On some of Toronto’s busiest retail streets, the city’s changing shopping landscape can now be measured in matcha cafés, Pilates studios, wellness clinics, athleisure stores, and packed restaurant patios. “We’re getting 20 calls a day for matcha and Pilates concepts,” said Arlin Markowitz, Executive Vice President with CBRE Canada’s Urban Retail Team in Toronto. For Markowitz, the surge… View Article
CBRE’s Arlin Markowitz says Toronto’s retail landscape is being redefined by the rise of contemporary fashion and a boom in athleisure brands. “Much of the vacancy in the city’s key shopping nodes like Bloor-Yorkville, the Ossington Avenue strip and Yorkdale Shopping Centre is being backfilled by contemporary fashion and athleisure retailers,” he says. “Both categories are poised to have… View Article
From The Toronto Star: Athleisure, wellness and beauty dominated Toronto retail leases in 2025, as demand for space in the city remained strong and rents in high-traffic areas continued to rise, despite volatility at the start of 2025. At the same time, value-based retailers like Winners found success absorbing demand from cost-conscious consumers, according to CBRE’s… View Article
Turning local knowledge into a commercial advantage Markowitz began working in the shoe business but decided it wasn’t for him, and he wanted to get into real estate. But rather than residential, he thought, “Why not do what I already know, which is retail and commercial?” He said he began not just with a commercial… View Article
Torontonians bummed about the Bay closing won’t have to wait long for a new in-person shopping option. Popular Quebec department store Simons is here to help. Armed with a $75-million investment, the chain is set to open its newest locations at Yorkdale on August 14 and at the Eaton Centre sometime this September. Both sites… View Article
Toronto’s Ossington Avenue is experiencing a retail surge, establishing itself as one of the city’s most vibrant and sought-after shopping and dining corridors. Once dominated by auto garages, the stretch between Queen and Dundas Streets now pulses with independent retailers, stylish eateries, and lifestyle-driven businesses that reflect Toronto’s evolving urban identity. “Ossington is on fire,”… View Article
Toronto’s Bloor Street luxury run is seeing an unprecedented number of luxury brands opening flagship stores. Last week, Kering-owned Saint Laurent opened a 10,400 square foot location at 110 Bloor Street West, featuring a brutalist facade and updated design concept. The new store features the full range of Saint Laurent’s ready-to-wear for women and men… View Article
Los Angeles-based women’s contemporary fashion brand Anine Bing is opening its second Canadian storefront in a retail space at the Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto’s Bloor-Yorkville area this spring. It follows the recent opening of Bing’s first Canadian storefront at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre. The new Anine Bing location at the Four Seasons, in a retail space… View Article
The opening of a new Browns Shoes store on the fashionable Bloor Street West retail strip is the latest indication that an uptick in leasing velocity may be on the horizon in the upcoming quarter. “There’s a lot more leasing activity on Bloor Street than one would assume,” says Brandon Gorman, senior-vice president, broker, agency… View Article
As department store chain Nordstrom makes its exit from Canada, landlords are facing a challenge to find new uses for more than a dozen sizable stores in high-end locations across the country. The retailer is expected to vacate six Nordstrom and seven Nordstrom Rack locations by the end of the month, leaving landlords such as Cadillac Fairview and… View Article
Austrian crystal brand Swarovski has launched its ‘Instant Wonder’ flagship concept store in Canada with a single location on Bloor Street in Toronto. It is one of a select few stores for the new concept globally with the store replacing a previous Swarovski location that recently closed nearby. The new 1,900 square foot Instant Wonder Swarovski is… View Article
Real estate company CBRE’s Urban Retail Team is working with the Joey Restaurant Group as their exclusive broker to assist with site selection for expansion of the brand across downtown Toronto and Ottawa. Teddy Taggart, Associate Vice President of CBRE’s Urban Retail Team, is working with Arlin Markowitz, Executive Vice President of the Team, to find locations in urban… View Article
The historic building at 77 Yorkville Avenue in Toronto, currently housing a beautiful Isaia flagship store, was recently sold at a record-breaking price to an unnamed investor. Arlin Markowitz of CBRE and Kevin Gillen of real estate firm Gillen were the listing brokers representing the vendor ProWinko Canada, and Jordan Karp and Ryan Morein of Savills Canada represented the buyer. We were asked not to reveal the purchase price publicly… View Article
