Abercrombie & Fitch to open first Manitoba store in Polo Park Venetian Nail Spa expands local footprint, T&T Supermarket rumour floats around at Winnipeg shopping hub By: Aaron Epp Posted: 5:44 PM CDT Wednesday, Mar. 11, 2026

If Peter Havens has learned anything from two decades of managing shopping centres, it’s that malls reinvent themselves.

“That’s really the name of the game in retail, is to keep it fresh,” said Havens, general manager of CF Polo Park.

Winnipeg’s largest mall is keeping it fresh this year with the addition of the province’s first Abercrombie & Fitch store. The 133-year-old lifestyle retailer will open a store in April or May in the main-floor space once occupied by Hollister.

“They’re excited to be in Winnipeg,” Havens said.

“That Abercrombie & Fitch concept is really on an upswing right now. That was popular when I was young, and it kind of ebbed and waned a little bit, and now it’s coming right back real strong with a lot of the younger demographic, which is great.”

In addition to its eponymous stores, Ohio-based Abercrombie & Fitch Co. operates four offshoot brands: Abercrombie Kids, Your Personal Best, Hollister Co. and Gilly Hicks. The company operates more than 750 stores worldwide across its brands.

There are 11 Abercrombie & Fitch stores and four Abercrombie Kids locations across Canada, according to the company’s website.

Abercrombie & Fitch didn’t respond to an interview request on Wednesday.

Havens estimated that, at peak times, around 100 people will be employed in the 6,000-square-foot store. Meanwhile, Polo Park’s current Hollister store is moving to the mall’s second floor.

Abercrombie & Fitch isn’t the only new addition to the mall.

Venetian Nail Spa is opening a 2,500-sq.-ft. salon next month. It’s the local company’s third location; the first opened in Kildonan Place in 2021, and the second opened in St. Vital Centre the following year.

Having a location in CF Polo Park is the fulfillment of a decade-long dream, said Hung Chau, Venetian Nail Spa’s director of operations and business development.

The shopping centres in Cadillac Fairview Corp.’s portfolio have long impressed Chau, and he first emailed the company in August 2015 to inquire about leasing space in Polo Park. Chau and his family, who own Venetian Nail Spa, signed a lease in May.

“It’s been a very longstanding mandate of ours to put a store in there,” Chau said. “It’s more so a personal achievement than just an expansion.”

The company, which employs about 70 people in total, considers the new salon to be its flagship location. It’s investing more money per square foot than it has at its other salons, Chau said.

He declined to specify how much the company is spending, but said the amount is “very significant.”

Shoppers walking through the mall’s centre court will currently see a big black wall covering a store space where construction is ongoing. Havens said he can’t name the company that will be moving into it, but it’s a retailer that is already in the mall and the move will happen later this year — potentially in November.

“We’re pretty excited for that,” Havens said.

It’s been rumoured in recent months that T&T Supermarket will set up shop in the mall. Havens said he could neither confirm nor deny the Asian grocery store chain will open its first Manitoba location in CF Polo Park.

Founded in Vancouver in 1993, T&T Supermarket operates 38 locations in Ontario, B.C., Quebec and Alberta. Loblaw Companies Ltd. acquired the chain in 2009.

A spokesperson for T&T Supermarket did not confirm if the company has plans to set up in Manitoba’s capital. “At the moment, we don’t have any updates to share regarding this location,” the spokesperson said in an email.

It’s been 10 months since Hudson’s Bay Co. shuttered its stores nationwide, including its three-storey, 220,000-sq.-ft. CF Polo Park location.

As of right now, no one is leasing the space, but the mall is working with a few potential clients, Havens said.

“It’s a big space to fill and Canada doesn’t have many large anchor tenants like (the Bay) anymore,” he said, adding the space could potentially be renovated and divided into smaller units, like when the mall’s former Sears location was redeveloped to include EQ3 and Zara stores.

Last fall, five local businesses set up kiosks in front of what used to be the mall entrance to the Bay: Sanden, Anziety, Primos Toys, iMprint Promotion and Pink Girl Nails.

Natalie Riccardo started clothing and jewelry retailer Anziety as an online business in 2019. She opened her kiosk in CF Polo Park at the beginning of September and she is preparing to open her flagship store at 545 Academy Rd. later this month.

“Being in a big … mall is truly a surreal feeling and it was scary, but so rewarding,” she said. “Everyone just made me feel like I belong there.”

Graeme Keam reached a longtime goal when he opened his Primo Toys kiosk in the mall in October.

“I’ve been trying to get into Polo Park for pretty much ever,” said Keam, who started his business in 2004 and also has stores in Kildonan Place and Grant Park Shopping Centre.

“If you’ve made it into Polo Park, at least you’re somewhat Winnipeg famous and then you’ve made it.”

Havens said CF Polo Park added the kiosks in an effort to “animate” that end of the mall with local vendors in the lead up to Christmas. The majority stayed after the holidays.

“Putting things in front of the Bay entrance has really helped liven it up a little bit,” he said.

Meanwhile, Foot Locker reopened on the second floor of the mall last month, following a significant renovation. More changes are ahead, as Japanese clothing retailer Uniqlo is set to open a store in the mall this spring.

Between 2,500 and 3,000 people work in CF Polo Park, which receives 11.5 million visitors annually, Havens said.

aaron.epp@freepress.mb.ca