Lady LUX

Beginning in 2015, Nordstrom is making plans to expand into Canada. The Seattle-based company intends to convert and renovate at least three Sears sites with possibilities at Vancouver’s Pacific Centre, the Deerfoot Mall in Calgary and Ottawa’s Rideau Centre. In addition, six other locations could open through 2020, with one option on the west end of Toronto in the Sherway Gardens lifestyle center. Retail analysts suggest Nordstrom in Canada will fill a wide-open niche between high-end stores Holt Renfrew and Harry Rosen.

“There’s lots of excitement about Nordstrom coming to Canada. Nordstrom has extraordinary brand perception,” said Toronto-based retail consultant Antony Karabus, as reported WWD.com. “I can see Nordstrom operating six to eight full-line stores in Canada, with probably three in Toronto, a couple in Calgary, Montreal could handle one, Vancouver could handle one and Ottawa could handle one. And there could probably be about two dozen Rack stores.”

On September 13, the upscale department store is expected to reveal a partnership with The Cadillac Fairview Corp. Ltd., one of North America’s leading developers. The announcement will take place in Toronto, where the corporation is based. Cadillac Fairview owns the three Sears locations that Nordstrom will initially move into and has reportedly spent $200 million to buy back Sears leases across Canada.

“This is a logical move for Nordstrom,” said Mark Cohen, a marketing professor at Columbia Business School and former chairman and chief executive officer of Sears Canada Inc. “Nordstrom has quite a few Canadian customers in the Pacific Northwest. I think they are going to do very well right out of the gate.

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