Lids Will Soon Have Shops Inside DSW and The Shoe Company Stores Throughout Canada

Peter Verry
·2 min read

Lids is expanding its retail presence in Canada with the help of DSW and The Shoe Company.

The headwear-focused retailer — which currently has 130 stores in Canada — has partnered with Designer Brands Inc. to bring licensed sports product to its stores in throughout the country. The result will be Lids shop-in-shops in DSW and The Shoe Company doors, 45 in total, bolstering its presence in key cities including Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver. Also, the partnership will include online sales of Lids product via DSW.ca and Theshoecompany.ca.

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The product featured in the shop-in-shops, according to Lids, will include licensed headwear and jerseys, with a strong focus on Canadian sports teams such as the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Edmonton Oilers, the Toronto Raptors and the Toronto Blue Jays. Also, the range will include branded hats and a mix of team licensed headwear.

Lids confirmed that the first in-store shop will debut May 15, which will also feature an online assortment.

“At Lids, we’re always looking for new ways to bring our unparalleled assortment of licensed sports apparel and headwear to more customers,” Lawrence Berger, chairman of FanzzLids Holdings, the owner of Lids, said in a statement. “Designer Brands offers a one-stop-shop for footwear and accessory needs and we’re looking forward to complementing that with Lids’ diverse offerings to better serve Canadian customers.”

Mary Turner, president of Designer Brands operations in Canada, added, “We are thrilled to partner with Lids on the roll-out of store-in-store boutiques offering licensed sports merchandise to local fan communities across the country. We believe that Lids’ merchandise provides great synergies with our growing athletics assortments while allowing us to tap into a younger customer demographic.”

Prior to teaming up with Designer Brands, Lids — which has 1,200 locations in North America — added 70 stores during COVID-19 and entered an international expansion agreement with the NBA.

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