Holt Renfrew Men Suiting Up for October Opening

Holt Renfrew targets men with new Bloor Street store.

Holt Renfrew Men

Today Holt Renfrew announced that their Holt Renfrew Men store at 100 Bloor Street West will officially open October 1st. At 16,500 square-feet, Holt Renfrew Men will provide a dedicated space to men's luxury brands.

"Holt Renfrew is proud to enhance its unique position as Canada's specialty luxury retailer," said Holt Renfrew President Mark Derbyshire. "As part of our substantive growth and customer experience strategy, we are pleased to present Holt Renfrew Men: a personalized retail experience tailored to the modern man."

Showcased will be menswear, shoes, and accessory collections from brands such as Bottega Veneta, Canali, Zenga, Gucci, and Paul Smith. Holt Renfrew has also partnered with local menswear purveyor Walter Beauchamp Tailors to offer bespoke suiting.

Holt Renfrew Men Interior

With the opening of Holt Renfrew Men comes new masculine branding. The HR logo is rendered in a solid cube and the signature magenta is replaced here with warm grey.

Holt Renfrew Men Branding

The store was designed by Janson Goldstein, a New York based firm that recently worked on Holt Renfrew's renovated Yorkdale store. As at Yorkdale, Holt Renfrew Men will include dedicated shopping suites and personal shoppers. Alterations, a valet service, shoe shining, and monogramming round out the store's offerings.

Holt Renfrew Men

Holt Renfrew Men is part of a multi-year $300 million company wide investment to expand the chain's retail square footage by 40%. Also planned is a new store at Mississauga's Square One, extensive renovations at the Bloor Street flagship, and an e-commerce website scheduled to launch next year.

The opening comes as retailers Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue prepare to enter the Toronto market. Holt Renfrew Men will aim to solidify the retailer's menswear business and will no doubt ensure competition for the Harry Rosen flagship just steps away.

[Press release and images via Holt Renfrew]

Holt Renfrew Announces Store Enhancements and Closures

Moves are part of a multi-year strategic refocusing on flagship doors.

Holt Renfrew Bloor Street

Holt Renfrew has confirmed details about plans to refine their operations.

"We are focused on Holt Renfrew's unique position as Canada's specialty luxury retailer," said Holt Renfrew President Mark Derbyshire. "As part of our dynamic growth strategy, we are announcing further updates in our plans to expand our flagship store network."

The Holt Renfrew Bloor Street flagship will be completely renovated and expanded and complemented with a new Holt Renfrew Men store at 100 Bloor Street. Modeled on Holt Renfrew Yorkdale's recently renovated menswear department, and set to open this fall, Holt Renfrew Men will be a standalone store with a focus on suiting.

Holt Renfrew Men 100 Bloor Street West

Last year Holt Renfrew announced the opening of a new 120,000 square foot store at Mississauga's Square One Shopping Centre. With the announcement came news that Holts was working to increase their total retail square footage by 40%, growing from 800,000 to over 1.2 million square feet. The move follows plans from Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue to open stores in Canada.

The Bloor Street flagship (along with stores in Vancouver and Calgary) will have a new Apartment private shopping suite. This new concept was recently unveiled at the Yorkdale location.

Holt Renfrew Yorkdale's Apartment

Holt Renfrew also confirmed it was developing an omni-channel e-commerce platform that is set to be unveiled in 2015. Models for this platform could be the websites of sister brands Selfridges and Brown Thomas. Both retailers maintain comprehensive e-commerce websites and carry a range of luxury labels.

Websites of Selfridges and Brown Thomas

Included in today's announcement was the planned closure of two small Holt Renfrew locations in Ottawa and Quebec City. Both locations were approximately 35,000 square feet and are slated to close in early 2015. Two small format Holt Renfrew doors remain at Toronto's Sherway Gardens and in Edmonton. Despite the closures, the company expects overall employment levels to grow through 2017 due to its expansion plans.

[Images and press release via Holt Renfrew]

News: Is Holt Renfrew Staying at Sherway Gardens?

Original Sherway Gardens expansion rendering

When Sherway Gardens announced a massive renovation in 2012 it appeared that Holt Renfrew planned to remain at the mall. The Sherway expansion is adding 250,000 square feet of shops and services (including a Nordstom department store), a new food court, and a three level 1,200 spot parkade.

A rendering released with the renovation announcement showed the Holt Renfrew store incorporated and enveloped by the expansion at the mall's north end.

Subsequently Holt Renfrew announced the construction of a large new flagship at Mississauga's Square One. Reportedly the retailer wanted to expand their Sherway Gardens location but was not able to reach a deal with mall landlord Cadillac Fairview. It was assumed by many that the Sherway Gardens store would be slated to close but no announcement was made.

