Retail Insider has learned that Vancouver-based outdoor brand Arc’teryx has secured a lease for a large retail space at the Holt Renfrew Centre at 50 Bloor Street West in Toronto’s Bloor-Yorkville area.
The store will see the redevelopment of two retail spaces, demolishing the existing demising wall between the former Zara (A4) and Fossil (A5) units and combining into a single unit on the concourse level of the shopping centre. The construction will also see the removal of stairs, with the existing opening between the streetfront and concourse levels being closed in the former Zara space.
The new 9,263 SF Arc’teryx location will occupy a 53 foot stretch of Bloor Street, between the 190,926 SF Holt Renfrew flagship store and the 11,112 SF Aritzia store.
Arlin Markowitz of CBRE and Jessica Connolly of Vela Retail Advisors acted on behalf of Arc’teryx in the lease deal. The Holt Renfrew Centre is owned and managed by Morguard.
Spanish fast-fashion retailer Zara shuttered its store at the Holt Renfrew Centre in February 2022, vacating the neighbourhood after almost 22 years, having opened on April 11th, 2000. Retail Insider covered the closure with in-depth reporting on the location in an article from last year.
Zara continues to operate several stores in the Toronto market, including two downtown at CF Toronto Eaton Centre and on Queen Street West. Zara also operates stores across the country in major markets. The retailer’s first Canadian store opened in 1998 at Place Montreal Trust in downtown Montreal.
Fossil opened its store in 2014 and after six years on Bloor Street, closed Holt Renfrew Centre location around the start of the pandemic. Before Fossil, the space was an Aldo.
Arc’teryx has been investing in the downtown Toronto market, with the introduction of a store at CF Toronto Eaton Centre, which includes a ReBIRD repair station. The Queen Street West location has recently had construction hoarding installed as part of an interior renovation and is scheduled to re-open Summer 2023.
The brand opened a 4,504 sq ft ‘Pinnacle’ hybrid retail and ReBIRD Service Centre in Vancouver’s Kitsilano neighbourhood in November 2022.
We’ll follow up on this story when Arc’teryx re-opens its Queen Street location and when plans are revealed for the Bloor Street location.
