Simons Opens First Urban Toronto Location at Yorkdale Shopping Centre Français
TORONTO, Aug. 14, 2025 /CNW/ - Simons—Canada's oldest private, family-owned business—proudly opens its doors today at Yorkdale Shopping Centre, marking the company's first urban Toronto store and its 18 th location nationally. The two-storey, 118,000-square-foot space reinforces Simons' nation-wide presence as a premier fashion retailer with a unique offering of thoughtfully curated shopping experiences and exceptional customer service.
The first of two new locations opening in Toronto in 2025, the Yorkdale store is part of a broader investment of nearly $100M and 400 new employment opportunities in the Greater Toronto Area, contributing to the company's steady and consistent growth in the region and across the country.
"What a pleasure it is to open our doors in Toronto and become part of such a vibrant, creative, and diverse community," said Bernard Leblanc, President and CEO of Simons. "This milestone represents many years in the making. Our Yorkdale store reflects our commitment to creativity, design, esteemed service, purpose, community and connection. Because, at Simons, we believe our spaces are more than just places to shop—they are places to discover, to be inspired, and to engage with fashion, Canadian art, and design. We're excited to build meaningful relationships in this dynamic city and welcome both Torontonians and visitors to experience Simons' exceptional customer service."
Oxford Properties has been an important partner in Simons' expansion into the Ontario market, with the family company opening its first store at Square One Shopping Centre in Mississauga in 2016.
"Our entire Oxford team is so proud to welcome this renowned Canadian retailer to Yorkdale as we continue to build on the mix of destination brands available at the shopping centre and delivering a best-in-class retail experience for our shoppers," said Daniel Fournier, Executive Chair at Oxford Properties. "We're proud to partner with Simons to open its doors for the first time in Toronto. This is an important milestone for both our businesses, and we congratulate the entire team at Simons on their ongoing success and expansion. Simons is a true Canadian success story, and its fresh and dynamic retailing approach will add even more to our already high-quality offering at Yorkdale and will undoubtedly resonate with our customers."
Design grounded in nature and movement
Simons takes a purposeful approach to store design, with every decision aimed at creating a welcoming atmosphere and exceptional customer experience rooted in outstanding service, a strong sense of community, and immersive sensory engagement.
Created in collaboration with Gensler Design, Lemay Michaud Architecture and Reliance Construction, the Yorkdale store is guided by the design theme "Perennial Ephemera," a concept inspired by natural cycles of light, growth, and transformation. From layout to lighting, every detail was considered with the customer in mind, designed to feel open, warm and welcoming while supporting shoppers' journeys through curated style environments.
Art as the connector
"As with all Simons locations, art plays a vital role in shaping the in-store experience," said Bernard Leblanc, President and CEO of Simons. "Fashion is art, and we see art as the ultimate connector, enabling our customers to meaningfully engage with one another and their surroundings. The design and construction of our stores are often influenced by the local works we feature, and Yorkdale is no exception."
At Yorkdale, that focus comes to life through the "Walk of Frames," an interactive art path that weaves the beauty of art into customers' everyday shopping experiences. Featuring 40 works by 24 artists, the Walk of Frames is designed to spark connection, foster community and create a sensory experience. Each art station is numbered and paired with a QR code, offering shoppers the opportunity to learn about each artist and explore the stories behind their work. The art curated and commissioned for the Yorkdale store reflects a strong commitment to Canadian and local artists. Select international works are also featured, offering a thoughtful nod to the company's European heritage and roots, creating a dialogue between past and future through art. At the heart of the Yorkdale art collection is CIEL, a monumental ceiling mural by French artist Nelio, whose geometric abstractions and intuitive, buffing technique creates an atmospheric and sensory landscape. Painted with a roller in sweeping gestures of acrylic, CIEL evokes a luminous, cloudy sunset above the store's central staircase, a sun-like focal point that mirrors the vertical flow of the space and extends the surrounding tones and textures into a meditative chromatic composition.
Simons has collaborated with the renowned Montreal-based visual effects creative company Rodeo FX. Known for its international acclaim and a team of nearly 800 artists—with standout credits including Game of Thrones and Stranger Things —Rodeo FX brings its signature cinematic artistry to Yorkdale through a trio of immersive digital installations that enliven both the store's exterior and interior.
Solarium: A scenographic, exterior installation visible from Yorkdale Road, where animated fabric gently moves through air and light. Inspired by sunrooms, it evokes stillness and warmth, exploring the interplay of nature and architecture in a quiet, meditative gesture.
