June 1, 2025 marked the end of Saks Fifth Avenue’s presence in Canada, closing the chapter on one of the most ambitious luxury retail expansions in the country’s history. Once viewed as a game-changing arrival for Canadian luxury retail, Saks Fifth Avenue Canada shuttered its final three locations as part of the broader liquidation of its parent licensee, Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC).
For Shayne Stephens, who served as Director of Marketing for Saks Fifth Avenue in Canada during its launch years, the closure evokes both professional pride and deep disappointment. In an interview, Stephens offered an insider’s perspective on how Saks entered the Canadian market with enormous fanfare — and how it eventually collapsed under structural mismanagement and shifting retail dynamics.
A Highly Anticipated Arrival
“When I left Holt Renfrew to build out the marketing strategy for Saks in Canada, I had never seen such excitement for a brand entering the country,” Stephens recalled. “Every campaign exceeded expectations. We had a palpable buzz.”
Saks Fifth Avenue officially entered the Canadian market on February 18, 2016, with the opening of its flagship store in Toronto at CF Toronto Eaton Centre. Spanning approximately 150,000 square feet inside the eastern portion of Hudson’s Bay’s historic Queen Street building, the store launched with great fanfare. Notably, it featured a Pusateri’s-operated food hall, designed to bring an elevated culinary experience to the luxury shopping environment. A second Toronto store at CF Sherway Gardens followed just a week later.
“There was a clear strategy to exceed expectations,” said Stephens. “We staged events with Cindy Crawford, Fern Mallis, artist Shantell Martin, Steve Aoki, and others. Every activation was thoughtfully designed to give Canadians a taste of international luxury culture.”
Saks initially planned for five full-line stores across Canada: two in Toronto, one in downtown Vancouver, one in downtown Montreal, and one in Calgary. However, after the early openings, expansion stalled. “When I was hired, they told me five stores. But after Toronto and Calgary, the Vancouver and Montreal plans were put on hold indefinitely,” Stephens explained.
The Early Success: Toronto’s Flagship Exceeds Expectations
The Queen Street flagship was an immediate hit. According to Stephens, the store quickly became one of Saks Fifth Avenue’s top-performing locations globally.
“In its first year, the Eaton Centre store was already the number three store in the company, behind only New York and Brickell in Miami,” he said. “Sales well exceeded $100 million in year one. The excitement around the opening was enormous, and we leveraged that momentum aggressively.”
Meanwhile, the CF Sherway Gardens location, which spanned roughly 143,000 square feet, saw slower traction but eventually stabilized. “Sherway was a different beast. It took a bit longer to build, and while it never hit Eaton Centre’s numbers, it was still producing solidly,” Stephens added.
Calgary: An Expansion That Never Fully Materialized
The third Saks Fifth Avenue store opened in February 2018 at CF Chinook Centre in Calgary, occupying 115,000 square feet in a former Zellers space. However, this location struggled from the outset.
“Calgary was never a true Saks store,” Stephens admitted. “It lacked the full luxury brand matrix and never carried the kind of high-end inventory we envisioned. It almost felt like a nice Hudson’s Bay store with a Saks sign on it.”
Unlike the Toronto locations, Calgary’s store did not feature a food hall or extensive high-end brands. The sales challenges reflected the city’s volatile economic environment, particularly during Alberta’s oil price downturns.
The Role of Hudson’s Bay Company
While Saks Fifth Avenue remained a distinct luxury brand in the U.S., its Canadian operations were fully controlled by the Hudson’s Bay Company, which had acquired the U.S. retailer in 2013. In Canada, Saks was effectively licensed to operate under HBC’s banner, and the integration was not without tension.
“There was always a kind of eye-rolling dynamic between Saks and Hudson’s Bay,” Stephens recalled. “Saks was luxury, and Hudson’s Bay was not. There was friction anytime Hudson’s Bay attempted to give direction to Saks.”
Stephens emphasized that while many consumers assumed Saks was the parent company, the reverse was true. “People would say, ‘Saks bought Hudson’s Bay,’ and I’d have to correct them — it was Hudson’s Bay that owned Saks.”
That ownership structure ultimately contributed to the downfall. When Hudson’s Bay Company entered creditor protection in early 2025, the Canadian Saks stores were bundled into the liquidation.
