Retail Insider was just informed that Nordstrom has secured leases for 4 Canadian stores. These locations will include:
1. Pacific Centre in Vancouver, British Columbia – ~225,000 square feet
2. Chinook Centre in Calgary, Alberta – ~140,000 square feet
3. Rideau Centre in Ottawa, Ontario – ~150,000 square feet and
4. Sherway Gardens in Toronto, Ontario – ~140,000 square feet.
The first three locations are currently occupied by Sears stores, while the Sherway Gardens store will be a new-build Nordstrom location, corresponding with an expansion of the shopping centre. The 225,000 sq ft Sears store at Sherway will continue to operate. Nordstrom’s board of directors is expected to approve these leases by early next week, while a formal announcement could take up to two months.
Negotiations are still underway for Nordstrom to occupy part of the current Sears store at the Toronto Eaton Centre. Talks are also underway for Nordstrom to take over the current Sears location at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre. A previous attempt at building a 165,000 sq ft Nordstrom at the East side of Yorkdale fell through, so talks to take Yorkdale’s Sears is still proposed. Yorkdale’s Sears store is 190,000 square feet.
Given the size of these locations, it is expected that at least the Vancouver store will include such amenities as restaurants, spas, and the luxury women’s department called ‘Collectors’ (carrying such designers as Valentino, Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Prada, Lanvin, Missoni, etc). The new Sherway Gardens store is expected to include a smaller Collector’s department, which will compete directly with a future-expanded Holt Renfrew store in the same mall.
At press time, Bloomingdale’s is still negotiating with The Hudson’s Bay Company to open concessions within several Bay stores, including a full-line Bloomingdale’s store at 44 Bloor Street East in Toronto, Ontario.
More info to follow. Stay tuned!
