La Maison Simons, one of Canada’s oldest brands, made its Vancouver debut last Thursday. The new 100,000 square-foot Park Royal location is the retailer’s second site outside of Quebec.
CEO Peter Simons notes that Vancouver is “an exciting market to be in,” with the city becoming home to many new and successful retailers, including Nordstrom.
However, he also notes that the Canadian retail landscape is now incredibly competitive, with some retailers—like Jacob, Target and Mexx—failing to remain open.
“You really have to make commitments to invest and update your organization and your technology to be viable,” he notes. “You can fall behind very easily. It’s been very challenging.”
Whether Simons will be able to find success in Vancouver remains to be seen. CJ
