Simons marks grand opening at Toronto’s Eaton Centre

Simons CEO Bernard LeBlanc on what customers can look forward to as the company’s second Toronto location opens up today.

Simons will be officially opening its first downtown Toronto location on Thursday.

The Quebec-based department store previously opened its first Toronto location at Yorkdale Shopping Centre on Aug. 14 and is now opening up shop at the Eaton Centre.

Simons will partially occupy the space that was previously home to Nordstrom at both the Eaton Centre and Yorkdale after the retailer’s exit from the Canadian marketplace in 2023.

Speaking to CP24 last month, retail expert Bruce Winder said Simons is a “bit of an enigma” when compared to other large department stores.

While many other retailers have struggled to retain a brick-and-mortar footprint in recent years, Simons has done “very well,” he noted.

“They’ve been very careful in terms of how they expand,” he said.

Including the expansion in Toronto, the department store currently has about 17 locations across the country.

“We have always taken a very cautious approach to our expansion. It has been done with a lot intent, a lot of reliance on data, and on what the customers have been telling us,” The CEO of Simons, Bernard Leblanc, told CTV’s Your Morning on Thursday.

“These Toronto locations for us build proximity to our client... I’m very excited about the opportunity to serve Toronto.”