Coming off of the unprecedented number of mega-retailers that entered the Canadian market in 2016, this past year was another big one for Toronto’s shopping scene.
With store expansions from coast to coast and many new flagships, 2017 saw a lot of great store openings for Toronto. And although there are many more exciting stores coming in 2018, here are some of the biggest ones from 2017.
Woolrich
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American heritage brand Woolrich has become increasingly cool as of late and to Canadians’ delight, just opened their 2,000-square foot retail space at Yorkdale Shopping Centre. The brand also announced it has plans to open additional Canadian stores in Montreal and Vancouver.
Chanel Flagship
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After 26 years, Chanel relocated their Bloor Street Toronto flagship boutique a couple blocks north to the heart of Toronto’s upscale Yorkville neighbourhood. Now located at 98 Yorkville Avenue, the boutique is housed behind an original façade dating back to 1871 and the space spans two, luxurious floors.
MINISO
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Japanese retail giant Miniso opened its first Ontario location mid-October this year and its first west coast location earlier in 2017 in Vancouver. The brand plans to open 30 to 50 Miniso stores in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec by the end of 2018 with the goal of 500 stores by 2020.
MCM Flagship
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Luxury leather goods brand MCM opened its first stand-alone store this past November. The flagship is located at 93 Bloor Street West, steps from the trendy Yorkville neighbourhood and offers everything from small wallets to leather sneakers and luggage, all featuring the signature MCM print.
Nordstrom at CF Sherway Gardens
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Nordstrom still isn’t done with Canada, which is exciting news. The Seattle-based department store opened its sixth Canadian store and its third in Toronto, earlier this fall at CF Sherway Gardens. But we will still have to wait until 2018 to get Nordstrom Rack in Canada.
Hunter
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Earlier this fall, Hunter brought its iconic and colourful rubber boots to Toronto, opening its first North American store at Yorkdale Shopping Centre. The U.K.-based company currently only has two other stores worldwide: one in London and one in Tokyo.
Moose Knuckles
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Popular Montreal-based outerwear brand Moose Knuckles opened its first freestanding store in 2017 at Yorkdale Shopping Centre. Best known for its outwear, customers can shop Moose Knuckles’ full range of jackets and parkas, ready-to-wear clothing, rain gear and accessories right in the mall.
OVO at Yorkdale
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If you’re a huge Drake fan, you are most likely already aware that the Toronto rapper opened an OVO store at Yorkdale Shopping Centre this past year. Spanning 1,600-square feet, the store features a marble exterior, mirrored walls and golden fixtures that show off the OVO apparel, consisting of capsule collections and exclusive drops.
COS at Square One
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H&M’s pricier fashion brand COS, which stands for ‘collection of style,’ opened its first Vancouver store in 2017, but COS wasn’t stopping there. The brand has since opened a second store location at Square One in Mississauga.
Aritzia’s Babaton Flagship at Yorkdale
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After opening its first Babaton store at CF Toronto Eaton Centre in late 2016, Vancouver-based company Ariztia opened a massive flagship Babaton boutique at Yorkdale Shopping Centre in 2017. This is the second Babaton location in the GTA and the womenswear retailers’ 82nd location in North America.
Saks OFF 5TH Expansion
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Saks Fifth Avenue’s off-price concept Saks OFF 5TH plans to operate 25 Canadian stores by the end of 2018. In 2016, it opened nine, but most recently it opened six locations this year in Brampton, Pickering, Quebec City, Winnipeg and West Vancouver in addition to a second Edmonton store.
Muji Expanding Westward
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After successfully opening three stores in the GTA, minimalist Japanese retail Muji set its sights on western Canada. The store opened not one but two locations in Vancouver this past year, one at Robson Street and one at Metropolis at Metrotown.
Have you visited any of these stores opened in 2017?
Featured image: Instagram/ @mcm
Mid-range upscale store from the H&M family – COS has announced that their newest location in Ontario will be housed at Square One Mall in Mississauga. This will be the brand’s fifth store in Canada and will span 5,060 square feet.
This will be the brand’s fifth store in Canada and will span 5,060 square feet. As expected, COS will bring their familiar interior aesthetic of clean and modern lines combined with natural elements to the new store space. COS plans on opening the store in Autumn 2017 and will feature COS’ AW17 collection.
Marie Honda, Managing Director of COS notes, “We are extremely happy to be opening our fifth location in Canada. We hope that this new store will allow our customers to continue to explore COS in a great new environment.”
