La Maison Simons Inc. had been nestled in Quebec City for 159 years before fifth generation leader Peter Simons successfully expanded the retailer across the province.

But opening stores all the way to Vancouver is proving trickier for the president of the family-controlled business.

Simons is searching for prime locations in Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver as a new wave of foreign chains chases the most attractive retail spaces. And the privately held company can’t tap into the markets to finance its heavy investments amid rising borrowing costs.

The retail institution well known in Quebec for its unique mix of cheap-chic private labels and pricier designer lines must make a name for itself west of the Ottawa River. Outside its home province, it operates only one store, at the West Edmonton Mall.

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Guildford Town Centre’s $280-million renovation driven by bid for young shoppers.

METRO VANCOUVER — The kids have wallets, and they don’t want to wait. As Surrey’s Guildford Town Centre unveils a $280-million expansion this week — with 70 new stores and a 1,034-seat food court — general manager Peggy White says that online shopping does not pose a real threat to modern shopping centres like hers.

When fashion-conscious 15- to 25-year olds go shopping, “they want to take (their purchase) home and wear it that night. Sometimes they wear it right out of the store,” White said.

Guildford owner/developer Ivanhoe Cambridge has assembled a sparkling new mix of stores — including Forever 21 (at 23,000 square feet), H&M (25,000 square feet), Victoria’s Secret, Sephora, Aritzia, The Lego Store and Disney Store — to woo young shoppers back from the glitter of downtown Vancouver’s Robson Street and Burnaby’s Metrotown.

The expansion increases retail space to 1.2 million square feet from 980,000, and includes a facelift for the existing mall, with waterfalls, soft seating, a much larger food court, and a giant 10,000-plant living wall that covers a connector straddling 104th Ave.