Nordstrom’s new three-level, 199,000 square foot Yorkdale Shopping Centre location in Toronto opens to the public on Friday, October 21. The beautiful store features ample natural light, with more exterior windows than any Nordstrom location. The store is the first newly-built Nordstrom store in Canada (four existing locations are in former Sears spaces), and Yorkdale’s Nordstrom features a number of premium luxury brands unavailable in the downtown flagship which opened last month.

Yorkdale’s Nordstrom store anchors the mall's 300,000 square foot, $331 million expansion wing which opens to the public today. Yesterday we published photos of the new Yorkdale wing, which features over 20 new retailers, including several that are first-to-market. Yorkdale’s Nordstrom compliments the 220,000 square foot CF Eaton Centre flagship that opened to the public on September 18 of this year.

*(Yorkdale's new 300,000 sq ft, $331 million expansion wing is circled in red)*

*(Ebar coffee shop on the store's main level, featuring its own mall entrance into Yorkdale)*

Nordstrom’s Yorkdale’s first floor features women’s footwear (three departments), a beauty hall, jewellery, handbags, accessories, and coffee concept ‘Ebar’. The store’s second level features women’s fashions, as well as the Habitant bar (also at the downtown CF Toronto Eaton Centre flagship). The store’s third level is devoted primarily to menswear and children’s, as well as the store's Bazille restaurant (Bazille is also at Nordstrom in Calgary and Ottawa, while Bar Verde is at the downtown Toronto store).

We'll describe the new store and provide photos, floor-by-floor. We normally provide outbound links for brands mentioned on Retail Insider but due to the number discussed below, we will instead mark them in italics.

Ground Floor

The store’s ground floor features six luxury shop-in-stores for leather goods, including Burberry, Celine, Chloe, Delvaux, Loewe and Valentino. Burberry and Loewe shops are also located at Nordstrom’s downtown flagship. Delvaux is a particularly notable addition — the pricey Belgian luxury leather goods brand is only available in one other Nordstrom store (the Vancouver flagship), and there are only seven Delvaux shop-in-store locations in the Unites States, within Barneys New York locations in Manhattan, Boston, Chicago, Las Vegas, Beverly Hills and San Francisco.

Other handbag designers in the same area include: Altuzarra, Akris, Alexander Wang, Dolce & Gabbana, Ferragamo, Jimmy Choo, Lanvin, Marc Cross, Max Mara, Moschino, Mulberry, Proenza Schouler, Stella McCartney, AllSaints, Coach 1941, Herschel Supply Co., Kate Spade New York, Matt&Nat, Mackage, Marc Jacobs, Rebecca Minkoff, Ted Baker London and Tory Burch, among others.

*(LVMH-owned, Spanish luxury brand Loewe (pronounced low-ey-vey) has an accessories shop at Nordstrom's Yorkdale store, as well as at the CF Toronto Eaton Centre flagship)*

*(Chloé accessories shop-in-store. We cropped the photo to cut out some construction work).*

*(The Delvaux boutique was being finished and was un-merchandised when we took this photo on Monday, October 17).*

*(Valentino accessories boutique features a prominent corner location)*

*(The store's Celine accessories boutique is larger than the other shop-in-stores)*

*(Inside the impressive Celine accessory boutique)*

Three women’s footwear departments span the entire south side of the store’s ground floor. Interestingly, the stock room behind the footwear area features south-facing windows, providing natural light for staff working there (we didn’t take photos of this area). Designers in the pricy ‘Salon Shoes’ department include: Alexander Wang, Celine, Charlotte Olympia, Chloe, Fendi, Ferragamo, Giuseppe Zanotti, Isabel Marant, Jimmy Choo, Manolo Blahnik, Miu Miu, Prada, Proenza Schouler, Rag & Bone, Stella McCartney, Tory Burch, Valentino and Vince. Brands in the ‘Women’s Shoes’ department include: AGL, Born, Camper, Cole Haan, ED by Ellen DeGeneres, Paul Green, Ron White, Sam Edelman, Ted Baker London, UGG Australia and Vince Camuto. The ‘B.P’ shoe department includes brands: Adidas, Converse, Dolce Vita, Frye, Jeffrey Campbell, Nike, Sorel, TOMS and Steve Madden.

*Prada shoes, including styles in velvet.*

*Manolo Blahnik in a variety of colours.*

*Fendi women's shoes with playful designs.*

*(More women's shoes. Note, fixtures to the right are for Wednesday night's opening charity gala being hosted in the store)*

The store’s ground floor beauty hall is located at the mall entrance to the store. Brands include: Burberry Beauty, Chanel, Chantecaille, Clé de Peau Beauté, Dior, Diptyque, Guerlain, La Mer, Jo Malone London, Le Labo, MAC, Nars, Hermès Carre, Shiseido, Sisley, Tom Ford Beauty, Trish McEvoy and Yves Saint Laurent.

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The store’s ground floor also features departments for fashion accessories, sunglasses and jewellery/watches with a number of premium brands, as well as coffee concept ‘Ebar’ with its own mall entrance to the right of the main mall-accessed entrance.

Second Floor

Nordstrom’s Yorkdale store's second floor is devoted to women's fashions, the Habitant bar, and the luxurious JWN Room personal shopping suites. The floor features a wide range of designers, ranging from the affordable to the luxurious.

