Popular value-priced American footwear retailer DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse has revealed six new locations, all scheduled to open in the fall. After they open, DSW will operate 12 Canadian stores, well on its way to a goal of roughly 40 to 50 Canadian locations.
The six new stores will measure between 20,000 and 22,000 square feet and will be located in Alberta, British Columbia, New Brunswick, and Ontario. The locations include:
- Sherwood Park Mall, Sherwood Park, Alberta
- Island Home Center, Victoria, British Columbia
- Mapleton Center, Moncton, New Brunswick
- Park Place, Barrie, Ontario
- 170 North Queen Street (Across from Sherway Gardens), Etobicoke, Ontario
- Westwood Power Center, London, Ontario
On August 7, 2014, DSW opened its first Canadian locations at Heartland Town Centre in Mississauga and at Woodland Hills Shopping Centre in Newmarket, both in the Greater Toronto Area. In December of 2014, DSW announced a new Whitby, ON location as well as its first for Western Canada — a location at West Edmonton Mall, as well as at stores at Calgary’s CrossIron Mills and Sunridge Mall. Hundreds lined up on Friday, April 10 for the West Edmonton Mall opening.
DSW also sells online, and it’s Canadian e-commerce site launched last winter. DSW’s Canadian stores also operate as fulfillment centres, shipping ordered product either to customer’s homes or to local Town Shoes-owned locations for pickup. DSW’s new Western Canadian stores now also act as new e-commerce fulfillment centres, as the brand expands nationally.
DSW’s Canadian stores are about the same size as its U.S. locations. DSW Canada CEO Mr. Dinan recently told us that DSW is ideally seeking Canadian retail space in the 18,000 to 24,000 square foot range. Each Canadian DSW store will have over 22,000 pairs of shoes, as well as an extensive selection of handbags and accessories. About 80% of the brands in DSW’s American stores are carried in Canada, and Canada’s DSW stores also carry brands exclusive to Town Shoes.
DSW is hugely popular in the United States with over 430 locations in that country. Its name indicates its business model – it sells designer shoes at discounted prices. The company has hundreds of millions in cash and no debt.
