At no time in Canadian history has there been more luxury-inclusive department stores operating in Canada. For decades, Holt Renfrew & Co. had a virtual monopoly in this country, particularly in womenswear, footwear and accessories (Harry Rosen dominated in menswear). Over the past three years, however, things have changed substantially — Nordstrom opened its first Canadian store in Calgary in the fall of 2014 and now has five (and soon, six) locations, and Saks Fifth Avenue debuted its first Canadian flagship at Toronto’s CF Toronto Eaton Centre in February of 2016. More Canadian stores are confirmed to be on the way for both American retailers.
It’s not a surprise to see so much luxury in Canada, according to luxury retail consultant Brian Winston (referred to as a ‘Guru of Luxury’ by the hosts of ‘What She Says’). He referred to what he’s witnessing as a ‘department store wars’ in Canada, and he has come up with a ranking of what he considers to be the country’s top luxury-carrying department stores, based on a number of metrics.
In summary, Mr. Winston ranks five large-format Canadian retailers as follows, in terms of luxury offerings:
1. Saks Fifth Avenue
2. Holt Renfrew
3. Hudson’s Bay Company
4. Nordstrom, and
5. La Maison Simons
In a conversation with Mr. Winston, he went through and described each of these stores, including their strong points as well as some challenges. The following is a breakdown of each of the five stores.
Saks Fifth Avenue
Mr. Winston ranked Saks Fifth Avenue as being the top luxury department store in the country, based on several factors. He noted Saks’ breadth and depth of designer product offerings, as well as how its stores buy many collections in multiple product categorizations for some brands that include ready-to-wear, handbags and accessories, and footwear. A number of the world’s top luxury brands are carried at Saks’ downtown Toronto flagship that feature hard-shops for their collections, including Dior, Saint Laurent, Givenchy, Celine, Valentino, and even pricey Azzedine Alaia.
Being able to buy a label head-to-toe is key to Saks’ value proposition, he noted, and Saks stocks a wide variety of sizes from various designers. Holt Renfrew, in comparison, has split size ranges across the country and in some instances, smaller sizes will end up in the Vancouver Holt’s because of the city’s affluent Asian population, he noted. This presents issues when the sizes are not present and customers have to prepay to get their size sent from another city.
Saks is the strongest store in Canada in terms of jewellery offerings, explained Mr. Winston. Boutiques for Chopard, Piaget, De Grisogono, Boucheron and others are present at the downtown Toronto Saks store — competitors such as Holt Renfrew and Nordstrom don’t even come close, he said. Women’s shoes are also a strong point, he noted, with a number of premium brands being carried at both of Saks’ Canadian stores. He thinks Holt Renfrew’s shoe offerings/ availabilities are a step above Saks, however, given the vast boutique-lined shoe halls at Holt’s Vancouver and Yorkdale locations.
Given Saks’ large business in the United States, Mr. Winston figures that a number of top luxury brands carried exclusively in retailers such as Holt Renfrew will eventually transfer allegiance to Saks, if they haven’t already. Saks can control more because it has “a bigger pencil” according to Mr. Winston and ultimately controls larger orders and power.
Saks currently operates two Canadian stores — in downtown Toronto, as well as at CF Sherway Gardens. Two more locations are confirmed to be opening, including a spring 2018 Calgary store at CF Chinook Centre, and an expected fall 2018 opening at the back end of Hudson’s Bay in downtown Montreal. A Vancouver location is also expected to be announced shortly.
Holt Renfrew
Mr. Winston notes that Holt Renfrew has an extensive history in Canada, having operated since 1837. “They’ve owned the market for a long time, and they are first-in-mind for luxury for many consumers,” he noted, though he thinks that competitors will change that. Mr. Winston has been involved in Canadian retail since the late 1970’s and he described historically how Holt Renfrew went more upscale after the closure of luxury women’s department store Creed’s at Toronto’s Manulife Centre in 1990 and where it has moved over the time since then.
Holt Renfrew carries some of the world’s top brands, says Mr. Winston, though he explained that the retailer has only seven stores (compared to Saks’ 38 in the United States). Because of its smaller size, he thinks that Holt Renfrew lacks the volume to determine the exclusives that its wants. As a result, a number of brands may choose to jump ship, and a few already have — Tom Ford women’s clothing, The Kooples and Zadig & Voltaire are no longer carried at Holt Renfrew, and luxury Italian brand Giorgio Armani’s womens concessions are no longer open in the Bloor Street, Montreal and Vancouver flagships (a Brunello Cucinelli women’s concession is currently under construction in Armani’s former space at the Bloor St. Holt’s).
