Levi Strauss & Co. is navigating a Canadian retail market that has lost one of its largest department-store chains, leaving apparel suppliers to reconsider how they reach consumers. Following Hudson’s Bay’s closure in 2025, the denim company continues to operate through branded stores, mass-market retailers and premium wholesale partnerships, with each channel serving a different segment of the market.
The importance of those relationships is evident in Levi Strauss’s latest financial results, released October 7. Global wholesale revenue grew faster than the company’s direct-to-consumer business during its fiscal third quarter, reinforcing the commercial value of outside retail partners even as Levi Strauss invests in its own stores and digital operations.
Hudson’s Bay’s collapse removed an important distribution channel for apparel brands operating in Canada. Its department stores provided national exposure through established shopping centres, reaching customers who might not otherwise visit standalone branded locations.
Levi’s was among the brands affected. Retail Insider reported in June 2025 that the company had generated tens of millions of dollars in annual sales through Hudson’s Bay, illustrating the scale of business potentially disrupted by the retailer’s disappearance.
Replacing those sales presents a challenge because department stores, mass merchants and specialty retailers serve different customers and operate with different merchandise assortments and pricing structures. A brand may have several distribution partners without any single relationship offering the same sales capacity as a national department-store chain.
Levi Strauss already maintained a diversified Canadian business before Hudson’s Bay closed. That existing network gives it several routes to market, although the company has not disclosed how much of its former Hudson’s Bay business has been recovered through alternative channels.
Levi’s Maintains a Broad Canadian Store Network
Levi Strauss maintains a substantial physical retail presence in Canada, with branded stores and outlets listed across eight provinces. Its current Canadian store directory identifies locations at major shopping centres including CF Toronto Eaton Centre, Yorkdale, Square One, CF Chinook Centre, CF Market Mall and Quartier DIX30.
Independent location-data firm ScrapeHero identified 59 Canadian Levi’s locations as of April 24, 2026, including 20 in Ontario, 17 in Quebec and 10 in British Columbia. Those three provinces account for nearly 80% of the identified network, although the figures represent a third-party estimate rather than an audited company store count.
For landlords, Levi’s remains an established international apparel tenant with locations in major metropolitan shopping centres and regional markets. Its branded stores also give the company greater control over merchandise presentation and customer relationships than wholesale distribution typically allows.
Levi Strauss extended its direct customer relationships in July 2025 with the Canadian introduction of its Red Tab membership program. The initiative connects participating stores and digital channels through a loyalty offering, adding another component to the company’s direct-to-consumer operations.
Walmart and Mark’s Provide Additional Distribution
Wholesale remains an important part of Levi Strauss’s Canadian business, with different retailers serving distinct consumer segments. Walmart Canada carries Levi Strauss Signature merchandise, a value-oriented product line that allows the company to compete at lower price points while maintaining separate positioning for its mainline and premium collections.
The Walmart relationship predates Hudson’s Bay’s closure and should not be interpreted as a newly announced replacement for that lost business. Nevertheless, it illustrates the importance of established mass-market distribution when a major department-store channel disappears.
Mark’s provides another Canadian wholesale relationship. In a November 2024 announcement, Levi Strauss identified an enhanced presence at the retailer’s Queensway location as an example of its wholesale strategy, demonstrating the company’s participation in specialty apparel retail alongside mass-market partnerships.
Premium Partnerships Extend the Brand’s Positioning
Levi Strauss has also developed its presence in higher-priced Canadian retail environments. In June 2025, the company expanded its partnership with Holt Renfrew, bringing curated merchandise and retail activations to the luxury department-store chain.
The arrangement included pop-ups in Calgary and Montreal, with additional Levi’s assortments planned for Holt Renfrew locations in Toronto and Vancouver. As Retail Insider reported at the time, the initiative followed Hudson’s Bay’s closure and supported Levi’s efforts to strengthen its premium positioning.
Levi Strauss had also introduced premium merchandise through Canadian specialty retailer HAVEN in late 2024, with distribution through its Toronto and Vancouver operations. That relationship supports the company’s development of higher-priced denim and lifestyle products, distinct from the Signature assortment sold through Walmart Canada.
Wholesale Growth Outpaces Direct-to-Consumer Sales
Levi Strauss’s fiscal third-quarter results provide financial context for its multichannel strategy. The company reported global organic revenue growth of 5%, with wholesale revenue increasing 6% and direct-to-consumer revenue rising 2%.
Comparable sales in the direct-to-consumer business were flat, although e-commerce revenue increased 10%. The results indicate that wholesale was the stronger growth channel during the quarter, even as the company continued investing in its own retail operations.
Levi Strauss Signature, the value-oriented brand carried by Walmart Canada, recorded approximately 13% global organic revenue growth during the quarter. The performance highlights the contribution of lower-priced merchandise to the company’s broader business, although the results do not disclose Signature’s Canadian performance separately.
The company is also expanding its merchandise beyond traditional denim bottoms. Management reported that categories outside denim bottoms contributed approximately half of quarterly organic revenue growth, reflecting increasing demand for tops and other apparel.
A broader assortment gives Levi Strauss additional opportunities to generate sales through existing retail relationships, whether in branded stores or wholesale accounts. It also allows retailers to develop more extensive Levi’s assortments rather than concentrating primarily on jeans.
The reported financial results are global and do not provide a separate Canadian performance breakdown. Consequently, they cannot establish whether Levi Strauss has recovered the sales lost through Hudson’s Bay or how its Canadian wholesale business performed during the quarter.
A Changing Distribution Market
Levi Strauss’s Canadian operations demonstrate how a diversified retail model can reduce reliance on any single distribution channel. Its branded stores provide direct access to consumers, mass-market retailers offer broad distribution, and premium partners support higher-priced merchandise and brand positioning.
The disappearance of Hudson’s Bay has made those distinctions more consequential. Replacing a national department-store relationship can require several retail partners, each with different customers, commercial arrangements and merchandise requirements.
For Canadian landlords, Levi’s existing store network maintains the brand’s presence in major shopping centres, while wholesale partnerships extend its reach beyond those locations. The combination provides flexibility, but it also requires the company to manage distinct product and pricing strategies across retailers.
The latest earnings results show that wholesale remains an important source of global growth for Levi Strauss. In Canada, the more significant test will be whether the company can maintain and build sales across its remaining retail relationships without the national distribution capacity Hudson’s Bay once provided.
