One of the largest spaces in Burnaby’s biggest shopping mall is finally getting filled.
When Microsoft closed its flagship Metro Vancouver store at Metropolis at Metrotown, it left a gaping hole in the mall.
Now, it’s got a new tenant for the space as Japanese casual wear giant Uniqlo has put up signage saying it’s moving into the space. Uniqlo is a huge retailer and sells the kind of casual wear that people love.
It’s another dose of good news for the mall and follows Spanish fashion giant Zara opening its doors with a renovated space.
"Back bigger and bolder,” reads a mall post on Instagram. “@zara is now open with a larger and newly renovated store. Located on the upper level, shop your favourite fashion today.”
Zara has stores around the world and sells “fast fashions,” including clothing, accessories, shoes, swimwear and more.
It’s more good news just weeks after the Disney store was closed down at Metropolis at Metrotown forever, as well as its stores in Vancouver (Pacific Centre) and Surrey (Guildford) shopping malls after decades of retail business. The company announced earlier this year that was it was reducing the number of brick-and-mortar stores across North America to shift to e-commerce sales.
Metropolis has seen a string of store closures, including Pink, Microsoft, Frank and Oak, Godiva chocolates, Rocky Mountain Soap Company, David’s Tea and, recently, Little Mountain clothing. Boys’ Co. also announced recently that it will be closing its Metropolis store.
And one of the city’s oldest businesses, J&M Coin and Jewellery, which had been at Metropolis at Metrotown for 35 years, opening up in 1986, also shut down.
But some of those spaces are starting to be filled by such retailers as Bikini Village, Meeku, Hugo Boss and more.
Fashion retailer Forever 21 also returned to Burnaby after the company’s collapse in 2019.
The company has opened a new store at Metropolis at Metrotown, nearly two years after closing in the same mall amid a company-wide bankruptcy.