One of Mr. Winston’s concerns about Holt Renfrew is its limited stock and styles — he described how Holt’s will buy a few styles each year, and the lack of availability can be aggravating both for customers and sales staff. As a result, stock at some stores appears to be minimal. Additionally there has been an “attitude issue” from both floor and buying staff over the years which has permeated the industry, he said.
Mr. Winston pointed to Holt Renfrew’s “inconsistency” over time, which he attributes to the retailer’s management turnover over the past several years. He did note that a considerable percentage of store space is devoted to leased departments (aka concessions), which guarantee a certain return on square footage regardless of results.
Holt Renfrew is making some changes, however — some brands are being dropped, and new ones are being added. As well, the company continues to renovate and expand its existing stores. The top-selling Vancouver flagship is seeing a substantial expansion/renovation that will make it even more world-class (including the recent unveiling of a new lower-level beauty hall). The Montreal store will eventually merge with sister retailer Ogilvy, resulting in the closure of the existing Holt Renfrew on Sherbrooke Street West. Toronto will also see some changes to its Yorkdale and Bloor Street stores, to be discussed at a later date.
Hudson’s Bay
Mr. Winston noted that the Hudson’s Bay Company has an extensive history in Canada, and that it has carried luxury offerings at its flagship stores for some time. ‘The Room’ women’s luxury department at the downtown Toronto and Vancouver flagships carry a variety of top luxury brands. He described how Margery Steele was instrumental in curating ‘The St. Regis Room’ as it once was at Simpson’s (Hudson’s Bay discontinued Simpson’s in 1991 and converted Simpson’s downtown Toronto flagship into a Bay store), and when Ms. Steele passed, her replacement “wasn’t the same. Ms. Steele had an intimate equity relationship with her clients and they trusted her sense of style and taste,” he noted.
Mr. Winston went on to discuss Nicholas Mellamphy, who was brought in by Bonnie Brooks to overhaul Hudson’s Bay’s luxury offerings. Mr. Winston described how after Mr. Mellamphy’s boutique ‘Hazel’ went bankrupt and shuttered, Mellamphy worked to pull strings to get brands to go into The Room, despite Hudson’s Bay lacking the customer breadth and depth to support the collections. Mr. Winston also described many of The Room’s brands as being somewhat obscure and requiring large stock commitments. “They would bring in 12 to 14 pieces from Mary Katrantzou,” said Mr. Winston, “and you need 12 to 14 customers who don’t know each other to buy those pieces at full price. There are not that many customers in the two markets.”
Despite its challenges, Brian Winston ranked Hudson’s Bay above Nordstrom in terms of luxury designer offerings, given Hudson’s Bay’s daring assortment of fashions that are among the boldest in the country. Mr. Winston also described The Room’s designer shoes as “being limited and with a lot of newness to the market”. (In Toronto, ’The Room’ shoes are mostly in the women’s footwear department on another floor).
Regarding menswear, Mr. Winston noted that Hudson’s Bay has amplified its luxury offerings, particularly at the downtown Toronto flagship. Brands such as Balmain, Jil Sander and JW Anderson can be found on the men’s floor, alongside boutiques for brands such as Eleventy, PS Paul Smith, Sandro and The Kooples.
Nordstrom
Mr. Winston noted that while Nordstrom carries a number of luxury labels at its Canadian stores, the selection for each brand is less than that at Saks and Holt’s. He discussed how with brands such as Manolo Blahnik, Nordstrom will carry a handful of ‘classic’ styles, but not the extensive “stylistic” offerings found at some competitors. He explained that Nordstrom is looking to show that they are “in designer” in terms of brands that it carries, but that it lacks the depth to make many collections “meaningful”.
Jimmy Choo was an example that Mr. Winston pointed to — he says that Nordstrom’s Toronto stores carry three women’s styles, whereas a more comprehensive luxury retailer would carry between 15 and 18 styles. He also said that while Nordstrom carries a number of notable luxury brands in Vancouver, the Toronto stores struggled to secure some top labels that were already committed to previous contracts with Saks and Holt’s.
In some respects, as a result, Nordstrom is carrying more innovative brands in its Canadian stores. Mr. Winston pointed to the company’s SPACE departments in Vancouver and Toronto as an example. He also noted that Nordstrom is carrying a selection of evening gowns from designers such as Marchesa and Brandon Maxwell and while beautiful “they are not selling”, he says. He noted that evening gowns are worn infrequently and in a “conservative” market such as Toronto, as he put it, women are looking to want “several wears” from a $7,000 gown or piece of clothing, at the very least.
