*****UPDATE: This store opened November 30th, 2013*****
Joe Fresh will open its second Downtown Vancouver store location in December at 1164 Robson Street in Downtown Vancouver, according to sources. We’ve been told that the store has signed a two-year lease for space formerly occupied by retailer RW&CO.
At 4,266 square feet, the store will be smaller than Joe Fresh’s Granville Street flagship, and sources say that the Robson Street won’t carry children’s wear.
We’re not sure what rent will be paid by Joe Fresh but according to its listing on Spacelist.ca, the retail space has a base rent of $225/square foot/year. With all costs in, gross rent is assessed at over $288/square foot. That’s higher than the quoted $200/square foot Robson Street rents quoted in a recent Colliers International report. We expect these are the highest rents paid for a Joe Fresh store in Canada, though certainly less than what they’re paying in Manhattan.
Vancouver can boast having opened the world’s first free-standing Joe Fresh store. It opened in October 2010 at 540 Granville Street, across from Holt Renfrew. The 14,000 square foot, two-level flagship store was designed by Toronto-based architectural firm Burdifilek.
Joe Fresh is the latest retailer to sign a lease on Robson Street’s ‘1100 block’ (between Thurlow and Bute Streets). The block has suffered from multiple vacancies, though some vacant spaces have finally been leased, including half of a former Esprit store that will soon open as footwear retailer New Balance.
