Leading sports retailer Lids is set to open a new storefront in Toronto’s Union Station, re-opening at the transit hub after shuttering before the revitalization started back in the early 2010’s.
Lids was originally in the GO Concourse at Union Station, across from Mr. Sub and around the corner from McDonalds and Cinnabon. Fans would walk right past the store as they would travel from the TTC to Scotiabank Arena (then known as the Air Canada Centre), providing an opportunity to get a last minute hat or jersey before a Toronto Raptors or Toronto Maple Leafs game.
The space that Lids will be going into was originally designed to be a beauty bar, displaying signage for months before the construction hoarding was changed to generic signage promoting the area. Recently, the recognizable logo was attached to its future home and memories came flooding back to a time before Nespresso and Decathlon.
Lids will be joining a transit hub that continues to add retailers en route to eventual completion.
Nespresso opened a new concept store in November 2023, joining Decathlon, Sephora, TD Bank, LCBO, Fika and % Arabica in the Bay Street Promenade. Retail Insider recently reported that Japanese-based % Arabica would be replacing Starbucks in the centre court at CF Toronto Eaton Centre.
Around the corner, The Source and Hazukido recently opened new locations, with Cinnaholic to debut a space right in the middle. In the Foodie Aisle, Mightybird recently opened its first location.
With Lids set to join Union Station in the near future, the brand was also recently featured in Retail Insider with the opening of Paris Saint Germain. As part of a partnership with Lids and Fanatics, the Parisian football club opened its 1st Canadian storefront at 399 Queen Street West.
Indianapolis-based Lids Sports Group, owned by Fanatics, is the largest licensed sports retailer in North America, selling fan and fashion-orientated headwear and apparel across more than 2,000 retail locations globally.