Mr. Winston also described Nordstrom’s luxury menswear offerings as carrying standard brands and pieces, and that the selection “lacks consistency”. He doesn’t think that Nordstrom is “fashion-forward enough” and that pieces “do not make a statement”. He did note that Nordstrom carries Giuseppe Zanotti footwear — an expensive brand popular with youth willing to shell out for a name brand.
Nordstrom ranked below Hudson’s Bay in Mr. Winston’s mind, though he was referring primarily to the downtown Toronto and Vancouver Hudson’s Bay flagships, which both carry upscale women’s department ‘The Room’, as well as some luxury menswear brands.
La Maison Simons
Brian Winston ranked La Maison Simons in fifth place in terms of its luxury offerings, though he noted that Simons does carry a variety of luxury brands for men and women. “Their focus is on French luxury,” he said, noting that a $150 private-label purse might be found next to a $3,000 style. “Simons has been great at taking European influences and recreating them as private labels,” noted Mr. Winston. Women’s collections such as Balmain and Nina Ricci can be found at Simons, though Mr. Winston noted that there are only a handful of each style.
While Simons lacks extensive offerings in shoes and bags, Mr. Winston explained that the retailer’s hosiery selection is “the best in Canada, unquestionably”. He also says that he “loves” Simons’ home department, including how it is edited and its numerous private label offerings.
Conclusion
Regardless of who’s “best”, Mr. Winston says that Canadian luxury retailers have competition from south of the border. “These customers can and will easily travel to New York City by plane to shop in department stores as well as mono-branded boutiques” he said, “and they can also shop online”. Luxury brands are now available more than ever on various ecommerce sites, adding further competition to local brick-and-mortar retail.
Ultimately, the challenge will be to “convince the shopper to pay full-price for what’s in-season” and as a result, the department store wars in Canada will continue. As a result of competition from Canadian and American retailers, not to mention ecommerce, retailers are upping their customer service in order to best cater to clients. “Special delivery, alterations, and something special,” is key he noted. “It is still a very fickle market,” according to Mr. Winston, “and the retailers that cater to luxury consumers the best are the ones that will come out ahead, and not all of them will survive. The sheer size of the market is an issue.”
*Top photos are credited as follows:
-Saks Fifth Avenue CF Sherway Gardens: http://alexrebanks.com
-Nordstrom CF Sherway Gardens: Nordstrom/Cadillac Fairview
-Holt Renfrew Square One: Retail Council of Canada
It’s an interesting article, however it’s not well researched by Mr Winston.
I shall inform that most of the brands that left or will leave Holt Renfrew are leaving based on incresement of rent, poor sales and opening a actual brick and mortar (Giorgio Armani is planning to open a free standing flagship boutique in Mink Mile) the Kooples disagreed on product placement so it left HR. David Yurman has beeping performing poorly after opening a free standing boutique at Yorkdale Centre.
Saks Fifth Avenue might have more stores (the US only outside the US it operates under franchised out its name and trade marks) then Holt Renfrew
Let me share it with Mr Winston. Holt Renfrew is part of Selfrides group a set of fine "luxury" (Seflridges, Thomas Brown, de Bijenkorf) department stores owned by Anglo-Canadian billionaire dynasty that also owns Shoppers Drug Mart/ Pharma Prix the biggest account holder for drugs, cosmetics, fragrance and skincare products. Weston corporation has minority’s stake in every publicly listed luxury brand and conglomerates any you think of that are listed around the globe has Weston families minor investments.
Unofficially Weston Corporation holds minority stakes in Apple, Windows, Tesla, Facebook, And many inter-telecommunications service providers throughly globel.
Selfridges Group sells more "luxury" products then HBCG. HBCG sells more 2nd, 3rd and lower end goods.
World of pharmacy, beauty, fashion and media are very well connected with each other. And again all the brands who left the Holt Renfrew left via mutual agreeemnt not for sake of changing one department store to another. Just because Mr Winston thinks that SFA bigger portfolio of stores has something to do with some brands leaving Holts is absurd and poor judgment and absolute lack of good research. (Shame)!!!
Weston group can simply and it does dictate to all pharmaceutical, cosmetics and fashion brands/conglomerates wether it’s Sanofi, Estée Lauder, L’Oréal, Uniliver, P&G, Cory, interPerfumes, Bayer, LVMH, Kering, Cie F. Richemont or OTB because they all know that vast majority of their business in Canada linked to Weston Corp. FYI Weston Corp. minority owner of Oxford Proparties and can simply buy the rest of the group.
