Match Made in Retail Heaven!

So…you’ve just been invited to this amazing event, and desperately need a new head-to-toe outfit, because you have to be lookin fabulous, and you obviously can’t be seen wearing the same thing as last time! Unfortunately your hectic schedule doesn’t allow for much shopping time (after all, you are high in demand!)…don’t you just wish there was one great store that carried all the name brands you’re looking for in everything from clothes to accessories, to shoes? Wouldn’t that make life just that much simpler? Well my friends look no further!

Starting today, Friday, August 14th, 2009, ALDO GROUP’s Little Burgundy and StyleXchange have launched new concept stores in Montreal featuring Little Burgundy Boutiques within StyleXchange locations.


This provides a one stop shop for all your fashion needs! The new boutique launches will take place at Rockland Centre and Brossard’s Champlain Mall on August 14th and at Place Montreal Trust on August 20th. Additional locations may be added in the near future based on the success of these initial locations. We don’t doubt that you will be seeing more of these special boutiques soon, as the market for both stores mirror each other and the concept provides a more convenient way of shopping. And isn’t what we’re all looking for these days? Convenience? Clearly these two major fashion retailers are in tune with their customers needs.

“I believe that the generation of consumers we are servicing is less interested in the pure commodity purchase, where you walk into a shoe store for a pair of shoes, a jeans store for a pair of jeans, et cetera. Customers today are more influenced by the environment and experience. By joining together two like-minded retail environments, Little Burgundy and StyleXChange, we can connect with them in a more complete manner, and help fulfill that deeper experience” Mark Batchoun, StyleXchange President & CEO.

Last night, Montreal Fashion Minds, had the pleasure of attending the launch party for these fabulous new boutiques at Rockland Shopping centre, in the largest of the StyleXchange stores.

Yussie & Joanna arrive at Rockland Shopping Centre

The 15,500 square foot flagship store defines Stylexchange as the branded fashion destination in Quebec. We strolled down the red carpet into the store which was still open for business, and crossed the red ropes into the brand new Little Burgundy section of the location.

Yussie & Joanna - Pic by 333 PHOTO

There, all the beautiful event goers mingled, sipped champagne and admired the new concept store while jamming to the beats of a live DJ.

We were then greeted by the super cute and friendly Melissa Robusto from Optimum PR (a division of Cossette Communications), who welcomed us to the event and made us feel totally at ease.

Melissa (right) with her collegue Kristin (left)

She was kind enough to introduce us to the marketing managers behind this innovative new concept, Stephanie Khoury from StyleXchange and Catherine Laporte from ALDO GROUP.

Stephanie Khoury, Marketing Manager, StyleXchange & Catherine Laporte, Marketing Manager, ALDO GROUP

Stephanie, Marketing Manager for StyleXchange, explained to us how the two companies got together to form this type of ultimate store that will offer its clients everything they need, all in one place. Seeing as the clientele for both StyleXchange and Little Burgundy are the same, it made for a perfect match, giving their clients an even larger variety of items all under one roof (as if they didn’t have plenty already!). StyleXchange is known for their impressive array of denim from 7 for all Mankind, to Rock & Republic, True Religion and Diesel. They also offer collections from Europe such as Miss Sixty and Energie, J. Lindeberg and Scotch & Soda. In addition, StyleXchange stores carry tons of other popular brands such as Juicy Couture, Dom Rebel, Ed Hardy, Mackage and many more. StyleXchange is an ever growing company that is always moving forward and looking for new and innovative ways to expand their business, and satisfy their customers with a wonderful and unique store experience.

Catherine Lapointe, Marketing Manager for ALDO GROUP, elaborated on how the two companies got together to form this new concept store, because of a long time friendship and equal admiration of how both companies operate. She explained to us that the Little Burgundy boutiques within the StyleXChange stores will still carry the same stock as their regular stand alone stores. Little Burgundy carries over 60 brands, including Marc by Marc Jacobs, Frye, Juicy Couture, Adidas, Converse, UGG, Creative Recreation and the list goes on! Catherine also mentioned that Little Burgundy just started carrying a variety of new brands, and showed us around the boutique to see them.

First was Modern Vintage, a fairly new European company, whose name says it all! Their shoes offer vintage style with a contemporary twist. The best of both worlds! (kind of like the StyleXchange & Little Burgundy stores).

Modern Vintage uses the finest vintage leathers that provide high quality, great history, and luxurious detail. You can see just by looking at the photos how nice and soft the leathers are.

Although the material is old, the cut and styling is fresh and modern, which is why these designs have been seen on the feet of celebrities like Nicole Richie, Lindsay Lohan, Amanda Bynes and others!

Next, Catherine showed us their collection of shoes from, Brazil based company, Melissa.

Melissa manufactures eco-friendly plastic shoes, hence their motto “Plastic Dreams”. But don’t be mistaken, Melissa does not use any ordinary plastic; they use MELFLEX, a special plastic that is developed in the Melissa shoe laboratories. The material provides superior comfort, improved elasticity, impermeability and resistance. It even maintains these qualities after being recycled.

Melissa laboratories have also created Velvet MELFLEX, which is on point with the latest trends for the Fall/Winter season. It also guarantees durability and is water resistant. Perfect to sustain Montreal’s winter weather, and easily available at Little Burgundy boutiques!

Melissa shoes has recently collaborated with designer Vivenne Westwood and has been seen on the likes of Katie Holmes, Katy Perry, Agyness Deyn and more!

"The most amazing thing about this partnership was to be able to createmodern products, with very high quality, for affordable prices"~ Vivienne Westwood

Little Burgundy has also recently begun carrying Reebok shoes. A brand familiar to many, but new to Little Burgundy! Their latest styles are bringing back the 80s with their vibrant colors and flashy motifs. They also seem to garner inspiration from superheroes with flashes of gold and the Captain America style sneaks.

Eastpak is also new to Little Burgundy. It is a line of fun, fashionable backpacks, perfect for back to school. Eastpak originally started making duffel bags and knapsacks for the armed forces. They later realized that students were using military daypacks as book bags, and thus began a line of daypacks especially for consumers. This is a testament to the strength and durability of their product. Eastpak prides themselves on making products that are 'Built to Resist'. They are also not afraid to push fashion boundaries with bright bold colors as seen in their current collection at Little Burgundy. Once again, the 80's keep on comin’ back!

Finally, Catherine showed us their collection of Nanny State Shoes. The England based company is known for its clean, classic designs with a splash of funky detailing that make these shoes unique. The idea is similar to that of Modern Vintage, in that, they blend the past with the present; the style of shoes is mature, but the accents and detailing are more modern and fun.

The evening wound down, and it was time for us to leave. Our evening was well spent sipping champagne and talking about fashion. What more could a girl ask for? We said goodbye to all the beautiful ladies we had the pleasure of meeting, and headed back down the red carpet to go home.

Melissa handed us our parting gift bags, containing delicious mini cupcakes from Petits Gateaux and a generous StyleXchange gift card.

We’re definitely looking forward to going back to do some mayja shopping! And we suggest you do too! With the larger variety of items they now offer, you won't leave empty handed!