Simons has been around longer than most Canadian retailers, but when it comes to expansion, the Quebec company has taken its time.
In its 184-year history, the department store-turned-chain has only 17 stores, preferring to gradually expand into new markets rather than take over entire regions all at once.
“For us, this is a long-term plan,” CEO Bernard Leblanc said during a recent visit to Toronto.
“We have been and will continue to be patient, (because) our goal is not to be the biggest. It's to be the best at what we do.”
That strategy will be on full display next year when the company adds stores to Toronto's Yorkdale and Eaton Centre shopping malls.
The $75 million expansion, announced Thursday, It is expected to increase Simons' store count to 19 and boost the company's annual sales of more than $650 million by 15%. The new store will employ approximately 400 people when it opens in winter 2025.
Simons' growth comes at an interesting time for the company and the Canadian retail industry.
Although the epidemic has not brought death threats to many businesses As some industry observers expected when the lockdown began, retailers including Ted Baker, Mastermind, the Body Shop and Bed Bath & Beyond have either filed for bankruptcy, closed stores or left the United States in the past few years.
Breaking news from Canada and around the world
Sent to your email, as it happens.
Even those who survived the health and economic crisis haven’t had an easy time. High inflation and interest rates have curbed consumer spending, leading to weak sales for many, even during the critical holiday season.
Simmons has weathered economic fluctuations, in part because 70% of the products it stocks can only be found in its stores, but at the same time the company is going through a major leadership change.
In March 2022, Peter Simons resigned as the chain’s CEO, leaving LeBlanc as the first outsider to run the business in five generations.
About a year into his tenure, U.S. rival Nordstrom announced it was exiting Canada because the company “did not see a realistic path to profitability in Canada.”
The departures will free up 13 prime locations, including the two-story Yorkdale location where Simons will move in and the three-story Eaton Centre location. (Cadillac Fairview announced Thursday that Nike and food emporium Eataly will move into the former Nordstrom space at Eaton Centre.)
LeBlanc, who worked at Simmons for about 15 years and at snowmobile maker BRP for the same amount of time, had his eye on Toronto long before Nordstrom pulled out.
“Timing is everything,” he said. “We have to wait for the right place, the right time and the right conditions.”
While waiting, Simons opened stores in Halifax and the Montreal suburb of Pointe-Claire as part of a $300 million spending plan.
But then the Nordstrom space opened up.
“It literally took decades to accomplish,” LeBlanc said.
“We’ve been looking at Toronto because it’s vibrant, it’s a cosmopolitan city and it’s a major market in Canada.”
Simons has already tested the market with a store at Square One shopping centre in Mississauga, a suburb of Toronto, but the two new stores will be located in more upscale shopping centres, often just one door away from another competitor, Hudson's Bay.
Yet LeBron sees competition as a “positive.”
While he keeps a close eye on his competitors, he said he doesn’t want them to be the benchmark for Simmons.
“I just want to do the best job I can in the eyes of my clients, and if we can do that, then I think our job is done.”
As Simons expands, however, it will have to contend with more than just competition. Despite the company’s long history and presence in e-commerce, it still needs to build brand awareness — especially outside of Quebec.
LeBlanc estimates Simmons' market share outside his home province is a quarter of that in Quebec.
He hopes adding stores in high-traffic areas will change that, but when asked about his goals after Toronto, he played coy, relying on the company's patient way of operating.
“We’ll see where the future takes us.”
© 2024 The Canadian Press
