Toronto's Queen West strip in turmoil as yet another major retailer shuts down

Yet another major retailer has exited Toronto's Queen Street West shopping strip as the once-thriving stretch continues to grapple with a steady wave of store closures.

Once considered one of Toronto's busiest and coolest shopping corridors, Queen Street West has, in recent years, transformed into a sea of empty storefronts, boarded-up windows, and a growing number of "for lease" signs. 

Post-pandemic, the shopping strip witnessed the mass exodus of several long-standing stores, including the two-level Zara store at 341 Queen St. W., the H&M at 429 Queen St. W., the Adidas store at 389 Queen St. W., as well as Club Monaco late last year, which had been operating since 1985.

These closures joined the likes of the Black Bull Tavern (now Score on Queen), Gap, GUESS, NYX, Kiehl's Boutique, Le Château, The Condom Shack, as well as Steve's Music Store, which shut down last month after nearly five decades at 415 Queen St. W.

The latest casualty in this trend was the Foot Locker store at 337 Queen St. W., which has now been listed as "permanently closed" on Google and was removed from the company's store locator on its website.

News of the store's closure spread on social media, where many speculated that the retailer fell victim to the sky-high commercial rent prices on the street, along with changing consumer habits and reduced foot traffic caused by the Ontario Line construction.

The footwear retailer now has four remaining locations in Toronto at Yorkdale Shopping Centre, 306 Yonge St., the Toronto Eaton Centre, and Dufferin Mall.

While the Queen Street West landscape continues to evolve, several notable retailers continue to call the strip home, including Aritzia, Brandy Melville, Dr. Martens, LUSH, Little Burgundy, Knix, LCBO, and Arc'teryx, to name a few.

blogTO has reached out to Foot Locker for more information on its store closure.