COURTESY OF ARITZIA JULY/AUGUST 2017 BCBUSINESS 83
he past year was tumultuous
in the world of retail. The rst
quarter of 2017 saw record
bankruptcies in the U.S., and in
B.C. companies such as Vancou-
ver startup Shoes.com folded
and technical clothier Kit and
Ace closed down all 26 inter-
national stores. But while mall locations
of
BCBG Max Azria Group Inc., American
Apparel Inc. and Danier Leather Inc.
cleared out, Vancouver-based Aritzia Inc.
was opening new locations, enlarging
existing ones and restocking shelves with
its coveted women's clothing.
Some analysts have described hard
times for merchants as the bursting of
a retail bubble, but consultant Doug
Stephens, author of the recent book
Reengineering Retail: The Future of
Selling in a Post-Digital World, doesn't use
that term. He says this is simply the end
of a long and prosperous era that started
after the Second World War and lasted
until the 2007Ž09 recession.
"If you were an average retailer and
you had an average product at an aver-
age price and you were able to spend a
lot of money on advertising, you could
be successful," Ancaster, Ontario–based
Stephens explains, noting the growing
population, thriving economy, cheap
suburban real estate and large family
sizes during that period. "Unfortunately
all those traits and trends are over now,
and we nd ourselves in an era where the
middle is being routed out of retail. There
are successful businesses at both ends of
the spectrum, we see dollar stores and
outlet malls popping up like weeds,
and at the other end, the retailers that
are delivering remarkable products are
holding their own. But the fallout in the
middle is really substantial."
AS APPAREL
RETAILERS IN B.C.
AND ACROSS
NORTH AMERICA
ANNOUNCED
CLOSURES,
ARITZIA
EXPANDED AND
WENT PUBLIC
BUCKING THE TREND
Aritzia recently doubled
the square footage of its
Richmond Centre store
