Showcase is a North American retail company specializing in emerging trends in health, beauty, home, and toys, and the winner of Canada's Best Managed Companies in 2021 and 2022 as well as the winner of the RCC Excellence in Retailing Omni-Channel Award in 2022. There are 117 locations in major malls across Canada and the Northeastern USA, an e-commerce portal called ShopAtShowcase.com, and plans to expand rapidly across the US.

History

The first Showcase store was opened in 1994 in the Meadowlark Centre in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

, Alberta. In 2000, the company aggressively expanded at an average of five openings per year. At this time, the company was primarily franchise-based, and modeled primarily as an infomercial outlet store. The ''

Edmonton Journal The ''Edmonton Journal'' is a daily newspaper in Edmonton, Alberta. It is part of the Postmedia Network. History The ''Journal'' was founded in 1903 by three local businessmen — John Macpherson, Arthur Moore and J.W. Cunningham — as ...

'' covered the grand openings of subsequent stores in the Edmonton area as the chain grew. Starting in 2003, the company redesigned stores and began to launch proprietary product lines such as Dream Away, Quantum, and Kyoto and expanded beyond infomercial boundaries, and officially changed its name to “Showcase”. Today, Showcase specializes in mass market trends that are new, exclusive, and hard-to-find. Showcase is currently updating its store design and branding to "The Home of the Hottest Trends". A flagship store, displaying the new store design and branding, was opened in Sherway Gardens in May 2018. According to the Corporate Overview on the company's website, they are in the midst of strategizing an expansion to the US, with an ultimate goal of rolling out 100 stores by 2022. Ten pilot stores opened in the Northeast in 2018-19, including King Of Prussia outside of Philadelphia, with locations in Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. In May 2021, Showcase was named one of Canada's Best Managed Companies for 2021. The program is sponsored by Deloitte and Canadian Business.

Pivot during COVID-19

Showcase pivoted in March 2020 to become a leading retailer of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to support first responders, health care workers, and the general public. Showcase was declared an essential service in most parts of Canada, and stayed open nation-wide during Canada's lockdowns that lasted from March to June 2020. This pivot led to lineups across Canada as Showcase filled a vital need of the community. Showcase also received a COVID-19 Site License and a Medical Device Establishment License from Health Canada. Showcase's PPE pivot and record performance was featured in Retail Insider magazine.

Media

Showcase has been covered in the media usually during the Christmas holiday season as a place to find unique gifts or to find out in person how the novel and unique products “really work”. This interest has been generated because these products are not typically available for customers to try until they have been purchased, usually from the U.S., while in store customers are able to test the products for themselves or receive a demonstration. Showcase has been featured on:

Corporate media

* Canadian Business - Best Managed Companies 2021 *CBC interview with Samir Kulkarni - The digitization of infomercials *Voice of Retail Podcast interview with Samir Kulkarni *ICSC.org, “U.S. a big draw for international retailers eager to expand” * Inc. magazine, “7 Ways to Spot Trends From the Man Who Turned Trendhunting Into Retail Gold” * Brampton Board of Trade 2018 Business Excellence Award (Retail) - Winner * 2018 Deloitte Best Managed Companies – Finalist * 2017 Global Innovation Awards YPO/YPO Gold – Top 10 Finalist * Brampton Board of Trade 2016 Business Excellence Award (Teamwork) - Finalist * Brampton Board of Trade 2016 Business Excellence Award (Innovation) - Finalist * Yale University Entrepreneurship Lecture, 2015 * Yale University Strategic Communication Lecture, 2015 * BNN Interview, 2014

Consumer media

* CTV News on Jan 29 2021 *Global News on Jan 22 2021 *CTV News on Jan 13 2021 *CTV News on Dec 16 2020 *Buzzfeed on Dec 8 2020 *CHCH Morning Live on May 31, 2018 * CHCH Hamilton on December 20, 2017 * CTV Calgary on December 20, 2017 * CTV Winnipeg on December 20, 2017 * CTV News on December 18, 2017 * CHCH Morning Live on December 14, 2017 * CTV Morning Live on November 30, 2017 * CTV Halifax Morning Live on November 24, 2017 * CTV Ottawa Morning Live on November 23, 2017 * Global Calgary on November 21, 2017 * CTV Calgary at Noon on November 21, 2017 * CTV News Vancouver on November 19, 2017 * CTV Morning Live on November 16, 2017 *Breakfast Television on December 24, 2010 *A-Channel Victoria on December 16, 2010 *Global Television on December 2, 2008 *Breakfast Television on November 25, 2008 *CityNews on December 24, 200 *Breakfast Television on December 17, 2007 *Global Morning Show on December 14, 2007 *Global News on December 6, 2007 *Toronto Star on January 7, 2006

Proprietary brands

Showcase owns various proprietary brands that sell in-store and online including: * Gravity Blade - hoverboards and electric scooters * Squishies - slow-rising foam toys * Hidden Gems - jewellery candles and bath bombs * Dream Away - bedding and weighted blankets * Cloud9 - super-soft leisurewear and bedding * Quantum - health and fitness * Kyoto - eco-friendly products * Esencia - aromatherapy and essential oils * EcoTerra - eco-friendly products * Peplos - shapewear and hair extensions

Canadian trademarks

Although the ubiquitous red “as seen on TV” logo can be used by anyone, the tradename Showcase, As Seen on TV Showcase, TV Showcase, “The Best of As Seen on TV and more!” and its variants are protected by Canadian trademark law. Showcase has applied for, and in most cases been granted, trademark registration for its various tradenames and proprietary brands with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office. These include: Showcase The Best of As Seen on TV and more The best of as-seen-on-TV and more! TV Showcase Products and Demonstration Stores As Seen on TV Showcase The Best of As Seen on TV and more! As Seen on TV Showcase and Products and Demonstration Stores Cloud 9 by Dream Away (design) Cloud 9 by Dream Away (words) Kyoto Environmental Dream Away (design) Dream Away (words) Kyoto Environmental Why dream when you can Dream Away? You Saw It on TV Don’t Just Dream … Dream Away! Eco Savvy Quantum (design) Quantum (words) Squishies (words) Slow Rise Squishies (words)

American trademarks

Showcase has also registered, or applied for, various trademarks with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, as follows: Showcase Showcase The Best of As Seen on TV and more! The Best of As Seen on TV and more! Kyoto Environmental Cloud 9 by Dream Away Kyoto Environmental Eco Savvy Quantumhttp://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4010:jhr7vv.3.21

References

External links

* {{official, https://ca.shopatshowcase.com, name=Official website *
Showcase on Global Television, December 2, 2008
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Showcase on Breakfast Television, November 25, 2008
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Showcase on CityNews, December 24, 2007
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Showcase on Global Morning Show, December 14, 2007
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Infomercial Ratings, a product review site
Retail companies of Canada Retail companies established in 1994