Browns Shoes is combining two units on Level 2 of CF Toronto Eaton Centre into a new flagship, its largest move in the city in years. The store sits between Apple and Alo Yoga, one floor below the Level 3 location, beside Lululemon, that Browns has operated for more than a decade. It’s targeting a late September or early October opening.
“Our previous store had served us well for over a decade, but we’d simply outgrown it,” said Eric Ouaknine, Chief Retail Officer at Browns Shoes, in an interview with 6ixRetail. “It no longer reflected the scale of our business or the experience we wanted to deliver.”
The search for a replacement took years to resolve. “Finding the right location took years because we weren’t interested in simply relocating, we were waiting for the right opportunity. We look for prominent, high-visibility spaces with the right co-tenants because we’ve learned that great stores become exceptional when they’re in the best possible environment. We have an excellent partnership with the team at CF, we meet with them constantly, and we’ve been working on this deal for a very long time because we were determined to find that perfect space.”
The new store is roughly 70 percent bigger than the current one upstairs, and Ouaknine is just as excited about who’s next door as he is about the extra room. “We’re flanked by Apple on one side and Alo on the other, with Victoria’s Secret across from us and this massive new Aritzia flagship a couple of doors down. Generally, Aritzia is a very good co-tenant for Browns. This is going to be a flagship location for us with an all-new store design, and we’re very excited about it.”
What Shoppers Will Actually See
“Every Browns store is designed specifically for its location. We have an incredibly talented in-house design team, and no two projects are identical. This store represents the next evolution of our brand, whether it’s this location or a new one in Kelowna, British Columbia, opening later this year, there’s always new elements to the design. And this store is no exception.”
“It’s got two giant olive trees in the middle of the store, with real trunks imported from Spain, and a lot of greenery throughout. It’s going to feel more organic, less chrome and glitzy. This is a whole new evolution of our store design.”
Ouaknine was careful not to diminish Yorkdale, which opened its own redesigned flagship in late 2022. “To be clear, the Yorkdale store is also a flagship for us. It produces incredible figures. I think this new Eaton Centre store is going to give Yorkdale a run for its money.”
So what actually makes a store a flagship at Browns? “A flagship isn’t defined by its size, it’s where our brand is expressed at its very best. It’s where we introduce new shoppers to Browns, showcase our partners, and create an experience that’s memorable enough to bring people back. There’s an element of marketing to a flagship store, it’s where we acquire new customers, where people discover us. There are a lot of tourists at the Eaton Centre. Typically, with our flagship stores we’ll spend a little more, or a lot more in this case, than a typical store, building something really special.”
Browns’ leasing is represented by David Garbuz at Oberfeld Snowcap, and Ouaknine credited both sides of the table for getting the deal done. “CF has been an incredible partner on this, and so has our team at Oberfeld Snowcap. Deals like this only come together because everyone at the table is working toward the same outcome.”
“At Cadillac Fairview, we are incredibly proud of our longstanding and successful partnership with Browns Shoes. Supporting their vision for a new flagship location at CF Toronto Eaton Centre and the expansion of their store at CF Masonville Place highlights our shared commitment to elevating the retail experience for our guests. We look forward to seeing Browns continue to thrive as a premier destination for high-quality footwear within our centres,” commented Brian O’Hoski, VP, Operations, Cadillac Fairview.
A Mall in the Middle of a Reshuffle
Browns’ move lands in the middle of a run of decisions playing out across the mall right now, most of them unrelated to each other. POP MART opened a Level 1 store this summer in the former Call It Spring space. LEGO is building its first downtown Toronto location on Level 3. Victoria’s Secret has reopened its own unit while temporarily operating out of the former Club Monaco space, which just had “Club Monaco” signage re-installed on Sunday.
The mall itself is having a record run. CF Toronto Eaton Centre closed 2025 at $1,642 in sales per square foot, according to ICSC’s Canadian Mall Property Performance data, the second highest figure of any shopping centre in the country behind Yorkdale, and a gain of $139 per square foot over 2024.
The National Picture
CF Toronto Eaton Centre is the headline, but it’s one piece of a much bigger year for Browns. “We’ve been quite under the radar about it, but our growth, especially since COVID, has been unbelievable,” Ouaknine said. The retailer now operates 71 stores across Canada, not counting online, including 26 in Ontario, 20 in Quebec and 11 in British Columbia.
“We reopened our Halifax Shopping Centre store, newly renovated, and it’s remarkable how a thoughtful redesign alone can improve customer engagement and drive business. We didn’t add any square footage, it was purely the new environment. We expanded our Rideau Centre store in Ottawa after the space next door became available, and now we have 113 feet of frontage there, arguably the best locations in the centre.”
“Masonville in London, Ontario is currently under renovation and should reopen soon. We’re building a new store in Kelowna, we take possession in October and hope to open in December or January. And there are a number of existing stores we’ll be expanding over the next eighteen months.”
New markets are also on the list, with Browns preparing to enter Windsor’s Devonshire Mall and Chicoutimi’s Place du Royaume in Quebec for the first time. “I think we do omnichannel retail really well,” Ouaknine said. “What’s interesting is that when you open a store in a new market, your online business grows too, and the more your online business grows, the more your in-store business grows. The omnichannel customer is worth a lot to us, and we’re heavily invested in optimizing the experience.”
