Retail Insider continues its Photo Tour series of Canadian malls to provide a glimpse into shopping centres which may be less frequented lately due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This edition takes us to CF Market Mall in Calgary. The shopping centre contains approximately 229 stores over one floor. While it is managed by Cadillac Fairview, ownership is split 50/50 between Cadillac Fairview and Ivanhoé Cambridge.
Market Mall spans more than 918,000 square feet. A Hudson’s Bay store is the main anchor tenant, and five junior anchors include Sport Chek, Sporting Life, Toys ‘R’ Us, Safeway and Old Navy.
History of CF Market Mall
The shopping centre opened in October 1971 and included a Woodward’s department store as a main anchor tenant. As with most malls, CF Market Mall has had several renovations over the years and two notable expansions occurred in 1988 and 2004. The 1988 expansion expanded the food court (and removed a Famous Players theatre which had been operating since 1977) and the 2004 expansion added the south wing plus expanded the food court.
Breaking up Market Mall
CF Market Mall is roughly laid out in an oval (or ‘race track’) like CrossIron Mills (see also Retail Profile: CrossIron Mills in Calgary). As a result, the simplistic, one level layout was divided into four quarters for the purpose of this retail tour.
- Upper Left (highlighted in Green): Main anchors of Sport Chek, Sporting Life and Safeway as well as two exterior retailers being Saks OFF 5TH and Landmark Theatres.
- Upper Right (highlighted in Yellow): Main anchors Hudson’s Bay and Toys “R” Us.
- Lower Right (highlighted in Blue): Main anchor Old Navy as well as the food court.
- Lower Left (highlighted in Red): Notable brands like Lululemon and Rudsak.
Upper Left section of CF Market Mall
The ‘upper left’ quadrant in the southwest corner of CF Market Mall is the first tour zone of the shopping centre. Most of the action at the shopping centre in terms of retail news has taken place in this section.
This section has two retailers outside of the main shopping centre building which is home to Saks OFF 5th and Landmark Cinemas. The “outparcel site” was redeveloped at a cost of $17.3 million.
- Saks OFF 5TH: Previously a stand-alone HomeSense, the Hudson’s Bay Company’s off-price division opened its 18th Canadian store in August 2018 spanning about 26,600-square-feet. The displaced HomeSense moved into the former Target space inside the main shopping centre building.
- Landmark Cinemas: Calgary-based theatre company opened a five-screen theatre in December 2019 in the space formerly occupied by Staples in 25,000 square feet of space.
Turning our attention to the main shopping centre building, the main anchor retail tenants for the zone include Sport Chek and Sporting Life as well as grocery retailer Safeway.
- Sport Chek: Calgary-based sporting clothing and sports equipment retailer (FGL Sports which operates the Sport Chek brand under the Canadian Tire umbrella) opened an expanded, two level 60,000 square foot ‘Hero Concept” store in September 2017 replacing an existing 33,300 square foot location elsewhere in the mall.
- Sporting Life: Toronto-based sporting goods retailer opened a 40,000-square-foot location in 2017 in the former Target space. It’s the second location in Calgary for the retailer as its first Calgary store opened in October of 2016 at Southcentre Mall (See also: Retail Profile: Southcentre Mall in Calgary). The second floor includes a 33,000 square foot HomeSense which was relocated from outside where the Saks OFF 5th now operates.
A number of retailers in this zone had their location in CF Market Mall featured in Retail Insider over the years, including:
- BonLook: Fashionable Montreal-based eyewear retailer opened the 1,387 square foot location at CF Market Mall in October 2018.
- Levi’s: American iconic denim clothing company opened a ‘tailor shop’ concept spanning 3,055 square feet at CF Market Mall in September 2017.
- Foot Locker: American sportswear and footwear retailer opened its 3,459 square foot location in spring 2019.
Other retailers in this section of CF Market Mall include Bootlegger/Ricki’s, Caposhie, DavidsTea, Pandora, Eddie Bauer, The Children’s Place, Cleo, Little Burgundy, Twisted Goods, Adesso Man, Jersey City, Call It Spring, EB Games, Soft Moc, Journeys, Mountain Warehouse, Indigo Spirit, Zara, GNC General Nutrition Centre, Sublime, Vans, Jack & Jones, Bath & Body Works, Peoples Jewellers and Saneal Cameras.
Upper Right section of CF Market Mall
The “upper right” quadrant in the northwest corner of CF Market Mall is home to the long-standing anchor tenant, Hudson’s Bay.
In addition to Hudson’s Bay, other key tenants include Toys “R” Us and Shoppers Drug Mart.
A number of retailers in this zone had their location in CF Market Mall featured in Retail Insider over the years, including:
- Mark’s: Canadian clothing and footwear retailer specializing in casual and industrial wear opened a new 5,000 square foot mall concept store in CF Market Mall in July 2019.
