Late in June, Hot Topic opened a 2950 square foot location in the Cornwall Centre in Regina, its second in Saskatchewan. Discussions are underway for another location in Western Canada and the Southern California-based chain continues to source locations in the better malls across the country. In Canada since 2010, there are currently about 35 stores in seven provinces. Hot Topic is a specialty chain of about 600 stores across North America that specializes in music-inspired fashion, officially licensed pop culture merchandise, and alternative lifestyle apparel. Founded in 1989 in California, the company has built its identity around youth subcultures, including punk, goth, and emo scenes. Its stores typically feature band T-shirts, licensed merchandise from films, television, and gaming franchises, as well as accessories and body jewelry. Hot Topic has adapted to changing trends by expanding into anime, K-pop, and mainstream pop culture collaborations. Toran Eggert and Alex Charlebois at Urban Reform Realty are handling the site selection for the chain in Canada targeting high profile 1800 to 2200 square foot units.
With this addition, limited opportunities in the 1500 to 3000 square foot range remain available in Cornwall Centre, the 570,000 square foot two-level enclosed mall on 11th Ave. in Regina’s downtown. Nathan Weinstein at Cushman & Wakefield Asset Services notes that target uses include ladies’ fashion and footwear. Surrounded by hotels, shops and entertainment, Cornwall Centre serves a trade area of over 272,900 people with an average annual household income in excess of $133,000. The daytime traffic is over 282,000 in the area.
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Urban Reform Realty Inc., 121 King St West, Suite 1120, Toronto, Ontario M5H 3T9 (Toran Eggert – 416/629-2251 toran@urbanreformrealty.com) & (Alex Charlebois – 647/924-7533 alex@urbanreformrealty.com)
Hot Topic, Inc.,18305 San Jose Ave., City of Industry, California 91748-1237 (www.hottopic.com)
Cushman & Wakefield Asset Services Canada, 999 Boul de Maisonneuve Ouest, Suite 1600, Montreal, Quebec H3A 3L4 (Nathan Weinstein – 514/209-9352 nat.weinstein@cushwake.com)