Upscale New York City-based women’s fashion brand Veronica Beard has opened its first Canadian storefront at 111 Yorkville Avenue in Toronto. The location features a unique facade in a double-townhouse that was recently renovated. The new store spans about 1,800 square feet and houses Veronica Beard’s women’s ready-to-wear collection and staples such as the Dickey Jacket, scuba… View Article
A commercial real estate report by CBRE says the retail market continues to evolve and adapt to the changing landscape, and innovation and a focus on experience will see the sector reinvigorated this year. The Canada Real Estate Outlook said consumer confidence remains positive and spending is forecast to stabilize in 2022. “I think going into the… View Article
It’s not often that a single development poses the potential to impact a neighbourhood or district so dramatically that it completely changes the gravitational attraction within the area. And, just as seldom are these types of endeavours completed within a single phase of construction. Afterall, the magnitude of any project hoping to impose this kind… View Article
Social media exposure and a desire for higher visibility are prompting some health and wellness service providers to move from offices to urban street-front retail locations, according to Toronto-based CBRE broker and urban retail team vice-president Jackson Turner. Moreover, developers and landlords see them as attractive tenants. “Medical and health and wellness operators are a destination,” Turner… View Article
You’ve Seen His Name on Buildings Throughout Toronto. But Who is Arlin Markowitz? By: Sean Terry If you’ve spent a day in Toronto, it’s more than likely that you’ve seen his name. Dominating the city’s urban retail real estate market, it appears on just about three quarters of the ‘For Lease’ and ‘For Sale’ signs… View Article
By Michelle Zadikian The brick and mortar retail scene in Toronto is coming back to life. Commercial real estate services firm CBRE says there’s been a “huge” increase in retail leasing and sales activity over the past two months as retailers see light at the end of the tunnel and prepare for the post-COVID era…. View Article
By Craig Patterson UK-based JD Group is expanding its ’Size?’ sneaker and apparel-focused retail banner into Canada this year with plans for several locations in major markets. The first storefront will open this summer in Toronto and plans are already in place for Vancouver and possibly other cities. Canada’s first location for Size? will be… View Article
By Craig Patterson The beautiful Club Monaco flagship store in an historic building on Toronto’s Mink Mile will be closing permanently this week, leaving a vacancy at a prominent corner of the city. Club Monaco moved into part of the Lilian Massey building at 157 Bloor Street West in March of 1996 and has been… View Article
By Craig Patterson Upscale Australian skin care brand Aesop is continuing with its standalone store expansion in Canada this year with multiple locations in two major markets. The new stores will join the 12 other Canadian standalone locations that have opened since 2015, as well as concessions and stockists in multi-brand retailers. One Toronto storefront, spanning… View Article
by Mario Toneguzzi The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the retail industry is spurring developers and property managers to think differently as to what retail space in condo and office towers might look like in the future. Arlin Markowitz, executive vice-president/urban retail team with CBRE in Toronto, said COVID is making developers and other real estate… View Article
The CBRE Top Sales and Leasing Team for 2020 is Toronto Downtown’s Urban Retail Team. This past year was particularly challenging for the retail sector; however, the team persevered with true grit and passion and closed over 100 transactions and accelerated their market share. At the end of 2020, the team completed a 78,000 SF… View Article
By Tess Kalinowski Real Estate Reporter Donovan Vincent Housing Reporter Prairie Girl Bakery’s fantastically flavoured cupcakes and designer confections have been longtime favourites of Toronto office workers. Before COVID-19, they could be picked up for work events or on the way home from five Prairie Girl stores, including two in the underground PATH at First… View Article
by Craig Patterson The retail podium of the mixed-use 110 Bloor Street West building in Toronto will be seeing substantial changes that will include an impressively updated physical appearance as well as opportunities for new tenants. The retail podium spans more than 200 feet along Toronto’s prestigious ‘Mink Mile’ as well as frontage facing onto… View Article
