A Marks & Spencer store sits across the street from a newly opened Simon's depatment store on Ste. Catherine Street in downtown Montreal, April 28, 1999.
A Marks & Spencer store sits across the street from a newly opened Simon's depatment store on Ste. Catherine Street in downtown Montreal, April 28, 1999. REUTERS/Shaun Best

Fashion retailer Simons had decided to expand its wings outside of bailiwick Quebec. On Tuesday, the clothing company announced it will be opening stores in 2015 through 2017. These will be in Gatineau, Vancouver, Calgary, Mississauga and Ottawa.

The expansion marks the second time the family-owned, 175-year-old specialty retailer company goes outside of Quebec. The first was in West Edmonton Mall, launched two years ago. The forthcoming five new stores have a combined 485,000 square feet retail space, of which Mississauga is the biggest.

The company has 2,000 people manning its eight stores across Quebec and one in Edmonton. Peter Simons, Chief Executive, did not specify how many jobs the new five stores will generate.

According to the Globe and Mail, the timeline of the five stores' opening will be as follows: Les Promenades Gatineau in August 2015, West Vancouver's Park Royal Shopping Centre in October 2015, Square One in Mississauga in March 2016, Ottawa's Rideau Centre in August 2016 and The Core in Calgary in March 2017. The one in Mississauga, Toronto Star reported, will occupy a whopping 113,000 square feet. It is being constructed as a two-floor location that is 13,000 square feet bigger than new stores in Ottawa and Vancouver. It is larger than the one in Place Saint-Foy, Quebec City, Simons' flagship store.

Peter, the fifth-generation retailer, admitted the expansion from Quebec to the national scene was decided not without anxieties. For one, it marked a very big change for the company which for its entire 175 years existence just remained in Quebec. "After 175 years, people really understand our exclusive merchandise and appreciate the value and quality that's there. And in new markets where people don't really know us, there's a discovery process that has to go on that just doesn't fall from the sky," Toronto Star quoted Peter.

He told Globe and Mail the company has plans to put in place 20 stores across Canada. He added they would want to keep the company still privately-owned as much as possible. But then again, "how long is long? I don't know."