Saks Fifth Avenue (based on Queen W St location) is definitely the most prestigious department store in Canada and
PROS: 1- SFA has a well established online shopping business.
2-Exclusive selection of brands in ready to wear, footwear, skincare and cosmetics, fragrance, small and large leather goods and home decor.
3-luxurious atmosphere through the store.
CONS: 1-extremely focused towards Chinese shoppers so it mostly caters towards Asian aesthetics and desires. It’s very obvious in form of its floor staff is unpolished and has poor brand knowledge it actually applies to all of the 5 department shops on here and Harry Rosen.
2-Offers exact the same products that offered via online shopping web stores at 15/20% higher.
3-Most of the exclusive brands SFA carries has super small selection of goods (less 5% or 8% based on a brand) of the current season offerings from fashion houses however this doesn’t apply to beauty brands (skincare, cosmetics and fragrances). Extremely poor selection of jewellery and footwear for men and women as well as handbags and small leather good for men and women. (Holt Renfrew no doubt wins the handbag and women’s footwear war in Canada).
4- Peek hours are crowded with tourists and window shoppers and bums yes the pan handling unpleasant bums in store. So: floor staff is over worked and mostly irritated and it’s quiet obvious.
Holt Renfrew
PROS: 1-Offers the most trendy products. Better selection of high end ("luxury") accessories then any other department stores in Canada.
2- Most of its senior staff has better knowledge of brands and trends.
3-its has improved its customer service.
CONS: 1-it’s reputation and image has slider down because of previous management and CEO by offering (very) affordable (Kate Spade, Michael Kors, Michael by Michael Kors, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Ray-Ban, Nike-(Regular non hyped shoes), Kiehl’s, Red Valentino (teenager oriented lower end brand by Valentino), Kooples, Moose Knuckles, Kooples and many more.
2-drop dead extremely and I mean extremely low amount of selection and number of goods by every category it offers.
3- worst return policy then any other fine department store in Canada (HR needs to look at Nordstrom).
4-failed e-commers and it’s on hold till (forever?)
The other department stores are not worth to mention with very a few good offerings by Nordstrom that’s about it and The Room at Hudsons Bay will close down anyways in coming years as it’s a main loss making part of Hudson’s Bay Queen St. W. Most women who can afford the products at that price point prefer to fly to New York or Europe as it’s much affordable in the US or Eu then here in Canada and it’s a very common concept amongst Canada’s wealthy consumers to shop outside of Canada. Most importantlu women who purchase the gowns for $$$$$$ mostly return it within 48 hours. The Room has highest return transactions then any other departments of Hudson’s Bay Queen W St.
By Weston Corp I think you are referring to George Weston Ltd. which does NOT own a minority stake in Oxford Properties. Oxford is wholly owned by OMERS (Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System). It does however, have interests in Choice REIT (through Loblaw)
Well, it’s formally George Weston Ltd. but with all the companies under its umbrella and the way it (non formally) operates. It looks like a giant corporation within and outside of Canada.
I look forward to the Vancouver Saks announcement!
Tim Casanov wins the thread.
What a fascinating treatise from a blowhard in love with the sound of his own voice. Although it’s clear that someone here is annoyed or bitter that he hasn’t been given preferential treatment at several stores. It’s like those people who say they’re cool or hip: they’re not. So by inference, if someone calls himself a "luxury guru" …
O.M.G. The Bay ranked higher than Nordstrom. Speechless.
At least product is flying off the shelves at Nordstrom and Saks at the Eaton Centre. Or more accurately, product is being stolen from the shelves. That’s what you get when you put luxury in that part of the city!!! #LocationLocationLocation
I can’t understand why Holt Renfrew isn’t stepping up their online game. I do most of my shopping online or at least preview what a store offers (and compare prices) before heading down in person. For this reason Holt Renfrew isn’t even on my radar when shopping.
I would like apologize for the all grammatical mistakes I made on my previous comment as I was ultimately furious about this article and I type way too fast for my own good and don’t check my writing prior posting it which shall work on (indeed).
I’ve made a solid investigation on 6 fine department store in last 15 hours based on available and confidential information I can most definitely tell you that Holt Renfrew is the most prestigious department store in Canada in terms of offerings and selection of finest goods in footwear, accessories, ready to wear and 2nd grade jewelry. Only Nordstrom surpasses Holt Renfrew in terms of sales in Canada but Nordstrom is still far behind of Holt Renfrew in terms of pure profit based on sales, human resource costs, losses and rent. There are more small niche shops in Canada that carry more "luxury" products then Hudsons Bay. Just walk through some boutiques in Yorkville Ave and you will witness it yourself.