By Craig Patterson of Retail Insider Nestlé-owned chocolate brand KitKat has opened a highly experiential retail concept at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre. It’s the first permanent location of its kind for the brand in North America, and represents a brilliant example of a brand engaging with consumers in an effort to create loyalty and gain… View Article
By Retail Insider New York City-based fitness company Peloton, known particularly for its luxury stationary bicycles that live-stream spin classes, has relocated its Bloor Street location in Toronto into a more permanent space. Peloton opened its first Canadian location at 130 Bloor Street West in a space formerly occupied by Hermes in October of 2018… View Article
By Retail Insider South Korean ‘naturalism-oriented’ cosmetic brand Innisfree has opened its first Canadian storefront at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre. A second location will open soon at CF Toronto Eaton Centre as the company kicks off its Canadian store expansion that will soon also include stores in the Vancouver area. The 2,500 square foot Yorkdale… View Article
By Mario Toneguzzi via Retail Insider The unique Myodetox lifestyle physiotherapy clinic is planning a new flagship location at Yorkville Village in Toronto for this fall as part of the company’s strategy to aggressively grow the Toronto-based business across North America and internationally. The concept was founded in 2015 and Myodetox delivers a longevity-focused and… View Article
By Craig Patterson of Retail Insider South Korean ‘naturalism-oriented’ cosmetic brand Innisfree will open its first Canadian storefront this summer, utilizing a direct-to-consumer retail model that will add further competition in an already crowded market. Innisfree is the latest international brand to enter Canada, marking a trend that is seeing Canada continue to be a… View Article
By CSA Staff at CSA Selecting the 10 Under 40 class is one of our most difficult annual duties and many worthy nominees don’t make the final cut. Here are 12 of the worthiest. Chris Ressa, 35Chief operating officer, DLCAs a new rep at DLC, Ressa set a torrid pace of more than 25 deals… View Article
By Craig Patterson of Retail Insider Italian luxury brand Valentino has officially opened its first standalone Canadian flagship at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre. The impressive storefront is the latest international brand to enter Canada through Yorkdale, as Valentino expands its presence in Canada amid considerable popularity. Located across from an expanding Holt Renfrew store at… View Article
It’s being billed as a first of its kind in Canada. The Well in downtown Toronto is a 3.1 million-square-foot mixed-use development spread over 7.8 acres which the developers, RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust and Allied Properties Real Estate Investment Trust, say is a “bold reflection of Toronto’s energy and diversity, and an extension of… View Article
Italian luxury brand Ermenegildo Zegna is expanding its Canadian operations significantly this year. After opening a renovated standalone store at CF Pacific Centre in Vancouver last month, it has opened a standalone store at 100 Bloor Street West in Toronto, next to Hermès’ flagship. More standalone stores could be on the way in a unique partnership with… View Article
Photo: Retail Insider New York City-based sleep brand Casper has opened a large permanent showroom at 342 Queen Street West in downtown Toronto, which will also house the brand’s Canadian headquarters at the back of the space in the spring of 2019 when office renovations are completed. The Toronto location is Casper’s second in Canada, and more… View Article
It didn’t take long for customers to realize they weren’t walking into a conventional grocery store when the Organic Garage’s newest location opened in Toronto’s Liberty Village neighbourhood last month. With just 13,000 square feet of space situated in the basement of a 100-year-old brick-and-beam building, Organic Garage’s fourth store is very different to a… View Article
Photo: Retail Insider Minimalist Japanese retailer Muji has unveiled its largest store in Canada to date, steps away from Toronto’s Yonge-Dundas Square. The 19,110 square foot store is the first in Canada to span two levels and is now the largest Muji store in the world outside of Asia. The store opens to the public at… View Article
New York City-based fitness company Peloton, known particularly for its luxury stationary bicycles that live-stream spin classes, is aggressively expanding into Canada with a network of retail stores. The company is picking some of the busiest and most prestigious addresses for its Canadian locations, similar to in the United States where it has stores in… View Article
