Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
Issue link: https://sct.epubxp.com/i/331061
clothing and also housewares, beauty products and confectionary. "Their first [U.S.] store will be 70,000 square feet," Skrbin said. "With a store that big, it will likely act as a flagship for them, something that can give them some indication about what they need to do moving forward in the United States." Fat Face is another British retailer seek- ing space on the U.S. East Coast. "They specialize in casual-sports, beach and sailing-type apparel and accessories, tar- geting a midmarket consumer," Skrbin said. "Fat Face will be opening two or three East Coast stores over the next couple of years. Typically, its stores are about 1,500 square feet." On the West Coast several interna- tional chains are either opening their first stores or expanding their existing ones. Netherlands-based Suitsupply, for one, is looking for space in Los Angeles, having already opened in ma- jor markets such as Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Houston and New York City. "They are a fashion-forward concept, but with a moderate price point for suits," Skrbin said. "They are a street-re- tail type of tenant and are seeking sites ranging from 4,000 to 5,000 square feet. They are now in just about every major market except Los Angeles." Japanese furniture retailer Aki- Home, founded in Hokkaido in 1967, is searching California markets for sizable locations in the roughly 25,000-square-foot range. Skrbin de- scribes Aki-Home as a cross between Ikea and Bed Bath & Beyond. Many Japanese-Americans know Aki-Home When Ivanhoé Cambridge's Outlet Collection at Niagara opened in May in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, the 520,000-square-foot proj- ect boasted the very first outlet projects in Canada for Chico's, Pan- dora and White House Black Market. Though the shopping center is the firm's first true outlet mall, the company had already built strong relationships with these and other chains through its hybridized Mills projects: Vaughan (Ontario) Mills; and CrossIron Mills, in Calgary, Alberta, says Teresa Spataro, Ivanhoé Cambridge's vice president of development and leasing. The Mills concepts — enclosed, regional, mall-like blends of outlet and traditional retail — continue to function as first or early outposts for U.S. and European brands looking to tap into the Canadian market, she says. When the company wants to do a new outlet concept, it can leverage these existing retailer relation- ships, particularly when the site itself offers clear benefits to these chains. "The advantage we have of being at Niagara-on-the-Lake is that it does not cannibalize any full- price stores, because of where it is lo- cated," Spataro said. New-to-market retailers from around the world are important because they generate buzz among consumers, she notes. "People will drive a farther distance to get to a particular type of brand," Spataro said. "At Niagara-on-the-Lake, we also raised the bar by using higher-quality finishes and creat- ing a nicer ambience. That helped us a lot in the marketplace." Now Ivanhoé Cambridge is embarking on the next generation of the Mills concept. Construction is under way on Tsawwassen Mills, located on Native American land in British Columbia and set to open in May 2016, Spataro says. The 1.2 million-square- foot mall will boast 16 anchors, including Bass Pro Shops. Mean- while, the company is also moving forward with two more Outlet Collection centers, one in Edmonton and the other in Winnipeg, and it hopes to leverage its relationships to sign some first-to- market retailers to those projects as well, Spataro says. "They will both be 385,000 square feet," she said. "We have just started leasing both of those projects, and they will be opening either in the fall of 2016 or the spring of '17." — JG Canada lures international outlet retailers 34 S C T / J u l y 2 0 1 4 O u t l e t C O l l e C t i O n a t n i a g a r a , n i a g a r a - O n - t h e - l O n t a r i O 32-36_SCT_JUL14_Cover international brands coming to USA.indd 34 6/12/14 5:53 PM