It does not have to be the extremes, in my opinion, either high end boutiques with very few customers or very low end, such as Nordstrom Rack. There are options for so called "middle class" customer. Nordstrom, for example, used to be my favourite store in Chicago, it is much larger than the one at the Eatons Center and carries many mid-range "affordable" designers. The one at the Eatons is a much smaller, limited selection, lower end version of a Nordstrom anyway.
With respect to the Nordstrom Rack at 1 Bloor, it is a disappointment, I would compare it to Winners, if anything, or Shoe Surce at the corner of Charles and Yonge. I did check it out yesterday: clothes are mostly 100% polyester, made in China, they look OK but quality is poor (high static non-breathable material.) Shoes are plasticky, yes, may be flashy but also of poor quality, very few household items, such as, for example, mugs with notation "washing by hand recommended" - that should speak to the quality of dies used. By and large, it is marketed to teenagers or very young fashion conscious people, may be like students, who do not have much to spend. It is not for a "middle class" or a "young professional" type of customer. Consistently with that low price range approach the interior design of the store is minimalistic, somewhat industrial style. I would agree that Nordstrom Rack would fit more at the Eatons C where groups of teenagers hang out, although this store was extreamely busy. People were sitting all over right on the floor trying on shoes - a noticeable lack of benches for sitting down when trying on shoes was appearant. It also goes together with low price range notion. I was hoping for a more quality store for 1Bloor location.
