feel their best, on or off the beach. The brand will release a range of exclusive pieces at CONCEPT. Bather works with various charities including 1% for the Planet which aims to clean and protect the world’s oceans and the Jays Care Foundation.
inkbox – The Toronto-based brand behind the world’s first 2-week tattoo gives shoppers the chance to get the look & feel of traditional tattoos without the commitment using 100% organic ink. There will be up to 100 of their top designs and signature freehand ink giving shoppers many different options. Tattoos can be applied by an inkbox expert or at home with the standard inkbox kit. A percentage of every sale goes to the Darién Initiative in Darién Gap, Panama which is home to the fruit source of the ink and ensures sustainability in harvesting the fruit while giving back to the Darién community.
HAYLEY ELSAESSER– Beloved Toronto designer Hayley Elsaesser is recognized around the world for her colourful, pop-art inspired prints. Since launching in Australia in 2013, Hayley’s fashions have appeared on runways at Sydney, Melbourne, Toronto and New York fashion weeks, and have been worn by celebrities including Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry and Kat Von D. Her Yorkdale capsule features pieces from her spring/summer 2017 collection, inspired by the ‘90s version of Romeo & Juliet, as well as new unisex streetwear and accessories in her trademark prints.
HEIRKid – This brand is designed with the modern and fashion-conscious parent in mind. As the love child of Get Fresh Company Toronto (G.F.C), owners William Nguyen and Jebril Jalloh, created a brand that would help fashionable parents, dress their children in elevated essentials and vibrant showpieces. Each garment has a fresh take on fit, feel and details with pieces designed, milled and manufactured locally.
Lola’s Cloud– CONCEPT shoppers will get a taste of organic cotton candy with Lola’s Could’s freshly spun floss in a variety of unique flavours. This Toronto-based company uses organic cane sugar and natural extracts to create heavenly clouds of delight, free of synthetic dyes and sucrose. They’re creating an exclusive Yorkdale flavour, featuring lemon and lavender with hints of edible gold. A Canada 150 maple flavour will also be available to celebrate the sesquicentennial. Shoppers can also expect to see some intriguing flavours popping out of this vendor’s booth – with cotton candy flavours such as mimosa, hot peppers and dill pickle.
The CONCEPT space is great for local brands and innovative brands alike as Hayley Elsaesser tells us “It’s incredibly important otherwise it would take many years to build up to a store in Yorkdale, the fact that they are speeding up the process and putting our brand in front of the customers you only dream of seeing every day. It’s a great way to showcase Canadian brands which aren’t as represented in the mall. It really puts the focus on the people that deserve it.”
Check out the New CONCEPT Space at Yorkdale and take a look at the map below for location details:
