Y
yyzer
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Yorkville just keeps on adding density...this is just a minor addition to the Yorkville area, but adding 2 floors at the corner of Bloor and Bellair should get noticed......
Harry's widens belt
Menswear chain has ambitious expansion plans
Founder's son eyes 50% of national upscale market
Nov. 25, 2006. 01:00 AM
DANA FLAVELLE
BUSINESS REPORTER
Tucked in the far corner of Harry Rosen's flagship store on Bloor Street, in the well-appointed custom tailoring room just above subway level, are swatches of fabric so rare that only 16 suits on Earth may be made from each sample.
It is a measure of Harry Rosen's stature in the world of men's fashion retailing that his small (by global standards) chain of Canadian specialty shops has been selected as one of the vendors.
Harry, the man, may have stepped back from the business, now that he's celebrated his 75th birthday. But his son, Larry, is ensuring his father's vision of style combined with service continues to infuse the now 16-store chain with 700 employees as it embarks on an ambitious expansion plan.
The first $20 million will be spent dramatically expanding and revamping the store on Bloor St., starting in January. The renovation will nearly double the size of the squat two-storey building by adding two more floors, of glass and steel, and include a complete interior makeover.
"It's going to be, in my humble opinion, the best men's store in the world," said Larry Rosen, who quietly took over the job of CEO at Harry Rosen Inc. when his father stepped aside.
Another $30 million will be spent on other locations over the next five years to help boost the company's stake in the Canadian market for better men's wear.
"We have 40 per cent of the market. We believe we can take it to 50 per cent," Larry predicted in an interview this week. "We broke the $200 million mark this year. We think we can take it to $300 million."
A lawyer by training with a master's degree in business administration, he describes his role as the keeper of his father's vision.
"I don't see myself filling his shoes because he was an icon," said Larry. "What I try to do is make sure the standard of service, the retail experience and the brand will carry itself."
So even though Harry personally stopped appearing in store advertisements about two years ago, the retailer's slogan is still "Ask Harry." Based on a campaign he launched in the '60s, a few years after opening the first store with his brother, Lou, it aimed to position Harry as an expert in men's clothing.
"We don't sell clothes. We assist men to develop a confident personal image," says Larry.
Want to know what's hot this holiday season? Just look around a Harry Rosen store. Here is a must-have velvet suit jacket, in a rich chocolate brown tone with the all-important peaked lapel. Larry himself will be wearing one this holiday season. There is the Andrew Marc soft-as-butter lambskin bomber jacket with removable rabbit fur liner for $1,300.
"It's flying out the doors," Larry says on a tour of the Bloor St. store.
All around the main floor is cashmere, cashmere, cashmere. From the Harry Rosen-brand sweaters for $298 to the winter caps with Elmer Fudd earflaps for $170. As Larry explains, men need someone else to pamper them. They don't do it well themselves.
Even Santa wants a gift from Harry's, the retailer suggests in this year's cheeky Christmas ad campaign.
The jolly fat man is just the latest in a long line of celebrities Harry Rosen has used over the last decade, from actor Ted Danson to author Malcolm Gladwell. Larry says he gets many of them to pose for free by making a donation to their preferred charity.
On Danson: "I met him at a regatta in Portofino that (menswear designer) Zegna was sponsoring."
In a world increasingly dominated by a handful of global retailers, Harry Rosen continues to thrive despite its relatively small stature.
Larry says they've done it by sticking to their core business. Gone is the experiment in women's fashion. Gone is the ill-fated venture into the U.S.
"Good business practise says focus on what you do well. When we were in the States it was a tremendous distraction. Since we retrenched, our business has been excellent. Sometimes doing one thing well is enough," Larry says.
The past few years have been good to luxury retailers and Harry Rosen is no exception. Even as more designer brands opened their own shops on Bloor, and the new fast-fashion imitators Zara and H&M moved in next door, Harry Rosen has prospered.
"We're in our third year of double digit growth and this year has been even better than the last two," Larry said. That's not bad for a company whose main market is the small but lucrative top 3 to 5 per cent of households with a minimum $100,000 in disposable income.
While company customers include some of the country's wealthiest business leaders, Harry Rosen also aims to appeal to younger managers, professionals, entrepreneurs, athletes and entertainers.
Larry Rosen concedes that the company has been slow to start selling online, a position it's now reconsidering "because we recognize now the younger man — under 35 — is very attuned to the virtual world." People even buy shoes online, he adds in a tone of disbelief.
In the meantime, Harry Rosen will mark its 53rd year in business next year by raising the roof on the Bloor St. store to make way for the latest concepts in brick and mortar stores.
Already one of the most productive shops in the world, selling an astonishing $1,000 worth of merchandise per square foot, Larry is betting the additional space will be another home run. Even for a luxury retailer, those numbers are high.
"This store was a masterpiece of vision by my father. When he opened it in 1987, everyone thought he was crazy," Larry recalls. "At 34,000 square feet it was huge by menswear standards. But it's been a smashing success."
The renovation will also elevate the bespoke tailoring shop to new heights. The shop, which turns out 8 to 12 custom-made suits each week, will move out of the basement and into the top floor.
In the meantime, one of the salesman reportedly already has a line on the first customer for a suit made from two of the rarest fibres in the world: the camel-like vicuna and the pashmina goat.
For a mere $19,000, that customer could lay claim to owning one of the rarest suits in the world. From Harry Rosen.
Harry's widens belt
Menswear chain has ambitious expansion plans
Founder's son eyes 50% of national upscale market
Nov. 25, 2006. 01:00 AM
DANA FLAVELLE
BUSINESS REPORTER
Tucked in the far corner of Harry Rosen's flagship store on Bloor Street, in the well-appointed custom tailoring room just above subway level, are swatches of fabric so rare that only 16 suits on Earth may be made from each sample.
It is a measure of Harry Rosen's stature in the world of men's fashion retailing that his small (by global standards) chain of Canadian specialty shops has been selected as one of the vendors.
Harry, the man, may have stepped back from the business, now that he's celebrated his 75th birthday. But his son, Larry, is ensuring his father's vision of style combined with service continues to infuse the now 16-store chain with 700 employees as it embarks on an ambitious expansion plan.
The first $20 million will be spent dramatically expanding and revamping the store on Bloor St., starting in January. The renovation will nearly double the size of the squat two-storey building by adding two more floors, of glass and steel, and include a complete interior makeover.
"It's going to be, in my humble opinion, the best men's store in the world," said Larry Rosen, who quietly took over the job of CEO at Harry Rosen Inc. when his father stepped aside.
Another $30 million will be spent on other locations over the next five years to help boost the company's stake in the Canadian market for better men's wear.
"We have 40 per cent of the market. We believe we can take it to 50 per cent," Larry predicted in an interview this week. "We broke the $200 million mark this year. We think we can take it to $300 million."
A lawyer by training with a master's degree in business administration, he describes his role as the keeper of his father's vision.
"I don't see myself filling his shoes because he was an icon," said Larry. "What I try to do is make sure the standard of service, the retail experience and the brand will carry itself."
So even though Harry personally stopped appearing in store advertisements about two years ago, the retailer's slogan is still "Ask Harry." Based on a campaign he launched in the '60s, a few years after opening the first store with his brother, Lou, it aimed to position Harry as an expert in men's clothing.
"We don't sell clothes. We assist men to develop a confident personal image," says Larry.
Want to know what's hot this holiday season? Just look around a Harry Rosen store. Here is a must-have velvet suit jacket, in a rich chocolate brown tone with the all-important peaked lapel. Larry himself will be wearing one this holiday season. There is the Andrew Marc soft-as-butter lambskin bomber jacket with removable rabbit fur liner for $1,300.
"It's flying out the doors," Larry says on a tour of the Bloor St. store.
All around the main floor is cashmere, cashmere, cashmere. From the Harry Rosen-brand sweaters for $298 to the winter caps with Elmer Fudd earflaps for $170. As Larry explains, men need someone else to pamper them. They don't do it well themselves.
Even Santa wants a gift from Harry's, the retailer suggests in this year's cheeky Christmas ad campaign.
The jolly fat man is just the latest in a long line of celebrities Harry Rosen has used over the last decade, from actor Ted Danson to author Malcolm Gladwell. Larry says he gets many of them to pose for free by making a donation to their preferred charity.
On Danson: "I met him at a regatta in Portofino that (menswear designer) Zegna was sponsoring."
In a world increasingly dominated by a handful of global retailers, Harry Rosen continues to thrive despite its relatively small stature.
Larry says they've done it by sticking to their core business. Gone is the experiment in women's fashion. Gone is the ill-fated venture into the U.S.
"Good business practise says focus on what you do well. When we were in the States it was a tremendous distraction. Since we retrenched, our business has been excellent. Sometimes doing one thing well is enough," Larry says.
The past few years have been good to luxury retailers and Harry Rosen is no exception. Even as more designer brands opened their own shops on Bloor, and the new fast-fashion imitators Zara and H&M moved in next door, Harry Rosen has prospered.
"We're in our third year of double digit growth and this year has been even better than the last two," Larry said. That's not bad for a company whose main market is the small but lucrative top 3 to 5 per cent of households with a minimum $100,000 in disposable income.
While company customers include some of the country's wealthiest business leaders, Harry Rosen also aims to appeal to younger managers, professionals, entrepreneurs, athletes and entertainers.
Larry Rosen concedes that the company has been slow to start selling online, a position it's now reconsidering "because we recognize now the younger man — under 35 — is very attuned to the virtual world." People even buy shoes online, he adds in a tone of disbelief.
In the meantime, Harry Rosen will mark its 53rd year in business next year by raising the roof on the Bloor St. store to make way for the latest concepts in brick and mortar stores.
Already one of the most productive shops in the world, selling an astonishing $1,000 worth of merchandise per square foot, Larry is betting the additional space will be another home run. Even for a luxury retailer, those numbers are high.
"This store was a masterpiece of vision by my father. When he opened it in 1987, everyone thought he was crazy," Larry recalls. "At 34,000 square feet it was huge by menswear standards. But it's been a smashing success."
The renovation will also elevate the bespoke tailoring shop to new heights. The shop, which turns out 8 to 12 custom-made suits each week, will move out of the basement and into the top floor.
In the meantime, one of the salesman reportedly already has a line on the first customer for a suit made from two of the rarest fibres in the world: the camel-like vicuna and the pashmina goat.
For a mere $19,000, that customer could lay claim to owning one of the rarest suits in the world. From Harry Rosen.
