Hong Kong-based eyewear retailer MUJOSH is expanding its Canadian footprint and planning to open its fourth location in the Greater Toronto Area.

“The brand MUJOSH is a destination for cutting-edge fashion, innovation and comfort that are far from typical. The Hong Kong based eyewear retailer was established in 2010, and after coming to Ontario in 2019, the brand has since opened three locations across major shopping malls in Toronto – Yorkdale Shopping Centre, Scarborough Town Centre and Hillcrest Mall,” said Nestor Yang, CEO of . which has the distribution rights for MUJOSH in Canada.

“In the recent months, Cadillac Fairview and MUJOSH have solidified the first business and will be bringing the eyewear brand into CF Markville Mall (in Markham, Ontario) in the summer. The opening of the store in Markville Mall with Cadillac Fairview represents a significant milestone in the ongoing Canadian business expansion of MUJOSH.

“The new store will come with a full-scale clinic with eye examination rooms and processing lab in the store. It will provide professional and efficient services to clients, and for difficult patients or elderly patients who may require extra care. The Markville Mall location will be a destination where individuals can receive comprehensive eye examination and care for complicated conditions such as glaucoma, macular degeneration, cataract, diabetic or other systemic related eye disease. The clinic will be the first to provide myopia control service for younger patients among other MUJOSH clinics.”

A MUJOSH store that opened in February 2017 at the West Edmonton Mall is owned by another franchisee.

Yang said the first three locations in Toronto were in partnership with Oxford Properties.

“Back in 2019 we had a very aggressive plan, a strategy (for growth). Now post-pandemic, we have to reconfigure from all aspects. So maybe another one next year. We are aiming for Mississauga. It’s one of the hot spots we think we should go. That’s just our strategy for now,” said Yang.

“Canada has always been a hotspot for new brands. We’re a Hong Kong-based brand. Very Asian style. Canada, considering the population of Chinese, Asian, immigrants, is good for us for sure.

“The reason we’re opening this fourth store in Ontario is because we see more shoppers now. They have begun to venture back into the physical stores and we are confident. We are not just offering sunglasses but we are also offering eye examinations. The upcoming location will come with a full-scale clinic with eye examination rooms within the store. We see more opportunities and also we see more demand from customers.”

MUJOSH describes itself as a “cutting-edge fashion brand with eyewear well designed and crafted.”

The MUJOSH brand slogan is “More Than Glasses” and the company’s philosophy comes from three elements – Wood, which stands for natural materials and the value of handicraft; Long lasting, which stands for long-lasting and good quality products; and Ten, which stands for perfection, showing the pursuit of perfect techniques.

An attitude to encourage people to break free from conventional patterns and to show who they are.

On its website, it describes Mu as meaning the first eyewear brand using wood; Jo, meaning Nine, Break the rule the keep moving; and SH, meaning Ten, which stands for lasting quality and to pursue perfect.

The company, which was founded in 2010, has a target market of customers aged between 18 and 30 years old.

Retail stores are located in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Philippines, Vietnam, Australia, United States, and Canada.

MUJOSH has more than 800 specialty stores located in high-end shopping malls and department stores around the world.

 

SOURCE: Retail Insider – April 19, 2022.  Author: Mario Toneguzzi