Dive Brief:
- Persevering through economic volatility, Canada Goose is opening two permanent stores in Las Vegas and Denver and is opening up pop-up stores in Aspen, Colorado and Detroit, the retailer announced on Friday.
- Canada Goose opened its Las Vegas location at the shops at Wynn Las Vegas on Nov. 5 and is expected to set up its Denver store at the Cherry Creek shopping center in December. According to the press release, the retailer will open both its pop-up shops by the end of this year.
- At the Las Vegas location, the store will feature artwork from Inuit artist Gayle Uyagaqi Kabloona, entitled Uvagut, meaning "All of Us." The retailer will also feature two works by Jordan Bennett at its Denver location.
Dive Insight:
At the Las Vegas location, shoppers can experience negative 10° F temperatures and snowfall in the snow room and try on the company's products. Across all of its 45 locations, the retailer showcases more than 400 works of art within the Canada Goose Art Collection, one of the largest retail collections of Inuit art in the world, the company said.
"This season's openings across the U.S. are an invitation to experience our beloved brand, powerful product and exceptional experience, first-hand. They offer an opportunity to own a piece of the luxury of Canada," Carrie Baker, president of Canada Goose, said in a statement. "Each of these cities are iconic in their own right and are the perfect locations to help us reach new heights and audiences."
In addition to expanding its footprint, Canada Goose has also focused on adding more products to its assortment. Last November, the retailer introduced its first footwear line: the Snow Mantra Boots and the Journey Boots. The company let athletes, adventurers, researchers and cinematographers test out the boots for six months beforehand.
Ahead of its store launches, the retailer also shook up its leadership. In April, Canada Goose promoted Carrie Baker, who previously worked at the company for over ten years, to president. The company also appointed Ana Mihaljevic to become its president of North America and executive vice president of sales operations & planning.
Though research suggests that U.S. consumer demand for outerwear is returning from the COVID-19 pandemic lows, Canada Goose has revised its future outlook in light of how the pandemic is still impacting the global economy. An NPD report released this month found that less than half of survey respondents are seeking new coats and jackets for the upcoming renter season, a trend that Kristen Classi-Zummo, director and apparel industry analyst at the NPD group attributed to the resurgence of in-person gatherings.
Looking ahead to 2023, the company said in its Q2 fiscal results that it anticipates the COVID-19 restrictions in mainland China to negatively affect its performance and Q3 2023 sales. It lowered its total revenue guidance from between $1.3 billion to $1.4 billion to between $1.2 billion and $1.3 billion, a move it made partly because of the "economic uncertainty in the macroeconomic and political environment."
