Quebec City-based large format fashion retailer La Maison Simons has opened its 17th store in Canada in Halifax. The location marks a milestone in the family-owned business which expanded for the first time outside of Quebec in 2012, and now has stores from BC to the Maritimes.
The Halifax store is located at the Halifax Shopping Centre, and spans 56,200 square feet on one level. The store occupies the top floor of a former Sears store that operated in the mall until 2018.
Bernard Leblanc, President and CEO of Simons, said in an interview that the Halifax store cost more than $20 million to build, and has about 150 employees. The unique store, architecturally conceptualized by Lemay Michaud with interior design by McKinley Studios, features a design reflecting Nova Scotia’s rich maritime and naval history. Leblanc, who is the first non-family member to lead the Simons chain, noted that Simons’ founder, John Simons, frequently crossed the Atlantic to source merchandise from England and the European continent. It is said that he would have completed over 70 such journeys while at the helm of Simons, with the store’s design referencing the history.
The store’s exterior facade references the sails of the famous Nova Scotian schooner The Bluenose — it’s a tribute to the region as well as to family member Peter Simons who was a sailmaker in the early 1800s in Quebec City.
As with other Simons stores, art work is given a prominent place in the Halifax location, including local artists. In the ‘Le 31’ Men’s department, a painting of Peggy’s Cove by Nova Scotian artist Alyssa Doggett (Watercolours Make Me Smile) takes its place in a wooden frame crafted by another local artist, Felicia Gervais (Lovely Rose & Timber). Suspended from the ceiling, a composition of marine cordage by Melanie Colosimo embodies the journeys of members of a maritime community intrinsically linked by diverse connections.
In the Women’s Contemporaine department, three quilts by Andrea Tsang Jackson depicting the Prairies are part of the design. The Nova Scotian textile artist is also part of the online platform Fabrique 1840 by Simons with her 3rd Story Workshop.
The store’s interior references the country, with each department having been conceptualized to represent a Canadian city or region. The Pacific Coast, the Okanagan Valley, the Rockies, the Prairies, the Arctic, the Great Lakes, Downtown Toronto, Old Montreal and the Maritimes all serve as design inspiration. Each department is intended to be a ‘discovery zone’, delineated by architectural spinoffs, where each space reveals its identity through colours and aesthetics. The interior facades are covered in green ceramics to highlight Simons’ emblematic green.
Vancouver artist Douglas Coupland’s National Portrait is also showcased in the Halifax store, made up of dozens of 3D-printed busts of Simons customers from across the country. This imposing portrait of the Canadian people of the 21st century is said to demonstrate the advances of technology while experimenting with proportions, colours and perspectives.
The Halifax store features Simons’ collections and national and international brands — though Leblanc noted that the designer department Edito, known for luxury brands such as Balmain and Jil Sander, will not be part of the Halifax offering. Various in-house departments and brands will be featured however, including Twik, young women’s emerging and creative fashion, Icône, bold feminine fashion, Contemporaine, edited modern women’s fashion, Miiyu, women’s evolved lingerie and sleepwear, Le 31, avant-garde and timeless menswear, Djab, edgy and authentic streetwear for men, I.Fiv5, on-trend activewear, as well as Simons Maison, distinctive home fashion.
Leblanc said that Simons’ private brands make up about 2/3 of the offerings in-store, while designer brands make up about a third. Chain-wide, e-commerce now represents about 35% of sales for Simons, made possible with a new state-of-the-art distribution centre built during the pandemic.
The Halifax Shopping Centre is a super-regional centre that was acquired by Primaris on November 30, 2023
“We are very pleased to announce the opening of Simons, a Quebec-based fashion retailer, as part of the $52 million redevelopment at the Halifax Shopping Centre,” said Patrick Sullivan, President and Chief Operating Officer of mall landlord Primaris REIT. “Simons is an excellent addition to our merchandise mix and brings a unique offering to the Halifax market.”
In addition to the 56,200 square foot Simons, the $52 million redevelopment of the former Sears space at the Halifax Shopping Centre includes a 38,500 square foot Winners and a 15,000 square foot Pet Smart, which are now open. A 13,000 square foot Dollarama is expected to open by the end of this month. The redevelopment provides shoppers with an additional entrance to the site, incorporating a modern aesthetic including a three-level glazed atrium, providing additional natural light.
The Halifax Shopping Centre is comprised of 562,000 square feet with a committed occupancy of 96.2%. Other large format tenants include Sport Chek and Zara, with unique to market commercial retail unit tenants including Apple, Aritzia, Michael Kors, Victoria’s Secret, Browns Shoes, and Nespresso, and other notable tenants include Sephora and Lululemon.
La Maison Simons was founded by John Simons in Quebec City in 1840 and in 2012, opened its first store outside of the province of Quebec at West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton. The company has since expanded across Canada, opening stores in markets including West Vancouver, Edmonton (Londonderry Mall being a second store), downtown Calgary, Mississauga, Ottawa and now Halifax. The Halifax Shopping Centre location is the 17th for Simons in Canada.
Simons CEO Bernard Leblanc didn’t have any new stores to announce, though he noted in an interview that the Vancouver and Toronto markets are under-served by Simons stores. Rumours in the industry have it that Simons could occupy part of more than one Nordstrom store in Canada that shut last year with the US chain’s Canadian exit — a TikTok journalist claimed that Simons would open at CF Pacific Centre in Vancouver, and Leblanc said that was an unsubstantiated rumour. Nordstrom’s other large Canadian stores were in Toronto (CF Toronto Eaton Centre, Yorkdale, CF Sherway Gardens) as well as at CF Rideau Centre in Ottawa and CF Chinook Centre in Calgary. The CF Rideau Centre is already home to a beautiful Simons store, so a deal for a replacement location is likely off the table, at least for that particular mall property.
Related Retail Insider Articles
- La Maison Simons Launches 1st High-End In-House Designer Collection [Interview]
- Video Interview: Bernard Leblanc, CEO of La Maison Simons Discusses Retail Expansion
- La Maison Simons Announces Halifax Store with Landlord to Repurpose Former Sears Box
Additional Photos from the Grand Opening Event
Now I’m just waiting for La Maison Simons to come to Winnipeg.
In today’s retail climate how long until they go out of business? 20 mil just to build the store! Who tied the ropes hanging from the ceiling and called it art? Looks unfinished and kinda dumb IMHO. I want ppl to keep their jobs but Simons won’t last here, the entire mall will be gone in a decade I bet, noone shops in store and retailers are gonna learn brick and mortar store fronts take from profits
Why are you reading Retail Insider if you have no faith in the future of retail? And your honest opinion/ art critique is rude.
the best store in canada
Please do your research. The store has been in business for over 100 years almost 200 years! So, please keep it to yourself.
They have been in business for 184 years so I think they know what they are doing!