Discussed above "luxury" offerings for men at HBC on QSW. HCBC 🙊🙉🙊🙈 (I do apologize for my sense of humar if it may offend anyone) Vince, Kooples, DRKSDW by Rick Owens, Sandro, T by Alexander Wang, Makage, PS by Paul Smith or Moschino are not "luxury" brands they are slightly higher end brands or lower end brands of higher end however they are all lilttle bit better then fast fashion retailers such as Unique, Zara, H&M or Simons in house brand. J.W.Anderson products are from fall winter 2016 are highly discounted out and still available in every size as of today. Balmain pants are from 2016 spring summer and on clearance as of today. There Marni products at 33% before taxes are higher then online retailer Forward by Else Walker which includes free shipping and handling plus duties and taxes are included also free pick ups and returns and you get 10% off your next purchase regardless.
1st Holt Renfrew
2nd Saks Fifth Avenue
3rd Nordstrom
4th Hudsons Bay
5th Harry Rosen
6th La Maison Simons
PS Saks Fifth Avenue QSW sold only 25.2% of its inventory at full coast. The rest were discounted out (excluding; jewelry, skincare, cosmetics, and fragrance) and concessions of Louis Vuitton and Prada at SFA on QSW are the worst performing throughout Canada. Christian Dior SA also very unsatisfied with its performance at SFA on QSW. Brands like Valentino, Givenchy, Jimmy Choo, Balmain were highly discounted out.
To Saks Fifth Avenue management: Please do something effective to get rid of rodents and pan handlers of your premises, discuss with your loss prevention team to handle conflictious moments in a quitter more of professional level as it’s quiet bizzare to witness constant crime scenes (theft), don’t forget to serve cold water instead of room temperature as it’s hot and humid outside and consider cattiring towards other groups of people besides Asian and night club goers. With flashy and tacky offerings you are further damaging your already damaged image look up to your American counterparts Bergdorf Goodman and Barneys of New York or even Richard Bakers beloved Harrods.
Curious why you’ve ranked Harry Rosen below The Bay. I do agree with some of the tackier offerings but quite frankly we Asians are the ones who the only ones dumb enough to buy the most outlandish offerings, and at stupidly high prices.
Hudsons Bay is in serious negotiations to revamp its offerings in terms of men’s and women’s high end designer inventory in terms of ready-to-wear, accessories, and letheer goods however, currently Harry Rosen is in good terms with most of fashion and lifestyle houses. Unfortunately Harry Rosen doesn’t use its power to its potential so it has small Offering of leather goods, small to none offerings in jewelry, watches, skincare and other grooming products for men. Products they offer are way too common except a few brands. Hudsons Bay is above Harry Rosen because of its women’s footwear, skincare, cosmetics and fragrance offerings plus the Room for now only. Otherwise Harry Rosen is much better then Hudsons Bay no doubt and has really good customer service at its most location. Harry Rosen should drop some of the brand from its offerings.
I should have been more accurate and state Chinese do buy a lot but mostly spend money on accessories, footwear and bags. However its changing now faster then expected but department stores are not moving in the same speed ("crawling" is the right word). Asian consumers have problem being original you can see it for yourself they wear the same clothing the same accessories. The same everything really. There are only Cantonese and mandarin speaking associates they even don’t cater to Filipinos, Vietnamese, South Koreans, Japanese or Thai that’s why I find it unacceptable.
Tom Ford has a boutique within the new Holt Renfrew men’s expansion in Vancouver (next to Berluti). Not sure why Mr. Winston says that the brand is not carried by Holt’s anymore.
We’ve updated this piece, as you’re correct. The Tom Ford women’s shop-in-stores in Vancouver and Toronto (Bloor St.) have both closed, but there is still a men’s boutique at Vancouver’s Holt’s (as well as in several Harry Rosen locations).
There is also a hard shop TF in Harry Rosen’s Calgary.
Yes, we’re referring to Tom Ford’s women’s shop-in-stores that were formally at Holt Renfrew. Tom Ford men’s boutiques can be found at Holt Renfrew in Vancouver, and at Harry Rosen in Vancouver (CF Pacific Centre), Calgary (the CORE), Toronto (82 Bloor St. W.) and in Montreal.