La Cordée continues to grow its retail presence in the Quebec market with the opening of a new flagship store, its eighth, at Promenades Cathédrale in the heart of downtown Montréal.
The Québec outdoor equipment retailer says it is the only one in Canada offering customers an in-store mobile climbing wall.
“We are especially pleased to be officially opening our very first store in downtown Montréal,” said Cédric Morisset, President of La Cordée. “With an exceptional customer experience and a concept that is unique in the country, this eighth La Cordée store will enable us to serve our urban clientele and all outdoor sports enthusiasts even more effectively. This official opening is the latest step in our emblematic banner’s strategy: to reconnect with the DNA that made its reputation and become king of the mountain again.”
La Cordée is owned by Mach Capital, an investment company of the Mach Group, one of Canada’s leading private real estate owners and developers.
The new 25,000-square-foot La Cordée store is strategically located in an area of the city renowned for its vibrancy, and is designed to enhance the shopping experience by encouraging consumers to try out the products in a variety of different spaces on-site.
“From the outset of the creation of this new retail concept, the customer is at the heart of the store’s narrative, with everything designed to replicate a real-life outdoors experience for the customer. Because it is located directly beneath the cathedral, the store also boasts a unique cachet combining history and design,” says the company.
“In addition to the mobile climbing wall, a facility unique in Canada that is sure to catch the public’s attention, the new store features workshops for cycling, cross-country skiing and hiking. All of this revolves around a lobby and lounge area designed to encourage interaction and enable the community to rally together around their shared passion for outdoor activities.
La Cordée has been in business for 70 years. All stores are in Quebec.
Promenades Cathédrale is a 135,495-square-foot retail complex on Saint Catherine Street in downtown Montreal, underground beneath the Anglican Christ Church Cathedral.
“It is obviously an iconic place in downtown Montreal,” said Morisset. “It’s underneath one of the oldest cathedrals in North America. It’s a pristine location. It is underneath and it is on the way to the Metro McGill, or the subway McGill.
“So there’s a lot of foot traffic. It’s also underneath the KPMG tower. There’s also a lot of office people that work above our store.”
The brand partnered with Benoy (previously GH+A design studios) for this project.
Morisset said the retailer has opened three stores in the last 18 months.
“Right now we’re going to pause for at least 18 to 24 months and we’re going to focus on our location right now. Probably the next step for our organization is going to be in 24 months from now,” he said.
Morisset said the short-term plan is to gain even more traction throughout Quebec.
“We’re really Montreal centric right now and Quebec City centric but there’s a lot of smaller cities we could be like Gatineau, Chicoutimi, Rimouski and so on. So there’s a lot of great smaller towns where we will focus before crossing the Ontario border.”