Forest Diorama: Positioned above the store's main entrance, this layered, transparent LED art piece places mannequins in a shifting seasonal forest. Animated trees, branches, and forest life create the illusion of depth and movement, evoking the sensation of looking through a living landscape.
Fabric of Life: Just inside the entrance, a dynamic LED animation weaves blooming botanicals into a visual metaphor for growth and transformation. Inspired by the inner life of plants, it fuses the organic with fashion, as if nature itself were being woven into fabric.
Together, these installations embody Simons' belief that retail can be a platform for creativity and culture.
An experience led by product and purpose
Simons at Yorkdale Shopping Centre offers an unparalleled and uniquely Canadian shopping experience, welcoming customers with the personalized service and curated specialty shopping opportunities they have come to expect from Simons across the country—including Canadian-designed exclusive collections for men, women, and home. Each collection is presented and organized in separate, boutique-style zones, in addition to a range of well-known brands and designer pieces that complement Canadian labels and art to inspire an exceptional shopping experience.
Yorkdale showcases Simons' exclusive private brands including Twik, Icône, Contemporaine, Miiyu, Le 31, Djab, i.FiV5, and Simons Maison spanning trend-forward streetwear to elegant modern classics, offering style at multiple price points for women, men, and home. The store also features the Édito department, a boutique-style selection of nationally recognized brands and top designer names. This curated collection underscores Simons' investment in high-end fashion and is supported by an exceptional team of more than 175 designers, creators, and specialists working across the international fashion landscape.
In addition to a curated selection of national and international brands available in store, Simons also highlights pieces from Canadian artisans through Fabrique 1840, its online platform dedicated to celebrating and supporting creativity, culture, community, and craftsmanship. The platform features works from over 400 talented creators and craftspeople—including several based in the Toronto area—across a range of artistic disciplines, including home décor, fashion, stationery, and leatherwork.
Simons' Vision program is also a central part of the company's ethos, spotlighting garments made with lower-impact or recycled materials. The program reflects Simons' broader goal: to make responsible fashion more accessible while supporting customers in making choices that align with their values.
Additional photos of the store are available here.
About Simons
Simons was founded in 1840 by John Simons in Quebec City. Originally a dry goods store, the family company is known today for accessible and inspired fashion. It is committed to cultivating creativity and building meaningful relationships with its staff, partners, and clientele. The company cares about the environment and about the communities in which it does business.
Simons is recognized as a fashion authority with an original shopping concept. The company offers an extensive array of avant-garde fashions and exclusive private collections for men and women, complemented by a selection of nationally recognized brands and top designer names. Simons also carries home fashions for the bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen.
The current 18 Simons stores are compelling, original environments that inspire customers with their fashion as well as their art and architecture. Locations: ten in Quebec, including the company's head office in Quebec City; three in Alberta; one in British Columbia; one in Nova Scotia; and soon four in Ontario.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Global News
an hour ago
- Global News
She's Got Next: Founders rally in Vancouver behind historic firsts in women's sports
Rogers Arena was host to a first on Friday night: the WNBA's inaugural regular-season game in Vancouver. Before tip-off, inside a private pre-game gathering, She's Got Next founders Julie Smulders and Jill Tracy brought together a powerhouse group of athletes, executives and community leaders to underline a message – Canada is entering a new era for women's sports, and it's time to show up. Smulders, a UBC Thunderbirds alumna who played professional basketball overseas, said the idea for She's Got Next began last year after she and Tracy left a sold-out NCAA women's Final Four and compared it to the Canada West championships in B.C., which drew just 500 fans. 'We thought, 'We can do something in Canada. Let's elevate women's sports. Let's bring a community of women together,' Smulders said. The private event drew some of the most influential figures in Canadian and North American sport: Toronto Tempo president Teresa Resch and general manager Monica Wright Rogers, NBA Canada communications director Ashton Lawrence, PWHL Vancouver general manager Cara Morey and director of business operations Tania Richards, and five-time Olympian and Canadian Olympic Committee president Charmaine Crooks. Story continues below advertisement 5:57 WNBA players call for pay equity Tempo also used the evening to announce that when their inaugural WNBA season tips off next year, two of their regular-season games will be played in B.C., marking another historic milestone for Canadian women's basketball. Instead of hosting galas, She's Got Next has built its brand around what Smulders calls 'games over galas.' The group organizes dedicated fan sections at women's sporting events, including Section 107 at PWHL Vancouver home games. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy That means when members join the organization, they don't just attend events—they show up in the stands together. 'It's about modelling behaviour,' Tracy said. 