canadian jewelry brand birks celebrates 145 years
birks is a montreal-headquartered company celebrating its 145th birthday.
3 minute read
birks' iconic blue box was introduced in the 1920s.
birks
the story of birks is a retail recounting that starts in montreal but quickly grows to encompass much more of canada. from one store opened by founder henry birks on saint james street in 1879, the fine jewelry business followed the expansion of the canadian railway to venture farther across the vast terrain.
“henry and his three sons decided to open stores almost as the trans-canadian railway was being built,” says jean-christophe bédos, president and ceo of birks group. “you could feel with the history of birks, how close it is to the history of canada. of canada becoming a nation to the point where we have stores along the railway. we have toronto, we have ottawa, saskatoon, winnipeg. we have calgary, all the way to vancouver.
“and by the mid-20th century, all those stores were open. and birks became a national retailer.”
while founded in canada, the corporate mark of birks can be traced to sheffield, u.k., a hub of silversmithing, in 1694. it’s that family tie that led the founders to first lean in to the expertise and legacy with the precious metal.
“birks was a manufacturer of tabletops and silverware,” bédos says. “one hundred years ago, it was the biggest manufacturer in north america, in terms of silverware. and this business was in every canadian household. i mean, birks was accompanying every canadian family.”
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one-hundred-and-forty-five years later, silver isn’t a category of emphasis for birks as it once was — “the silverware business has disappeared from birks,” bédos says. while select sterling silver jewelry pieces remain, these days, the company’s emphasis is set squarely on gold and gemstones.
the category of fine jewelry, engagement rings — and, recently, high jewelry or the ‘haute couture’ of jewelry — taps into the company’s royal link that dates to the 1930s.
in 1934, birks received a royal warrant to supply british royalty.
birks
in 1934, birks was awarded a royal warrant, bédos shares, a move that made the quebec-headquartered business an official supplier of the royal family. “very few canadian companies have that privilege in their history books.” that warrant no longer exists today.
in addition to offering luxury watch brands such as cartier, rolex and patek philippe, in recent years, the birks’ business has doubled down on its in-house designs, launching bee chic, a collection dedicated to bees for its 135th anniversary in 2014, birks snowflake, as well as birks muse. the modern designs have found fans among the celebrity set, with meghan markle, nelly furtado and kelly clarkson among the stars spotted in the canadian brand’s creations.
birks muse exceptional guilloché yellow gold and diamond bracelet. price by request.
birks
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“in our sources of inspiration for our design and products, we are very inspired by canadian nature,” says bédos. “its water, its wood and forests, its sky and its land.”
it’s that celebration of canada that bédos says helps to differentiate birks from its international competitors.
“we celebrate canada as a country,” he says. “the land of new beginnings, the country of hope, of diversity, of inclusion, and a country that provides the promise of a better tomorrow. all of this optimism is very important for us, because we differentiate ourselves like that from many brands, mainly european brands, who have a different heritage and a different history. but we are truly canadian in our ambition to have a canadian brand.”
currently operating about 25 stores across the country, that number will likely change in the future as new stores like oakridge park in vancouver are added and “less relevant, less profitable stores” are closed, according to bédos.
henry birks opened his first boutique in the heart of montreal in 1879.
birks
moving forward, the ceo expects the company will find further success in the large, “a-plus” luxury retail centres such as yorkdale in toronto and royalmount in montreal.
“there is growth potential in canada. and in terms of the conditions of retailing luxury, there are more and more opportunities,” bédos says of the country’s landscape. “so we feel quite good, despite the challenges for retailers in today’s world, the future is bright.”
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noting that luxury “is being challenged today in the world because of often very high price positioning,” bédos says, while undoubtedly luxury, the company is careful about going beyond “reasonable” prices.
“i don’t like the term ‘affordable luxury’ because luxury is not meant to be affordable. but we are accessible,” bédos explains. “the sweet spot for birks is, essentially between $3,000 and $5,000.”
as for where canadians can expect to see the company go in the future, bédos says to expect something exciting for the company’s next big birthday.
“you can expect a very, very meaningful celebration five years from now,” bédos says. “because we will be 150.”
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