Italian luxury brand Brunello Cucinelli has unveiled a pop-up store at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre ahead of a permanent store set to open nearby. The brand is expanding across the country by opening standalone stores.
The Yorkdale pop-up spans about 3,250 square feet on one level, and is located between a Tudor store operated by Raffi Jewellers, and Michel’s Bakery which will be relocating in a few months. Brunello Cucinelli will open a permanent store nearby in a new luxury wing at Yorkdale that is being developed by landlord Oxford Properties. Luxury brands such as Loewe and others are confirmed to be opening in the new wing, made possible by relocating various retail tenants that had occupied the central corridor of the mall.
DWSV Realty represented Brunello Cucinelli in Canada and negotiated the Yorkdale lease deal on behalf of the retailer.
The new Yorkdale pop-up replaces a Brunello Cucinelli concession that operated for a couple of years at Holt Renfrew in the mall. Brunello Cucinelli recently closed the concession, and the space will be annexed by Chanel which is significantly expanding its concession at Yorkdale. This week, Chanel relocated its Yorkdale concession at Holts into a space in the store that formerly housed a restaurant, while the expanded two-level Chanel concession is constructed.
Brunello Cucinelli’s Canadian store expansion has been ongoing for nearly a decade. The brand’s first Canadian store opened at 745 Thurlow Street in Vancouver in the fall of 2015, spanning about 2,700 square feet. A flagship location opened in early 2019 at 102 Yorkville Avenue, spanning more than 8,000 square feet over three floors. The brand also operates an outlet store at the Toronto Premium Outlets in Halton Hills.
In Canada, Brunello Cucinelli also has a concession presence at Holt Renfrew stores and is distributed in some upscale multi-brand retailers such as Harry Rosen.
We’ll follow up on the story with more details on Brunello Cucinelli’s Canadian expansion, which sources say is a multi-city endeavour.