'Men have done it for decades—grabbing friends and going to games. We're making that the norm for women's sports.' This season also marks the arrival of PWHL Vancouver, the province's first professional women's hockey franchise. The league has already drawn record-setting attendance in Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal, and now Vancouver fans have a team of their own. Story continues below advertisement 23:49 WNBA in Canada: Teresa Resch hopes Toronto Tempo will 'inspire an entire new generation' Smulders and Tracy said they were emotional seeing young girls in jerseys at PWHL games earlier this year. 'There were no dry eyes in our group when the women took the ice and heard the national anthem,' Tracy recalled. 'We hadn't seen that before.' The fight for visibility in women's sports has been ongoing for a long time. For decades, women were excluded outright: in the U.K., women's soccer was banned for 50 years. In North America, women were often dismissed as 'unable' or 'unfit' to play. 'That mindset doesn't disappear overnight,' Smulders said. In Canada, progress has accelerated in recent years. Christine Sinclair became the world's all-time leading international goal scorer, cementing women's soccer as a national passion. Marie-Philip Poulin's overtime heroics turned her into 'Captain Clutch,' rewriting hockey history. Story continues below advertisement And now, Canadian broadcasters are carrying more women's games—including, for the first time this year, all Indiana Fever WNBA games featuring star rookie Caitlin Clark. 'If you don't see it, you don't believe it's possible,' Smulders said. 'Now kids across Canada are seeing it.' 1:57 'To be brave, and to be bold': WNBA empowering next generation Smulders remembered her UBC days when the women's basketball team was fed Subway while the men's team got steak dinners. 'We were grateful just to get anything,' she said. Today's generation isn't settling. 'They want jerseys in their size. They want visibility. They want equality,' Tracy said. 'To them, women are just athletes. Period.' For Smulders and Tracy, the message to fans, institutions and media is clear: women's sports are not a novelty, they are the future. Story continues below advertisement Alongside fan sections and events, She's Got Next is launching scholarships for student-athletes, building career pipelines for women graduating from university sport, and continuing to host pre-game gatherings that unite athletes, executives, coaches, entrepreneurs and fans. The organization also has dedicated fan sections starting with Section 107 at every PWHL Vancouver game. The first WNBA game in Vancouver, the arrival of PWHL hockey in B.C., and the coming Northern Super League aren't just milestones; they're an invitation. The question now is whether Canadians will keep showing up, not just for history, but for what comes next. 'Come to games. Become members. Tell your friends,' Smulders urged. Tracy added: 'The bigger the community, the bigger our impact.'
Winnipeg Free Press
6 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Duty-free shops facing ‘full-blown crisis' with no relief in sight
John Slipp took over his father's duty-free store in 1994, which had been started more than a decade earlier. This month, he closed the Woodstock Duty Free Shop Inc. as lower traffic at the U.S.-Canada border dealt the final blow to a business already weakened by the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, at 59, Slipp says he will have to find another source of income and is advocating for more government support for stores like his. Fewer Canadians have been heading south in recent months in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war with Canada, his comments about annexing the country and because of fears among travellers about treatment at the border. In the duty-free industry, Slipp said less border traffic directly correlates to fewer sales. 'It was very difficult. The business had many good years. I certainly didn't want to be in the position of calling an end to a business career, giving up, calling it quits, both personally and in terms of my late father,' Slipp said. At the store's peak in the early 2000s, Slipp said there were about 15 people on staff. In March 2020, he said he laid off four people and reopened after the pandemic with two employees. Late in the summer of 2021, Slipp said duty-free stores were 'all starting from zero to rebuild again.' By the end of 2024, his business was still down about one-fifth from where it was in 2019. Then Trump returned to the White House. From January to April this year, things got worse for Slipp's store, and he ultimately decided to close based on declining sales and traffic numbers. 'Just realizing that even after the U.S. administration changes down the road, in our industry, we do not expect the border traffic to change overnight as a result of that. We believe it's going to take years,' he said. Recent figures from Statistics Canada noted that return trips from the U.S. dropped again in July as Canadians continue to shun travel to the U.S. The number of Canadian residents returning from the U.S. by automobile was down 36.9 per cent on an annual basis in July, marking the seventh consecutive month of year-over-year declines. Barbara Barrett, executive director of the Frontier Duty Free Association, said the stores her association represents have been feeling the decline in traffic for months. 'I would describe our industry as being in a full-blown crisis, and we've been saying that for a number of months now,' she said. Sales at duty-free stores have fallen between 40 and 50 per cent year-over-year across the country since late January, with some remote crossings reporting annual declines of up to 80 per cent, the association said. Barrett added that duty-free stores are often a microcosm of what is happening at the border. 