French luxury brand Christian Dior will open a massive two-level flagship on Toronto's 'Mink Mile' next year, as it coordinates a substantial expansion in Canada’s largest city.

Last week, Dior also opened a women's ready-to-wear concession on the third floor of Saks Fifth Avenue's CF Toronto Eaton Centre flagship. The boutique is inspired by Dior's Peter Marino-designed Paris flagship, and compliments a Dior accessories boutique that opened on Saks’ ground floor in May of this year.

*Inside Dior's new Saks Fifth Avenue boutique in Toronto. Photo: Saks*

Dior’s Toronto flagship, set to open later in 2017, will be located in Chanel’s current space at 131 Bloor Street (aka ’The Colonnade’). The Dior store will span about 13,400 square feet, with 3,365 square feet on its ground floor and an additional 10,029 square feet upstairs. Part of the upstairs space leased to Dior was formerly occupied by The Japan Foundation, which vacated The Colonnade last year.

*Click above for interactive Google map*

**Click above for PDF floorplan, via landlord Morguard.**

Dianne Lemm, principal/broker at Northwest Atlantic, negotiated the Dior lease deal in partnership with Hanna Struever of California-based Retail Portfolio Solutions. The Colonnade’s landlord is Mississauga-based Morguard.

Chanel will vacate its 131 Bloor Street West retail space in several months, coinciding with the completion of its 8,700 square foot replacement location at 98 Yorkville Avenue. Chanel originally moved into 131 Bloor in the spring of 1989 with a 3,100 square foot one-level unit that it subsequently expanded upward.

*Dior will replace Chanel at 131 Bloor Street West. Chanel is moving 2 blocks north.*

The Colonnade is seeing a number of changes, adding to its already exceptional luxury offerings. Italian luxury brand Prada is in the process of substantially expanding its existing 5,889 square foot store to about 13,600 square feet, and Moncler has leased about 2,500 square feet of the complex’s existing Sephora store, which is relocating up the street. Across the street in late 2017, Hermès will open a 12,000 square foot two-level flagship at 100 Bloor Street West, replacing a nearby 4,000 square foot store on the same street.

Dior has been expanding in Canada over the past couple of years and last summer, opened a 9,500 square foot store in the retail podium of Vancouver's Fairmont Hotel Vancouver. Sources say that the store is doing exceptionally well, seeing traffic from both affluent locals as well as tourists. That Hotel Vancouver store was the first freestanding Canadian location for Dior, having joined the brand’s accessory concessions at Holt Renfrew in Vancouver, Toronto (50 Bloor St. W.), Toronto Yorkdale Shopping Centre, and in Montreal. Dior is expected to relocate its Montreal accessory concession in early 2018 to an expanded/combined Ogilvy/Holt Renfrew on Sainte Catherine Street West, coinciding with the closure of Holt’s Montreal Sherbrooke Street West store. Montreal correspondent Maxime Frechette says that Dior has also confirmed with him that it will open a Dior Homme men's boutique at Ogilvy/Holt's in Montreal that year, as well.

Canadian Retail News From Around The Web: September 14, 2016