Revised Sherway Gardens expansion rendering

A revised rendering is now displayed on the mall's renovation website. The rendering shows the mall's northern expansion stopping at Holt Renfrew, with the retailer's exterior largely unchanged. It appears to confirm that for the moment Holt Renfrew is poised to keep their Sherway Gardens location.

[Renderings via Sherway Gardens]

Review: Toronto Shopkeeper Shops hr2 Vaughan Mills

Holt Renfrew introduces hr2 and promises affordable luxury.

Location: hr2 Vaughan Mills (1 Bass Pro Mills Drive, Concord, ON)

Holt Renfrew has described its new hr2 chain as Canada's first premium off-price concept store which promises to deliver quality brands at tempting price points.

The first hr2 opened in the Montreal area last month, and up to 10 are planned Canada wide. Holt Renfrew is in expansion mode having announced the intention to increases its retail square footage by 40% in the coming years. A new flagship Holt Renfrew store at Square One, and the launch of hr2 are part of that strategy.

Unlike a typical outlet store, hr2 carries new in season merchandise (though at discount prices). Holt Renfrew has leveraged its established relationships with vendors to obtain a rotating assortment of high-end brands. Think of an online flash sale come to life, the assortment will be forever changing and enticing shoppers to make frequent return visits though will not overlap with Holt Renfrew's product mix.

Design: Undoubtedly hr2 is a vast improvement over its previous life as a Holt Renfrew Last Call outlet store. The concrete floors are about the only thing that hasn't changed. Inside the 25,000 square foot selling space is divided into distinct zones like women's handbags, shoes, etc. Tall display units break up the space with mini walls creating the feel of a mini department store. Thin digital screens line shelves and broadcast featured brand names. The lighting is bright and flattering and the feel of the store is almost loft-like. Bold multi-coloured mural-like walls create continuity and interest, appearing along the accessory wall, behind the cash wrap, and along the fitting room corridor.

Product is displayed on feature tables along aisles rather than plonked solely on racks. The main aisle has waist-high counters with jewellery and men's accessories and tiered units that display handbags and shoes.

Merchandise: The product assortment has a contemporary edge and will have weekly arrivals of new stock. As you enter from the mall you encounter women's accessories with bags by Burberry and Mulberry from $475. Women's Michel Kors sandals were being snapped up at $66, as were Hunter boots from $98. A feature table of bright women's denim had skinny cut jeans from 7 for All Mankind and J Brand. Two walls of sunglasses (one for men and one for women) featured brands such as Prada, DVF, and Ray Ban.

In the men's department hr2 private label suits made from Loro Piana wool were $675 with a nearby wall showcasing colour blocked dress shirts and ties. More casual options were available with True Religion jeans starting at $139 and collections from Superdry and John Varvatos Star USA. Three-packs of Emporio Armani underwear were going quick at $19.

Service: Toronto Shopkeeper visited during the busy opening weekend and was pleasantly surprised to be approached for help while browsing a jam packed accessories department. A helpful associate offered to go check the back for additional merchandise and even later approached me in shoes asking if I needed any additional help

While waiting in a very long line for a cashier, I spotted associates helping waiting customers by fetching requested items from the sales floor. While I didn't expect Bloor Street level service, I was very impressed by the amount of staff on the floor available to help. The true test would be to see staffing levels once the buzz settles.

During the busy opening weekend a singing flash mob and a DJ kept shoppers entertained and a staff member was handing out signature hr2 cookies to weary shoppers.

Online: Disappointingly neither hr2 nor Holt Renfrew maintain e-commerce sites, with their website being purely informational. This seems a lost opportunity especially as American competitors such as Saks Fifth Avenue (which has been recently promoting its Saks FashionFix online flash sales) and Nordstrom (with its online Nordstrom Rack) ship to Canada.

Grade: 90%

Lost marks for: there wasn't much not to like, however an online component would have been a nice touch.

Gained marks for: selection and a fun atmosphere which makes the customer want to come back and see what's new next week. The hr2 concept is a great way for Holt Renfrew to reach out to a trendy yet budget conscious consumer.

News: Holt Renfrew to Open at Square One

Holt Renfrew has announced today that they will open a new flagship store in Mississauga's Square One shopping centre in spring 2016. The move comes as the company moves to increase their retail square footage by 40% both through their namesake department store and their new lower priced banner hr2.

"We are pleased to announce a new Holt Renfrew at Square One. West Toronto and Mississauga are growing, vibrant areas and this is a strong move forward in our plan for an exciting fleet of luxury stores across Canada," said Holt Renfrew President Mark Derbyshire in a press release. "We look forward to leading a new era of extraordinary shopping experiences in Canada."

Holt Renfrew currently has 3 stores in the Toronto area (Bloor Street, Yorkdale, and Sherway Gardens). An hr2 location will open this spring at Vaughan Mills. There has been speculation that Holt Renfrew was considering moving their Sherway Gardens store to Square One, though today's announcement did not mention the status of that location.

Click here for the official press release.