Simons confirmed to move into old Nordstrom store in downtown Vancouver
The 92,000-square-foot Simons store will be the third-largest location for the Quebec City-headquartered company.
The rumours, it turns out, were true. Canadian department store Simons is set to open a store in downtown Vancouver at the Pacific Centre.
“We want the news to come from us rather than from the rumour mill or from people discovering it by walking by the construction site,” says Simons president and CEO Bernard Leblanc of the announcement timing.
Construction on the store is expected to get underway soon, with the 92,000-square-foot retail space slated to be the third-largest location for the Quebec City-headquartered company, after Toronto’s Eaton Centre and Yorkdale stores.
“We have had downtown Vancouver on our wish list for some time,” says Leblanc. As is often the case in the Canadian commercial real estate market, it was really a matter of right place, and right time.
That element of not having the right store space available is what prompted the retailer to enter Vancouver through its store at Park Royal in West Vancouver, which opened in 2015.
“The typical plan would be downtown first and then the periphery, potentially, after,” Leblanc says. “It doesn’t always happen exactly the way anyone anticipates. So, we’re very happy to have entered the market in Vancouver through Park Royal.
“It’s been a very successful project for us and, now, good things come to those who wait.”
The new Vancouver outpost, which takes over a portion of the old Nordstrom department store at the busy Pacific Centre shopping mall facing the intersection of Georgia and Granville streets, is expected to open in fall 2027. The store will be the 20th Simons store across Canada.
The planned Simons store will feature three levels of shopping, with a design that’s “a nod to Vancouver’s brutalist architecture” and a mix of the 1960s, according to Leblanc.
Investing $55 million in the redesign, the company says it will bring an estimated 150 new jobs to the downtown retail scene, elevating Simons’ overall employment numbers across Canada to 4,000.
“We want the very best retail associates to choose Simon’s as their career choice,” Leblanc says of the upcoming hiring opportunities.
Founded in Quebec in 1840, the company continues to be run by the family of founder Peter Simons.
“It’s the oldest privately held family business in Canada. One-hundred-and-eighty-six years of history,” says Leblanc. “Five generations of Simons family is still involved. It’s quite unique.”
Spanning clothing, home goods, jewelry and more, Leblanc says 70 per cent of the department store’s wares are designed in-house under its exclusive Simons brands such as Edito and Twik.
“Within our product assortment, we have discovery and national and international brands that are brought to life,” he says of the product offering. “Often we’re first to market in Canada with many new brands, and there’s a designer selection as well, which complements all of that. So there truly is something for everyone.”
Amid a turbulent economy and Canadian retail scene that has seen the departure of companies like Nordstrom and the closure of the Hudson’s Bay Co. in 2025, Simons stands out as a homegrown retailer that’s not just surviving, but growing.
“We have to always be questioning ourselves and reinventing ourselves and making sure that we’re evolving with how the consumer is choosing to shop and visit retail stores in general,” Leblanc says, noting Simons sees one-third of its sales through e-commerce and two-thirds in its stores.
“After 186 years in business, we’ve learned to constantly adapt,” he says. “And to never take anything for granted.”
https://vancouversun.com/life/simons-vancouver-store-old-nordstrom-location
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My brother who was a McD's manager starting at the age of 19 started smoking when he was 20. He only smoked for 4 or 5 years but still chews nicorette gum or sneaks a vape from his wife as far as I know. He had the hardest time not starting again when he later worked as a chef with many around him taking frequent smoke breaks.
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