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: La Maison Simons Coming to Toronto?

Do Sears store closures open a window for Simons?

According to the Toronto Star, Quebec-based department store La Maison Simons is actively seeking real estate in the Toronto area. The recent sale of store leases by Sears Canada has provided a point of entry for Simons in two of the most coveted shopping centres in the region.

Last week Sears announced that as part of a continuing strategic review of its real estate assets it has decided to sell its Yorkdale and Square One store leases back to the mall landlord (the malls are co-owned by Oxford Properties and the Alberta Investment Management Corp.). The $191 million deal will result in the stores closing in March of next year. The retailer also sold an option for their Scarborough Town Centre location (which the landlords have 5 years to exercise for $53 million).

“In this case, we were presented with an opportunity that gives us a significant financial benefit without changing our plans to improve the business and make Sears more relevant to Canadians,” said Sears Canada President and CEO Calvin McDonald. Sears previously sold store leases back to mall operator Cadillac Fairview, which facilitated the entry of Nordstrom into Canada starting in 2014.

Simons confirmed that they are interested in the spaces being vacated by Sears at Square One and Yorkdale. Last year the retailer opened its first location outside Quebec at Alberta’s West Edmonton Mall and an additional location is planned for Ottawa’s Rideau Centre. The retailer is known for its mixture of on-trend fast fashion and high-end designer brands.

Also, at this week’s Annual General Meeting of the Hudson’s Bay Company, CEO Richard Baker welcomed the competition of both Nordstrom and Simons saying it benefits HBC and would rather have them as neighbours than embattled Sears.

[Click here for Sears press release]

[Photo via Simons]

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.