Reitmans (Canada) Limited is seeing double-digit sales growth at two recently transformed flagship stores as the retailer increases investment in its physical network.
The new-concept Reitmans flagship at CF Carrefour Laval and the renovated RW&CO flagship at CF Toronto Eaton Centre both posted double-digit year-over-year sales gains during the company’s second quarter.
The performance comes against softer results for the company overall. RCL’s net revenue declined 1.9% to $211.8 million, while comparable sales, including e-commerce, fell 1.5%. Comparable physical-store sales edged higher.
RCL has been reshaping its store portfolio with larger locations, renovations and relocations, while closing stores that no longer fit its plans. The latest results offer a first look at how some of its largest recent projects are performing.
RCL Invests in Larger, More Productive Stores
RCL is targeting $1 billion in annual revenue and adjusted EBITDA of between $60 million and $70 million by fiscal 2030.
The company plans to reinvest approximately $100 million over five years, with roughly three-quarters directed toward stores through renovations, expansions and new locations. RCL expects to increase its total retail square footage by approximately 10% while maintaining a network of roughly 400 stores.
The plan calls for more space without a significant increase in store count. RCL is expanding or relocating locations where it sees opportunities for growth while continuing to rationalize the rest of the portfolio.
During fiscal 2026, the company opened 13 stores, relocated two, expanded five and refreshed 17. It also closed 15 locations.
CF Carrefour Laval Tests a New Reitmans Concept
Reitmans opened its reimagined flagship at CF Carrefour Laval in April as part of a wider update to the 100-year-old Canadian retailer.
Developed with Toronto-based design firm BURDIFILEK, the store introduced a new layout, materials and customer journey alongside Reitmans’ updated visual identity and logo. RCL said when the store opened that the concept would pave the way for a Canadian rollout beginning in 2027.
President and CEO Andrea Limbardi told investors that the CF Carrefour Laval location posted double-digit sales gains compared with the same quarter last year. He described the renovated store as an elevated retail environment built around a different customer experience.
The result gives RCL an encouraging starting point ahead of the wider rollout. It is still one flagship in one of Quebec’s strongest shopping centres, and sales performance can reflect merchandise, marketing and location as much as the physical store itself.
Performance at subsequent locations will show whether similar gains can be repeated elsewhere in the chain.
Reitmans Updates Its Image at 100
The store redesign coincides with a broader effort to update the Reitmans brand during its centennial year.
Its “We’ve Evolved” campaign generated more than 365 million impressions and achieved the highest advertising recall in the brand’s history, according to management. RCL said 80% of respondents associated the campaign with a more modern Reitmans and 77% with a younger brand image.
The company has also partnered with Coco Rocha, Catherine St-Laurent, the Toronto Tempo and Montreal’s McCord Stewart Museum as part of the repositioning.
RCL is trying to pair the marketing changes with updated stores and stronger regular-price selling. CF Carrefour Laval is the first new-concept location where the company has disclosed a meaningful sales result.
RW&CO Flagship Also Posts Double-Digit Growth
RW&CO is showing a similar result. The retailer introduced its new store concept at Promenades Saint-Bruno in Quebec in late 2025 before bringing the format to CF Toronto Eaton Centre, where its expanded and renovated flagship reopened May 29.
Management said after the first quarter that the Toronto store had exceeded expectations. During the second quarter, Limbardi said the flagship generated double-digit year-over-year sales growth.
The sales increase came as RW&CO tightened its approach to pricing, assortment and product. Management said stronger pricing integrity and lower markdown penetration supported margins, while changes to assortment and product strategy were resonating with customers.
The combination of higher sales and fewer markdowns is notable as RCL looks for better returns from its store investments.
RCL Reduces Reliance on Promotions
RCL’s company-wide results show the same focus on regular-price selling.
Gross profit increased by $1.1 million to $123.9 million during the second quarter despite lower revenue. Gross margin improved 160 basis points to 58.5%, with management citing stronger regular-price selling, fewer markdowns, more selective promotions and tighter inventory management.
Inventory ended the quarter at $119.7 million, down 5.2% from a year earlier.
E-commerce revenue declined during the quarter while comparable physical-store sales increased slightly. RCL said lower online sales partly reflected a deliberate reduction in clearance and promotional activity, making it difficult to draw a direct comparison between demand online and in stores.
The company is looking for more sales at regular price while carrying less inventory into clearance, a shift that becomes increasingly important as RCL spends more on its stores.
PENN. Continues Its Own Changes
PENN., RCL’s plus-size fashion banner, is also being repositioned, although the company has not disclosed comparable performance figures from individual stores.
Management said PENN.’s performance improved as the second quarter progressed, with a stronger customer response to product and experience initiatives.
RCL highlighted Atelier by Addition-Elle, its occasion-focused collection, which management said was generating full-price sales growth.
Reitmans and RW&CO, however, currently provide the clearest store-level results from RCL’s investment program.
RCL Has Cash to Continue Investing
RCL ended the quarter with $152.7 million in cash and $149.2 million in working capital, with no bank debt.
The company is also spending outside the physical store network. Project spending increased by approximately $1.2 million during the quarter, primarily for preliminary work on a loyalty program and continued improvements to its digital platform.
That spending will continue alongside the store program as RCL works toward its fiscal 2030 targets.
Wider Rollout Will Put the Strategy to the Test
RCL now has double-digit sales gains from two of its most prominent recent store projects.
CF Carrefour Laval is particularly important because the new Reitmans concept is expected to roll out more broadly beginning in 2027. RW&CO has already taken its latest format from Promenades Saint-Bruno to CF Toronto Eaton Centre, where the renovated store is also reporting double-digit growth.
RCL ultimately plans to operate more retail space without materially increasing its store count. That puts greater pressure on renovations, relocations and expansions to produce better sales from the portfolio.
Results from CF Carrefour Laval and CF Toronto Eaton Centre give RCL a strong start. As more stores are renovated or relocated, there will be considerably more evidence to show whether those gains extend beyond the flagship locations.
