The managers of Red Deer’s two indoor shopping centres say their properties are attracting interest from south of the border.
“We’ve had some pretty big U.S. retailers and their brokers come through the mall in the past couple months here,” said Bower Place Shopping Centre general manager John Rooke. “They’re just scanning what we have for locations and what’s coming available from some of our lease renewals and expiries.”
Parkland Mall manager Dan Hachey tells a similar story.
“There are several major large format retailers from the States that are seriously looking at Canada.”
Target Corporation positioned itself to enter the Canadian market in a big way early this year, when it purchased the leases for 220 Zellers stores, including the one at Bower Place Shopping Centre.
It plans to open up to 150 stores in Canada.
Other U.S. companies that recently opened stores in Canada or announced plans to do so include Dollar Tree, Express, J. Crew, Marshalls and Victoria’s Secret. Nordstrom and Kohl’s are also looking at the market here.
Hachey said major centres like Calgary and Edmonton are the primary targets, but Red Deer’s location on the Hwy 2 corridor elevates its appeal to U.S. retail companies.
“It makes us very high on the second list.
“Basically, they have to commit to Calgary and Edmonton, and then we think we’re quickly behind — if not at the same time.”
Both malls have space. Bower Place Shopping Centre is looking to fill the former Please Mum, Naturalizer and Carleton Cards premises; Parkland still needs a long-term tenant for the area vacated by Sears in 2008.
Currently, Target Apparel (formerly Labels) occupies half of the former Sears space and Spirit Halloween took over the balance last week.
Hachey said his mall has enjoyed increased traffic since Sept. 9, when the Walmart there converted to a supercentre with a full range of grocery products.
“The supercentre is a significant and major enhancement for us and for Walmart.”
Meanwhile, Sport Check recently opened Nevada Bob’s Golf and Hockey Experts boutiques within its Parkland Mall store.
At Bower Place Shopping Centre, Urban Trail — a footwear and clothing store — opened on Sept. 1.
UMI Sushi Express should join the mall’s food court options within a month, said Rooke, with Kernels Popcorn slated to open nearby in October.
He said vacant bays within the mall will be used on a temporary basis in the months leading up to Christmas. For instance, Parkland Nurseries and Garden Centre will set up shop in the former Please Mum premises.
“All of the holes that we have right now are going to be filled with our seasonal guys,” said Rooke.
hrichards@www.reddeeradvocate.com