Los Angeles-based women’s contemporary fashion brand Anine Bing is opening its second Canadian storefront in a retail space at the Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto’s Bloor-Yorkville area this spring. It follows the recent opening of Bing’s first Canadian storefront at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre.
The new Anine Bing location at the Four Seasons, in a retail space at the southeast corner of Bay and Scollard Streets, was previously occupied by retailer Archives which shut its physical store during the pandemic. The retail space spans 1,193 square feet with a wide frontage at 1275 Bay Street. Mitchell Dearman of MCD Retail represented Anine Bing in the lease deal, with CBRE’s Urban Retail Team, under the direction of Arlin Markowitz and Emily Everett, acting on behalf of the landlord.
Arlin Markowitz said in a statement that the opening of Anine Bing at the Four Seasons Hotel, “marries the two world class brands at the height of fashion and hospitality in a lease that while small in square footage, will have a big impact on the Bloor-Yorkville node”.
Anine Bing opened its first Canadian store at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre in the fall of 2023. The 1,400 square foot location between Longchamp and a new Marc Jacobs store is across from Holt Renfrew, and features a minimalist interior.
The Anine Bing brand was founded by the designer of the same name in 2012, and is known to bring in “elements of Scandinavian simplicity with American energy” to its clothing and other product categories that include jewellery, accessories, bags and footwear. The brand has a following, which means despite fact that the Four Seasons Hotel is a distance from Bloor Street and Yorkville’s main shopping areas, Anine Bing is expected to attract clients and see success in the new Bloor-Yorkville store.
Anine Bing has 15 stores in the United States, including a mix of street front and mall stores. The company also has nine stores internationally in markets including London (3 stores), Paris (2 stores), Berlin, Melbourne (2 stores), and Sydney.
It’s not known yet if Anine Bing will open more stores in Canada — one could guess that Vancouver could be a target at some point, either a location downtown or at Oakridge Park, which will be completed in the spring of 2025.
The upper portion of Bay Street, North of Bloor Street, is seeing some changes that include new retailers and foodservice businesses. Last year, Israel-based Miznon opened its first restaurant location in Canada at 1235 Bay Street, which was followed by Pet Valu in the same building. Rumble Boxing recently opened on the building’s lower level and soon, Carrie’s Pilates will open above it at 62 Cumberland Street.
The office tower at 1255 Bay Street will eventually be demolished for redevelopment, with new ground-floor retail spaces being part of the mix. Cumberland Terrace, at the corner of Bay and Cumberland Streets will also eventually be demolished with a multi-tower development planned. Towards Bloor Street, more changes will be happening on the west side of Bay Street including an updated office tower on the corner and an extension of the Village of Yorkville Park that will involve demolishing the 1240 Bay Street office building that also houses various retail businesses.
Bloor-Yorkville is seeing a retail transformation that includes the opening of flagship locations for luxury brands. One of the most exciting upcoming retail openings will be Saint Laurent, which is building a 10,400 square foot flagship store at 110 Bloor Street West. It’s not yet known when the store will open, and construction appears to be delayed but is progressing. Canada’s first location for French women’s fashion brand Anne Fontaine will also be opening at 110 Bloor this year, joining Alexander Wang which opened in December and soon-to-open foodservice businesses including Paris Baguette and Mandy’s Gourmet Salads.
Other recent luxury brand openings in the Bloor-Yorkville area include Ferragamo, Bonpoint, Rolex, Van Cleef & Arpels, Kith, Panerai, IWC, and Roger Dubuis. Gucci at 130 Bloor Street West will expand by 2,500 square feet, made possible by annexing an adjacent space recently vacated by women’s fashion brand St. John Knits. Brooks Brothers recently opened in the former Club Monaco space at the southeast corner of Bloor and Avenue Road, with a lease extending at least a year. Burberry is beginning construction on a new store at 100 Bloor Street West, which will replace its current store at 144 Bloor. Towards Yonge Street on Bloor, Browns Shoes recently opened at 60 Bloor Street West and this spring, Vancouver-based Arc’teryx will open at 50 Bloor Street West next to Aritzia, while lululemon will also soon unveil a three-level flagship at the northwest corner of Yonge and Bloor Streets. And there’s even more happening that we’ll be reporting on in the coming weeks and months.
In terms of retail offerings, Bloor-Yorkville is competing primarily with the Yorkdale Shopping Centre for brands and shoppers willing to part with money on big-ticket items. Over the past decade, Yorkdale has managed to secure the largest single clustering of luxury brands of any place in Canada, and this year it’s adding another 100,000 square feet of luxury retail space to the mall. Bloor-Yorkville has managed to hold its own with new brands opening stores, while also offering a wide range of restaurants, bars, beauty services and other reasons to visit the area. Bloor-Yorkville also has one key brand not at Yorkdale — Hermes, which operates its Canadian flagship at 100 Bloor Street West. It’s next to a Holt Renfrew Men’s store which will be relocating back into Holts’ flagship at 50 Bloor Street West towards the end of this year.
