Sport Chek Takes Over Chapters Robson Lease
Goodbye Nabokov, hello Nike. Sport Chek will be taking over the 53k SF space at 788 Robson St being vacated by Chapters Robson, which Indigo Books & Music announced Monday it’s closing in June due to an “untenable” rent hike. Jane Shaw, a rep for Canadian Tire Corp—the parent company of Calgary-based FGL Sports, which operates the Sport Chek brand—confirmed to Bisnow that Sport Chek will be assuming the lease at Chapters’ Robson Street flagship later this year. The Chapters store at Granville and Broadway will remain open.
Indigo CEO Heather Reisman explained a rent increase "of this magnitude would quite simply make this vibrant, profitable store unprofitable." Robson is Canada’s second-most-expensive retail strip after Toronto’s Bloor Street; and market watchers say the arrival of Nordstrom at Pacific Centre this fall is pushing rents higher. Indigo said it's pursuing another location to serve the Robson trade area and plans to open a new store this year.
