As Canadian retailing increasingly becomes Americanized, outlet malls continue to be built across the country. In this article we’ll discuss the locations and details of the outlet malls scheduled to open in Canada between now and 2017, as well as briefly discuss some recently opened Canadian outlet centres.
The following is a description of the outlet malls scheduled to open in Canada this year and into 2017:
McArthurGlen Designer Outlets, Vancouver: Opening in the spring of 2015, North America’s first McArtherGlen Designer Outlets will be located at Templeton Skytrain Station next to Vancouver International Airport. The mall’s first phase will span 240,000 square feet with 80 retailers, many of them being luxury brands. McArthurGlen representatives say they’ll provide us a list of retailers closer to the mall’s opening date and when they do, we’ll reveal them in a separate article. Eventually, the mall will span 400,000 square feet with about 150 stores, with an unknown completion date.
RioCan/Tanger Outlets at Calaway Park, Calgary: Originally planned to be 350,000 square feet housing about 80 retailers, the Calgary outlet mall will not proceed, according to a November 2014 article in the Calgary Herald. In the article, it was revealed that RioCan and Tanger have decided against buying the outlet mall’s land, in effect scrapping the entire project.
Tsawwassen Mills, South Delta, BC: Located south of Vancouver, Ivanhoe Cambridge‘s Tsawwassen Mills will boast 16 anchors and about 1.2 million square feet of retail space. Scheduled to open in the spring of 2016, the mall will feature British Columbia’s first Bass Pro Shops. According to its developer, the mall will feature a mix of premium fashion brands, factory outlets, restaurants, first-to-market retailers, a 1,100 seat food court, and will be modelled on the successful CrossIron Mills in Calgary and Vaughan Mills in Toronto.
The Outlet Collection at Edmonton International Airport: Scheduled to open in the fall of 2016, Ivanhoe Cambridge is building a 350,000 square foot outlet mall to house about 85 retailers. The enclosed mall (good idea, considering the weather) will be located on 45 acres of land owned by Edmonton International Airport. Given its location, it could attract shoppers from all over Northern Alberta, as well as possibly air travellers.
The Outlet Collection at Winnipeg: Yet another outlet project developed by Ivanhoe Cambridge, Winnipeg’s outlet mall will measure about 385,000 square feet and feature about 90 retailers. Located on Winnipeg’s southwest side within Seasons at Tuxedo, the Outlet Collection is expected to open some time in 2017.
These new outlet malls join several malls which have recently opened in Canada. In October of 2014, the 365,000 square foot, 85-store Premium Outlets Montreal opened to enormous crowds. Also in October, the 350,000 square foot, 75-store Ottawa Tanger Outlets opened to the public. May of 2014 saw the opening of the 520,000 square foot, 102-store Outlet Collection at Niagara in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, competing with an outlet mall in nearby New York State. In August of 2013, the 375,000 square foot, 90-store Toronto Premium Outlets opened with several first-to-Canada retailers.
Tsawassen sounds like it could be a disaster. Just ask Riocan about Kingston. Way too much retail in one node.
I agree if they are building that mall with intentions to attract people from Vancouver Island for business they can guess again, people are not going to pay $200 plus dollars just to come to a mall, an outdoor mall at that so you can scratch the rainy season out too.
these outlets are dumps. brands (and companies who own them) simply load the market with thei discounted products, at which point the likes MK, Hugo Boss etc which draw consumers in, are no longer "luxury". Vaughan Mills is a maze, with maybe 2km of walking to confuse shoppers and blow their money and stuff they probably don’t need.
As for these open concept outlets…this is Canada, not Florida, Houston or California. 6 months our of the year we have winter. A place like Premium Outlet on 401 is unbearable with wind tunnels, salt rocks everywhere and terrible parking…
The Ottawa outlets are brand new, and have been a a total ghost town since the opening.
They won’t be once Off 5th by Saks Fifth Avenue opens. We’re expecting significantly increased traffic and will be reporting more on this shortly.
We’ll be discussing Off 5th by Saks Fifth Avenue’s new stores in the near future, as they’ve secured Canadian retail space for a national rollout.