[dunno]

My thinking is that regardless of if these 3 stayed long term (and 2 out of the 3 aren't in Canada anymore, so there's that), they could've provided a window of interest in Downtown retail and could've seen H&M (which was planned until Oxford lured them to a bigger Kingsway CRU), Urban Outfitters, Uniqlo, Zara, RW&Co, etc and maybe even bigger retailers like Best Buy, Staples (back to DT), or Rona/Home Depot/Home Hardware such that there would've been a critical mass of retail support by the time covid came around. There still would've been a direct hit, like any city, but maybe we'd be looking at a Downtown retail vibrancy sort of on the level of Calgary or Ottawa (or slightly below), instead of Hamilton and Winnipeg.

 

[IanO]

H&M had ink drying on the ECC deal in the former Urban and current bank space on the NWC of 101/102, until a visit from corp/Tdot pushed them to Kingsway as it was 'Downtown' and had free parking.

Calgary is not comparable, but Ottawa certainly is... along with the Peg.

 

[Gronk!]

 

[Gronk!]

Nike to Open Largest Store in Canada at West Edmonton Mall

The store is part of an expansion for Fox Group and Nike that includes large flagships in major cities.

retail-insider.com

 

[Gronk!]

Buy Buy Baby space is sitting empty and forlorn

Coming soon

former Bed Bath & Beyond space

Nike is gonna be bigger than I thought!

Which holiday?

My favorite hangout at WEM has shut down. Dunno if permanent or just renovating.

L.L. Bean expansion

Phase 1 food court

 

[Gronk!]

Vancouver Aquarium penguins relocated to West Edmonton Mall

Four new African penguins have arrived at the West Edmonton Mall zoo as part of a conservation program for endangered species.

edmontonjournal.com

 

[Markyeg]

Moncler opening a store at West Ed in the space beside Balenciaga (old Kate Spade and Lacoste)

 

[Gronk!]

Dr. Phone Fix Expanding Presence with High-Profile Location at West Edmonton Mall, Targets National Growth [Interview]

The cell phone and electronics repair chain is seeing strong demand with plans for an ongoing aggressive store expansion.

retail-insider.com

 

[Gronk!]

 

[dunno]

They really need to do something with that whale. It literally looks like they just dropped it on a random place in the mall without any foresight or thought.

 

[northlands]

They really need to do something with that whale. It literally looks like they just dropped it on a random place in the mall without any foresight or thought.

Yes but it's better than anything Triple5 would replace it with at this point.

 

[MacLac]

They really need to do something with that whale. It literally looks like they just dropped it on a random place in the mall without any foresight or thought.

Not sure if there is an absolute "ideal" place to drop a Humpback Whale" in a mall. I suppose next to the Pirate ship? And we could pretend it's a whaling ship?

 

[Gronk!]

I always see a few families snapping pics with kids in the whale's mouth. I fail to see what the problem is.
Wanna know what's a more annoying feature with Phase I? The stupid train with the whistle that's always trying to plow down shoppers!

 

[BASE]

What's the next big thing at the mall? I guess Galaxyland has and will continue to see some big changes and certainly seems like new retailers continue to be attracted. I don't see any expansion for retail coming but any new attractions that could be added?, big renovations?, maybe a new hotel?

 

[archited]

Entertainment and retail design need to be refreshed about every five years (prime lease term territory).