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| Quite sane |
As recently as November 30, 2013 the The Bay was saying it was certainly taking a close look — yes sirree — at putting a Saks in the huge Bay store at the corner of Yonge and Bloor Sts. Yes, said everyone from the smallest shopkeeper to retailing tycoons, and if they don’t, Bonnie Brooks will have to declare temporary insanity. Ms Brooks is the 60-year-old president and CEO of the Bay and helped engineer the staggering $2.9 billion U.S. takeover of Saks by The Bay last fall. Well, guess what? Bonnie Brooks is not insane. Not even temporarily. Thus the flossy story in Toronto Life that the great gray whale of a building sitting at the crossroads of image-refined shopping in Toronto is going to be a Saks. Also in the cards but not previously telegraphed, Saks Fifth Avenue will get a face lift worth some $1.25 billion. It will include new labels from Britain and France, luxurious merchandise like runway fashion and exotic skins. Woo-hoo. Skins. We love it. Stand by.
