{"id":61415,"date":"2015-09-16T19:17:04","date_gmt":"2015-09-16T11:17:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=61415"},"modified":"2015-09-16T19:17:04","modified_gmt":"2015-09-16T11:17:04","slug":"arrival-of-u-s-retailer-torrid-seeks-to-fill-gap-in-canadas-plus-size-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2015\/09\/16\/arrival-of-u-s-retailer-torrid-seeks-to-fill-gap-in-canadas-plus-size-market\/","title":{"rendered":"Arrival of U.S. retailer Torrid seeks to fill gap in Canada’s plus size market"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"www.torrid.com\"<\/a>
www.torrid.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

TORONTO — While some shoppers may struggle to locate garments in a specific style or colour, Ashlie Callender faces an even greater obstacle: finding clothes that will fit her curvy frame.<\/p>\n

“Regular stores, they go up to extra large sometimes, and that’s really like a (size) 10 maybe. So if it’s a stretchy material, I can get away with it,” said the college student, 24.<\/p>\n

“I actually would like shopping, but all of my options are either for people who are really, really old, wearing dress pants all the time — and that’s pretty much it. So I wish there was more.”<\/p>\n

Callender joined dozens of shoppers who jammed Torrid’s new location in Toronto Eaton Centre for the grand opening of its first store outside of the U.S.<\/p>\n

Three more Torrid stores are set to open in the Toronto area this fall, joining homegrown plus-size retailers Addition Elle and Penningtons, both under the banner of Montreal-based Reitmans Canada Ltd.<\/p>\n

The plus-size brand is already familiar to Canadians, who account for more than half of Torrid’s international business online, said CEO Lisa Harper.<\/p>\n

The retailer has more than 280 stores across the U.S. and ships to more than 150 countries. Torrid is a full-service apparel and accessories shop offering separates, denim, handbags and footwear.<\/p>\n

Harper said the company expects to open about 10 stores in Canada in 2016, and has been eyeing British Columbia, Calgary and Edmonton as potential expansion sites.<\/p>\n

While they don’t yet have a Canadian-specific e-commerce site, Harper said they’ll have an option for shoppers to ship items to stores at no additional cost.<\/p>\n

Canadian prices will also initially be slightly higher to offset the exchange rate, she added.<\/p>\n

“We are very cautious about that, and it is not an across-the-board decision. It’s really on an item-by-item basis…\u00a0Obviously, we would hope that it would be for the short term,” she added.<\/p>\n

Torrid is seeking to help fill a sizable void in Canadian retail for full-figured consumers.<\/p>\n

A 2013 report from the NPD Group found that plus sizes represent 32 per cent of the “special size” clothing category, which also includes tall, petite and junior.<\/p>\n

Two-thirds of plus-size women reported shopping for larger clothes was more stressful than shopping for traditional sizes, with limited merchandise cited among the main causes.<\/p>\n

“Coming from the wholesale side of the fashion business, you do have to pay a premium for clothes that are either plus-sized or petite,” said Sandy Silva, director of fashion and beauty at the NPD Group.<\/p>\n

“Oftentimes you have to make a minimum order to have the garment produced, and I think that is a huge barrier to entry for this market in Canada.”<\/p>\n

Most national retailers which offer extending sizing have a “fairly basic assortment,” she noted.<\/p>\n

“They don’t really have the wealth or array of fun, fashionable, sexy styles that plus-size women want as well as a regular-size woman.”<\/p>\n

Prior to launching her plus-size lifestyle blog KillerKurves.com in 2012, Karyn Johnson fielded countless inquiries about where she found clothes and boots to fit her legs.<\/p>\n

“If you had a certain look in your mind, like ‘I want a cute summer dress,’ you had to go online, you had to Google it and really go on a search to find what you were looking for,” said Johnson.<\/p>\n

“It’s been difficult to find the options that you want, and not to be able to go to a mall and just shop at every single store. A lot of malls don’t even have plus-sized options.”<\/p>\n

Torrid brand ambassador Georgina Burke said it’s been eye-opening to observe the reaction among plus-size women when they’re able to find clothes that fit.<\/p>\n

“I would give them an outfit to put on and it’s crazy how they won’t show their arms, their legs, parts of their bodies they don’t like,” said the plus-size Australian model. “It’s so exciting to break down those barriers and let them embrace their bodies.”<\/p>\n

Two of Hollywood’s hottest comic actresses have made a foray into plus-size fashion.<\/p>\n

“Pitch Perfect” star Rebel Wilson will design a limited-edition holiday line for Torrid. Emmy winner Melissa McCarthy of “Mike & Molly” and “Bridesmaids” fame recently launched her own collection, which is carried at Penningtons.<\/p>\n

“It’s great because she’s including all shapes and sizes,” said Diana Di Poce, editor-in-chief of Dare Magazine, a Canadian online magazine focused on plus-size fashion.<\/p>\n

“I think that that’s something I’d like to see more of.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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