City grants Uniqlo construction permit at St. Vital Centre
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 03/12/2025 (291 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Japanese retail clothing giant Uniqlo has been green-lit to start construction on a large store in St. Vital Centre.
The City of Winnipeg issued a permit Monday allowing for the demolition of walls and the merger of six mall units. Uniqlo can also renovate another unit, the permit reads.
Uniqlo didn’t respond to questions by end of day Wednesday. St. Vital Centre management declined an interview request, saying it can’t comment until the fashion retailer makes an announcement.
The Japanese retailer already has Canadian stores up and running in Edmonton, Calgary and Toronto. (Anne D’Innocenzio / The Associated Press files)
White temporary walls blocked a row of storefronts in the same hallway as the former Hudson’s Bay store on Wednesday. No signage hinted at Uniqlo’s arrival.
“We are excited,” said Vanessa Izekor, manager of nearby shop Nessa Will.
She and staff have been making TikTok videos, trying to pull customers to the relatively new clothing store.
It opened about 18 months ago, Izekor said. She noticed a drastic change in foot traffic when the Bay shuttered in May; it was a mall anchor and an entrance.
“We are hopeful that (Uniqlo is) going to pull in a lot of foot traffic to this part of the mall,” Izekor said. “That’s another big store.”
“We are hopeful that (Uniqlo is) going to pull in a lot of foot traffic to this part of the mall.”
Uniqlo sells women’s, men’s and kids’ apparel. It counted roughly $1.96 billion — or 217.7 billion yen — in revenue from its North American arm in the 2024 fiscal year. It planned to open 25 flagship-class stores on the continent during its 2025 fiscal year.
“Market potential is extremely high in both the USA and Canada,” a Uniqlo business strategy memo reads.
The addition of 25 stores would bring Uniqlo’s total above 100 in North America. It’s aiming for $2.7 billion in sales and a 20 per cent operating profit margin in its 2027 fiscal year for the North American branch.
It counts more than 1,000 stores globally.
Several St. Vital Centre retailers were relocated within the south Winnipeg mall to make room. Daring Diva Purses is operating a pop-up stand in the same hallway; shops including Suzy Shier and Teekca’s Atâwêkamik have physical storefronts nearby.
“I really like this store,” said Candy Chen, assistant manager of the Suzy Shier location.
Uniqlo sells women’s, men’s and kids’ apparel. It took in nearly $2 billion in revenue from its North American arm in the 2024 fiscal year. (Anne D’Innocenzio / The Associated Press files)
The lighting is brighter; it’s clean and neat, she said. The chain was shuffled from the mall’s interior to the hallway’s end, near the former Bay.
Teekca’s Atâwêkamik moved in October. There’s more room to showcase products but less storage, noted employee Duval Clarke.
Chen is among the Manitobans planning to browse Uniqlo once it opens. Every year, at least one student of Sijie Sun’s proclaims Uniqlo should come to Winnipeg, the University of Manitoba professor said.
“The brand recognition is pretty good in our location,” said Sun, who teaches marketing.
Rearranging shops to create space for a large retailer is quite common. The Winnipeg outpost is a natural step for Uniqlo, which has hubs in Edmonton, Calgary and Toronto, Sun said.
The company began as a textiles manufacturer in 1949; it’s owned by Fast Retailing.
It launched its first Canadian store in Toronto nine years ago — a 27,400 square foot sales floor in the CF Toronto Eaton Centre.
gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com
Gabrielle Piché reports on business for the Free Press. She interned at the Free Press and worked for its sister outlet, Canstar Community News, before entering the business beat in 2021. Read more about Gabrielle.
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