Apr. 8, 2024 "How some of your favourite brands are brought back from the dead": Today I found this article by Brandie Weikle on CBC:
One brand of clothing — specifically pants — has always had a special place in the closet of Alex Curry of Sexsmith, Alta., a small town about 20 kilometres north of Grand Prairie.
"From high school, I loved Modrobes. I think from about Grade 7, I really noticed they were unique."
The loose-fitting, made-in-Canada pants came in a range of bright colours and were the height of rave and streetwear fashion in the late 1990s.
However, after that initial craze passed,
the brand sought bankruptcy protection in 2003.
It attempted a return in 2010, but the second life didn't last long.
That is, until 2022. After a chance search on eBay to see if he could buy a pair of the pants,
Alex discovered the brand had been put up for sale.
He and his wife, Zoë, ended up buying the company,
and are now operating it out of their home as an online store.
Modrobes isn't the only once-dead brand that's recently been resurrected:
stores like
Le Château,
Pier 1
and HMV have all been reworked in some form,
as companies try to capitalize on customers' nostalgia.
Bringing back beloved brands — whether
online,
as a pop-up
or as full bricks and mortar
— can be good business.
That's because the factors that lead to a company's demise can sometimes have little to do with whether consumers are still interested in its products,
says retail advisor Farla Efros.
"It's kind of what happens behind the scenes,"
said Efros, formerly CEO of True Religion Brand Jeans,
itself a brand that came back from bankruptcy twice.
It could be that poor management
or cash flow are to blame,
or an outside circumstance, like the COVID-19 pandemic.
"But at the end of the day, it's not the brand's fault."
And even though some consumers have complained that a brand's return isn't the same as before
— products can be of worse quality,
at a different price point
or have less selection
— companies are hoping the brand equity makes up for it.
A hidden value
Some of these brands have a lot of heritage, said Efros, who is now president of HRC Retail Advisory, part of professional services firm Accenture.
When they return, "it's kind of like bringing the band back together again.
"And they come back because they have a ton of awareness
and they mean something to people."
Customers' fondness for a particular brand is tough to build from scratch,
said Grant Packard, associate professor of marketing at York University's Schulich School of Business in Toronto.
Legacy brands have a hidden value, even after they've gone under, he said.
"If we can use them successfully,
that's great, because it's really expensive to build that.
"So if Toys R Us can come back under
a new owner
or in a new market
and take advantage of that pre-built goodwill
— that equity
— then the company is saving millions."
Simply going by some of the dead or dying brands that have recently been revived in Canada,
the appetite for retailers popular in the '90s and 2000s seems to be growing:
- HMV Canada (Revived February 2024)
- Zellers (March 2023)
- Modrobes (October 2022)
- Le Château (April 2022)
A new business model
The trend has also been a boon to companies whose main purpose is to revive old brands.
Among the largest of them is
Authentic Brands Group (ABG), a New York-based brand management company.
It's acquired the rights to nearly 60 brands,
including Brooks Brothers,
Nine West
and Forever 21.
Founded in 2010 by Canadian billionaire Jamie Salter,
ABG has become "the poster child for this kind of business model," said Alexandre Terseleer, of management consulting firm Kearney in New York.
ABG buys the rights to brands that are either bankrupt or struggling,
and can be "bought for almost no money,"
he said.
It then sets up licensing deals to bring those back in one form or another.
"So the logic behind this is that, first of all,
you don't need to own all the operations of a brand
to make it run properly."
While partner companies make the jeans, sneakers or dress shirts,
ABG focuses on making the brand more appealing.
It aims to increase distribution,
and outsources much of the rest,
aid Terseleer.
It's been good business for the company — ABG was reportedly valued at $20 billion US in its last funding round,
and CEO Salter said at a January conference that it's making nearly $30 billion US in global retail sales.
It's also considering going public within the next year and a half.
ABG didn't respond to a request for an interview from CBC News.
'A whole lot of hype for nothing'
But customers don't always resonate with an old brand's comeback.
Such was the case for Chantal Saville,
a gen-Xer who grew up in Toronto with fond memories of going to Zellers, the Canadian discount chain,
for everything from a new snowsuit to kitchen supplies.
So when, a decade after it shuttered most of its locations,
it launched pop-up shops in several The Bay stores last year,
she was eager to check them out.
But to her dismay, "it felt like bougie instead of BiWay," she said, referring to the discount chain that closed in 2001.
The pop-up featured a smattering of overpriced pet accessories and kitchenware, she said.
"And there was some, you know, nostalgia clothing with some of the logos and stuff on it, which I'm not going to wear."
She and her mom left without buying anything.
"It just seemed like a whole lot of hype for nothing."
