I went back to Nordstrom at the Toronto Eaton Centre this past weekend (so I can get the security tags taken off) and checked out the store in a bit more detail. All in all, it’s a great place to shop – a happy medium between a The Bay (well, a more “typical” store, anyway (i.e. not The Bay Queen Street) and Saks. However, there are some likes and dislikes. First, the likes:
Nordstrom at the Eaton Centre
- A pretty decent selection of non-old lady petite brands. As I noted in an earlier post, Vince Camuto is available
- Petites (and plus sizes) are mixed in with “regular” sizing, meaning we “specialty sized” women aren’t seen as being “different” from those who are average-heighted
- Brands one can’t find elsewhere in Canada. Madewell, for example
- Customer service – associates don’t ignore you and are extremely helpful (when it comes to helping you find sizes) and polite
- They offer a two hour delivery service to certain areas of downtown Toronto
- Restaurants – Nordstrom Eaton Centre has three places to grab a bite – Ebar for coffee on the first floor, Habitant on the second and Bar Verde on the third. Saks (at the other end of the mall), for example, only has one. And while The Bay has Bannock and Foodwares/Foodwares Market (does this count as one or two), only Bannock is sit-down
- A good range of price points – while there’s definitely luxury, most pieces are within reach for many 30-something professionals
- The candy shop on the third floor! There’s an excellent variety of chocolate (the s’mores one is REALLY GOOD) and gummy candies which you can put together to create excellent host(ess) gifts. Thanksgiving is coming up, so for anyone looking to bring something other than wine or olive oil, this is it!
- Shoes. Need I say more?
And now the dislikes:
- Certain brands one thinks would be available are missing from the store – Stuart Weitzman, for example. For a store that KNOWN for shoes and small sized shoes, at that, carrying Stuart Weitzman is VITAL! I don’t think Laundry by Shelli Segal is available either (at least I did not see it). Same with Tory Burch clothing (there were shoes and bags)
- Less selection than online (not surprised, since this is pretty typical for Canadian iterations of international stores) – especially for specialty sizes. I was expecting it to be bigger, considering the store is supposed to be a flagship. And because many brands at Nordstrom are also available in the mall, at The Bay or Saks, the small selection at Nordstrom means customers can just get what they want there. Not good for the store
- Am I asking too much for criticizing shoes again? Selection could be bigger/have more selection (see second point)…
- The lack of a hair salon like Vancouver’s store, which has Canada’s first (and so far, only) Drybar
As you can see, there aren’t many “dislikes”, and these “dislikes” would probably improve over time.
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