Nordstrom announced plans to start serving customers with its first full-line stores in Canada beginning Fall of 2014. The company is partnering with Cadillac Fairview, one of North America's largest investors, owners and managers of commercial real estate, to lease four stores at premier shopping centres located in Calgary, Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver.
Nordstrom will be moving into space that will be vacated by Sears and then renovated at Pacific Centre in Vancouver, Calgary's Chinook Centre, Rideau Centre in Ottawa, with a new-construction store opening in Toronto's Sherway Gardens.
“It's exciting to finally have this opportunity to better serve our Canadian customers closer to home and we can't wait to open our doors,” said Erik Nordstrom, president of stores for Nordstrom, Inc. “Cadillac Fairview has been instrumental in helping us get started in Canada, and we're thrilled to be part of these premier shopping destinations. While we're fortunate to have many loyal Canadian customers who've shopped with us over the years, we recognize we're new here and that we have to earn our customers' business. We look forward to what we will learn and are grateful for the chance to better serve our Canadian customers.”
“We are delighted that Nordstrom has found a home in Canada in our shopping centres, and we welcome them to the Canadian market,” said John Sullivan, president and CEO, Cadillac Fairview. “Nordstrom is an excellent fit for all four locations; not only will they transform our shopping centres, but enhance the Canadian retail landscape as a whole.”
Tentative timeframes for the store openings include:
Fall of 2014:
Chinook Centre, Calgary – two levels, approximately 140,000 square feet
Spring 2015:
Rideau Centre, Ottawa – two levels, approximately 157,000 square feet
Pacific Centre, Vancouver – three levels, approximately 230,000 square feet
Fall of 2016:
Sherway Gardens, Toronto – two levels, approximately 138,000 square feet
Nordstrom also announced it will continue exploring opportunities to open additional full-line stores as well as Nordstrom Racks, its off-price retail division, as part of the company's future expansion into Canada.
