http://www.mississauga.com/news-story/3844088-popular-fashion-chain-simons-eyes-square-one-location/
Popular fashion chain Simons eyes Square One location
ByFrancine Kopun/Torstar Network
QUEBEC CITY — Quebec-based department store La Maison Simons would like to open in the two locations to be vacated by Sears Square One Shopping Centre in Mississauga and at Yorkdale Mall, said president and chief executive officer Peter Simons.
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Sears store at Square One to close "We are actively in discussion," he said, speaking from the family-owned firm's head office in Quebec City yesterday. "I'm hoping to build a great store in Toronto in the near future if we can get a good deal done."
It will be months before a decision is made, said Michael Kitt, executive vice-president, Canada, of Oxford Properties Group, which owns the malls along with the Alberta Investment Management Corp.
"We have a long list of interested parties for both of these properties," said Kitt, adding that Sears Canada won't be vacating the premises until March.
Simons, named after the Scottish immigrant family that founded the store 175 years ago in Quebec City, has a devout following in the province, largely due to its unique apparel and housewares, at a range of prices. In October it opened in the West Edmonton Mall, its first store outside Quebec.
"We have the most complex and wide fashion assortment in the country, from mid-range to high-end designers like Jean Paul Gaultier. People today are very sophisticated. They know how to mix and put together private label and brand name," said Simons, whose great-great-great-great-grandfather founded the company.
In addition to a staff of 100 designers, Simons seeks out budding designers and up-and-comers. It also sells designer brands.
French fashionistas flock to the store on Rue Ste.-Catherine in downtown Montreal, and the sprawling flagship store at Place Sainte-Foy, in the heart of Quebec City's most affluent suburb, is flagged as a tourist destination.
Simons said the firm he runs with his brother Richard is one of the few Canadian apparel retailers left standing after successive waves of U.S. investment in the country, including the sale of Hudson's Bay Co., Canada's oldest retailer, to NRDC Equity Partners, which owns Lord & Taylor, in 2008.
Simons began expanding outside Quebec City in 1999 and now has eight stores, with a ninth set to open at Galeries d'Anjou in East End Montreal in August and a 10th scheduled to open at the Rideau Centre in Ottawa in 2015 — next door to the new Nordstroms department store.
Simons said he bid on the three leases snagged by Nordstroms after Sears agreed to vacate locations at prime malls in Vancouver, Calgary and Ottawa. He lost out to the Seattle-based retailer, which is now planning to open five locations in Canada, including one at Yorkdale and one at Sherway Gardens. It is also shopping for more locations.
Simons said he wants to open unique stores. No two Simons stores are alike.
"We've always had an interest in architecture and art and the environment. We also have an interest in a quality company, creating a unique environment," said Simons.
While he understands the importance of branding, he is discouraged by the way brands are unifying the urban landscape worldwide.
"I was in Milan. You close your eyes and open them up and sometimes you wonder what city you're in. But I have to believe people want unique urban experiences that aren't replicated hundreds of times over."
Retail consultant Wendy Evans of Evans and Co. Consultants Inc. said Simons' entry into the Toronto market is long overdue.
"They have a great point of view; they're different. I think we need that kind of competition in the upper-middle-end and they would be popular."
