Sports Experts is set to expand its footprint in Quebec City after securing the former Saks OFF 5TH location at Place Ste-Foy, one of the city’s most prominent fashion-oriented shopping centres. The move will see the Quebec-based sporting goods banner relocate its existing Place Ste-Foy store into the approximately 33,000 square foot former off-price anchor, marking a major investment in both scale and customer experience ahead of a planned April 1, 2026 opening.
The expansion follows the spring 2025 closure of Saks OFF 5TH at Place Ste-Foy, which shuttered as part of Hudson’s Bay Company’s court-supervised liquidation. With the space now committed to Sports Experts, the transition reflects a broader shift in Canadian retail leasing, where experiential and category-dominant operators are increasingly backfilling large-format spaces vacated by struggling department store and fashion banners.
According to a LinkedIn message shared by Groupe Boucher, the largest franchisee of Sports Experts, construction on the new store will begin in the coming weeks. The project involves relocating the existing Sports Experts Place Ste-Foy location into the former Saks OFF 5TH unit, situated near the Metro grocery anchor within the mall.
The new store will be more than 50 percent larger than the current location, allowing for a substantially expanded assortment and a more modernized layout. Groupe Boucher has indicated that the additional space will enable the store to offer all categories of sports equipment, along with a full range of junior apparel, footwear, and gear, strengthening its appeal to families and multi-sport households.
While construction proceeds, Sports Experts will continue operating its current Place Ste-Foy store, with a major closing sale scheduled to run from January 7 through March 29, 2026. This clearance period will precede the official opening of the new Sports Experts and Atmosphere co-branded location on Wednesday, April 1, 2026.
Replacing a Departed Fashion Anchor
The former Saks OFF 5TH space represents a significant anchor position within Place Ste-Foy. The store opened on April 6, 2017 as the first Saks OFF 5TH location in Quebec, occupying roughly 33,000 square feet and serving as a key off-price fashion draw alongside anchors such as Simons, Signature Maurice Tanguay, Metro, and Archambault.
At its peak, Saks OFF 5TH operated 18 locations across Canada following its 2016 to 2018 expansion phase. However, performance challenges and network rationalization had already reduced the chain to 13 stores by 2020. In March 2025, Hudson’s Bay Company ULC filed for protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act, citing sustained financial pressures, declining traffic, and intensifying competition from e-commerce and value-oriented retailers.
After pursuing a restructuring, Hudson’s Bay pivoted to a full liquidation, resulting in the closure of all Canadian Hudson’s Bay, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Saks OFF 5TH stores. The Place Ste-Foy location closed in the spring of 2025, leaving a prominent vacancy in one of Quebec City’s most tightly held retail centres.
Place Ste-Foy’s Strategic Importance
Place Ste-Foy occupies a unique position in the Quebec City retail landscape. Located on Laurier Boulevard in the Sainte-Foy district, adjacent to Université Laval and near Laurier Québec and Place de la Cité, the mall is widely regarded as the city’s premier fashion destination. The enclosed centre spans approximately 590,000 square feet and houses about 135 stores, many of which are not duplicated elsewhere in the market.
Owned by Ivanhoé Cambridge and managed by JLL, Place Ste-Foy has historically attracted high-end and fashion-forward tenants, including La Maison Simons, Birks, Apple, Zara, Lacoste, Lululemon, Michael Kors, Uniqlo, Mango, Arc’teryx, Sephora, and a range of local and European brands. Its tenant mix and ongoing capital investments, including recent infrastructure and parking enhancements, underscore its positioning as a premium suburban shopping environment.
Sports Experts and Its Quebec Roots
Founded in 1967 by eight independent Quebec sporting goods merchants, Sports Experts has long been a cornerstone of the province’s retail landscape. The banner was originally created to pool purchasing power under a shared identity, allowing locally owned businesses to compete more effectively at scale while maintaining strong regional relevance.
After being acquired by Provigo in 1981, Sports Experts was sold in 1994 to The Forzani Group, a Calgary-based national sporting goods retailer. In 2011, Canadian Tire Corporation completed the friendly acquisition of Forzani Group, bringing Sports Experts into its FGL Sports division, which also includes banners such as Sport Chek, Atmosphere, and several specialty concepts.
A central driver of the banner’s growth in Quebec has been Groupe Boucher, a leading Quebec-based retailer specializing in sporting goods, apparel, and footwear. Groupe Boucher operates as the largest franchisee of FGL Sports, a division of Canadian Tire, and primarily runs stores under the Sports Experts, Atmosphère, and L’Entrepôt du Hockey banners. Headquartered in Quebec City, the family-owned company has played a pivotal role in scaling and modernizing the Sports Experts network across the province.
Today, Sports Experts operates more than 125 stores under the Sports Experts and Atmosphere umbrella, with the network heavily concentrated in Quebec and complemented by select locations in other provinces.
