Despite being a quiet Thursday morning at the Royalmount mall, the shopping centre is filling out and more stores are on the way. “We opened up with about 35 per cent occupancy,” Andrew Lutfy, the mall’s owner, said. “Today, we’re over, if I’m not mistaken, 82 per cent.” Lutfy wouldn’t give financial numbers about the first year of operation, but he says the mall is gradually ramping up. Royalmount opened its doors to reporters for a tour a year after its launch. Shoppers seemed to like the outdoor, nature component that’s surrounded by restaurants. The mall also sells itself as the place to be if you want luxury items. Royalmount has no shortage of high-end stores. “I find that in terms of a luxury mall, it does bring this certain need. I feel like there’s a lack of a luxury mall in Montreal,” one shopper told CTV News. There is no doubt that luxury items catch people’s attention. “Maybe not everybody can afford what’s in those stores, but it certainly draws the curiosity and brings the shoppers who then maybe go on to the other, more mass market brands that are in there,” retail analyst Carl Boutet said. Boutet says it will likely take years before the mall reaches its potential. “When I think about Royalmount, I think it’s not meant to be a place you go to, frequently. I think it’s meant to be a place that you really go to for special occasions,” Boutet said. While many questioned whether a mall had any place opening in such a congested area, Lutfy says being close to two major highways and the metro is great for business. “There’s an incredible density of population that’s within this 15-minute drive time. Roughly 1.2 million people,” Lutfy said.
