French luxury footwear brand Christian Louboutin will bring more of its trademark red soles to this country when it opens its first freestanding Canadian location in Toronto’s Yorkville shopping district in a few months. The store joins two existing Canadian Louboutin concessions, which sources say are doing gangbuster business.
The Christian Louboutin brand was founded by its namesake designer in 1991 in Paris. Known for its red soled shoes, Louboutin has since expanded to include handbags, men’s footwear, and a range of nail lacquers. The brand operates freestanding stores in nine U.S. regions, including Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles (Costa Mesa, Santa Monica, West Hollywood), Las Vegas, Miami, New York City and San Francisco.
Louboutin’s freestanding Toronto flagship will open in the former La Presse Internationale space at 97 Yorkville Avenue in Toronto’s upscale Yorkville area. The store will feature about 2,625 square feet of retail space over two floors, as well as a 1,230 square foot basement level that will be used for stock/back of house operations. The store will be directly across the street from Chanel, which will open an 8,700 square foot store in early 2017 in space currently occupied by Teatro Verde. Other luxury brands are in talks for retail space in the immediate area, which has become increasingly upscale with the addition of Spanish luxury jeweller Carrera y Carrera last month, and a Kiton location that opened last spring.
The new store will open in the spring/summer of 2016, according to Jordan Karp of Paracom Realty, who represented Christian Louboutin in partnership with Jeffrey Paisner of Ripco Real Estate in New York City. Louboutin studied the market carefully for over two years before settling on the “truly unique and special freestanding building”, according to Mr. Karp.
Christian Louboutin’s first Canadian concession opened in Toronto late 2013 inside Yorkdale Shopping Centre‘s Holt Renfrew. In September of 2015, Louboutin opened its second Canadian concession within Vancouver’s new Nordstrom flagship. Sources say that both locations are among Louboutin’s highest-selling locations.