“Effectively, Saks Canada was shaved off and included in the Hudson’s Bay bankruptcy while Saks U.S. remains operating under Richard Baker’s ownership and now forms part of his Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman group (Saks Global),” Stephens explained.
The Turn in Strategy — And the Beginning of the End
According to Stephens, the early success of Saks Fifth Avenue Canada started to unravel after corporate leadership in New York began imposing U.S.-based strategies on the Canadian operations.
“A couple of years after opening, we had visiting executives come to Toronto. They started talking about implementing U.S. strategies here. Myself and Stefane Ledoux [Saks Canada’s first hire] both told them, ‘That won’t work in Canada,’” Stephens said.
One executive’s dismissive response marked a turning point. “He leaned back, crossed his legs, and said, ‘No, guys. We know how to run these big stores.’ I knew then the writing was on the wall. I resigned about three months later.”
Once the Canadian leadership team departed, the business shifted to a cost-cutting mode. Marketing budgets dried up. Staff turnover accelerated. The stores lost much of their energy and local relevancy.
“After I left, there was essentially no marketing. I would walk through the store and not recognize a single associate anymore,” Stephens said. “Momentum was lost, and luxury retail is very much about sustained excitement.”
The Unique Challenges of Selling Luxury in Canada
Stephens noted that luxury retail operates differently in Canada compared to the U.S., particularly for high jewelry and ultra-luxury categories.
“In the U.S., high jewelry events generate enormous immediate sales. In Canada, those same events generate sales — but often spread over six months,” he explained. “The Canadian consumer is more humble in their purchasing behaviour. There’s less ‘flex culture’ than what you see in places like New York or Miami.”
He added: “It’s not that Canadians aren’t buying luxury — but when they do, it’s often done very quietly, and sometimes even directly at the runway shows in Europe, bypassing local retail altogether.”
This cultural nuance was often misunderstood by Saks’ U.S. leadership. “They expected the same sales cadence as their American stores, but Canada’s market simply doesn’t operate that way,” said Stephens.
Expansion Plans That Never Came to Be
Plans for additional Saks locations in Vancouver and Montreal were eventually shelved. Hudson’s Bay tried to sell the downtown Vancouver building where Saks was originally supposed to open. Montreal’s proposed store — slated for a 220,000-square-foot space behind Hudson’s Bay’s flagship on Saint Catherine Street — remained permanently on hold.
“We always felt Montreal was unlikely,” said Stephens. “There were always vague excuses related to construction delays or other issues, but in hindsight, it was clear the expansion was stalling.”
The Broader Collapse of Large-Format Retail
Saks Fifth Avenue’s Canadian collapse mirrored a broader retrenchment of large-format retail. Nordstrom exited Canada in 2023 after a nine-year run, Target departed in 2015 after less than two years, and Holt Renfrew has transitioned largely to a lease model for many of its departments.
“We’re witnessing the death of large-format department stores,” said Stephens. “The dollar per square foot just doesn’t add up anymore.”
Luxury brands increasingly prefer standalone boutiques where they control the customer experience and client data. “Dior, Louis Vuitton — they want full control. Shop-in-shops inside department stores no longer serve their long-term interests,” he added.
The broader economic climate, including rising prices, generational wealth gaps, and shifting consumer attitudes toward luxury markups, is also playing a role.
“There’s greater awareness now about luxury markups,” Stephens said. “Many younger consumers know they’re paying thousands for handbags that might cost a fraction to produce. They’re less willing to accept those margins.”
A Bittersweet Legacy
Despite the disappointment of Saks Fifth Avenue’s closure in Canada, Stephens remains deeply proud of what his team accomplished.
“It was the highlight of my career,” he reflected. “They let us build the Canadian strategy from scratch, and we were able to execute a world-class launch that resonated with Canadians.”
He pointed to memorable events such as the Canada 150 Gucci Ghost party and intimate conversations with icons like Cindy Crawford as defining moments.
“In Canada, they allowed us to be a little edgier, a little rougher around the edges — and it worked. We captured the excitement Canadians felt about finally having Saks Fifth Avenue here.”
Today, those memories stand as a testament to what was possible — and serve as a case study in both the promise and peril of international retail expansion.
