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. Building upon the video mall tour we did for Park Royal Shopping Centre in September 2020, we revisited the shopping centre this spring to check-in on changes happening to the mall.
In case you missed our first Photo Tour series video tour, check out the September 2020 video tour of Park Royal Shopping Centre below:
To recap, the Park Royal Shopping Centre has three separate shopping areas: Park Royal South (the largest portion of the shopping centre with interior and exterior components), Park Royal North (across Marine Drive to the north) and The Village at Park Royal (an outdoor, Whistler Village-like shopping area to the west of Park Royal South).
Park Royal South – Exterior Update
The Park Royal South portion of the shopping centre has both interior and exterior components. The outdoor section on the north/top portion is next to the new Gateway Residences currently under construction and sandwiched between Marine Drive and the indoor/interior portion of Park Royal South.
Peloton Opening
The first retailer in the Park Royal South outdoor component that we noticed wasn’t in our September 2020 tour was Peloton. The New York City-based fitness company, founded in 2012 and known particularly for its luxury stationary bicycles that live-stream spin classes, opened at Park Royal in West Vancouver in October 2020.
RYU Closing
A casualty of restructuring, Vancouver-based RYU (Respect Your Universe) Apparel issued a flurry of news releases in the past few months as it has embarked on stabilizing the retail operations with an optimistic outlook for the future. In Retail Insider’s CEO interview in March 2021, it was noted that the athletic brand RYU announced in February of 2020 several store closures to coincide with its restructuring. In a letter to shareholders, Marcello Leone, the company’s CEO, President and Chairman of the Board at the time, described 2019 as the retailer’s most challenging year since inception. Just over a year ago, the company had a total of 11 stores — there are now just three left in Toronto, Vancouver, and Williamsburg, NY.
Specific to the Park Royal location, the former 3,967 square foot retail space had been designed by architect Tony Robins with the same industrial-modern aesthetic look as RYU’s award winning flagship store in Vancouver’s Kitsilano. The brand’s third retail store location opened at Park Royal Shopping Centre in 2017.
Talbots Opening
In the former “LOFT” location (which was part of the closure of all Canadian Ann Taylor, LOFT and Justice store as American parent company Ascena filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July 2020),is a new location for American specialty women’s clothing, shoes and fashion accessories retailer Talbots.
Michael Kors Closing and Restaurant Opening
Once a Michael Kors boutique, the September 2020 video tour noted it was vacated with a “Eat – Coming Soon” banner in the window. Signage for the new “Hello Nori” Japanese restaurant was installed and will accompany the Robson location which opened in October 2020.
Park Royal South – Interior Mall Update
Heading indoors, the tour entered the enclosed Park Royal South which is located directly south/below of the exterior section in the map below. The interior mall opens up the two level shopping centre for guests to visit retail shops as well as to purchase takeout from the food court.
Shaw Communications Store Opening
Shaw Communications announced in August 2020 its intention to open 12 new concept stores in Western Canada. The new concept stores were redesigned to provide customers with an immersive destination where they can explore, learn, and interact directly with the latest Shaw products and services, including Shaw’s suite of in-home technology.
SwimCo Store Closing
Canadian swimwear retailer Swimco was operating just swimmingly during the September 2020 tour. Unfortunately, the Park Royal location was part of the company-wide closures when it went bankrupt and shut down on October 10, 2020.
The Village at Park Royal – Mall Update
The other outdoor area of Park Royal is “The Village” which is similar to the shopping areas in Whistler Village where shoppers can walk from store-to-store in an open-air environment. This area is located to the west of Park Royal South.
Caposhie Closing and Room In Order Opening
The September 2020 video tour noted a vacant Caposhie location, a retailer known for small batch hand crafted and upcycled naturally made fashion items. Our recent visit noted that Room In Order, a home furnishing retailer specializing in organization solutions, had opened in October 2020.
DAVIDsTEA closing
The September 2020 video tour noted the Montreal-based DAVIDsTEA location had its shelving emptied and interiors were starting to be taken down. Our recent visit noted the completion of the DAVIDsTEA closure at Park Royal which was part of the closure of 82 Canadian stores announced while filing for bankruptcy protection in July 2020.
We hope you enjoyed this update of Park Royal Shopping Centre in West Vancouver, B.C. and are always excited to see the changes at Canadian shopping centres. 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: CF Market Mall in Calgary (Spring 2021)
- 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)
