Media
Press release:
Penguin Random House Canada to Open Retail Location in Toronto
August 24, 2016 (Toronto) Exciting news for book lovers: Penguin Random House Canada announces the opening of Penguin Shop. Part bookstore, part literary experience, Penguin Shop reimagines the brand in a modern retail setting.
Located on the main floor of the building where the company’s Toronto offices are located at 320 Front Street West, the modest 158-square-foot shop is designed to foster a sense of discovery, wonder, and visual delight, borrowing design elements from its rich literary heritage. Floating ledges, immersive displays, and mobile bookshelves showcase a carefully curated selection of titles and trusted recommendations.
The shop features limited and special editions of reader favourites, book-related merchandise, and sought-after branded swag, including Penguin Classics mugs, notebooks, and tote bags. Penguin Shop also provides access to the people who create its books: it will launch with a robust Penguin Picks program that features favourite titles from authors and from the company’s editors, designers, and other staff. Moreover, the store’s unique location also offers customers the chance to cross paths with their favourite authors, who may be passing by en-route to the company’s office.
Penguin Shop is also easily accessed by locals via public transit including Union Station and the Spadina streetcar line, and for those visiting and using the UP Express and Billy Bishop Island Airport. Its close proximity to the downtown core – an area of destination – make the space an attraction for all book lovers in Toronto.
“We are continually in search of innovative ways to bring the books we are so proud to publish to readers. As such, we see Penguin Shop as a research and development lab -- a place where we can interact directly with consumers.” comments Brad Martin, President and CEO of Penguin Random House Canada.
Robert Wheaton, Chief Operating Officer notes, "The Penguin brand is synonymous with quality books, impressive design, experimentation, and a great sense of fun. We invite all Toronto readers to visit us at Penguin Shop, and to find those same qualities wherever Penguin Random House books are sold."
Penguin Shop was designed by figure3, the company behind Penguin Random House Canada’s bold new office space. Opening today, the shop will operate on flexible daytime hours. Learn more at penguinshop.ca, and connect with us online at:
Twitter: @PenguinShopTO
Facebook: /PenguinShopTO
Instagram: @PenguinShopTO
About figure3
figure3 is Toronto’s leading interior design firm, with demonstrated expertise in workplace, retail, and residential design. figure3 translates client goals, brand, and culture into powerful environments that leverage unique insight and research into the people they are designing for.
About Penguin Random House Canada
Penguin Random House Canada is the Canadian division of Penguin Random House. Penguin Random House is dedicated to nourishing a universal passion for reading as the world’s first truly global trade book publisher. Penguin Random House employs more than 10,000 people globally across almost 250 editorially and creatively independent imprints and publishing houses that collectively publish more than 15,000 new titles annually. Its publishing lists include more than 70 Nobel Prize laureates and hundreds of the world’s most widely read authors. Learn more at www.penguinrandomhouse.ca.
Photos
All photos provided by Ryan Madill.