The
Financial Times writes on the the international scope of Canadian fashion, as handful of Canada's most talented designer expand their brands south of the border and across the ocean.
Joe Fresh,
Artizia,
Canada Goose and
M0851 are among the top Canadian brands currently creating a vibrant international presence.
"Canada has many assets—commodities, natural resources, space, poutines—but most people would not count fashion among them. Indeed, despite the fact that it is in better economic shape than most developed western nations, Canada is rarely mentioned when brand discussions turn to potential growth markets."
"Yet this spring an 18,000-square-foot gauntlet is being thrown down on Fifth Avenue in New York courtesy of Joe Mimran, the Casablanca-born/Toronto-raised entrepreneur behind Joe Fresh, a low-priced men's and women's line of colourful separates and outerwear. It is just the beginning of what will turn into a tide of nearly a half dozen fashion brands from the north arriving or expanding south of the border before turning their sights across the ocean."
"Yes, the Canadians are coming. And no, it's not all lumberjack shirts and ice hockey jerseys. Their arrival marks a sense of maturity for retailers on both sides of the border. A decade ago, Canadian brands entering the US had a 20 per cent success rate, according to Wendy Evans, president of Toronto-based Evans & Company Retail Consultants. 'But today’s companies are far more confident and smarter at competing against American retailers,' she adds. With the American retail landscape stuck in a downturn—and Canadian companies armed with cash—the time is now right to put this knowledge to use."
"'Despite the current economic difficulties, American consumers remain hungry for something new,' says Mimran. 'With fewer new players entering the market it's actually easier to pierce consumer consciousness.' Especially when your currency is at record highs and US commercial real estate remains relatively inexpensive. Of course, with brands such as Club Monaco (which Mimran founded in 1985 and sold to Ralph Lauren in 1999) and Roots operating in the US for nearly two decades, Canadian fashion is hardly new to Americans. What is new, however, is the range of the current Canadian offering, its positioning and price."
read full story
here
original source
Financial Times