What new businesses will pop up in Canada in 2024? Retail expert on trends to watch
A Shake Shack location is seen in front of the New York-New York hotel and casino in Las Vegas, Wednesday, April 15, 2015. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-John Locher)
Canadians will see a number of new stores and businesses pop up across the country in 2024.
From new independent restaurants to expansions of major retailers, there will be several new businesses available to Canadian consumers this year.
WHY CANADA?
Canada is a popular market for companies from Europe, Asia and elsewhere that are hoping to test out brands in North America, retail analyst Bruce Winder told CTVNews.ca in an interview.
"(They) probably see Canada as a way to do that at a lower risk," Winder said. "The assumption is that Canadians and Americans are very similar in the way they shop, which doesn't always hold true, but that's what brands are doing."
In 2024, Winder said, Canadians are likely to notice an increase in new storefronts from global brands and smaller Canadian retailers expanding across the country.
Here are some companies and trends expanding or coming in 2024 that experts are watching.
FOOD EXPERIENCES, RESTAURANTS
Canadians are getting the first look — and taste — of Gordon Ramsay's steak restaurant in North America.
Gordon Ramsay Steak will open in 2024 at the River Rock Casino Resort in Richmond, B.C.
Ramsay launched a similar restaurant concept, called Gordon Ramsay Burgers, at the Hard Rock Casino Vancouver in Coquitlam. B.C., in October.
The already-established burger restaurant features comfort food, handcrafted milkshakes and sides, whereas the brand new steak eatery is described as a "fine dining establishment," according to The Canadian Press.
A Canadian restaurant expanding in 2024 is Bar Haifa. The currently-Toronto-based restaurant features food and drinks combining Israeli and Palestinian cultures. Its owners will open a second location in Vancouver in early 2024.
Forgo de Chao, a Brazilian steakhouse, is another example, with one location already in Vancouver and a plan to expand to Toronto this year.
The restaurant chain has more than 60 locations across North America and the world.
And Shake Shack, a New York-based restaurant, said last year that it will open a flagship location in Toronto in 2024.
Craig Patterson, CEO and publisher of Retail Insider Media, told CTVNews.ca in an interview that food services are rapidly "eating up" the Canadian market share.
"(Food companies are) the number one thing that's expanding right now in Canada," he said.
"There's still the number of these chains that are opening and expanding," according to Patterson. The pace of expansion has market watchers like Patterson predicting that "not everyone is going to survive, ultimately."
CLOTHING AND ACCESSORIES
Retailers are also planning expansions throughout the country this year.
Japanese clothing company Uniqlo is set to "double" its expansion in the U.S. and Canada in 2024, the company said in a press release.
By the spring, the company said, there will be four additional storefronts in Canada, located at: Cadillac-Fairview Mall in Toronto, CF Market Mall in Calgary, Scarborough Town Centre in Toronto and Bayshore Shopping Centre in Ottawa.
According to the brand, it hopes to reach 200 stores in North America by 2027.
Another trend experts like Patterson say they're seeing is that companies that specialize specifically in outerwear and related outdoor products are trying to break into the Canadian market.
"I think Canada does quite well, certainly, for those retailers, even though we've got really great homegrown ones (geared toward the outdoors)," Patterson said.
One of the incoming brands is Tresspass, from Scotland, which sells durable outdoor clothing and footwear.
Locations around the Greater Toronto Area are the first part of the U.K. brand's expansion, with plans to spread 30 stores in Canada over the next two to three years, Retail Insider said.
And Roger Dubuis, a luxury Swiss watch manufacturer, will ramp up production at its first Canadian location in downtown Toronto in 2024, according to Patterson.
Patterson said there are "very few" Roger Dubuis stores worldwide, calling the move exciting.
HEALTH AND WELLNESS
British glasses retailer Specsavers announced a $100 million plan to open more than 200 locations in Canada by 2024.
The company said the funding will go to independent Canadian optometrists and opticians, who will then launch their own franchises.
Small boutique gyms offering expensive memberships at upscale locations are another trend Patterson is seeing.
One of those is Altea Active, a Canadian "premium" lifestyle brand offering fitness, wellness and social amenities and services, according to the company.
A new, 130,000-square-foot gym in Ottawa's Westboro community is set to open in the fall of 2024, the release noted, describing its concept as combining mental, physical and social well-being.
With editing by CTVNews.ca's Kendra Mangione.
Correction
A previous version of this article incorrectly stated Specsavers operates in the U.S.
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