The store’s priciest women’s designer department, called ‘Collectors’, features six individual designer boutiques: Akris, Burberry, Celine, Chloe, Dries Van Noten and Valentino. A dress we saw in the Valentino boutique cost more than many vehicles (we won’t quote the price here). Akris is a premium Swiss brand with limited distribution globally, and is carried in only a handful of Nordstrom stores. The Dries Van Noten boutique is a first for Nordstrom.

*(Women's 'Collectors' designer floor, featuring fashions priced into the thousands)*

*(Collectors, including Valentino and Celine women's boutiques)*

*(Looking towards the Burberry, Akris and Dries Van Noten shop-in-stores)*

*(Premium Swiss fashion brand Akris is a major score for Nordstrom at Yorkdale. Distribution is limited to a handful of the world's top retailers)*

*(The Dries Van Noten boutique, still under construction in this photo, features interesting mirrored walls).*

*(This featured Valentino gown is impressive, and we gasped when we looked at the price tag)*

Other luxury brands carried in Collectors include: Belstaff, Brandon Maxwell, Cushnie et Ochs, Etro, Gabriella Hearst, Hervé Léger, Marni, Max Mara, Moschino, Proenza Schouler, Tomas Maier and Victor Alfaro.

Yorkdale’s Nordstrom features the edgy SPACE designer department — the second for Toronto. There are only eight SPACE departments in the chain, and Toronto is the only city in the world boasting two of them. Designers at SPACE Yorkdale include: Acne Studios, Anthony Vaccarello, Brother Vellies, Comme des Garçons, Ellery, Franny E, Junya Watanabe Comme de Garçons, Koche, Marques’Almeida, Mira Mikati, Paskal, Roksanda, Shrimps, Simon Miller, Simone Rocha, Steven Tai, Undercover, Vejas and Wwake.

*(SPACE designer department. Toronto is the only city in the world with two of them)*

The store’s second floor features several other women’s departments including Via C. (with brands such as A.L.C., Frame Denim, Helmut Lang, Rag & Bone), Individualist (with Alice & Olivia, Eileen Fisher, Joie, Ted Baker London, Theory, Vince), Point of View (with Nic & Zoe, NYDJ, Vince Camuto) and T.B.D (with Free People, Madewell, Paige, Rag & Bone/Denim). The store’s dress department includes brands such as Eliza J, Teri Jon, Chelsea28 and Dress the Population, while the coats department features Mackage, Max Mara, Mooseknuckles, and Woolrich. There are also departments for lingerie and sleepwear, while women’s ‘Active and Swim’ features a number of popular brands upstairs on the third level.

*The store's JWN Room private shopping suites.*

*(The JWN Room overlooks Yorkdale's interior mall corridor, providing an interesting view as well as considerable natural light)*

Third Floor

Nordstrom Yorkdale’s third floor features men’s and children’s departments, as well as a south-facing, sun flooded Bazille restaurant.

Men’s designer brands include names such as: Balenciaga, Dries Van Noten, Moschino, Tim Coppens, and Valentino, with other premium men’s clothing brands such as Canali, Corneliani, Hugo Boss, Pal Zileri and Ted Baker London. Men’s sportswear includes brands such as: Billy Reid, Theory and Vince, while ‘The Rail’ carries Adidas Originals, Fred Perry, G-Star, Naked & Famous, Nudie, and Zanerobe. There’s a men’s ‘performance and activewear’ area with brands such as Nike, Under Armour and Zella, while men’s furnishings brands include Bose, Canali, Eton, Fitbit, Tom Ford Sunglasses, Paul Smith, Ted Baker London and Rimowa Luggage. The men’s shoes department carries a number of premium brands as well, such as: Acne, Adidas by Raf Simons, Church’s, Common Projects, Jimmy Choo, Lanvin, Nike, Prada, Timberland, To Boot New York, UGG Australia and Vince.

The kids fashion department features a fun playhouse with a TV screen to keep kids entertained, and also features fashion brands such as: Burberry, Honest Company, and Mini Boden for clothing, and kid’s footwear by Nike, Hunter, UGG Australia, TOMS and Steve Madden.

*(Kid's 'treehouse', with a TV screen for entertainment)*

*(Fun artwork leading into the kid's dressing rooms)*

*(Natural light, and a view of the Yorkdale subway station from the elevator banks in the new store. Monday, October 17 was a cloudy/foggy day in Toronto)*

The store features a clean, single-surface floor throughout, giving Nordstrom the flexibility to adjust and evolve departments depending on what Toronto customers want over time. The store also includes Canada's fifth Sugarfina concession -- a luxury candy shop featuring 150+ sweets from around the world.

The store employs about 850 staff, and features amenities and services including:

Nordstrom to You
Personal Stylist
JWN Room
Valet Parking (on a level below the store’s ground floor, accessed from elevators as well as a beautiful staircase)
Beauty Concierge
Beauty Stylist
Language Ambassadors Service
Bar/Cell Phone Charging
Alterations & Tailoring
Certified Shoe Fitters
Certified Bra & Prosthesis Fitters
Family Restroom Mother’s Lounge
Complimentary Gift Boxes
Nordstrom Gift Cards
UnionPay
Debut Rewards
Free Wi-Fi
Same-Day Delivery

*(Habitant Bar on the store's second floor. Valentino, Celine and Chloé boutiques can be seen behind it)*

*(Third floor 'Bazille' restaurant. We didn't photograph the actual space because of set-up for Wednesday night's gala)*

Nordstrom opens its doors to the public this week at 10:00 am on Friday, October 21. The excitement will continue in the fall of 2017, when Nordstrom opens 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 18, 2016