Gucci’s newly reopened store at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver includes space formerly occupied by Omega and has become the Italian fashion house’s largest store in Canada.
Gucci had occupied slightly less than 4,000 square feet at the hotel since it first opened its boutique in 2006. It has now expanded into approximately 2,300 additional square feet to create a 6,200-square-foot destination – one that is larger than the brand’s 6,000-square-foot flagship store on Bloor Street in Toronto.
This is the first time the brand has sold menswear in Vancouver in its own store, Retail Insider Media owner Craig Patterson told BIV. In the past, Gucci menswear would only be for sale in the city at places such as its kiosk at Holt Renfrew.
While it is unclear exactly what items the Hotel Vancouver Gucci store will stock, the company’s new Pet Collection includes items such as $830 water bowls, $405 leashes and $725 small and medium pet harnesses.
The store’s real estate also includes space on a mezzanine level that Patterson said it is likely to use to store inventory.
Omega opened a 400-square-foot store in the hotel in the lead-up to the 2010 Winter Olympic Games because the Swiss watchmaker is a longtime Olympic sponsor. The success prompted it to soon afterward expand the location to 2,300 square feet. Its new location in the hotel is 1,937 square feet, according to Patterson.
Gucci’s parent, Paris-based Kering Group is one of the world’s largest luxury retailers, with more than 17.6 billion Euros in 2021 revenue. In addition to Gucci, Kering owns global brands such as St. Laurent, Alexander McQueen, Brioni, Boucheron and Balenciaga, among others.
Patterson said he has heard that the company is eyeing opening a Balenciaga store in Vancouver. No one from Kering immediately responded to BIV’s request for information about such a store.
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