Simons says
APPAREL RETAILER ADDS HOME ACCESSORIES LINE AS PART OF BOLD EXPANSION.
TORONTO • Simons, the veteran Quebec apparel retailer that has embarked on an ambitious expansion across Canada, is getting into an entirely new category online: furniture and home accessories such as rugs, lamps and wall art.
The retailer’s new “digital decor space” includes more than 100 items intended to complement the company’s in- store assortment of soft home goods, such as linens and towels.
“It’s certainly a new space for us, which we don’t do in the store,” said Peter Simons, chief executive of the 175- year- old retailer. “In home decor we have a lot of interest online. And we have been working to keep the website very complementary with our stores.”
The line, which leans toward featuring notable Canadian designers, brands and artists, includes pieces from Pink & Brown, Torre & Tagus, Umbra and Samantha Pynn. The assortment will expand “if the customers seem to like it — there has been a great initial reaction,” Simons said.
Canada’s hot housing market has stoked sales of home furnishings and decor. Sales of indoor furniture at Canadian retailers rose to $ 9.2 billion in 2015 from $8.6 billion in 2014, according to Statistics Canada, up from $8.2 billion in 2013.
But Simons said the robust housing and home renovation market didn’t really influence his decision to incorporate furniture and accessories into the merchandise mix.
“The housing market will have ups and downs,” he said. “We are really trying to build something that makes longterm sense strategically. But (the current housing market) probably will be helpful.”
He said the expanded assortment makes sense at a time when traditional retailers are trying to determine how to thrive online and in stores. Web sales at Simons account for less than 10 per cent of the retailer’s overall sales, which will top $ 400 million in fiscal 2016.
“The web business is a complicated business, and it doesn’t really matter what kind of volume you are doing; it is a more complicated business to render profitable. Everybody is searching in that space right now and trying to figure it out,” he said. “We are happy with where it’s going.”
Toronto- based retail consultant Wendy Evans says the new furniture line is in keeping with the retailer’s brand sensibilities.
“It’s a very simple, well-edited line, even though it is early days. The Canadian design element does come out. I think it’s a great extension of their brand — you see the personality and point of view involved in the editing of these products that they sell.”
Putting a new category online is also a great way for Simons to bump up overall sales or potentially use stores as a showroom for its online furniture business, she added.
“It provides them with some flexibility — their stores are fairly large and if they want to increase or decrease ( apparel) space, home fashion would give them some flexibility to do that.”
Simons doesn’t rule out displaying some of the new home goods and furniture assortment inside stores as a visual prompt to encourage customers to buy online.
“My dream would be all the items would be available on display in the store but not through an inventory — they would not be in stock ready to sell in the store,” he said.
The move comes as the Quebec i nstitution continues expanding across Canada after first venturing outside its home province in 2012. The company now has 13 large stores across the country, and is set to open new locations in Calgary and Edmonton next year.