'This should be our busy season during the summer, but it is not; it is pandemic-level traffic in the parking lots, and it has led to one store closing in the east. We are unfortunately afraid that we will likely see more closures as we draw to the end of the summer,' she said. Unlike airport stores, which are often owned by international companies, Barrett noted all of the land border stores are independently owned and are often family-run businesses. While Canadians shun U.S. trips, travel expert Claire Newell said many are opting for domestic and other international destinations. 'We live in a country where it's still very expensive to travel domestically. And while there are many people who are choosing to travel within Canada, we also see more people heading to popular destinations,' she said. She said she doesn't see Canadians changing their travel habits back to normal until there is a trade deal 'that feels fair.' As lower border traffic weighs on the industry, Barrett said she is advocating for 'small regulatory changes.' 'We have some taxes on our products that, believe it or not, in a tax- and duty-free industry that our U.S. competitors don't have. So we're asking for those to be changed so we can be more competitive,' she said. 'Also, we're asking to qualify for some of these tariff relief programs or pandemic-level supports along the lines of what they did during the pandemic with wage subsidy or rent subsidy.' Barrett said the government is the landlord for many duty-free stores and said a rent deferral or subsidy would help the industry until travel patterns normalize. She added that there have been conversations between her organization and senior government officials. Barrett said those officials agreed the association was putting forward 'small asks' to support the industry. An Aug. 2 release announcing the Woodstock Duty Free Shop's closure mentioned that the federal and provincial governments had promised tariff relief support programs to help businesses impacted by trade tensions. 'I pinned a lot of hopes on those when both levels of government made those announcements. I was reminded of the pandemic support programs,' Slipp said, adding that his business had benefited from such programs. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. His attention has now turned to advocating for rent deferral programs for duty-free shops renting land from either the federal government or from a bridge authority as well as loan programs for duty-free stores. When he looks at the future of the industry, he said the prospects 'are not bright.' 'I'm grieving the loss of my business, but I'm also accepting the reality that the business environment has changed and there is nothing in the bag of tricks that would suggest positive changes in this industry in the short to medium term,' Slipp said. 'I'm feeling bad that I was not able to succeed in the end and that I am having to lay to rest this business that my father and I have built and spent so many years working so hard on.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 17, 2025.
Cision Canada
16 hours ago
- Cision Canada
Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge Operations Remain Suspended Pending Outcome of CIRB Process
Rolling cancellations now extend to the afternoon of August 17, 2025 MONTRÉAL, August 16, 2025 /CNW/ - Air Canada today said all flights of Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge remain suspended pending the outcome of a Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) process related to a directive by the Government of Canada ordering binding arbitration in the company's contract negotiations with its flight attendants. Customers whose flights are cancelled are being notified of the cancellations and offered options that include a full refund, a future travel credit or rebooking on another airline. Those whose flights are cancelled are strongly advised not to go to the airport unless they have a confirmed booking on a flight by another carrier. In response to a labour disruption by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) that led to a strike on August 16, Air Canada has been cancelling flights on a rolling basis. At present, all flights by Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge are cancelled until the afternoon (EDT) of August 17, 2025. Air Canada Express flights operated by Jazz or PAL continue to operate as normal. Air Canada deeply regrets the disruption's impact on customers. Additional customer information, including an FAQ, is available Air Canada is Canada's largest airline, the country's flag carrier and a founding member of Star Alliance, the world's most comprehensive air transportation network. Air Canada provides scheduled service directly to more than 180 airports in Canada, the United States and Internationally on six continents. It holds a Four-Star ranking from Skytrax. Air Canada's Aeroplan program is Canada's premier travel loyalty program, where members can earn or redeem points on the world's largest airline partner network of 45 airlines, plus through an extensive range of merchandise, hotel and car rental partners. Through Air Canada Vacations, it offers more travel choices than any other Canadian tour operator to hundreds of destinations worldwide, with a wide selection of hotels, flights, cruises, day tours, and car rentals. Its freight division, Air Canada Cargo, provides air freight lift and connectivity to hundreds of destinations across six continents using Air Canada's passenger and freighter aircraft. Air Canada's climate-related ambition includes a long-term aspirational goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. For additional information, please see Air Canada's TCFD disclosure. Air Canada shares are publicly traded on the TSX in Canada and the OTCQX in the US. Media Resources: Photos Videos B-Roll Articles SOURCE Air Canada
