Kiokii Coming to Polo Park

Lots of construction going on in Polo Park as it continues to adjust to the loss of major retailers such as The Bay. It isn't all bad news. As per usual there is a rush of activity to prepare for Christmas which is just under 100 days away. This seems to happen in Polo Park every year as stores ebb and flow with the fashions. Only rock steady companies go on and on such as Apple and Victoria Secret.

It used to be jewellry stores that were the forever stores. They were often in the center of the mall facing one another. All usually on the first floor. Polo Park continues to have a lot of jewellry stores but only Ben Moss is on the first floor center court anymore. A few have migrated to the second floor while others like to be closer to entrances on the first or second.

The old Brettons/Zellers second floor area is finally getting the transformation that create anchors on that floor. 

As mentioned here before, London Drugs is opening their first location on the second floor where the mall looped around in a U shape. It was a less desirable location than some others in the mall but London Drugs is likely to have their own customer base that will park at second level exclusively to shop at the store. 

At the other end of the space for a location will be Ardene. The store is no stranger to Winnipeg but this appears to be a larger location which they have been building for the last 10 years. They usually are about 20,000 square feet. It will join a few other stores to capture the female shopper such as the highly sought out Zara, H&M and Forever 21.

While fewer in number, there are stores to serve young men and men. Harry Rosen, Tip Top and more recently Rodd and Gunn. The loss of the The Bay has given an opening for some retailers to serve men.

One local success is Unique Bunny which is highly sought after for its unique offerings. 

The loss of The Bay suddenly opens up space for make-up stores. With that in mind, a new store is almost ready to open called Kiokii. It features health and beauty from Japanese, Korean and Chinese markets.

It will join other cosmetic sellers like Sephora and Mac.

There are a few blanks in the Polo Park mall that still need filling and rumours are all over the place on those. As for the The Bay, the mall has literally used drywall to seal it off.