News
Let's celebrate 50 years of passion together
April 8, 2024
A trusted part of your daily life for 50 years, we are proud to celebrate this incredible milestone of five decades of existence and dedicated service to our loyal and valued customers.
Let's celebrate 50 years of passion together
An integral part of your daily life for 50 years, we are proud to celebrate this incredible milestone of five decades of existence and dedicated service to our loyal and valued customers.
From its modest beginnings in 1974, the Rivière-du-Loup Shopping Center has prospered and evolved, becoming an iconic place where families gather, friends meet, and memories are made. Over the years, we have witnessed many transformations, the evolution of fashion trends, retail and the advent of new technologies, but our commitment to customer satisfaction has remained constant.
A bit of history
The project for a shopping center in Rivière-du-Loup came about in 1973, thanks to the initiative of Mr. Claude Paradis, Mr. Hubert Bédard and Judge Bertrand Laforest. After a year of construction, the largest shopping center in eastern Quebec officially opened its doors.
Located in what was then a field, west of the city, the Rivière-du-Loup shopping center offered the population a mall with a few shops and a grocery store, covering a total area of 110,000 square feet.
In 1976, the Lasalle department store moved in, increasing the center’s surface area by 45,000 square feet. In 1979, it was the turn of the 3-storey office building to be built.
In 2002, the closure of La Baie led to the creation of a new mall offering 45,000 square feet of rental space for an investment of 2.8 million. At that time, several retailers decided to relocate to this mall, which encouraged the opening of new shops in the central aisle.
In 2014, the shopping center celebrated its 40th anniversary and in August of the same year became the property of FPI Cominar during a real estate transaction involving 11 shopping centers from Ivanhoé Cambridge.
In 2022, Groupe Mach acquired the shopping center in a historic transaction, during which the developer welcomed 9 of Cominar’s 18 shopping centers into its portfolio.
Since 2022, the shopping center has welcomed new shops and branches such as Rieker, Easy financière, Mondou and Bijouterie Rêve.
With us for 50 years
Today, the shopping center is recognized throughout the KRTB and even in New Brunswick for its warm service and diverse commercial offering. With its 60 shops and services, its footfall of nearly 3 million visitors per year and its leasable area of over 330,000 square feet, the Rivière-du-Loup shopping center has a regular workforce of over 650 employees.
5 retailers have been major employers and jewels of the Bas Saint-Laurent region since the shopping center opened 50 years ago and even longer.
- Boutique du Jouet
- Boutique Thérèse
- Au Bout’Chou
- Le Salon Saucier
- Super C (formerly Coop-Metro)
A festive present and a promising future
On this special occasion, we would like to thank each and every one of our valued customers, tenants, business partners and community members for their unwavering support over the years. It is thanks to your loyalty and trust that we have been able to reach this remarkable milestone.
To mark its fiftieth anniversary, the Rivière-du-Loup Shopping Center has a series of new features, exclusive promotions and activities in store for you throughout the year. Stay tuned to our announcements so you don’t miss a thing during this year of festivities. On behalf of the entire Rivière-du-Loup Shopping Center team, we invite you to join us in marking this important milestone in our history. Together, let’s continue to write the exciting chapters that await us in the next fifty years and beyond.
Thank you again for your continued support and loyalty!