The first phase of the retail component of the Royalmount development in Montreal opened to the public at 10am on Thursday, September 5.
The ambitious project, spearheaded by developer Carbonleo and partially financed by L Catterton, adds competition to the Montreal retail scene. It also creates a second luxury node in the city, with the developer hoping that the market will expand to support both.
The 824,000 square foot commercial centre features the largest concentration of international luxury stores in the province. Brands include Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Versace, many of which are making their standalone store debut in Quebec.
The complex will feature 60 restaurants and cafes, including Le Fou Fou, a European-style food hall offering 12 dining options and four bars.
The 36,000 square foot multi-brand beauty space Rennaï opens September 5 as well, housing a vast range of brands with Canadian exclusives including Victoria Beckham.
The complex features a 77,000 square foot urban park at its centre. There is a public art trail with over 60 installations from both emerging and established artists, curated in partnership with MASSIVart.
Royalmount is on track to become the largest LEED Gold retail project in Canada, incorporating numerous eco-friendly features into its design. A $50 million 200-meter skybridge connects the complex directly to the De la Savane metro station, promoting the use of public transportation.
Related: Royalmount in Montreal Announces Major Art Initiative Ahead of August Opening (June 2024)
Eventually a VIP Cineplex and Rec Room arcade will open at Royalmount. And in 2026 an aquarium will open at Royalmount as well.
About 50% of the 110 retailers were ready to open by September 5. Others will open later — Gucci, for example, will open September 20. Chocolate retailer Jeff de Bruges will open in December. And other retailers such as RH, Balenciaga, Tiffany & Co. and Rolex won’t open until 2025.
The shopping centre has about 4,000 above and below-grade parking spots. And parking isn’t free technically — the first half-hour of parking at Royalmount is free, and you get an extra free half-hour if you download Royalmount’s parking app. It costs $2.50 per half hour to park at Royalmount after that.
Royalmount is located at the intersection of Highway 40 and the Decarie Expressway. Some locals have expressed concerns about vehicular traffic in the area, which could increase as Royalmount gains popularity. Developer Carbonleo is suggesting visitors take alternative modes to get there, including public transit.
The development is expected to eventually house a mix of high-rises with homes, offices, and a mix of parks and other buildings to create a larger community. The first phase of Royalmount opening this Thursday is only about 8% of the development’s ultimate build-out plans for the site, which began assembly about a decade ago.
Royalmount could be a draw for some tourists visiting the region, depending how extensively it markets itself as a destination. The expansive mix of luxury brands at Royalmount itself will make it a draw for those seeking such brands and price-points. If it all works out, the centre could become one of the most productive in the country in terms of sales per square foot, similar to how Yorkdale dominates both luxury store availability and sales productivity in the Toronto market.
Royalmount’s developer is hoping that locals will also flock to the centre’s high-end retailers, in effect expanding the luxury retail market in Montreal. Montreal is home to a considerable amount of wealth — five out of the 20 wealthiest neighbourhoods in Canada are in the city. That wealth has typically bought luxury goods elsewhere, leaving few luxury brands downtown beyond those at Holt Renfrew Ogilvy and a handful of others nearby.
Holt Renfrew Ogilvy dominates downtown Montreal’s luxury retail offerings, with over 200,000 square feet of space housing brands and concessions for some significant luxury names. That includes Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co., Gucci, and David Yurman, which will also have standalone stores at Royalmount. Holt Renfrew Ogilvy will keep some area exclusives however, including concession boutique spaces for brands such as Hermes, Dior and Giorgio Armani.
Centre Rockland on Montreal Island has already lost its Zara store to Royalmount, and other retailers such as H&M could also exit given the competition. Royalmount, as a sparkling new and dynamic retail centre, has advantages over some of the older shopping centres in the Montreal area as a result.
This fall and into 2025, retailers and foodservice businesses will continue to open at Royalmount. Retail Insider will provide periodic updates on what’s newsworthy.
Brands open at Royalmount as of September 5th include:
- A&W
- Accessoires Gio
- AllTrueist
- Aldo
- Alo Yoga
- Anine Bing
- Arc’teryx
- Bikini Village
- Birks
- BMO
- Browns
- Canada Goose
- Christofle
- Coach
- David’s Tea
- Dolce Vita
- Dynamite
- Garage
- Greiche & Scaff
- IWC
- Jack & Jones
- Jimmy Choo
- Judith & Charles
- Jugo Juice
- L’Occitane
- La Vie en Rose
- Le Fou Fou
- Longchamp
- M/2
- Mackage
- Maison Monaco
- Marie Saint Pierre pop-up
- Mango
- Michael Kors
- Moments Intimes
- Moncler
- Nike
- Olivier Peoples
- Omega
- Pilgrim
- Qwelli
- Rennaï
- Sephora
- Sports Experts
- Starbucks
- Steel N Ink
- Steve Madden
- Sunglass Hut
- Swarovski
- TAG Heuer
- Time Vallée
- Tris Coffin
- Uniqlo
- Versace
- Yves Rocher
- Zara
Thank you Geminy for the first two photos in this article.
My personal view on the parking charge …. Questioning if these entrepreneurs understand retail 😏?
You don’t charge for parking 🅿️ if you want to lure people to come 🤯 shop at your Mall …. What’s next, a charge for every store visited ? Marketing wise it doesn’t make sense no matter what niche you are targeting 🎯 !
Agreed. This is the only paid parking lot for retail outside downtown Montreal. It’s clearly inspired from Yorkdale and other higher end malls, but that should have been an easy decision to make at least some parking available for free. I know I won’t be parking there to leisurely shop, for sure.
Looks severely unfinished, but what’s done seems nice otherwise.
It may be a bit foreign to Canadians, but charging for parking, even at shopping centres is quite common globally. And really, it’s on a Metro station anyway. This is a means to nudge the modal split towards transit, as it should be. There’s also no such thing as “free parking” regardless. Even where it seemingly exists, the mall has purchased the real estate, is paying the maintenance and property taxes and is passing those fees to the retailer via rent. If anything this let those that actually need the parking pay for it, and those that don’t, won’t.
Beautiful mall
Wish you had a kosher restaurant
That would be amazing
Also I think you need more benches to sit
And more garbage cans
But a beautiful airy bright space
Thank you
Montreal needed this!
I don’t think this will be much of a tourist draw. I have friends visiting next week and they have the same stores and better where they come from. I’ll be checking it out, but it’s not going to draw me away from downtown. I wouldn’t advise anyone to drive there as it’s already out of the way. It will have a huge impact on Rockland.
such an insult people cant make ends meet and ya we needed another shopping mall, and they are charging for parking to shop Ya no me.
just another way to stiff people, shopping online is sooo great!! since covid that is all I ve done and delivered to my door love it.
Visit a few day ago the mall was so beautiful but don’t have a taxe refun service ☹️
We currently don’t do tax refunds in Canada — it’s something that should change, in my opinion, to make Canada more competitive in attracting international shoppers.