Canada Goose’s new store has no inventory—but it does have real snow

Canada Goose has taken experiential retailing to new heights.

The fast-growing luxury outerwear brand has opened a new, multi-sensory concept that is designed to immerse shoppers in the sights, sounds and spirit of the outdoors. Located at CF Sherway Gardens in Toronto, the store is inventory free. Instead, shoppers can try on products and order items for same-day home delivery. 

But the lack of inventory is probably the least distinguishing element of the new Canada Goose outpost, which the company has dubbed “The Journey.”

The store expands upon the brand’s signature “Cold Room,” where customers can try on jackets under frigid conditions, by adding another element to the experience. With the temperature in the room set at 10 degrees Fahrenheit, shoppers are surrounded by real snow and floor-to-ceiling Arctic landscapes. Original films about the cold and nature are projected on the walls. (The films will change seasonally.)

"In retail, experience is everything – and trying on a Canada Goose jacket for the first time is a powerful experience,” said Dani Reiss, president & CEO, Canada Goose. "This new store amplifies that moment by creating an environment that digitally and physically transports people into the Arctic in innovative, surprising, and inspiring ways.” 

The entrance to the new store gives a glimpse of what’s to come. Shoppers step through a two-story glacier façade and, once inside, walk through  “the crevasse,” which features digital displays of rock faces on both entryway walls and OLED panels under glass flooring that simulate the sound of cracking ice as guests walk forward. An accompanying soundtrack plays the sounds of the Arctic.

Other store highlights include an “in the elements” space, where 60-foot wide curved displays project films of sweeping landscapes, which will change seasonally.  

In the retail area, Canada Goose’s iconic Snow Mantra parkas are displayed with interactive "hotspots," which allow shoppers to explore specific product functions and features. Employees, or “brand ambassadors,” are available to answer questions and help shoppers navigate through the product inventory on touchscreen kiosks.