Swedish fast-fashion retailer H&M will be shutting its second store in downtown Toronto in two months, leaving just a flagship location remaining in a major shopping centre.
Last month on December 11, H&M shut its standalone store at 429 Queen Street West, and now we’ve learned that a standalone store at 13-15 Bloor Street West will be shutting on January 22nd. That will leave one large H&M flagship store in downtown Toronto at CF Toronto Eaton Centre, representing a significant downsizing for the retailer in the area in a short period of time.
A sales associate at the Bloor Street store said that the location was closing due to low sales and high rents, with foot traffic said to be minimal particularly in the winter months. Shopping centre locations for H&M are performing better and the flagship store at CF Toronto Eaton Centre, spanning 48,600 square feet over three floors, remains profitable.
The Bloor Street H&M building is currently being offered for lease by JLL, and it will be interesting to see what will replace it. The dramatic three-level space is located just off the iconic corner of Yonge and Bloor streets and is next to The ONE which next year will tentatively be home to an Apple flagship store.
A 50-foot frontage gives 13-15 Bloor Street West a prominence in the area. The building spans 19,800 square feet with each of the three floor plates spanning about 5,000 square feet. Ceiling heights of about 13 feet create a sense of volume in the space. Currently the main floor and second level house H&M’s women’s collections and the basement level has been home to menswear.
The Bloor Street store was one of the first in Canada for H&M when it opened in 2004. The recently shuttered Queen Street location opened in August of 2007 as part of a multi-store expansion for H&M in Canada at the time.
The Bloor Street H&M store had been quietly for lease for several years, and prior to the pandemic was said to be a target for US cannabis retailer MedMen. Brokers have said that numerous retailers have been shown the space since then though none have leased the spot as of press time.
H&M has about 90 stores in Canada with nearly 40 of those being in Ontario. Besides the CF Toronto Eaton Centre store, H&M has locations in several Toronto malls as well as in the Greater Toronto Area. The company’s first Canadian store opened in 2004 at CF Fairview Mall in Toronto.
Last year H&M said that it would close over 240 stores and it appears that some of the closures are continuing into 2023. It’s not yet known if any more locations will be closing in Canada, and we’ll update this story when we learn more. H&M notes that consumers have shifted some spending online since the pandemic, resulting in the need for less physical stores.