Italian luxury brand Valentino will open its first standalone Canadian store this winter at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre. It’s the latest luxury brand to open at Canada’s most productive mall, which is on track to become a global leader in brands as well as retail innovation. Valentino will occupy about 4,700 square feet on one… View Article
Ossington Avenue in Toronto continues to transform into a unique strip of retailers and restaurants. Once a seedy address known for its bars, the character street is being repositioned as an upscale, diverse neighbourhood that is becoming a favourite for first-to-market retail concepts. The particular stretch of Ossington Avenue between Queen Street West and Dundas… View Article
French luxury brand Hermès is hosting one of the more interesting pop-up activations we’ve seen this year on Toronto’s Mink Mile. We attended a preview and were able to take photos and videos for this article. The ‘Hermès Carré Club’ is being hosted at 151 Bloor Street West on Friday, September 28 through to September… View Article
Toronto’s famed ‘Mink Mile’, representing a portion of the Bloor Street West roughly between Yonge Street to the east and Avenue Road to the west, is seeing substantial changes with significant new construction and new retailers changing the face of the area. New development is having something of a ‘snowball effect’ in the neighbourhood, including… View Article
For the second year running, Toronto has attracted the most new international retailers out of any North American city. According to a new CBRE report, Toronto welcomed 40 new international retailers in 2017, the most on record for the city, and more than double New York City’s 15 debuts. Toronto is the only North American location… View Article
San Francisco-based footwear brand Allbirds has opened in a retail space on one of the world’s trendiest areas — Toronto’s ‘West Queen West’, as the brand expands its Canadian presence after opening a Canadian online store in March of this year as well as two pop-ups at Nordstrom. The Queen Street pop-up is being used… View Article
Toronto’s upscale Yorkville area is known for its north-south pedestrian passages that connect its blocks, and one of these is seeing an overhaul that will be a very welcome addition to the neighbourhood. Already, Canada’s top rated restaurant Alo is confirmed to be opening in the new ‘Yorkville Lane’ that has an address of 162… View Article
Upscale Swiss men’s fashion brand Strellson has relocated its Toronto flagship store to 95 Bloor Street West, in a retail space just up the street from one it vacated late last year. The company officially opened the store (which ‘softly’ opened several months ago) last week with an event hosted in partnership with Sharp Magazine…. View Article
The high intensity workout at Barry’s Bootcamp is described as the best workout in the world and it recently entered the Canadian market with its first location in Toronto’s Entertainment District, with plans to expand further across the country. Laurie Campbell, one of the owners and vice-president of operations for Canada, says the concept invovles… View Article
Iconic Italian luxury brand Ermenegildo Zegna is expanding its Canadian operations this year with a new standalone flagship in Toronto, as well as a renovation to its Vancouver store. More standalone stores could be on the way in a unique partnership with menswear retailer Harry Rosen. Harry Rosen has had a partnership with Zegna brand… View Article
Canada represents a significant opportunity for global luxury brands looking to expand by opening stores: that’s the message being conveyed by experts that see this country as a market with room for further growth. Canada is a market that features a growing population of affluent residents, as well as a growing number of Chinese residents,… View Article
For months last fall, the forner Williams-Sonoma plot on Bloor was disguised as a giant orange box, wrapped up like an Hermes scarf, as workers stripped the space to its bones. The label’s new 6,000 sq.ft. home is over double the size of its previous digs down the street, and containsr all manner of luxurious… View Article
Toronto might be getting a new flagship Apple Store at Yonge and Bloor, but in the meantime, tech heads can immerse themselves in the enormous Samsung Experience store that just opened at the Eaton Centre. The largest of its kind in Canada and one of the most impressive retail spaces the brand boasts in the… View Article
About 50 international retail brands entered Canada by opening stores in 2017, which could be a record. As a comparison, we counted 21 brands that entered Canada in 2016, 28 in 2015, and 20 in 2014 when we began counting. Granted, the 2017 list of retailers generally occupy smaller footprints than some retailers that have entered… View Article
