Nordstrom President Blake Nordstrom has revealed that off-price Nordstrom Rack will enter the Canadian market in the fall of 2017. This is a considerable delay, as Nordstrom Rack initially intended to open Canadian locations not long after Nordstrom opened its first full-priced store at Calgary’s CF Chinook Centre in September of 2014.
Nordstrom says that it plans to open as many as 20 Canadian Nordstrom Rack stores. It will face competition from Saks Fifth Avenue‘s Saks OFF 5TH, which plans to open approximately 25 Canadian stores. Nordstrom has indicated that much of the product carried in its Canadian Rack stores will be from its full-line Canadian stores, as opposed to OFF 5TH which primarily carries made-for-outlet product.
Landlords have told us that they have been in talks with Nordstrom Rack, and that several Canadian locations have recently been under negotiation, particularly in Western Canada. We have been asked not to discuss these locations at this time.
In 2013, sources told us that Nordstrom Rack had secured several Canadian locations, with its first to open at Ottawa Train Yards. In the spring of 2014, Nordstrom announced that it was delaying bringing Nordstrom Rack to Canada, citing rapidly expanding Target‘s struggles with its Canadian operations.
Saks recently revealed that it would open a 30,000 square foot OFF 5TH at Calgary’s CrossIron Mills in September of 2016, and sources say that OFF 5TH has secured space in all three major Western Canadian metropolitan areas, with announcements expected to be made shortly. Saks OFF 5TH’s first Canadian locations will open next spring in Ottawa (Tanger Outlets Ottawa), Niagara-on-the-Lake (Outlet Collection at Niagara) and at Vaughan Mills, north of Toronto.
