FASHION FORWARD

AS APPAREL RETAILERS IN B.C. AND ACROSS NORTH AMERICA ANNOUNCED CLOSURES, ARITZIA EXPANDED AND WENT PUBLIC

The past year was tumultuous in the world of retail. The first quarter of 2017 saw record bankruptcies in the U.S., and in B.C. companies such as Vancouver startup Shoes.com folded and technical clothier Kit and Ace closed down all 26 international stores. But while mall locations of BCBG Max Azria Group Inc., American Apparel Inc. and Danier Leather Inc. cleared out, Vancouver-based Aritzia Inc. was opening new locations, enlarging existing ones and restocking shelves with its coveted women's clothing.

Some analysts have described hard times for merchants as the bursting of a retail bubble, but consultant Doug Stephens, author of the recent book Reengineering Retail: The Future of Selling in a Post-digital World, doesn't use that term. He says this is simply the end of a long and prosperous era that started after the Second World War and lasted until the 2007-09 recession.

“If you were an average retailer and you had an average product at an average price and you were able to spend a lot of money on advertising, you could be successful,” Ancaster, Ontario–based Stephens explains, noting the growing population, thriving economy, cheap suburban real estate and large family sizes during that period. “Unfortunately all those traits and trends are over now, and we find ourselves in an era where the middle is being routed out of retail. There are successful businesses at both ends of the spectrum, we see dollar stores and outlet malls popping up like weeds, and at the other end, the retailers that are delivering remarkable products are holding their own. But the fallout in the middle is really substantial.”