CFEC? What's that?
If you mean Cadillac Fairview Eaton Centre, that's wrong. It's the Cadillac Fairview Toronto Eaton Centre, or CFTEC. Which is ridiculous. Just call it the Eaton Centre, like everyone else around here does.
Yes ShonTron, you're right, it is the "Cadillac Fairview
Toronto Eaton Centre".
A number of my colleagues visited the CFTEC for the first time this past summer (some visited Canada for the first time actually), and they were impressed by its sheer size, delightful dynamism and sense of safety. Americans are generally unfamiliar with the significance of the "Eaton" name. Some may(?) be aware of the "The Hudson's Bay Company". I've yet to find anyone unsurprised to learn that the venerable "Saks 5th" is actually majority owned by the HBC. And once upon a time HBC was itself owned by the American luxury retailer "Lord and Taylor". Things change so much and so fast in retail ownership it's hard to keep up(!)
Nordstrom is well-liked and well-respected in the mid-to-upper luxury U.S. market, but its bricks-and-mortar businesses have been struggling on a/c of online shopping which had forced it to close some U.S. locations. This is a common affliction among American retailers from Macy's (closing another 100 stores) to Walmart.
I am looking forward to my next visit to Toronto to see Nordstrom. I think I will not experience the disappointment I had when I first ventured into a Canadian Target shortly after their opening, which experience allowed me to feel absolutely no surprises when T left Canada with tail between legs. I think Nordstrom has taken many cues from T's mistakes (and hubris).
I seem to recall the old Eaton store went all the way to the seventh floor. I think the days of having two 7-story department stores from Dundas to Queen is over
, for now
With Toronto's population increasing, it'll be just a matter of time before the population size and overall purchasing power incentivize more retail expansions.
And the uber-cool Uniqlo is opening in 12 days(!)