J. Crew to open 1st Canadian store

U.S. fashion retailer J. Crew announced Friday that it will open its first Canadian store in Toronto in August.

The opening of the more than 48,000-square-foot store in the Yorkdale Shopping Centre will mark the arrival of just the latest in a number of high-profile U.S. retailers either operating in Canada or planning to do so, including the anticipated entry into the Canadian market of discount retailer Target in 2013.

"We're so excited to be opening our first J.Crew store in Canada," company president Jenna Lyons said in a release.

"We're in the process of finalizing the look and feel of the store to be sure it's the absolute perfect backdrop for our carefully edited collections."

J.Crew has been retailing in Canada through catalogue sales for 20 years.

The Toronto store, which will offer only women's clothing and accessories, is the retailer's first international venture.

In the United States, the company operates 251 stores,219 of them under the J.Crew banner, along with 87 factory outlet locations.

Big name American brands already operating in Canada include Home Depot, Lowe's, Best Buy and Victoria's Secret, among others.

Target made a $1.8-billion deal with Zellers in January to buy up to 220 store leases and plans to convert 100 to 150 of them to its own banner within the next two to three years.