[TossYourJacket]

probably due to theft - don't want to make it easy for thieves to grab and run out the exit

Are people way more prone to rob an Aritzia than the Alo yoga across the hall? I don't doubt that it's the reason they did it (I'm sure you're totally right on the logic there), but it feels like if Alo can have display windows so can Aritzia. I get not having an entrance there, but windows would have been better than the blank wall we got.

 

[nightstreak]

My cynical take is that Cadillac Fairview prefers it this way.

This could be a fantastic outdoor space with cafes on both ends. But the customers… they would be *outside*. Mall owners want to keep people inside for as long as they can get away with.

There’s a well known tactic employed by department stores that the omission of windows is deliberate. You don’t want people seeing that it’s getting dark and it’s time to go home or that it’s sunny outside and maybe we should go out for a walk.

Then again, I question Cadillac Fairview’s tactics. For the longest time there was little to no seating in the mall. You know what I do when I get tired? I go home. Give me a seat to rest for a bit and you’ll get me shopping for a lot longer.

Maybe the same is going on with these outdoor spaces. CF thinks keeping them dead draws people inside but instead it could be keeping people in the vicinity of the mall for longer.

 

[nightstreak]

To further add to this cynicism, this is what this terrace used to look like not too long ago (2021):

Eaton Centre even promoted it back then:

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

When also considering that the stores facing Yonge Street have mostly all closed their exterior doors in recent years and places like the bakery and BMO have walled up their windows, it's starting to become clear that a new direction in management around that time started to turn the mall inwards.

 

[nightstreak]

Update on Club Monaco:

Cadillac Fairview has updated their leasing plan to change Club Monaco to "UNKNOWN". That's an unusual denominator, their spaces either have the name of the tenant or "VACANT".

Before:

After:

Edit: ok, maybe UNKNOWN is the name of the fashion house, lol

UNKNOWN LONDON

www.unknownlondon.com

 

[shortbranch]

The North Face back open after 3 month renovation

 

[shortbranch]

Lids Renovating

 

[Richard White]

Lids Renovating

I guess they are keeping a lid on things?

 

[torontowest91]

I dont think that random unknown clothing brand can afford that old club Monaco space - also isn't Victorias secret there right now?

 

[longfortheoldview]

I find when I'm walking in the mall lately (mostly to grab food), that the common spaces/hallways are busy, but most stores are totally empty of customers. Is it just because it's an off-peak time of the year? What are people doing in the mall hallways if they aren't shopping? I found this to be the case at Yorkdale a month ago when I was there too.

 

[SubHuman]

I find when I'm walking in the mall lately (mostly to grab food), that the common spaces/hallways are busy, but most stores are totally empty of customers...

I think food probably is the reason for most mall visits. Back in the time when most of us had never heard the term Internet, people would go to a mall to browse. They would go to different shops to look through what they had available on the shelves and racks before deciding what particular pair of shoes, winter coat, electronic device, etc., they would eventually buy. Now they search and decide online, and often also order it to be delivered, only going into a store to pick up something they ordered online, or maybe rarely take a quick look at something.

 

[AlbertC]

I find when I'm walking in the mall lately (mostly to grab food), that the common spaces/hallways are busy, but most stores are totally empty of customers. Is it just because it's an off-peak time of the year? What are people doing in the mall hallways if they aren't shopping? I found this to be the case at Yorkdale a month ago when I was there too.

Malls are de facto social and gathering spaces. Especially for younger people, and the Eaton Centre would be the go to place for all the TMU, U of T, OCADU, GBC, and high schoolers around downtown. Also I can imagine downtown office workers doing a lap around the mall for their lunch time break, and get to window shop, or experiential shop on things they may pick up or eventually buy online. Stores like Indigo, Simons, and the now defunct Hudson's Bay store would be prime places to browse around for ideas and inspiration.

 

[Towered]

Malls are de facto social and gathering spaces. Especially for younger people, and the Eaton Centre would be the go to place for all the TMU, U of T, OCADU, GBC, and high schoolers around downtown. Also I can imagine downtown office workers doing a lap around the mall for their lunch time break, and get to window shop, or experiential shop on things they may pick up or eventually buy online. Stores like Indigo, Simons, and the now defunct Hudson's Bay store would be prime places to browse around for ideas and inspiration.

It's so goddamn boring though now.

 

[gabe]

I find when I'm walking in the mall lately (mostly to grab food), that the common spaces/hallways are busy, but most stores are totally empty of customers. Is it just because it's an off-peak time of the year? What are people doing in the mall hallways if they aren't shopping? I found this to be the case at Yorkdale a month ago when I was there too.

Most of the stores at Eaton Centre and Yorkdale these days are expensive high-end shops. The average working class person can't afford those prices. Back in the 90s when i was growing up those malls were full of stores the average person could afford.

Malls are de facto social and gathering spaces. Especially for younger people, and the Eaton Centre would be the go to place for all the TMU, U of T, OCADU, GBC, and high schoolers around downtown. Also I can imagine downtown office workers doing a lap around the mall for their lunch time break, and get to window shop, or experiential shop on things they may pick up or eventually buy online. Stores like Indigo, Simons, and the now defunct Hudson's Bay store would be prime places to browse around for ideas and inspiration.

The only reason i go to the Eaton Centre or Yorkdale mall is to get my steps in when the weather is bad lol And Maybe grab something to eat at the food hall/ food court. I never shop there.

 

[torontowest91]

Eaton centre is far more affordable than Yorkdale.