Nordstrom Introduces A New Way to Shop ... Via Instagram

Venerable retailer aims to reach millennial shoppers with social media platform.

Nordstrom's Instagram feed (left) and Like2Buy page (right)

For years retailers have been looking for ways to channel the power of social media. To varying degrees of success, brands have been using platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to connect with a generation of customers largely unreachable via traditional advertising methods.

Instagram is one space that has been challenging to commercialize. Largely ad free, (although Michael Kors ran Instagram's first ad last year), Instagram offers a huge potential audience to a brand.

Nordstrom is partnering with Curalate to "bridge the gap" between their Instagram feed and their online store with Like2Buy. By using Like2Buy, a retailer can make their Instagram feed instantly shoppable.

When customers browse Nordstrom's Instagram feed they'll see a "Link in profile" caption atop product photos. By then accessing the main Nordstrom profile page, customers can use the link to access Like2Buy. From there customers can purchase those items directly from the Nordstrom e-commerce website.

"We continue to hear from many of our customers that they want speed and convenience incorporated into all the places they shop – including our social platforms," said Bryan Galipeau, social media director at Nordstrom in the official launch announcement. "We connect with more than 500,000 customers on Instagram by posting items we hope they find inspirational, beautiful and fun. Like2Buy enhances the experience for customers who want to take the next step and learn more about the great fashion we're featuring, to make a purchase or save items for another time."

Nordstrom is opening its first Canadian store September 19th at Calgary's Chinook Centre. While there is no dedicated domestic e-commerce site, Canadian shoppers can utilize Link2Buy and purchase via the US Nordstrom website.

News: Nordstrom to open at Toronto Eaton Centre in 2016

American department store Nordstrom to occupy key retail site.

Sears Toronto Eaton Centre - Yonge Street Facade

This morning Cadillac Fairview confirmed the much speculated new tenant of the Sears location at Toronto Eaton Centre will be Nordstrom.

"We're excited to be coming to downtown Toronto at Toronto Eaton Centre," said Karen McKibbin, President, Nordstrom Canada in the official announcement. "We want to serve those who live and work downtown as well the many visitors to the city and think Toronto Eaton Centre is a great place to do so."

Construction will begin in March and will reconfigure the space into a three-level 213,000 square foot full line Nordstrom store. The new store will open in the fall of 2016 along with locations at Yorkdale Shopping Centre and Sherway Gardens. The first Canadian store opens this fall at Calgary's Chinook Centre, with locations in Ottawa and Vancouver opening in 2015.

Sears Toronto Eaton Centre - Mall Entrance

"We are excited to welcome Nordstrom to Toronto Eaton Centre," said Wayne Barwise, Executive Vice President, Development, Cadillac Fairview. "Over the past three years we've spent $120 million in enhancements to Toronto Eaton Centre. This second phase of redevelopment will include an additional $400 million. We are delighted to have Nordstrom be part of this exciting venture as we continue to bring a premier urban retail shopping experience to the city."

Sears announced last year that they would be vacating their Toronto Eaton Centre store in February as part of a $400 million sale of store leases to Cadillac Fairview. Sears obtained the site with its acquisition of Eaton's in 1999 and has operated it as a Sears for over a decade with mediocre results.

Nordstrom will occupy the main level as well as the second and third floor, according to WWD. The lower level will be divided into other retail (a second lower level was similarly reallocated after Eaton's closed). The lower level features a central area dubbed the "Well" where escalators feed into the rest of the store. This could provide an interesting point of entry from the lower level into the new Nordstrom.

Sears Toronto Eaton Centre - Lower Level "Well"

Sears will continue to occupy the upper floors where it maintains its corporate offices. The embattled retailer sold their 222 Jarvis Street head office to the Ontario government in 2007 and converted the upper levels at their Toronto Eaton Centre location into office space. Sears was reportedly paying annual rent of $1 a square foot. This legacy lease was inherited from Eaton’s which co-developed the site with landlord Cadillac Fairview. The store has been steadily shrinking since opening in 1977 as a nine level 1,000,000 square foot Eaton's flagship.

