The Royalmount development in Montreal has announced new retailers ahead of its August 15 grand opening date, as well as an exciting new food hall concept. Earlier this month, developer Carbonleo also installed a skybridge linking Royalmount to the De la Savane metro station.
The $7 billion development, set to open in August of 2024, will be the largest such project of its kind in Canadian history according to Carbonleo. The project has been under construction since before the pandemic and in the spring of 2019 Retail Insider attended the ground-breaking of Royalmount which at the time was a former industrial site with construction equipment ready to dig.
Carbonleo just released details of Royalmount’s new food hall, Le Fou Fou, which will span about 35,000 square feet and be run by MTB Collective. The European-style food hall will have 12 distinct culinary offerings including catering plus four bars with indoor/outdoor dining that seats over 900 guests. It’s described as being Montreal’s first food hall to combine top-tier talent, hi-touch technology and programming all year round.
In anticipation of the August 15 opening, Royalmount has been announcing new tenants periodically since November of 2022. Announcements began with a roster of luxury brands opening in the retail component of Royalmount, and this week Carbonleo is releasing the names of more retailers offering a broad range of price-points for shoppers.
“Building on our prior announcements regarding luxury brands that will be opening at Royalmount, I am excited to unveil an expanded tenant roster, encompassing additional high-end names as well as many of the best more accessibly priced brands in the world,” said Michael Stroll, Senior Vice President of Leasing at Carbonleo.
Newly announced retail tenants for Royalmount include Zara, Nike, Moncler, Longchamp, Veronica Beard, Anine Bing, Mango, H&M, Alo Yoga, Canada Goose, Sephora and Roche Bobois.
Zara, H&M and Mango will offer affordable fashions to shoppers — Royalmount is targeting all shoppers according to Stroll. Sephora will be one of the beauty options in the centre and will attract crowds.
“The inclusion of these brands is pivotal to Royalmount’s success. Royalmount is a project for everybody, for all Montrealer’s and visitors alike to celebrate.”
“Our mission for the first phase has always been to establish Royalmount as the number one destination for shopping, dining, and entertainment in the city. To achieve that, you need volume and a broad audience. With this latest announcement and the commitment by these brands, we are one step closer to realizing on our mission,” Stroll said.
Mango’s storefront at Royalmount will be the first for the brand in Quebec, after entering the Canadian market via Toronto in early 2023. Both Zara and H&M operate several storefronts in the Montreal region.
Nike and Alo Yoga are both athletic-focused brands, and will be a welcome addition to Royalmount. Nike, operated in Canada by Israel-based Fox Group, has been opening stores across the country. Alo Yoga has also been expanding rapidly in the Canadian market, having recently opened a store at CF Carrefour Laval near Montreal while building another flagship location on Ste-Catherine Street in downtown Montreal.
Newly announced brands at Royalmount including Moncler, Longchamp, Veronica Beard, Anine Bing, Roche Bobois and Canada Goose skew towards the high-end, and will further strengthen the clustering of luxury brands that have been secured for the shopping centre. Moncler’s Royalmount location with the the first standalone location in Quebec for the Italian luxury brand. France-based Longchamp, known for its popular bags, is opening its second store in Canada at Royalmount following the 2015 opening of a store at Yorkdale in Toronto. Upscale US-based women’s fashion brand Veronica Beard’s second Canadian store will also be at Royalmount, after opening in Toronto’s Yorkville area last year. US-based women’s fashion brand Anine Bing will open its first Quebec storefront at Royalmount, after opening two in Toronto over the past 12 months. Upscale French home furnishings retailer Roche Bobois will attract moneyed shoppers, while Canada Goose has been expanding distribution via its own stores, with Royalmount being the second for the brand in Quebec.
“We are now well over 90% leased, featuring a tenant composition that includes the best brands in the world,” said Carbonleo’s Michael Stroll. “Notably, approximately half of these tenants do not yet have stand-alone mono brand stores in Montreal.”
In November of 2022, Royalmount announced a roster of luxury brands secured for the retail centre that include Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co., and Gucci, as well as French contemporary brands Sandro and Maje. In June of 2023, Royalmount announced further luxury brands including Saint Laurent, Versace, Jimmy Choo, David Yurman and TAG Heuer — all of which will be the first standalone locations for the Montreal market.
In June of 2023, several Montreal-based brands were announced to be opening stores at Royalmount. They include Acuité Visuelle, Aldo, Arc’teryx, Bikini Village, Browns Shoes, Dynamite, Garage, Influenceu, Judith & Charles, La Canadienne, La Vie en Rose, Mackage, Moose Knuckles and Rudsak.
Other brands released by Carbonleo for publication include US-based Michael Kors — owned by the same parent company as Versace and Jimmy Choo. Previous larger-format retailer announcements include home furnishings retailer RH (occupying about 46,000 square feet) and Rennaï, a beauty hall concept spanning about 36,000 square feet housing a retail presence for various leading brands.
“The addition of these leading global brands to Royalmount’s already rich roster of iconic names speaks to the power of the vision behind the project,” said Andrew Lutfy, CEO of Carbonleo. “We’re satisfying Montrealers’ untapped desire for luxury goods and a unique lifestyle experience, and elevating the moment with world-class shopping, dining, art and entertainment. This is how we’ve always envisioned Royalmount, as a gathering destination for everyone, a shared space for people to connect and make memories. We cannot wait to welcome visitors to Royalmount in August.”
Michael Stroll said that he’s excited about the opening of the centre, which is about four months away. A skybridge over a freeway, linking Royalmount to the De la Savane metro station, was recently installed to help attract more shoppers via public transit. It’s the first private structure built over a public highway in the province.
Royalmount’s first phase will include an 824,000 square foot two-level retail and lifestyle complex. Royalmount will be the first 100% carbon-neutral mixed-use development in the Americas and the largest LEED Gold retail project in Canada. Previously announced components include an aquarium and Cineplex, which will bring premium cinemas and The Rec Room entertainment concept to Royalmount.
The privately-funded Royalmount project will become a state-of-the-art lifestyle hub for the region, with L Catterton, an investment arm of LVMH, being a key investor. The development will include a mix of experiences and will also be home to a three-kilometre linear park called Le Champ Libre, along with an outdoor public plaza.
Carbonleo is a privately owned, Quebec-based real estate development and management company. Founded in 2012, the company has more than 170 employees and counts several major projects to its credit, including Quartier DIX30 and the Four Seasons Montreal Hotel and Private Residences.
It’s nice to see the construction of the interior, skylight and renderings. I am especially excited to see the trees and plants and seating areas as well. Something the majority of our regional shopping centres are missing today. Hope they bring back fountains as well and go all out during the holiday season with decorations throughout the mall. These are simple things which make people stay longer in the shopping centre, and spend more because of the atmosphere and their uplifted mood. Hope Oxford, Cadillac Fairview and RioCan, as examples can learn from this. They removed all these things when they renovated the common areas of their shopping centres
There’s an untapped market for luxury goods? Coulda fooled this old Montrealer. Lobby for the Cavendish extension Mr. Lutfy.
Once the initial honeymoon phase is over, this place will become the next Cavendish Mall, Decarie Square etc to be filled up with low cost discounted goods. This Federal and Provincial Government are destined to make Montreal a low income city.
Royalmount Plaza soon to become Dollarama Plaza with all the low income housing planned for the old Blue Bonnets site.
you must be fun at parties.
He is right… Montreal is a city grounded firmly in the past. Low population growth and lower incomes than ON and AB cities means that the region will continue to stagnate.
Looking forward for the grand opening !!!