Salomon Sports, the mountain sports company, is excited to be opening its first branded store in North America at Shops at Don Mills. The 2,200-sq.-ft. store will take on the look of a ski resort, with a “footwear mountain” in the middle and chairlift rails and fixtures throughout. Ski and snowboard equipment, apparel and footwear are arranged by sport and gender, while events will include trail running clinics and athlete visits.
The store location was specially chosen because it backs on to one of Shops at Don Mills’ many green spaces, which Salomon Canada marketing manager Francis Argouin says will be a perfect place to host store-related events.
“We’re all about the outdoors, and Shops at Don Mills embraces the outdoor lifestyle so it’s a really good fit with our brand,” says Francis. “We’re pretty pumped about moving in!”
The new store is a welcome addition to Salomon Sports’ international presence. The company currently operates half a dozen stores in Europe. It also has a Canadian presence at the ski resorts of Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia and Mont Tremblant in Quebec, though Francis explains they are “partner stores” that carry Salomon stock exclusively but are run by Intrawest. The Shops at Don Mills location, on the other hand, is owned and operated by Salomon Sports.
“We selected Canada ahead of the U.S. for our first branded store because of the strong brand awareness here,” says Francis. “The store will make it easy for consumers to find our entire line in one location. It will also help us increase awareness and build our brand.”
Salomon Sports opened its doors on April 22nd 2009.