[Click here for the official press release.]

News: Nordstrom Sherway Gardens Update

Last year Sherway Gardens announced a massive renovation and expansion. Project highlights include increasing retail square footage by 250,000, creating a new food court, adding restaurants, and building a three level parking deck. But the showstopper of the project is the construction of a new Nordstrom store as part of the US retailer’s first wave of Canadian store openings.

Nordstrom’s Sherway Gardens location will be in the wing currently anchored by Sporting Life (that retailer will be moving into a new expansion at the mall’s north end). This wing was constructed originally in 1989 to house Bretton’s department store, a high-end fashion chain that closed in 1996. The corridor leading to the anchor store is currently lined with retailers such as Guess and Hollister, and an upper level contains the "Gourmet Fair" food court.

Perhaps the most striking feature of this part of the mall is a prominent Teflon-coated fabric canopy roof that was designed by Zeidler Roberts Partnership Architects. The 75 foot roof covers 44,000 square feet and glass panels along the side allow light to stream in during the day. The roof’s three peaks are an iconic part of Sherway Gardens.

Plans for the wing include relocating the food court to the new extension and creating second floor retail in its place. Lease plans released last year appear to show two-level retailers in this corridor but do not list store names. The food court staircase and the elevator also appear destined for removal.

The current Sporting Life store will be torn down and replaced with a brand new two story 138,000 square feet Nordstrom store. While this will be one of the smallest planned Nordstrom stores, it will be more than double the size of the current Sporting Life store and be adjacent to a new two store parking structure.

With Holt Renfrew opening a new flagship store at Mississauga’s Square One, and the speculated closing of its Sherway Gardens store, Nordstrom will be well positioned at Sherway Gardens with it’s assortment of brands and its reputed excellent customer service.

[Nordstrom renderings via Nordstrom Press Room]

[Other Sherway photos via Future Sherway]

News: Nordstrom Announces Yorkdale Location

Today Oxford Properties Group confirmed that Nordstrom will be opening at its Yorkdale shopping centre in fall 2016 as the anchor store in a new three-level 298,000 square foot expansion. Last year Nordstrom announced its entry into Canada with 4 locations in Vancouver, Calgary, Ottawa, and Toronto (all in malls owned by Oxford rival Cadillac Fairview).

Yorkdale, which boasts one of the highest sales productivity rates in the country, has been a key Canadian gateway for many international retailers. Last fall it unveiled a 145,000 square foot expansion and added retailers such as Tesla Motors, the Microsoft Store, Kate Spade, and Ted Baker.

The new extension will be constructed adjacent to the Silver City cinemas, currently the site of a multi-level parking deck. The defunct department store Eaton’s used to anchor this end of the mall, before being shuttered in 2002 and replaced with a collection of retailers in a renovation completed in 2005.

This year retailers such as All Saints, John Varvatos, Zara Home, and Mulberry will mark their Canadian debut at the shopping centre. As well, department store rivals Holt Renfrew and Hudson’s Bay are completing multi-million dollar renovations to their Yorkdale locations. Construction on the expansion will commence in January 2014.

From the official Press Releases:

 “In the past year, Yorkdale has added an impressive number of new and innovative brands to the shopping centre, continuing on our legacy of providing the very best experience for our shoppers by bringing in the most in-demand retailers from around the world,” said Anthony Casalanguida, General Manager, Yorkdale Shopping Centre. “The introduction of Nordstrom continues that momentum, and we are very excited to help bring this exceptional retail experience to our shoppers. 

“Nordstrom’s reputation as an industry-leading fashion retailer is well known and respected globally and we are elated to open Toronto’s largest Nordstrom location at Yorkdale Shopping Centre,” said Blake Hutcheson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Oxford Properties. “Renowned for its exceptional customer experience and wide selection, Nordstrom will complement Yorkdale’s already exceptional mix of world class brands – and take Yorkdale to an even higher level of success.”

[For the official Yorkdale-Nordstrom jointpress release click here.]

[For the official Yorkdale expansion pressrelease click here.]
 

[Store Rendering via the Nordstrom Press Room website]