– An Opportunity for Canada at the Departure Gate –
Why doesn’t Canada Goose have a retail outlet at Canada’s largest airport?
You can find it in the latest Sky TV drama Fortitude and also as the “Official Outerwear Partner” of the Berlin International Film Festival. It even has its own magazine issue dedicated to the brand, with the Korean magazine B documenting its cult. But still, not available for purchase at Pearson International Airport.
This piece is not just about Canada Goose as an apparel brand. It’s about #MadeInCanada and what we design and create here. It is also about the place, the identity and a very large (and potentially missed) opportunity for Canadian brands to celebrate a new north and grow their businesses.
Alimentation Couche-Tard, Arc’Teryx, Herschel Supply Company, Holt Renfrew, Joe Fresh, Loblaws, Lululemon Athletica, Mackage, Pink Tartan, Reigning Champ, Wings & Horns
What about any from this list? Nope. You can’t find these there either.
In this list we find grocers, fast fashion retailers, convenience store operators and established brands with global followings. Some perhaps may read more obscure to you, but there is demand for them from Moscow to Tokyo.
As I waited for my flight at Pearson recently, I could not help but notice a retail footprint dominated by global luxury brands, maple syrup, ice wine and dream catchers. Forgive me for not seeing the connection between these international brands and the local context in which they find themselves. Nothing against them at their foundation — they have great stories and heritage — but as a traveller and consumer, I would likely enjoy them more when flying out of Milan or Paris.
Looking at products designed in or made in Canada, they are a reflection of who we are. They reinforce our identity. They speak to design, craft, durability and luxury — all through a thoughtful lens of what is authentically Canadian.
This is a missed opportunity to make impressions on millions of visitors and potential customers every year. It is an opportunity to remind others and even ourselves about what we create.
Last year, Pearson was 23rd in international passenger traffic with a total of over 23 million people passing through. Now that is an audience! You could add up the total amount of social media followers for the brands listed above and still not come close to that figure.
To me this seems like a natural opportunity for Canadian brands and retailers and is an important step to grow export markets and footprints abroad. As a stronger domestic retail landscape emerges (home to an increasing number of international brands), is it not time to become more assertive and confident with our own products and retail offerings both here and abroad?
There has long been a call to diversify and broaden what we share with the world. Most visitors want experiences and products they can’t get anywhere else. They want it tied to the place they are in or visiting. That’s how I see it anyway. It may not be mass market yet, but I sense it will be a large percentage of the global traveller soon.
I have a call to action to the Weston’s and their subsidiaries to kick things off. All under the parent umbrella in one way or another, are Loblaws, Holt Renfrew and Joe Fresh. Start with a Holt’s at Terminal 3 of Pearson, stock it with the Canadian brands you already having buying agreements with and before you know it, that visitor from Hong Kong will be thinking of you as they come downtown next visit and not the new Saks. Plus the management at Mackage and Canada Goose and will be sending you holiday ‘thank you’ cards with gifts from Ninutik Maple Syrup 2.0.
Jb
Jamie Black is a writer, strategist, facilitator and co-instigator @nouveaunorth.
