Shoe company Clarks is stepping into the pop-up world with a new temporary shop in Toronto. “Clarks Edit” is the British brand’s first North American pop-up shop and will be open from October to January.
Clarks launched a pop-up shop in the U.K. last fall, which “really brought the brand to life in a way that consumers hadn’t experienced before,” said Christopher Scinto, senior vice-president and chief marketing officer at Clarks Americas.
“As we were talking about what we could do to bring a new experience to the Canadian market showcasing the best of what Clarks has to offer, the pop-up sprang forward.”
The 1,000 sq.-ft. pop-up shop, located at Bay and Bloor, features an edited range from Clarks autumn/winter collection. It also showcases replica Clarks artifacts such as ads dating back to the early 1900s, portraits of the founders and early English factories, and details on product innovations throughout its 190-year history. There’s also a personal Clarks Desert Boot embossing station, and a limited-edition collaboration with Herschel Supply Co.
The idea of the pop-up was to create a consumer experience that focused on the brand and legacy, said Scinto. “Not many people are aware that we’re one of the oldest shoe companies with a 190-year history of innovation… With a limited retail footprint in Canada, it was an opportunity to really bring everything to life.”
Clarks has 13 permanent retail locations in Canada run by franchisees and is sold in other stores such as Hudson’s Bay, Sears and Soft Moc.
Clarks worked with Meg Majewski of Toronto’s Hey Love Design on the design of the pop-up store. Public relations is being handled by High Road.
