Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre welcomed more than a third of all new foreign retailers entering the Canadian market last year. That’s a marked difference from trends elsewhere in the country, a new report from CBRE concludes.
How Global is the Business of Retail reveals that Canadian cities failed to rank in the top 20 targeted markets during 2013. This is in stark contrast from the previous year, when the country ranked sixth globally for most new foreign retailers.
“While Canada remains an appealing destination for global retailers, our competitors are catching up and Canada has had to relinquish our unusually large share of the spotlight,” says Ross Moore, director of research for CBRE in Canada.
He identifies the lack of vacancy in high-profile shopping centres and street locations as a key reason for the cool-down. “It is only natural for there to be a pause while developers and supply chains adjust to the influx of brands from years past,” he says.
However, he does see opportunities for future growth.
“Canada’s top shopping malls are becoming entertainment destinations, transportation hubs and new neighbourhoods,” Moore says. “We have not seen the end of shopping centre revitalization and expansion in Canada.”
Despite the lack of new retailers, Canada still ranks at number 20 in terms of its selection of international brands. Approximately 35 per cent of global retailers have a presence in the country. While Toronto dropped one place to 38 in the city-by-city breakdown, Vancouver and Calgary both jumped from 56 to 51 and 77 to 76, respectively.
Retailers that originally opened in a few urban markets are now expanding their presence across the country.
“No longer satisfied with a single location, usually in Toronto, we have seen retailers pursue opportunities in Vancouver, Calgary and Montreal,” Moore says. “As a result, most Canadian cities had their rankings improve in terms of overall retailer representation.”
The majority of last year’s cross-border retail activity was tied to the luxury and fashion markets (both globally and nationally). The two other main categories were homewear and food.
