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Canada’s Department Stores and the Business of Staying Relevant

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Leaders from two of the country’s most enduring and influential department stores will share a stage on June 3 in Toronto: Frederick Lecoq, Chief Marketing and Digital Officer of La Maison Simons and Carolyn Wright, Senior Vice President, Product and Planning of Holt Renfrew. One rooted in a distinctly Canadian approach to fashion, culture, and accessibility. The other synonymous with luxury, curation, and deeply personalized experience. Both deeply woven into the fabric of how this country shops, celebrates, and defines itself through retail.  

In a global landscape where department stores have steadily disappeared, both brands have continued to invest, adapt, and double down on the store as a destination worth choosing. Frederick Lecoq and Carolyn Wright bring that perspective to Reinventing the Department Store in a New Era of Customer Expectations — an honest conversation about shifting customer expectations, the economics of physical retail, the role of stores in an increasingly digital ecosystem, and the fine balance between consistency and reinvention.

It’s a perspective you can only get from retailers who have built their legacies in the Canadian market.

And it’s only happening at RCCSTORE26. Across two days, this event brings together a calibre and breadth of speakers you won’t find under one roof anywhere else. CIBC’s Benjamin Tal on the economic outlook. Google Canada’s Eric Morris on AI and the customer journey. Michaels Global CEO David Boone on reinventing the in-store experience. Marketing executives from Canadian Tire, Miele, and Reitmans on brand building and loyalty. Supply chain executives from Port Saint John, DP World Canada, and CPKC Rail on building resilience into how goods move across this country.

From technology to operations to marketing, the full spectrum of Canadian retail, in one room, for two days.

RCCSTORE26. June 2–3, Toronto. storeconference.ca.

 

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