Lozeau gives way to Aubainerie. The Quebec clothing retailer will set up shop on Plaza St-Hubert, in the former building of the photo shop that closed down more than six months ago.
Located at the corner of Saint-Hubert and Bellechasse streets, the site, which until very recently was frequented by photography enthusiasts, will not remain vacant for very long. Aubainerie, which has become the owner of the building, will occupy the three floors of the place with a brand new 20,000 square foot urban store concept which should welcome its first customers next fall. The retailer will make the official announcement on Tuesday. It was impossible to know the amount of the transaction.
It’s part of our expansion plan to increase our presence in the Montreal market. This will allow us to enhance all of our specialty products: the outdoors, sports, yoga.
Ginette Harnois, vice-president customer experience at Aubainerie
The activities of the store located on avenue du Mont-Royal will not be affected by the opening of the new concept, we are assured. The Mega Pop, a pop-up store recently installed in the former premises of Sears at the Galeries d’Anjou, also remains open. The company also wishes to establish itself there permanently.
New offer
It is impossible to predict the reaction of consumers following the arrival of the family clothing store on the commercial artery located in the Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie district. At the moment, this niche is not occupied by any other retailer in the Plaza. Thus, Aubainerie will land in an area of the street (between de Bellechasse and Beaubien) where there are mainly bookstores, restaurants and nail salons. A little further north, a few small convenience stores such as decoration and local products shops have taken up residence there in recent years, sharing the space with fast food chains such as A & W and McDonald’s as well as with wedding dress retailers.
“For us, this is very good news,” says Mike Parente, General Manager of the Commercial Development Company (SDC) of Plaza St-Hubert.
It is a Quebec company. We lost Lozeau which, following being sold to Henry’s, was unable to adapt to the Quebec market.
Mike Parente, General Manager of the SDC of Plaza St-Hubert
Founded in 1927, the iconic photography boutique passed into the hands of Henry’s, an Ontario company, in 2019. A year following the transaction, it was placed safe from its creditors. Lozeau finally closed its doors in June.
Openings and closings
The hope of seeing customers flock to the building is therefore reborn with the arrival of Aubainerie, according to Mr. Parente.
“It’s going to be a big hit not only for the Plaza, but for the whole neighborhood. Currently, the CPC has some 400 members (retailers and offices). In addition to the pandemic, the commercial artery was affected by a long period of works.
For its part, Aubainerie should continue to intensify its presence in Montreal, confirms Mme Harnois, who however declined to give further details on future locations. Nevertheless, the retailer is not only announcing openings, but also carrying out closings. In January, he put an end to the activities of his store in Vaudreuil-Dorion, failing to have been able to agree with the owner of the premises when renewing the lease, according to the local news site Neomedia. Aubainerie is however looking for a new location in the area. Asked regarding this, Mr.me Harnois declined to comment.
Then, in 2021, the company closed its Aubainerie Entrepôt store in Matane. Currently, in Quebec, the retailer has 45 stores and 9 warehouses.