- Tip Top: Canadian retail clothing chain, selling primarily menswear, updated its CF Market Mall location to the newly-designed prototype stores in fall 2019.
Other retailers in this section of CF Market Mall include Boutique of Leathers, La Senza, Urban Planet, Le Chateau, Candy Heaven, The Source, Paper Root Studios, Hakim Optical, Showcase, Zumiez, QE Home, Sephora, Laura, Sleep Country Canada, The Gap, Charm Diamond Centers, House of Knives, Claire’s Boutique and Ardene.
Lower Right section of CF Market Mall
The shopping centre’s food court resides in the northeast section of CF Market Mall forming the ‘lower right’ zone of the retail profile.
The main anchor in this section is Old Navy spanning 20,000 square feet of retail space.
The food court seating area at CF Market Mall has been shuttered due to the COVID-19 pandemic but a number of food vendors remained open for takeout service.
Various retailers in this section of CF Market Mall include Atmosphere, Guitarworks, Paws Discovery, Paris Jewellers, Pearle Vision, Northern Reflections, Stokes, The Body Shop, American Eagle, Bentley, Melanie Lyne, Aldo, Talbots, Carat Jewellers, Ann-Louise Jewellers, and Purdys Chocolatier.
Lower left section of CF Market Mall
The final tour section is the southeast portion of CF Market Mall and, while it does not have any large-format retailers, there are a number of recognizable brands residing in this section like Apple, Lush Cosmetics and Lululemon.
A number of retailers in this zone had their location in CF Market Mall featured in Retail Insider over the years, including:
- ECCO: Denmark footwear retailer opened its CF Market Mall location in fall 2018.
- Bikini Village: Canadian swimwear retailer opened its CF Market Mall location in fall 2018.
- Poppy Barley: Edmonton-based leather footwear and accessories company opened a 2,400-square-foot location in CF Market Mall in April 2019.
- Bailey Nelson: Australian eyewear retailer opened the company’s 15th location in Canada in November 2019.
- UNTUCKit: New York City-based men’s casual brand opened its CF Market Mall location in July 2019.
- Fossil: American watch and accessory brand opened its CF Market Mall location in fall 2014.
Other retailers in this section of CF Market Mall include Michael Hill, RW&Co., Rudsak, Aveda, Browns, Guess?, Banana Republic, Groovy Handbag, Roots, Bellissima, Sketchers, Steve Madden, Aritzia, La Vie en Rose, Dynamite, Joydrop, Sunrise Records, Saje Natural Wellness, Nespresso, Jewels by Maximes, Swarovski, UNTUCKit, L’Occitane, Birks, Evolution, Oak + Tonic, Lids, MAC, Sunglass Hut, and Kiehl’s.
We had a very interesting photo walk around CF Market Mall in Calgary and we hope you enjoyed coming along with us. Don’t forget to check out our other retail photo tours over the past few months. Thank you for taking this tour with us.
Discover More Related Retail Photo Tours From Retail Insider:
- Retail Profile: Chinook Centre in Calgary (Spring 2021)
- Retail Profile: Southcentre Mall in Calgary (Spring 2021)
- Retail Profile: The CORE Shopping Centre in Downtown Calgary (Spring 2021)
- Retail Photo Tour: Retail at The Distillery Historic District in Toronto and What’s to Come
- Retail Photo Tour: Sainte-Catherine Street in Montreal During COVID-19
- Retail Photo Tour: McArthurGlen Designer Outlet Vancouver (February 20201)
- Photo Tour: The Ever-Changing Sherwood Park Mall in Sherwood Park, Alberta (February 2021)
- Photo Tour: Big Changes and New Retailers at Avalon Mall in St. John’s, Newfoundland (January 2021)
- Photo Tour: West Edmonton Mall Phase 1 and Phase 2 During COVID-19 (December 2020)
- Photo Tour: West Edmonton Mall Phase 3 and Phase 4 During COVID-19 (December 2020)
- Photo Tour: Guildford Town Centre in Surrey During COVID-19 (December 2020)
- Metropolis at Metrotown Photo Tour (December 2020)
- The Amazing Brentwood Photo Tour (December 2020)
- Yorkville Photo Tour (November 2020)
- Bloor Photo Tour (December 2020)
- The PATH Holiday Photo Tour (December 2020)
Very interesting. Thank you!
I see Urban Planet opened in a former H&M Store. H&M closed and didn’t reallocate ? It is not common to have a major Canadian shopping mall, especially CF, without H&M store.
Hi Justin! You are very welcome! Its great doing these tours and being able to share them with our readers! Our RI Editor, Jessica Finch, was at the mall to take the photos and I looked through the photos after your comment – and I can’t believe that I didn’t notice that as well. You are absolutely correct that there isn’t an H&M Store at CF Market Mall at this point and there isn’t anything listed in their mall map either!