Following Hillberg & Berk: How Rapid Store Expansion Happens in Canada

The majority of Canadian small to medium sized businesses (SMBs) struggle to grow beyond 5-10 employees. Expansion is a challenge in Canada, where many SMBs experience challenges with labour shortages, high costs, and limited access to capital. Despite this, many SMB owners, franchisees, and entrepreneurs are successful at scale: the Canadian franchise industry consists of over 40,000 franchisees who operate between 66 and 78 thousand locations; the franchise sector employs 1 in 10 Canadians.

Hillberg & Berk is one example of a successful franchise expansion. Founded by Regina, Saskatchewan native Rachel Mielke, Hillberg & Berk began as a small, independent jewelry store run from a converted house. When as many as 50 customers at a time were filling the store’s walls during the holiday season, Mielke realized it could compromise the personalized customer experience. As a result, the founder commissioned a kiosk in Cornwall Centre, Regina’s largest shopping mall, in order to relieve some of the customer congestion. The “Sparkle Bar” was stocked with lower priced pieces, perfect for holiday gift shopping.

As sales grew, Hillberg & Berk shifted to meet the needs of its market: university-educated women with above average income, going from 50 employees in 2015 to roughly 94 in 2026. Hillberg & Berk’s Sparkle Collection remains one of its most popular lines. 

Hillberg & Berk’s Rapid Canadian Retail Expansion

In 2008, Mielke appeared on CBC’s Dragons’ Den, securing a deal with Dragon W. Brett Wilson. Her Dragon’s Den appearance boosted the company’s early growth, which now includes a national retail network of standalone stores; Hillberg & Berk had 15 locations as of 2024, and are planning to nearly double the number of stores to 30 by the end of 2027. The current wave of expansion includes six new retail stores across the country, including Limeridge Mall in Hamilton, Willowbrook Mall in Langley, Sherwood Park mall in Edmonton, Scarborough Town Centre in Toronto, Hillcrest Mall in Richmond Hill, and Oshawa Centre. 

Hillberg & Berk also used high-profile partnerships to expand its reach; including partnerships with both women’s sports and the Olympics. In June 2025, Hillberg & Berk became the Official Jewelry Partner of Team Canada, which gave the company the rights to a four-year agreement from Milano 2026 to Los Angeles 2028. The brand’s Olympic hopes started long before Milano: Mielke was providing Sparkle Ball earrings to Olympians as far back as 2016, with part of the proceeds helping female athletes to support training and travel. 

Scaling a Canadian Retail Brand into a Large Organization

Rolling with the momentum from the Olympics partnership, which saw Hillberg & Berk designs on athletes like Tessa Virtue, Mielke used the Hamilton store launch as a meaningful anchor for the coming year. Each launch includes in-store offers and limited editions that are tailored to the local shoppers in that area – and when it comes to finding boutique locations, Mielke says she is aggressively looking for the right spots. 

Deloitte suggests that brick and mortar retail may be moving towards this kind of ‘retailtainment’ model – which not only extends the amount of time customers spend in-store, but also builds emotional connections with the brand. Hillberg & Berk locations focus on crafting a unique experience for each location as part of this strategy: Hillberg & Berk uses a loyalty-based growth model and reports a 65% repeat-purchase rate, with more than 40,000 five-star product reviews. 

If you’re considering expanding your brand into a mutli-location empire across Canada, emulating successful companies is one way to do it. As the franchise industry remains one of Canada’s top employers and SMB segments, every business has the opportunity to scale, should they choose.