Happy New Year! We’re anticipating some pretty big store openings in 2017, as international brands continue to open stores in Canada. Here are 10 Canadian store openings that we can’t wait to come this year:
Off-White
Operated in partnership with Yorkville retailer CNTRBND, Kanye West’s creative director Virgil Abloh ‘softly opened’ his first Canadian store just before Christmas — but the store’s official opening date isn’t until February of 2017. We’ve had a peek inside the narrow retail space which is very cool, featuring men and women’s fashions along a walkway framed with sand. Toronto can proudly say that it’s officially got North America’s first freestanding Off-White store!
Herschel Supply Co.
2017 is going to be a great year for Herschel fans! The hipster-friendly backpack and accessory brand, based in Vancouver, will open its first global flagship in Vancouver this year! Located in historical/trendy Gastown, Herschel‘s flagship will span 5,000 square feet. They won’t tell us the exact address yet, and we’re hoping to see more of its stores in Canada soon.
Woolrich
The American heritage brand has become cool (and expensive), and it recently announced that it plans to open stores in Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. A recent report in the Halifax Chronicle Herald said that Woolwich is negotiating for a 2,000 square foot retail space at Yorkdale Shopping Centre, making us think that we’re going to see Woolwich stores in Canada some time this year.
Muji to Expand Westward
After successfully opening 3 stores in the GTA, minimalist Japanese retailer Muji will announce its entry into the Vancouver market in early 2017. Vancouver residents will be happy to know that there will be more than one Muji store that will be announced — details to follow!
New Chanel Flagship
In the summer of 2017, Chanel will open its largest Canadian store — as well as its only freestanding Canadian store — at 100 Yorkville Avenue in Toronto. There’s been a delay in building the 8,700 square foot store and in the mean time, Yorkville Chanel fans will have to get their fix with a substantially expanded selection on the second floor of Holt Renfrew at 50 Bloor Street West. Chanel has been expanding in Canada and several months ago, opened a 5,000 square foot shop-in-store within Vancouver’s Holt Renfrew.
Yorkdale Luxury Expanding… AGAIN!
Just when you thought Yorkdale couldn’t become any more luxurious, five Richemont-owned luxury boutiques have put up construction signage in the mall. Watch for the openings of Van Cleef & Arpels, Piaget, Vacheron Constantin, Officine Panerai and IWC Schaffhausen over the summer. These won’t be the last luxury brands to open in the mall in 2017, either — watch for a huge announcement for a major brand to go into Birks’ formers space, next to the recently-opened Saint Laurent.
Vancouver will get more luxurious, too
Richemont is also expanding further into Vancouver. In 2017, watch for Van Cleef & Arpels and at least two of the company’s other brands to open on Alberni Street. Close by on West Georgia Street, Italian super-luxury brand Stefano Ricci is about to open a store, right beside the new Trump Tower, and Tiffany & Co.’s expansion/renovation will be done in the spring as well — it’s going to be huge, and amazing!
COS
H&M’s pricier fashion brand, which stands for ‘collection of style’, will open its first Vancouver store in 2017, after a bit of a delay. COS won’t be done expanding into Canada after that, however — a little bird told us that residents of Mississauga might expect an announcement for a location in the near future, as well.
Nordstrom CF Sherway Gardens
Nordstrom still isn’t done with Canada, which is terrific news! The Seattle-based department store will open its 6th Canadian store, also its third in Toronto, on Friday, September 15, 2017. The 140,000 square foot store will anchor the south end of the mall, and a really big Zara store will join it in the new wing, as well. 2016 was a big year for CF Sherway — Saks Fifth Avenue opened at in February of 2016, followed by a spectacular new expansion wing anchored by Sporting Life and Harry Rosen.
If only we could say that Nordstrom Rack was opening in 2017 as well… we’ll have to wait until early 2018, however, for Rack’s first Canadian location to open at the southeast corner of Yonge and Bloor in Toronto.
Saks OFF 5TH
Saks Fifth Avenue’s off-price concept Saks OFF 5TH plans to operate 25 Canadian stores by 2018. So far it’s opened nine, and in 2017 parent company Hudson’s Bay Company has revealed that at least six more locations will open this year — in Brampton, Pickering, Quebec City, Winnipeg, West Vancouver, as well as a second Edmonton store. We can’t wait for more store announcements!!!
Which of the most anticipated Canadian store openings are you most excited for?
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