US-based footwear and accessories brand Cole Haan is returning to downtown Toronto with a store, after shutting its only full-priced location in the country on Bloor Street about two years ago.
Cole Haan’s new downtown Toronto store will be at CF Toronto Eaton Centre, in a 1,975 square foot space recently vacated by Montreal-based outerwear brand Soia & Kyo. Cole Haan’s retail space will have about 20 feet of frontage on the second level of the mall, located between Victoria’s Secret and Little Burgundy and across from a busy Apple store.
Cole Haan is advertising various employment positions for the new store, including management positions.
In December of 2021, Cole Haan closed its only standalone full-priced store in Canada at 101 Bloor Street West in downtown Toronto. The 2,700 square foot store at the corner of Bloor and St. Thomas Street opened in 1991 and was recently replaced with a Rolex store operated by multi-brand jeweller Royal de Versailles.
Montreal-based Soia & Kyo opened its first store ever at CF Toronto Eaton Centre in November of 2019, and a lease expiry is said to be the reason that Cole Haan was able to obtain its space. Soia & Kyo continues to wholesale in retailers across the country.
It’s not known if Cole Haan will open more standalone stores in Canada, though the company is expanding quickly globally with standalone stores. In November, Cole Haan announced that it had opened its 500th store location as it grows its business to over 100 countries, up from just 13 countries where Cole Haan had a presence in 2013.
“From the early days of our launch of Cole Haan as an independent company following our acquisition of the business [from Nike], we envisioned the opportunity to bring this iconic American brand to a broader global audience”, said Jack Boys, CEO of Cole Haan in a statement in November. “Over the past decade, we have expanded our product assortment, our talent, and our partnership with a network of world-class distribution partners globally. As we reach this important milestone, we are focused on a range of opportunities we have created for the future of Cole Haan.”
To support Cole Haan’s expanded global presence, the company recently opened its first regional office in Dubai, UAE, which joins existing offices and showrooms in New York, London, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Toronto.
Cole Haan also operates five off-price stores in Canada. Three of those are in Ontario including at the Toronto Premium Outlets in Halton Hills, Vaughan Mills near Toronto, and at the Outlet Collection at Niagara in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Cole Haan also operates outlet stores at the CrossIron Mills near Calgary and at the McArthurGlen outlets near Vancouver.
The Cole Haan brand was founded in Chicago in 1928, and it’s now headquartered both in New York City and Greenland, New Hampshire. It was founded by Trafton Cole and Eddie Haan, and was originally named “Cole, Rood & Haan” when the company was strictly a men’s footwear label. Today the brand offers many products including men’s and women’s dress and casual footwear, belts, hosiery, handbags, gloves, scarves, hats, outerwear, and sunglasses.
Nike purchased Cole Haan in 1988 and sold the company to Umbro in 2012. In November of 2012, Cole Haan was bought by private equity firm Apax Partners Worldwide LLP for USD $570 million.
