Nordstrom officially opened its three level, 199,000 square foot Yorkdale Shopping Centre location to the public on the morning of Friday, October 21. Crowds waited outside the store’s mall entrance ahead of the opening, with some taking part in the store’s pre-opening beauty event.

Shoppers continued to visit the store over the weekend. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with shoppers praising the store’s open design, and natural light, as well as a product offering ranging from the accessible to the luxurious.

*(Click above for interactive Yorkdale mall map)*

*(Crowds waiting outside Nordstrom's mall entrance for doors to roll open)*

*(Looking back into the mall, where hundreds awaited the store's opening)*

Some retail experts are predicting that the Yorkdale Nordstrom will become one of the company’s top performers, joining the ranks of high-selling units in Seattle, Bellevue WA, Chicago, San Francisco, Vancouver and the new CF Toronto Eaton Centre flagship (which opened on September 18). Given the luxury offerings at Nordstrom Yorkdale, and given the exceptional productivity of the mall's Holt Renfrew, this is plausible.

*(Shoppers enter the new store, with staff clapping to welcome them)*

About 1,700 people attended the store’s opening charity gala on Wednesday, October 19. A total of $224,000 was raised, with all proceeds going to several local charities. Special gala guests included international supermodels Chanel Iman and Lindsay Ellingson, celebrity DJs Russell Peters, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Hannah Bronfman and Brendan Fallis. Last month, Nordstrom’s CF Toronto Eaton Centre opening charity gala saw over 2,000 attendees, raising about $270,000 from ticket sales.

*(Russell Peters DJ'ing during the October 19 store opening charity gala)*

*(Talented coffee artist Michael Breach entertained attendees in the store's new 'Ebar' during the October 19 gala. The photo on the right is of Retail Insider's Devon Johnson).*

We learned an interesting fact about Nordstrom and the Delvaux brand — a topic discussed last week in a previous article. The Brussels-based luxury brand, priced well into the thousands, technically has only two leased retail spaces in North America. Both of those are in Canadian Nordstrom stores — the first opened in September of 2015 at Nordstrom CF Pacific Centre, and now Delvaux has a boutique at Nordstrom Yorkdale. In the United States, Delvaux is available at seven Barneys New York stores, though not in leased departments as at Nordstrom in Canada.

*(The new Delvaux boutique is one of only two in North America)*

*(Chloé accessories boutique compliments the Chloé women's ready-to-wear boutique on the store's second floor)*

*(Elevator banks bathed in natural light, next to the ground-level Chloé accessories boutique)*

Nordstrom anchors Yorkdale’s new 300,000 square foot, $331 million expansion wing that features a number of premium retailers, including several first-to-market brands. Canada Goose opened its first freestanding location in the world beside Nordstrom in the new wing, and French brand Maje opened its first freestanding Canadian store nearby. Sandro, under the same ownership umbrella as Maje, opens in the new wing in mid-November, and popular New York City-based eyewear retailer Warby Parker opens in a couple of months as well. The new wing is also remarkably Canadian-focused, with Canadian retailers such as Lululemon, Arc'teryx (first mall location for the brand), Maison Birks, Mendocino, Mackage, Oak + Fort, Saje Natural Wellness, Spareparts, and Nadège Patisserie.

*(Stairway from the ground level to the underground/valet parking)*

*(Clothing in the store's edgy 'SPACE' designer department)*

*(Beautiful new Dries Van Noten boutique -- a first for Nordstrom)*

In the fall of 2017, Nordstrom will open its third Toronto store at CF Sherway Gardens, measuring about 138,000 square feet. Nordstrom entered the Canadian market in September of 2014 with a 140,000 square foot CF Chinook Centre location in Calgary. A second Canadian location, measuring 157,000 square feet, opened in March of 2015 at Ottawa's CF Rideau Centre, and a third 230,000 square foot location opened in September of 2015 at Vancouver’s CF Pacific Centre. Last month, we attended the opening of Nordstrom’s 220,000 square foot CF Toronto Eaton Centre location in Toronto, which continues to see crowds of shoppers in North America’s busiest shopping centre.

Canadian Retail News From Around The Web: October 24, 2016