Brick tests big, upscale Toronto unit
By Michael J. Knell -- Furniture Today, September 9, 2001
TORONTO — With 112,000 square feet of selling space, the new HomeShow Canada may be the country's largest full-line furniture store.
The store, in a power center in the north end of the city, also is The Brick Warehouse's second foray into the "better" categories of furniture and bedding, this time with appliances and electronics thrown into the mix.
In addition to 50 or so Brick stores, the Edmonton, Alberta-based retailer also operates two La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries stores in the Toronto area and will open a third next year.
"This is no different than The Gap opening up Banana Republic and Old Navy," said Wayne Strachan, executive vice president. "HomeShow Canada is our Banana Republic, La-Z-Boy GTA is The Gap and The Brick is Old Navy."
Strachan said HomeShow Canada is the brainchild of Brick Warehouse Chairman Bill Comrie and was three years in development.
"The idea was to combine the excitement you see at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, with displays you see in Dallas at the appliance show, with the pizzazz you see at High Point with companies such as Palliser," Strachan said.
"This store picks up where The Brick leaves off," he added. "For example, we don't carry a leather/fabric combination at The Brick. This stores gives our suppliers the chance to showcase product we don't carry at The Brick."
The store is merchandised both by brand name and by room setting.
"We're attempting to create a one-stop shop where the consumer can create everything from the kid's room to a formal dining room to a kitchen," Strachan said. "And the brand is very important."
Key furniture brands include Palliser, which has the most floor space, Sklar Peppler, La-Z-Boy, Décor-Rest, Dutailier, Crinar, Powell, Bermex, Buhler, Reflections, O'Sullivan, Hamilton & Spill, T&J, Sauder, Dynamic, Dynasty, Palethorpe & Dowling and Campio.
In bedding, the store carries Simmons Canada, Serta Canada and Sealy Canada — again, with higher-end goods not seen at The Brick.
Accessories are a key part of the merchandising. The store has a bed and bath shop, a Symphony electric fireplace gallery, a lamp and mirror gallery, an area rug shop featuring Beaulieu Canada, and a substantial selection of wall art.
Branding also is the dominant theme in the 22,000 square feet devoted to appliances and electronics.
"The marriage of furniture with appliances and electronics is going to be a key factor if this store is going to be a success," Strachan said.
HomeShow Canada features two model homes from two area developers, furnished using goods off the floor.
The store also takes a page from Costco's book and sells memberships to consumers.
"Membership is being used to try to gain consumer loyalty and to build a customer database," Strachan said. "There are some advantages on the pricing to belong to it, but what having a membership does is allow us to do more effective direct mail and e-mail campaigns."
Strachan admitted there aren't many cities in Canada capable of supporting the 112,000-square-foot concept, should this store prove a success. Any decision concerning expansion won't be made until next spring, he said.
For The Brick, the store represents a new channel of distribution, which it will need to grow. There aren't many markets in Canada where the company has no stores, except for Quebec and eastern Canada. And it has always been reluctant to expand into Quebec.
"If I go to Montreal, I'm just another Brault & Martineau," Strachan said. "But there's a lot of market share available out there. So this (HomeShow) allows us to go after a different customer with a different product."
| Strachan |
| Consumers see this Sklar Peppler Sofa Express display just inside the entrance at HomeShow Canada. The store can be described as a large collection of manufacturers' galleries. |
| At 112,000 square feet, the first HomeShow Canada store in Toronto may be the largest full-line furniture store in Canada. |
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