Innisfree Opens 1st Canadian Storefront
South Korean ‘naturalism-oriented’ cosmetic brand Innisfree has opened its first Canadian storefront at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre. A second location will open soon at CF Toronto Eaton Centre as the company kicks off its Canadian store expansion that will soon also include stores in the Vancouver area.
The 2,500 square foot Yorkdale Innisfree is located in the mall’s Nordstrom-anchored expansion wing across from Uniqlo and Muji’s large stores, and near other beauty and fragrance brands. L’Oreal-owned French fragrance brand Atelier Cologne is located next to Innisfree with Israel-based Laline being one storefront over. Across from Laline is a newly rebranded location for ‘Nature Collection’, a VDL-owned Korean beauty chain that was formerly known as ‘The Face Shop’.
Innisfree partnered with brokerage CBRE for its Canadian stores expansion. The Yorkdale Innisfree lease deal was negotiated by Arlin Markowitz and Selina Tao. In Vancouver, CBRE’s Martin Moriarty and Mario Negris are handling negotiations in that part of the country as Innisfree prepares to enter British Columbia.
Innisfree operates hundreds of stores globally and is part of the Seoul-based AmorePacific Corporation, which features 33 health, beauty and personal brands under its corporate umbrella. AmorePacific launched the Innisfree brand in 2002 and it now has stores in Asia, Australia and it recently expanded into the United States where it currently operates seven stores, with more to come.