FIRST, WE TAKE ST. LAURENT
As Joe Fresh opens its first stand-alone store in Ottawa, Canadian supermarket chic is also poised to invade the U.S.
Canadian supermarket-chic Joe Fresh gets its own stylish space in Ottawa as it prepares to crack into the American market.
Back when Joe Fresh was first introduced in Loblaws stores, price point was primary and the goal was to entice supermarket customers to splurge on a $12 tote bag or $10 T-shirt a couple of aisles away from the canned peas — and keep those customers away from Walmart, which was selling canned peas alongside the T-shirts.
Fast-forward almost seven years, and there are about 300 Joe Fresh stores in Loblaws across Canada as well 14 standalone stores, including a 10,000-squarefoot space that opens Feb. 27 at St. Laurent Centre.
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The new Ottawa store will offer a larger assortment of the brand’s fashions for women, men and children as well as Joe Fresh’s beauty line and accessories.
Joe Fresh is also poised to open 700 “stores within stores” in JC Penney stores in the U.S. as part of a plan to reinvent the faltering department-store giant. Other new partners include Izod and Liz Claiborne.
Last spring, Joe Fresh opened a 14,000-square-foot flagship store on Fifth Avenue, a one-time bank next to the New York Public Library in space that was once occupied by Esprit and Emporio Armani.
Shoppers camped out waiting for the doors to open. The New York Times wrote an article about a restored sculpture inside the store consisting of metal honeycomb panels that take pride of place behind the cash counter. The civic art, designed by sculptor Harry Bertoia, had been cleaned and restored. But the Times was ambivalent about this “fast-fashion entry from our peaceable neighbours to the north.”
True, the prices were low, but the Times’ Critical Shopper writer Jon Caramanica found the soundtrack in the flagship store was loud, as were the colours of the clothing, while the fit was wide “to facilitate layering and minimize self-loathing.”
Still, Caramanica noted that $100