Toronto Eaton Centre to get a new retail anchor
Who will move into the huge Eaton Centre space that will be vacated by Sears Canada in February?
Sears Canada says it is selling the leases on five more of its department stores, including its flagship location in Toronto's Eaton Centre, above.. The $400 million transaction is the largest sale of leases since the retailer began shedding assets and cutting jobs.
By: Francine Kopun Business reporter, Published on Tue Oct 29 2013
In a move that had begun to feel inevitable, Sears Canada announced Tuesday morning it will be vacating the Toronto Eaton Centre at the end of February, opening one of the best retail addresses in the country to stores vying for prime spots in a crowded market.
Among the possible contenders: Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale’s and Simons, the family-owned Quebec department store that has begun expanding outside the province.
Retail consultant Wendy Evans said the space is so large it could be rented out to two or more retailers.
“For most single stores, I think it would be too big,” said Evans, founder of Evans & Company Consultants Inc. Evans worked in expansion planning and research at Eaton’s when it opened the Eaton Centre in 1977.
“I think the first thought would be Nordstrom and second, potentially, Saks. It would be really great if Cadillac Fairview pulled that off,” she said.
“There could be several large tenants.”
When it first opened, the Eaton store was 900,000 square feet on nine floors, according to business writer Rod McQueen in his book, The Eatons.
But the upper floors are occupied by Sears Canada head office operations and Sears will retain the upper four floors, said Sears chief executive officer Doug Campbell in an interview on Tuesday.
He said the downtown head office location is popular with employees.
Evans said Bloomingdale’s, now owned by Macy’s Inc., has long been interested in moving into Canada.
She didn’t rule out the possibility that the space could be claimed by a single retailer – the Bay store opposite the Eaton Centre on the south side of Queen Street West is one million square feet. Evans estimates roughly 800,000 square feet are in retail use.
The space will require major renovations to accommodate new tenants, said Evans.
Nordstrom has already announced it is opening five department stores in Canada, beginning with a Calgary location in the fall of 2014, and Sherway Gardens and Yorkdale in the fall of 2016, but it has yet to land a marquis location in downtown Toronto.
Nordstrom is also looking for sites for its discount Nordstrom Rack stores in Canada.
“We are hopeful that we can land a downtown location so that we can better serve customers in Toronto. While we continue to work toward this goal, at this time we just don't have anything specific to share as to where this might be or where we are in the process,” said Nordstrom spokesperson Colin Johnson.
John G. Crombie, national retail director of the global real estate firm Cushman and Wakefield, said Nordstrom seems like a good fit for the location.
“I think it makes more sense for the Nordstrom folks to come downtown,” said Crombie.
It also offers Cadillac Fairview an opportunity to revitalize the area of the mall anchored by Sears.
HBC announced in July that it had purchased Saks Fifth Avenue for $2.9-billion (U.S), and planned to open up to seven full-line Saks stores in Canada as well as two dozen locations under its Saks Off Fifth discount stores.
The Bay has been renovating the store on Queen Street West. Putting a Saks into the north end of the Eaton Centre where Sears is now would bookend the mall with HBC properties.
The Toronto Eaton Centre is one of the busiest and most productive in Canada and operates 364 days a year. It is closed only on Christmas Day.
Saks is one of the world’s leading luxury brands.
Simons owns flagship properties in Quebec City and Montreal selling unique fashions designed in house and by up-and-coming designers. It also has a store in the West Edmonton Mall.
http://www.thestar.com/business/2013/10/29/toronto_eaton_centre_to_get_a_new_retail_anchor.html
