DUER Opens in Polo Park

Over the past weekend DUER opened a fashion store at CF Polo Park. The men and women's active clothing line has already seen demand according to the company spokesman. The talk was that Polo Park was on a upswing and this past year, along with St. Vital Centre, we have seen Generation Z lead a recovery back into malls.

Even with tariffs there has been an indication that retail sales have had some resilience. It will be a short time after school starts that many malls will have jobs markets. The savvy kids who struggled this summer and only started looking for jobs just before July weekend should know this is the time to look. And no, we have seen a huge decline in student visas as well as temporary foreign workers. Jobs should be added this fall but looking when you finish your last exam mid December is probably too late.

Most of the two floors of Polo Park seem to have secured the majority of leases headed into Halloween and Christmas season. DUER will succeed or not succeed based on the quality of their wares, the price and Polo Park's ability to attract floor traffic. The T&T Supermarket will take time to build but is an indication that the mall is looking to bring back grocery which sees more frequent mall guests.

As mentioned, the only fly in the ointment is trade and instability south of the border. However, Canada as a country of 42 million is seeing substantial investment with resources like oil and mining. There is also pent up demand post Covid. Cadillac Fairview seems to be focused on the mall any any empty space before engaging in any additional building outside of the mall. They are already selling parts of surrounding area. This may trigger other investors who have been waiting on the sides.

For the moment store like DUER seem happing to secure space.