Spanish fast-fashion retailer Zara will shut its downtown Toronto store at 50 Bloor Street West at the end of this month. The store has been open for almost 22 years and recently shifted its merchandise mix to a women’s-only store.
The two-level store was the first in the Toronto market when it opened on April 11, 2000. The store includes a street level of 5,910 square feet and a lower level of 4,472 square feet. Until a few months ago, the lower level of the store was a dedicated menswear department before the entire store was converted to a women’s fashions location only.
Prior to being leased by Zara, a Marks & Spencer store operated in the space for several years.
The Zara store is located adjacent to Holt Renfrew which operates a 190,000 square foot store spanning four levels. The closure of Zara could provide Holt Renfrew the opportunity to expand its street level luxury boutique hall if the retailer so desired — about 15 years ago Holts annexed a former Eddie Bauer retail space in a similar fashion. Next to the former Zara store is an empty 2,650 square foot retail space that was formerly occupied by Fossil.
There are currently several vacancies on the lower level of the Holt Renfrew Centre. Next to the Zara space, which was being cleared out over the weekend is a 3,480 square foot retail space formerly occupied by a Rexall drug store, and serval other small tenants have shut over the course of the pandemic.
Zara continues to operate several stores in the Toronto market, including two downtown at CF Toronto Eaton Centre and on Queen Street West. Zara also operates stores across the country in major markets. The retailer’s first Canadian store opened in 1998 at Place Montreal Trust in downtown Montreal.
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But why is Zara closing this location? And why is Birks in Victoria closing? The more interesting story is the why, not the what.
Agreed — neither retailer provided confirmation but I was told Zara is at the end of a lease and could move nearby, and Birks is closing underperforming locations (that would be more obvious given the narrative).