Nordstrom to open four Canadian stores
Calgary gets first one; Vancouver gets largest
NEW YORK – In its first move outside the United States, upscale department store chain Nordstrom Inc. is heading to Canada, starting in the fall of 2014.
The announcement, made at a press conference Thursday in Toronto, comes as a slew of retailers flock across the border to compete for Canadian shoppers’ dollars.
The Seattle-based chain said Thursday that it will team up with Canadian mall developer Cadillac Fairview to open four stores, in Calgary, Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver. Cadillac Fairview operates shopping centers across Canada.
Nordstrom plans to open the store in Calgary for the fall of 2014. It aims to open the stores in Ottawa and Vancouver in the spring of 2015. Toronto’s will open in the fall of 2016.
Vancouver will get the largest Nordstrom store, with three levels and some 230,000 square feet planned, bigger than a Wal-Mart Supercenter.
“This is a significant milestone for this company,” said Blake Nordstrom, president of Nordstrom Inc. “We are very excited about this opportunity to be part of the country.”
Blake says he envisions Nordstrom operating as many as nine stores in Canada.