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SOCIAL<br />
THAT’S ITALY (IN A STORE)<br />
When in Vaughan, ON, <strong>the</strong>re’s<br />
plenty opportunity to do as <strong>the</strong><br />
Italians do. That’s because in <strong>the</strong><br />
culture-rich city of roughly 300,000<br />
residents, 15% speak <strong>the</strong> mo<strong>the</strong>r<br />
tongue, compared to an average of<br />
2% across Ontario. This makes it a<br />
favourable destination for Italian<br />
fashion and clothing distributor<br />
Lino Grasso to set up his irst<br />
Canadian shop.<br />
That’s Italy will open its doors on<br />
March 28 in a 15,000-square-foot<br />
retail space featuring 16 mid- to<br />
high-end Italian designer brands. In<br />
<strong>the</strong> centre of <strong>the</strong> store, surrounded<br />
by each brand’s shop-in-shop, will<br />
be a café and cocktail lounge area.<br />
The store is meant to mimic Milan’s<br />
famous “quadrilatero della moda”<br />
(Italian fashion district) with its<br />
streets lined with stores and cafés.<br />
“We’re trying to capture <strong>the</strong><br />
culture through fashion and<br />
lifestyle, and this includes <strong>the</strong><br />
clothing as well as food, drink and<br />
music,” says Phil Falcone, director,<br />
strategy and creative, Zebra Design<br />
Studios. Falcone’s agency was<br />
tasked with bringing <strong>the</strong> store<br />
(which was designed by Italy-based<br />
Brugnotto Shop Interiors) to life<br />
through its branding, marketing<br />
and promotional efforts.<br />
The “society” driver of change in<br />
Anderson’s framework identiies<br />
diversity as being a high-impact<br />
force on how retailers design stores<br />
today, from adding bilingual signage<br />
to celebrating cultural holidays.<br />
He believes big chains looking to<br />
target ethnic groups can learn from<br />
smaller, independent stores that<br />
“hire from <strong>the</strong> community, stock<br />
<strong>the</strong> brands that <strong>the</strong>ir shoppers<br />
grew up with, and celebrate <strong>the</strong><br />
same cultural calendar and family<br />
milestones” – most of which That’s<br />
Italy plans to do.<br />
Each brand in <strong>the</strong> store is new<br />
to Canada, but well recognized by<br />
Italians, and <strong>the</strong> staff is of Italian<br />
descent or has some connection<br />
with <strong>the</strong> community, Falcone says.<br />
A Toronto DJ with ties in <strong>the</strong><br />
Italian community is working<br />
with <strong>the</strong> retailer to program<br />
music to play in <strong>the</strong> store, and <strong>the</strong><br />
retailer is working closely with <strong>the</strong><br />
clothing brands to keep prices at a<br />
comparable level. “We don’t want<br />
to give <strong>the</strong> Italian experience at<br />
Canadian prices.”<br />
The store certainly isn’t exclusive<br />
to Italians, says Falcone, hoping<br />
to win over those not from<br />
<strong>the</strong> community with a relaxed<br />
atmosphere created by a staff<br />
of personal shoppers who help<br />
customers put toge<strong>the</strong>r outits while<br />
<strong>the</strong>y wait. “This is <strong>the</strong> Italian way<br />
of living, taking things slower and<br />
enjoying life, and it really transcends<br />
<strong>the</strong> shopping experience.”<br />
TECH: CLEARLY CONTACTS LAUNCHES A SOCIAL STORE<br />
Online retailer ClearlyContacts.ca plans to launch a store in Vancouver with a similar personalized approach<br />
to Sport Chek. The company’s first physical shop will open this spring with a service that <strong>the</strong> brand already<br />
offers online. Inside, <strong>the</strong>re will be a “virtual station” with a webcam for people to have <strong>the</strong>ir picture taken and<br />
uploaded. From <strong>the</strong>re, <strong>the</strong>y can (virtually) try any frame in <strong>the</strong> database and share <strong>the</strong>ir images with friends on<br />
social media, says Aaron Magness, VP marketing at <strong>the</strong> company.<br />
“We’ve found that over 10% of glasses [are purchased] after a person uses <strong>the</strong> virtual station,” he notes,<br />
adding that <strong>the</strong> store will help to educate shoppers of <strong>the</strong> tool that already exists online and hopefully lead <strong>the</strong>m<br />
to make <strong>the</strong>ir second and third purchases on <strong>the</strong> website.<br />
March 2013<br />
17