Montreal-based real estate investment and development firm Leyad has acquired the St Vital Centre, the one-million square foot mall on St Mary’s Rd in Winnipeg for $160.5-million(Cdn). St Vital Centre, with its 160 diverse retailers, attracts about eight million visitors annually. “This acquisition embodies everything we look for in a community shopping centre,” said Henry Zavriyev, President of Leyad. “St. Vital Centre is dominant in its market, anchored by essential retail, deeply embedded in the daily lives of the community, and positioned for many decades of continued success. We are proud to become its long-term steward.” Following the acquisition, the centre will welcome a new Uniqlo store, further strengthening its tenant lineup and enhancing its appeal to the region. (Leyad – www.leyad.ca)……………
Last week, Happy Belly Food Group Inc. announced that its Heal Wellness brand has signed a franchise agreement and real-estate location in Woodstock in Southwestern Ontario. Then, over the weekend, Happy Belly celebrated the grand opening of its newest Heal Wellness location in Grande Prairie in Northwestern Alberta. The unit is in a shared pad at the South 40 Shopping Centre on 80th Ave. “Heal Wellness continues to expand rapidly across Canada and into the United States, solidifying its position as a leading acai and smoothie bowl brand,” said Happy Belly’s CEO Sean Black. “With 32 locations now open and more than 176 in development, Heal contributes to Happy Belly’s broader portfolio of 666 contractually committed retail franchise locations across multiple emerging brands in various stages of development, construction, and operation.” In addition, Happy Belly also announced last week that it has executed a definitive agreement in connection with the previously announced sale of Holy Crap Foods, its cereal and oatmeal brand, for $1,000,000(Cdn) in cash plus working capital adjustments. The company anticipates the closing of the transaction to occur within the next ten business days, subject to customary closing conditions. (Happy Belly Food Group Inc. – www.happybellyfg.com)…………
Dollarama opened its 1700th store last week at King St West and Dufferin St. in downtown Toronto. It was back in March 2017, when the company announced plans for 1700 stores by 2027. At the close of its third quarter in early November 2025, the chain counted 1684 stores across Canada. In its third quarter, Dollarama reported sales of $1,909.4-million(Cdn), a 22.2 percent increase over the previous third quarter. (Dollarama Inc – www.dollarama.com)………
Birks Group Inc. reports that effective April 1st, 2026, Vice President and CFO Katia Fontana has decided to retire. The company adds that Aldo Battista will be joining the company on February 11th, 2026. During the transition period, Battista will initially serve as Vice President, Accounting and Treasury, working alongside Ms. Fontana to ensure a smooth and orderly handover of finance and accounting responsibilities before assuming the role of Vice President and Chief Financial Officer on April 2, 2026. Battista brings over 25 years of experience in finance and accounting and has spent 16 years of his career in the retail industry with Reitmans (Canada) Ltd. (Birks Group Inc. – www.maisonbirks.com)……….
Effective January 12th, 2026, Gerry Kakaroubas has joined Au Pain Dore/Le Duff Group as General Manager of its Café-Bakery Network. He was previously with Foodtastic as Vice President of its Milestones brand. (Au Pain Dore – www.aupaindore.com)………….
Cadillac Fairview has acquired a portfolio of four newly built, multi-tenant industrial buildings located on two properties in core Greater Toronto Area West locations – 2425 & 2475 Meadowpine Blvd and 2510 & 2520 Royal Windsor Dr. The portfolio, totaling 550,000 square feet, consists of best-in-class, LEED Silver Certified assets, which are 100 percent leased to a diverse mix of tenants, including third-party logistics operators, multinational consumer packaged goods firms, and direct-to-consumer retailers. Cadillac Fairview develops and acquires industrial properties focused on distribution and logistics. This acquisition builds on CF’s industrial portfolio, which consists of other strategic development sites, including Beaver Creek Industrial Park in Richmond Hill, a 152-acre development site, Rosemont Industrial Park in Balzac in Alberta, with design work for the first building well underway and a 169-acre development site, Buttonville Industrial Park in Markham. (Cadillac Fairview – www.cadillacfairview.com)……………
Sadly, the industry has lost another of its Good Guys. Robert ‘Bob’ Wheeler passed away on February 9th, 2026, shortly after celebrating his 80th birthday. With a long career in the industry in Ontario, I best remember Bob as the Vice President, Leasing with Rosary Properties in the 1980s and later, his company Wheeler & Associates Consulting taking care of the leasing and development needs of clients like Mandarin Restaurants, Tootsies Shoe Market, Super Pet, etc. Bob and Wheeler & Associates Consulting were active in the industry until his passing. As an industry veteran, a leader and a great friend, he’ll be missed. God Bless.