Headlines

Canada’s Restaurant/Retail Market Heats Up

Shake Shack, Paris Baguette and apparel brand DUER plan expansions in country.

Published

1 year ago

March 30, 2023

INSTORE Staff

Shake Shack is one of the retailers planning an expansion into Canada. Photography: Courtesy of Shake Shack

A trio of companies have unveiled aggressive expansion plans for Canada:

* Shake Shack Inc. (New York) will enter the county in 2024, with a flagship in Toronto and big growth plans after that. “We have been eyeing this incredible opportunity in Canada for quite some time and are elated to have found exceptional partners to serve Shack classics and bespoke Canada-exclusive items to our sophisticated neighbors to the north,” says Michael Kark, Chief Global Licensing Officer of Shake Shack. “Together with Osmington Inc. and Harlo Entertainment, we plan to open 35 Shacks in Canada by 2035, starting with the flagship location in Toronto in 2024.”

* Paris Baguette (Moonachie, N.J.) has opened its first bakery café in Canada, in Toronto’s Yonge Sheppard Centre. The new store marks the expansion of the brand’s North American footprint, with at least six more slated to open across Canada, and an additional 60-plus in the United States in 2023 through a mix of corporate-owned and franchise locations. The 2300-square-foot Toronto flagship features seating for 20 and large, self-serve displays

* Homegrown apparel retailer DUER (Vancouver, British Columbia) plans to double its store count to 10 this year, with a concentration on the Toronto area. The first of several storefronts in that city will open in Mississauga’s Square One Shopping Centre and downtown Toronto this spring. Eventually, the retailer – pronounced “do-er” and focusing on comfort-driven denim and pants – also plans to expand into the U.S. and Europe.

She Wanted to Spend More Time with Her Kids. She Called Wilkerson.

Your children are precious. More precious than gold? Absolutely! Just ask Lesley Ann Davis, owner of Lesley Ann Jewels, an independent jewelry store that — until the end of 2023 — had quite a following in Houston, Texas. To spend more time with her four sons, all in high school, she decided to close her store. Luckily, she was familiar with Wilkerson and called them as soon as she knew she wanted to move on to bigger, better and more family-focused things. Was she happy with her decision? Yes, she was. Says Davis, “Any owner looking to make that life change, looking to retire, looking to close, looking for a pause in their career, I would recommend Wilkerson. Hands down!”