ALDO Group mixes shoes and social justice

With shoe stores in more than 100 countries, ALDO Group is the first fashion footwear company to offset all of its carbon emissions - and is proud of it.

CEO David Bensadoun traces the company’s strong social conscience back to his father, Aldo Bensadoun (BCom’64) who founded the company decades ago.

The future of retail: Not as grim as you might think

If the media tends to focus on major store closures as a sign of a retail industry in turbulence, an article in Les Affaires sheds light on some of retail’s success stories, such as Simons.

The author also points to the Bensadoun School of Retail Management as a place for training leaders that will be able to thrive amid rapid changes in retail.

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RILA joins forces with the Bensadoun School to tackle retail’s grand challenges

The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA), in partnership with the Bensadoun School of Retail Management, have announced their first-ever (R)Tech Global Retail Challenge – a case competition that seeks to address the complex issues facing the global retail industry.

The case competition will ask students around the world to develop creative ideas for reshaping retail in the circular economy and will culminate with a world-class finale in November at McGill.

Canada Goose sets up shop in China

Canada Goose, the upscale outerwear brand, announced that it will open two locations this fall in China: a Hong Kong flagship outlet in October, followed by a store in Beijing the following month.

In light of this news, Charles De Brabant (BCom'83), Executive Director of the Bensadoun School of Retail Management, posits that the history of counterfeiting Canada Goose products in China might have contributed to their massive market appeal.

It’s full speed ahead for the Bensadoun Retail Initiative

Almost one year since the Bensadoun Family Foundation announced the landmark gift to McGill University of $25 million, the proposed Bensadoun School of Retail Management has received official approval from the University as of March.

Montreal merchants are not alone

Executive Director of the Bensadoun Retail Initiative, Charles de Brabant (BCom'83), has been selected to be a part of a committee organized to devise a commercial development plan for Montreal and strategy for the local merchants.

The committee will study how other cities are dealing with the global issues and challenges that are also prevalent in Montreal’s retail sector.

1st Fashion Retailing Conference

Organized by the Bensadoun Retail Initiative, this conference will provide a forum for exchange —for both professionals and academics— at the newly opened Donald E. Armstrong Building.

Retail is not on its last breath, but alive and well

Despite popular misconceptions that the retail industry is in cataclysmic decline, Executive Director of the Bensadoun Retail Initiative, Charles De Brabant (BCom'83), sheds light on why this could not be further from the truth.

Retail, as he explains, is in the midst of transformation, not on the brink of demise.

Desautels researchers figure prominently in Innovation Superclusters Initiative

McGill University will participate in two of the five “superclusters” selected by the Government of Canada for funding under its Innovation Superclusters Initiative.

Taking Ste-Catherine Street into the modern age

Montreal’s historic strip, Ste-Catherine Street, is undergoing four years of roadwork.

Charles de Brabant (BCom'83), Executive Director of the Bensadoun Retail Initiative comments on its implications in the retail industry.

Ste-Catherine has been a vital part of Montreal’s culture and identity, but since businesses have already been struggling, he sees Ste-Catherine as being stuck between two extremes.

Bensadoun School of Retail Management highlighted among Quebec’s most innovative business programming

As business schools adapt their programs to address the grand challenges of our time, McGill’s Bensadoun School of Retail Management stands out as an initiative that will respond to the needs of a rapidly changing retail industry.

The end of retail as we know it? Not so fast

Charles de Brabant (BCom'83), Executive Director of the Bensadoun Retail Initiative, says that popular perceptions of a declining retail industry are misleading; the reality is actually far more complex.

Saibal Ray on the potential benefits and costs if Amazon chooses Montreal

As Amazon hunts for a location for its second North American headquarters, Canada’s major cities are building their cases.

In a short interview with the McGill Media team, Desautels Professor Saibal Ray talks about the benefits that a Montreal Amazon office would bring in terms of jobs and indirect benefits to the city’s academic and research sectors.

Desautels Dean on retail changes and opportunity

In a recent op-ed for the Montreal Gazette, Desautels Dean Isabelle Bajeux-Besnainou discussed the seismic changes that have affected the retail sector over the past thirty years.

Desautels Dean on Montreal as a college town, international students, and the McGill advantage

When Isabelle Bajeux-Besnainou started as Desautels Dean nearly two years ago, she immediately began work on a strategic plan and started to get to know the people who make up the faculty.