Nordstrom in Talks With West Edmonton Mall

Floorplan: West Edmonton Mall, red editing: Retail Insider

We received confirmation that Nordstrom is in talks to open a store at West Edmonton Mall in (none other than) Edmonton, Alberta.  Tripple Five's Ghermezian family is in talks with numerous other prominent retailers and the family has already secured Canada's first non-Quebec-location for La Maisons Simons, opening October 31st as we previously reported.

We don't have word as to if Tripple Five will try to secure Sears' lease at the North end of West Edmonton Mall's 'Phase One'. We visited West Edmonton Mall this August and were surprised at the lack of shoppers in Phase One. This no doubt would change with Nordstrom's arrival, not to mention Target's opening at the South end of Phase One.

We previously reported that West Edmonton Mall could be home to Nordstrom. We had also previously reported that Edmonton's Southgate Shopping Centre could get Nordstrom, though we have no related leads at press time.

West Edmonton Mall is investing millions to upgrade its premises and is looking to increase sales-per-square-foot from about $700 to about $1000/sq ft by 2016, according to an Edmonton-based retail insider.

We will keep you updated on this interesting development, especially as it could become a nail in the coffin of Edmonton's downtown Holt Renfrew store.

West Edmonton Mall website: www.wem.ca

Nordstrom website: www.nordstrom.com

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