Minimalist Japanese retailer MUJI has announced that it will open a fourth store in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) this summer, as it plans to eventually operate up to 20 Canadian stores by the year 2020.

MUJI entered the Canadian market in November of 2014, when it opened a 4,400 square foot store in downtown Toronto’s ‘The Atrium’, at 20 Dundas Street. A 5,225 square foot MUJI subsequently opened at Mississauga’s Square One in November of 2015, and in October of 2016, a 6,375 square foot store opened at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre.

This summer, MUJI will open its fourth GTA location at CF Markville, an enclosed shopping mall in Markham. The store will span in excess of 6,000 square feet, and will boast a prominent corner location near entrance 10 on the mall’s main level, across from Roots, The Gap, and Forever 21, and next to the mall’s Joey restaurant, as per the floor plan below.

(click above for interactive cf markville mall map)

In October of last year, MUJI’s Canadian President, Toru Akita, revealed that MUJI plans to operate between 15 and 20 Canadian stores by the year 2020.

In January of this year, MUJI announced its first two Vancouver store locations, both of which will be larger than its current Toronto stores. A 10,000 square foot Robson Street flagship will open later this year, as well as an 8,000 square foot unit at Metropolis at Metrotown in Burnaby. A third location in the Vancouver area has also been secured, and it will open in 2018.

Known for being innovative and its products being affordable and unbranded, MUJI carries various household items, furniture, appliances, stationery and apparel. With hundreds of stores worldwide (over 400 in Japan and about 400 internationally), it saves money by spending little to nothing on market research and advertising. MUJI is short for Mujirushi Ryohin, or no-brand superior items, and was founded in 1980 as the private-label brand of a major supermarket chain.

Canadian Retail News From Around The Web: March 30, 2017