The newly opened 4,800-square-foot Aritzia location on the corner of Robson and Thurlow streets was buzzing on Friday night, and it wasn’t just because of the refreshing mojitos being handed out.
There were a ton of eager and well-dressed shoppers and media types on hand to see the new space, which, with high ceilings and lots of soft natural light radiating in from the tall glass windows, was designed to evoke the feeling of a contemporary art gallery.
According to Aritzia, the new location is not simply another store expansion, but instead a way to celebrate the evolution and differences of its various house brands. Design elements in the new location include an indoor raised garden, marble slab wall, curated art pieces, and a concrete ramp. All of the Aritzia stores on the Robson block connect, making it easy to shop between the four spaces, including the Wilfred standalone boutique.
At Friday’s opening, Aritzia owner Brian Hill turned up – in a grey suit and crisp white shirt – among the fashionable crowd, which was kept entertained by DJ Ultragrrrl. Attendees were kept fed and satiated with cocktails and canapés, which were inspired by Vancouver’s various neighbourhoods.
Commenting on the expansion, which features four separate stores joined together, for a retail space totaling 13,000 square feet, Hill told Westender, “It’s interesting because we would never go and open four shops like this normally, but sometimes when things organically grow it can be more interesting than planned things, so we’re pretty excited about how it has all turned out.”
Hill launched Aritzia in 1984 with his first location in Oakridge Centre, then a second location in Metrotown. Today, Aritzia has more than 70 stores throughout North America and is a brand synonymous with a young, fresh, contemporary, and cool vibe. The brand has an unmatched ability to hone in on what’s to come in fashion and make it accessible to the masses.
Aritzia may be one of the top break-out fashion brands to emerge from this sleepy town, which wasn’t exactly known as a fashion mecca when Hill launched. But clothing retail was in his blood. The Hill family ran Hills of Kerrisdale for the better part of the 20th century (and Hill’s siblings still do).
“I learned a lot from my father and my uncle on how to run a business,” Hill said at Friday’s opening as the music blared in the background. “They didn’t run anything close to this scale, but at the same time taught me all of the basic business fundamentals.”
When Hill started 30 years ago, he never anticipated the business would reach the magnitude it has.
“We never expected to be this large and where we are at, but it kind of shows if you get a lot of people on the team and work really hard together [it can succeed].”
He also notes it’s been a team effort getting to this point.
“First of all, it’s not me – it’s a lot of people working for a long time. Some of them are newer; everyone works tirelessly for our brand,” he says, adding, “But we’re all pretty proud of what we have accomplished.”
