Eaton Centre's Old Navy set to shut down this month

The Eaton Centre's Old Navy will shutter its doors on Jan. 24. A photo posted to Reddit showed a sign tacked up in the store advising customers of the closure and recommending the closest alternative, the Old Navy at Yorkdale Shopping Centre, nearly 12 kilometres away. Users commenting were surprised but chalked it up to the high cost of having a storefront in the Eaton Centre.

A worker at the store confirmed to the Star that the store would be closing but could not provide a reason. brand . Still, Old Navy's absence will be another notable, empty presence in the mall. And it's not just the Eaton Centre; large retail brands have grappled with closing brick and mortar stores in Toronto and elsewhere in Canada.

In January 2023, . The following month, Bed Bath & Beyond exited Canada altogether, . And another month after that, in March 2023, Foot Locker also . Part of the struggle for retail stores has been a decline in in person shoppers, especially since the pandemic. A 2022 study found that from pre pandemic levels.

Another looked at mobile phone activity Still, American retailers, especially clothing brands, have . J. Crew closed its Eaton Centre location in 2019, leaving just its Yorkdale Shopping Centre location before filing for bankruptcy protection in 2020 and closing all Canadian stores. The soon to be vacant Old Navy storefront will leave prime retail space open for other businesses, including in other industries.

When Nordstrom left the Eaton Centre, , from a conference centre to a water park. For now, the Eaton Centre has filled the space with a free to visit "multi sensorial" exhibit called "Canada Chroma" with exhibits featuring contemporary Indigenous artwork and lights to mimic the northern lights.

The Star reached out to Gap Inc., the parent organization of Old Navy, and Cadillac Fairview, the commercial real estate company that owns Eaton Centre, for comment. Neither responded by publication..