Canada Goose to open its first retail stores in Toronto and NYC

Iconic Canadian brand Canada Goose, known for its popular luxury outerwear, said Thursday it plans to open its first retail stores this autumn.

The company said it will open itsflagship outlets in Toronto'sYorkdale Shopping Centre in October, and in Soho in Manhattan in November. Both stores will be about 4,000 square feet in size.

• Cold-weather style machine: Why outerwear is Canada's hottest fashion export

Company president and CEO Dani Reiss, the grandson ofSam Tickwho started the company in 1957, said opening retail locationsis something he has always dreamed of.

"It's an exciting new chapter in our evolution from a small outerwear manufacturer nearly 60 years ago, to the only truly global, Canadian luxury apparel retailer," Reiss said in a release.

"This is our opportunity to bring more of Canada and Canada Goose to the world," Reisssaid.

• Canada Goose opens 2nd factory in Winnipeg, hires more staff
• Canada Goose acquires 2nd manufacturing plant in Toronto

Retail consultant Jim Danahy, the CEO of CustomerLAB, said flagship stores are often used by manufacturers "inorder to show the full array of productssince many retailers don't carry the full array."

"Time will tell whether [Canada Goose]are using bricks and mortar retail as a significant sales channel," he said."When you only open a couplethat's more marketing than it is sales."

Owing to the growth in the popularity of its clothing, Toronto-basedCanada Goose, which is majority-owned by Bain Capital, said its revenues have grown by 450 per cent in the last five years.

• Canada Goose bought by U.S.-based Bain Capital

To keep up with that growth, the company has expanded it production capacity recently, adding plants in Toronto and Winnipeg in 2015.

While its products are sold through retailersin 50 countries, Canada Goose's move into its own retail locations comes after its launched its own e-commerce website.The company currentlyemploys about 1,000 people worldwide.