Saks Fifth Avenue Flagship (Queen & Yonge)

[maestro]

A luxury department store next to the central business and a major commercial tourist atraction is the most idiotic thing I have read. Toronto's malls are crappy performers too. Only five of the six major malls in the city crack the Top 20 for performance in North America. There can be only hundreds if not thousands of malls out there. We've totally overbuilt here.

 

[taal]

A luxury department store next to the central business and a major commercial tourist atraction is the most idiotic thing I have read. Toronto's malls are crappy performers too. Only five of the six major malls in the city crack the Top 20 for performance in North America. Ghere can be only hundreds of malls out there.

Ha Ha ... anyway it would be interesting to see sales per square footage for the Bay Departmant store, and others across the country.

 

[thecharioteer]

Wonder what is meant by a "full-line" Saks store, when it's planned to be only 150,000 SF. The flagship store on Fifth Avenue is 646,000 SF.

 

[Filip]

Wonder what is meant by a "full-line" Saks store, when it's planned to be only 150,000 SF. The flagship store on Fifth Avenue is 646,000 SF.

It does seem underwhelming, especially after Richard Baker opened his gob to tell us about the gigantic Saks going into Yonge/Bloor at over 340k sqf.

Might I add - the Sherway store will also be larger most likely... This is a very bad entrance for Saks into the Canadian market...

 

[officedweller]

Sounds like they are taking a conservative approach and hopefully the co-location will allow them to expend the Saks over time.

I agree a vertical store (side-by-side stores) would be best. Saks needs a street presence.
I would expect the Saks to be on the art deco Bay Street side (not Yonge) and in the base of the Simpson's Tower.
... and if they're smart, they'll reclad the base of the Simpson's Tower to modernize it
(replacing the bronze glazing with something sparkley)

http://robertmoffatt115.wordpress.com/2011/07/19/simpsons-two-in-one-tower/

I don't know how they'll renovate the bridge - it's currently sized to fit into the arched window of Hudson's Bay.
Cadillac Fairview doesn't have a great reputation on heritage preservation - so will they blast out a piece of the facade?
Or maybe raise it up a level?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/Simpsons_in_Toronto.jpg

 

[devjohnson]

Loving that idea. They should reclad the base of the Simpson Tower with a white glazing thats signature with the newer concept Saks Fifth Avenue locations. Create a Bay/Queen entrance on the first/second floor, which will lead towards the current Hudson's Bay building where Saks will take up that base floor to floor three or four. This may require moving Topman and Bannock, but will be well worth it!

 

[pw20]

Wonder what is meant by a "full-line" Saks store, when it's planned to be only 150,000 SF. The flagship store on Fifth Avenue is 646,000 SF.

Most Saks stores are under 200K.

The day of 500,000 to 1M square foot department stores are LONG LONG gone.

That being said - this is a bit of a mess as it currently stands.

 

[officedweller]

I can also see it being only 150,000 sq ft to keep it very exclusive and minimize overlap with the Hudson's Bay offerings next door in The Room, etc.

 

[One Nut Kruk]

You know its really not that terrible ... I think it implies we'll more likely see a large development on the Bloor street store ...

Yeah, hopefully Value Village will put their flagship store there.

 

[CN Tower]

Yeah, hopefully Value Village will put their flagship store there.

LMFAO.

Look, I hope it works out but I think the smart money is betting on fewer department stores, not more. Saks will have a very tough time in Canada. The only reason they're coming here is because of the perceived under retailed landscape but the reality is Canada has enough retail to meet the fickle and less fashion conscious consumers and e-tailing is only accelerating that trend.

$650,000,000 for an untested tenant occupying 150,000 sq ft in a B class office building in a market where new construction is suppressing office demand considerably? Reckless.

But hey, it's but a sliver of gold to Cadillac Fairview and their $100,000,000,000 sized fund.

 

[LNahid2000]

Yeah, hopefully Value Village will put their flagship store there.

Haha it'll fit in perfectly next to the Dollarama that's going into the Hudson Bay Centre.

 

[One Nut Kruk]

The branding and location is all wrong. Saks should add a 'C' to their name and put a store somewhere in the Village.

[video=youtube;duOguNB17_Q]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duOguNB17_Q&feature=player_detailpage#t=8[/video]

 

[Bayer]

Another article in the Globe about this. It confirms there will be separate entrances for the two stores.

 

[thecharioteer]

Sounds like they are taking a conservative approach and hopefully the co-location will allow them to expend the Saks over time.

I agree a vertical store (side-by-side stores) would be best. Saks needs a street presence.
I would expect the Saks to be on the art deco Bay Street side (not Yonge) and in the base of the Simpson's Tower.

A logical division. The 1929 Chapman & Oxley addition has a presence all its own:

And, of course, includes the now-restored Arcadian Court:

 

[rdaner]

This block has immense development potential; the Bay store could have at least two towers (would 80 stories be granted as of right?) above the existing store. As well, the office tower could be torn down, reclad or have stories added on top. And the dated bridge over Dundas could also be twinned or greatly widened as well as having a second walkway above.