Record number of international retailers set up shop in Canada in 2017: data
A record-breaking number of international retailers entered the country in 2017.
Roughly 50 international merchants set up shop for the first time in Canada last year by opening stand-alone boutiques or opening small “stores within a store” at larger retailers, according to data from Retail Insider, which has been tracking retail store openings for the past five years.
That compares with 21 international retailers that opened in 2016, and 28 in 2015.
“This is probably an all-time record for Canada, not just for recent years,” said Retail Insider president Craig Patterson.
International retailers began establishing a strong foothold in this country in the 1990s through a series of mergers and acquisitions: home improvement giant Home Depot bought Aikenhead’s, mass merchant Walmart entered through the purchase of Woolco and off-price conglomerate TJX Cos. bought Winners. The following decade welcomed a slew of large fast-fashion giants to the Canadian landscape, from H&M, Old Navy, Zara and Forever 21. Those deals involved large retailers and vast amounts of square footage, whereas the more recent entrants involve luxury and niche brands opening small boutiques: Chinese dollar store chain Miniso, jeweller Van Cleef & Arpels, Swiss watch brand Vacheron Constantin and the outdoor apparel and footwear brands Hunter and Woolrich.
“In terms of footprint, 2017 definitely would not be a record year, because (the new arrivals) are all small-format retailers,” Patterson said. “Last year had the most in terms of the sheer number of retailers entering, but not the most in terms of real estate.”
The new entrants arrived in a very strong year for Canadian retail. Year-to-date sales to the end of October were up seven per cent year over year, according to Statistics Canada.
“At this pace, 2017 is poised to be one of the strongest years for Canadian retail in recent memory,” Toronto based retail consultant Ed Strapagiel wrote in an analysis this week.
Highlights include a 13.2-percent increase in sales at building material and garden equipment retailers in the first 10 months of 2017 and an 11.1-per-cent sales gain at electronics and appliance stores.
“Early reports also indicate that many retailers had a good Christmas season,” Strapagiel said. “At the current pace, store merchandise could have a 2017 sales growth rate that’s a 10-year high.”
One exception is grocery stores, where the competitive environment is intense and deflation kept a lid on food prices for most of the year. Retail sales at grocery stores grew one per cent in the first 10 months of 2017.