Lessons From Royalmount and Oakridge
That national push has also meant betting on two of the country’s most closely watched new developments, Royalmount in Montreal and, this spring, Oakridge Park in Vancouver. Getting into Oakridge came together almost by accident.
“Oakridge wasn’t originally part of the plan, but once we saw the designs, we knew we had to be there.”
They found Browns one of the last remaining spaces in the first phase, and it had the right co-tenants, Ouaknine said. Browns had actually been in the original Oakridge Centre for close to a decade before it closed for redevelopment. “We’re happy with how it’s going so far. I’m more interested to see how traffic settles in across our stores in the region over time. It’s still early days, but it’ll be interesting to watch how that plays out.”
Royalmount, which opened in 2024, has had more time to prove itself. “We’ve been at Royalmount far longer than Oakridge, and it’s been a raging success for us.”
Betting on a brand-new development instead of an established mall carries a different kind of risk, Ouaknine said. “Opening in an existing centre is different, you can get a sense of what other retailers are doing there, and use that to inform your projections. In a brand-new mall, there’s less history to lean on, so we try to structure our deals to manage that exposure. You go in with a target in mind and do everything in your control to hit it: the best product selection, the best service, the best environment.”
Why Browns Is Already Thinking Ahead
All of that growth is happening while an entire category of Canadian retail disappears around it. “There used to be Bay stores all across Canada, and those are all gone now. Department stores in general are struggling in this country. I think Browns offers the perfect mix of product assortment, service, and a dynamic, exciting retail environment.”
Pressed on how much of that comes down to execution rather than category, Ouaknine pointed first to numbers. “Our Net Promoter Score is in the mid 80s, which is exceptionally high by North American retail standards and reflects the relentless focus our teams place on delivering a great customer experience.”
Ouaknine credits the culture behind that consistency as much as the training systems themselves. “We don’t take our success for granted. No matter how well we’re doing, we’re always looking for areas where we can improve. Our greatest competitive advantage has always been our people. Every one of our store leaders started on the sales floor. That culture of promoting from within creates leaders who understand our business and our customers better than anyone.”
“Retail is still a people business. Beautiful stores and great brands bring customers through the door, but it’s our teams that give them a reason to come back.”
That same forward planning shapes how Browns picks new malls to enter before a space even becomes available. “The number one thing we’re looking at is tenant mix. There are certain co-tenants we do well with: the Sephoras, the Zaras, the Aritzias, the Lululemons, the Apples. In our conversations with landlords, especially when they’re trying to convince us to open in a mall or market we’re not in yet, I think they realize we’re now part of the tenant mix that other retailers want to be near.”
Trends Heading Into Fall
On the economy heading into the back-to-school season, Ouaknine remained optimistic.
“We haven’t seen any meaningful change in consumer behaviour. Footwear has proven to be remarkably resilient. We offer products across a broad range of categories and price points, which allows us to remain relevant regardless of economic conditions. If anything, we’ve benefited from more Canadians choosing to shop domestically.”
Asked about the brands driving momentum, Ouaknine said Browns’ success begins with the relationships it has built over decades.
“One of Browns’ greatest strengths is the relationships our buying team has cultivated with our brand partners over decades. Those partnerships are built on trust and allow us to bring the right brands, the right product and, in many cases, exclusive opportunities to our customers. We don’t take those relationships for granted.”
“Birkenstock has exceeded our expectations. We only introduced the brand in February, so we don’t yet have year-over-year comparisons, but it’s already become one of our strongest performers. On continues to be one of our best brands, Adidas has tremendous momentum, and UGG remains a cornerstone of our business, particularly as we head into the fall season.”
Ouaknine also highlighted the success of one of Browns’ own labels, Wishbone.
“Wishbone has become a genuine destination brand for us. We’re seeing more and more customers come into our stores specifically asking for it by name. It offers exceptional quality, contemporary styling and outstanding value, and we’re excited about its future.”
When asked how Wishbone compares to the private-label brands once found in department stores, Ouaknine didn’t hesitate.
“It’s a completely different proposition. We’ve invested heavily in building a brand, not simply a private label. Our goal was to create something customers would actively seek out because of its quality, comfort and design, and that’s exactly what we’re beginning to see.”
Construction at CF Toronto Eaton Centre is expected to wrap by early October, weather and logistics permitting. After years spent chasing the right space, Ouaknine isn’t treating this as the finish line. “There’s a lot more stores, existing stores, that we’re going to be expanding over the next eighteen months.”
When the doors on this one finally open, 6ixRetail will be back for a first look inside.
Dustin Fuhs is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of 6ix Retail, Toronto’s premier source for retail and hospitality industry news. As the former Editor-in-Chief of Retail Insider, Canada’s most-read retail trade publication, Dustin brings over two decades of expertise spanning retail, marketing, entertainment and hospitality sectors. His experience includes roles with industry giants such as The Walt Disney Company, The Hockey Hall of Fame, The Canadian Opera Company, Starbucks Canada and Blockbuster.
Recognized as a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert in 2024, 2025 and 2026, Dustin delivers insider perspectives on Toronto’s evolving retail landscape, from emerging brands to established players reshaping the city’s commercial districts.