Sustainable growth for Modrobes
For Alex and Zoë Curry of the new Modrobes, their priorities include
keeping overhead down
so they can grow sustainably,
and meeting the expectations of original Modrobes fans.
That's why they trained carefully with the original owner, Stevan Sal Debus, on how to make the iconic pants the exact same way.
"It's the same CAD [computer-aided design] drawings.
We are working off of the same raw materials.
We're sourced through the same original suppliers in Canada,"
said Alex.
The pants have a different manufacturer, but are still made in Canada.
"We hear from numerous people with these stories of how they're still wearing their pants, and they're so excited that they get new pairs," said Zoë.
"It's been very overwhelming just how excited people are."
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/costofliving/resurrected-brands-1.7163845
Jun. 26, 2026 "Home goods store Flying Tiger lands in Canada, where competition awaits": Today I found this article by Tara Deschamps on CBC:
A Scandinavian home goods-brand is moving into Canada,
and retail experts say competitors will have reason to worry if it picks up enough momentum.
Flying Tiger Copenhagen is a Danish retailer that has expanded into
44 global markets
over the last 31 years
by selling low-priced items such as
dish towels with fruit motifs,
animal-shaped erasers
and jewellry boxes resembling fancy sofas.
Canada will become its 45th market when the brand opens its first store here Friday at Toronto's Eaton Centre.
At least four more Canadian locations are expected to follow this year,
and the retailer plans to continue expanding from there.
"Quality over quantity, but we have great plans for Canada," said Jens Aarup Mikkelsen, Flying Tiger's chief executive.
"We really believe it's going to be one of the leading markets in the Americas."
The chain's arrival is expected to shake up a segment of the retail market long dominated by Dollarama but has increasingly challenged by Asian entrants
Miniso,
Daiso
and Muji,
as well as established retailers such as
Giant Tiger
and Walmart.
"Arguably, there are limits to what the consumer will spend on
what could be termed fun frivolities,
so the ongoing expansion of chains that focus on this will eventually produce a crunch,"
Neil Saunders, managing director of retail at research firm Global Data, said in an email.
What will set Flying Tiger apart is not its prices
— 80 per cent of its 1,800 products will cost less than $10
— but its eye-catching merchandise
and ability to keep up with trends,
said Lisa Hutcheson, a retail strategist with J.C. Williams Group.
"It's a bit more
elevated,
curated.
It doesn't come off quite as cheap,"
she said of Flying Tiger's merchandise.
"Some of the products are more
artistic
and to spend $5 or $7 on something,
might be that answer to feel good,
to scratch that itch."
Flying Tiger is known for its use of
colour
and patterns
and often takes cues from viral merchandise.
Lately, that has meant selling
bullet journals,
hand fans
and miniature washing machines for makeup sponges.
Every product the company sells is
designed in-house,
and new merchandise arrives constantly.
About 300 new items are introduced each month,
and many are not rereleased once they sell out
because the brand has already moved onto the next crop of "it" things.
By comparison, Flying Tiger is "more aspirational than a chain like Dollarama," Saunders said.
While there is some overlap with Muji, which entered Canada in 2014
and now has eight stores,
Saunders said the two brands have distinct styles.
"Flying Tiger tends to be quite maximalist with a focus on fun and colourful products,
whereas Muji is minimalist and more sombre,"
he said.
Miniso and Daiso have even more overlap with Flying Tiger
and therefore pose more direct competition,
Saunders and Hutcheson agreed.
Miniso, a Chinese retailer that sells
tchotchkes,
beauty products
and plush toys,
has opened more than 100 stores since entering Canada in 2017.
Daiso, which has founded in Japan,
has just four Canadian stores, all in B.C.,
but a global footprint of more than 5,000 locations.
"Miniso might be a bit of a competitor.
As they continue to open stores, will people understand the difference?"
Hutcheson said.
"I think that's maybe something that's a bit of a risk."
Daiso and Miniso did not respond to requests for comment. Dollarama declined to comment.
Mikkelsen is not worried about the established competitors. In fact, he welcomes the contest.
"We like a good competition and we're ready to take on what Canada brings," he said.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/flying-tiger-canada-expansion-9.7250646
My opinion: I have never seen or heard of "miniature washing machines for makeup sponges."
I don't wear makeup.
I didn't know that Miniso have over 100 stores in Canada.
I have never heard of Daiso or Muji before.
It's because they're not that big in Canada.
I then looked up Muji:
- British Columbia (4 locations):
- MUJI Robson Street (Vancouver)
- MUJI Metrotown (Burnaby)
- MUJI Richmond Centre (Richmond)
- MUJI Tsawwassen Mills (Delta) [1]
- Ontario (4 locations):
- MUJI Atrium (Toronto - Flagship)
- MUJI Yorkdale (North York)
- MUJI Markville (Markham)
- MUJI at The Well (Toronto) [1]