Minimalist Japanese retailer MUJI has publicly announced that it will be expanding its first Canadian store, located at the Atrium in downtown Toronto, and that it will temporarily relocate into a temporary space during the construction. The expansion is expected to grow the Toronto store to become more in line in terms of size of MUJI’s two… View Article
Minimalist Japanese retailer MUJI has opened its largest store outside of Asia on Vancouver’s Robson Street. Thousands lined up for the store’s opening on Saturday, and the lineups are expected to continue well into 2018. The 14,507 square foot store is unlike any MUJI location in North America, offering a host of products and services… View Article
Iconic French luxury brand Hermès has reopened its Toronto flagship, in a retail space that is considerably larger than its former location up the street. The expanded Hermès marks a milestone in the transformation of Bloor Street West, as it continues to attract global flagships. Now located at 100 Bloor Street West, Hermès’ new Toronto flagship includes… View Article
APM Monaco Opens 1st Canadian Store: Monaco-based jeweller APM Monaco has opened its first Canadian boutique in Toronto, with more expected to follow.The CBRE Urban Retail Team acted on behalf of the Landlord, under the direction of Arlin Markowitz, Alex Edmison and Jackson Turner. The 1,700 square foot Toronto store is located at 89 Bloor… View Article
A world-renowned snowboard brand has opened for business in Toronto with its first flagship Canadian store and it’s poised for future expansion across the country. The CBRE Toronto Urban Retail Team acted on behalf of the landlord and retailer, under the direction of Jackson Turner, Arlin Markowitz, and Alex Edmison. Cody Sturge, marketing lead with Burton Snowboards,… View Article
King Street Food Company will be opening a new Buca restaurant at the northwest corner of Yonge and St. Clair in 2018. The move was revealed by Slate Asset Management, a development company that has invested heavily in the neighbourhood acquiring 10 properties. Arlin Markowitz, Alex Edmison & Jackson Turner of CBRE represented the Landlord in this transaction…. View Article
Thu, Oct 12: Yorkville is considered by many to be the place to see and be seen. In this week’s “Part of the City,” Melanie Zettler and Toronto Historian, Bruce Bell tell us about this upscale neighbourhood’s diverse background, along with insight from Arlin Markowitz, Senior VP Urban Retail of CBRE. Click the link to watch… View Article
An notable retail building is for sale at 2454 Yonge Street in midtown Toronto, currently housing Sporting Life Bikes & Boards as a single tenant. The bid date for interested parties is September 14 of this year. The three-level corner commercial building boasts excellent visibility on Yonge Street with 38.5 feet of frontage, as well… View Article
The Metrotown and Robson Street MUJI lease deals were coordinated/negotiated by Martin Moriarty and Mario Negris of CBRE Vancouver, as well as Arlin Markowitz from CBRE Toronto. For more details on this story: https://www.retail-insider.com/retail-insider/2017/8/muji-metropolis-at-metrotown-vancouver Photo by Retail Insider
Canada is seeing an unprecedented number of new international eyewear retailers enter the country. American optical retailer SEE will be the latest, with its first Canadian location set to open this summer in Toronto. https://www.retail-insider.com/retail-insider/2017/6/see
Toronto’s Yorkville Avenue is in the process of transitioning to become one of Canada’s most important luxury retail addresses. A number of exclusive retailers have recently opened, and a number of other upscale brands will be moving onto Yorkville Avenue over the next several years, according to brokers doing deals in the area. The stretch… View Article
German-founded luxury brand MCM will open its first Canadian store on Toronto’s Mink Mile this fall, and it likely won’t be the country’s last. MCM is said to be doing robust wholesale business in Canada at retailers such as Holt Renfrew, Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom, helping prompt a Canadian store expansion. https://www.retail-insider.com/retail-insider/2017/5/mcm Photo by… View Article
Luxury streetwear brand Off-White has officially opened its first North American store in Toronto’s upscale Yorkville neighbourhood. We sat down with Off-White’s founder and creative designer Virgil Abloh to discuss the new store, as well as how youth culture is changing the face of Toronto and other global cities. We’ve also included a 3D camera… View Article
Too cool –Vogue has named Toronto’s “West Queen West” the second-hippest district in the world. In a study of the globe’s 15 coolest neighbourhoods, the magazine ranks the Canadian district as second only to Tokyo’s Shimokitazawa. (Vogue cites the district as “West Queen West” in its blurb headline, though Queen Street West in the actual… View Article