Holt Renfrew to shutter its menswear store on Bloor St.
Luxury retailer to spend $400 million to renovate and expand locations across Canada
The battle over luxury menswear at the corner of Bloor and Bellair Sts. is over. Harry Rosen won. Holt Renfrew announced Monday it is pulling the plug on a luxury store for men it opened at100 Bloor St. W., directly opposite Harry Rosen’s large flagship store, in 2014.
“It was not a great idea. It’s an incredibly expensive space. They were trying to say that they were in the menswear business, which is probably the right thing, but it was an expensive mistake, I think,” said Maureen Atkinson, senior partner at the global retail advisory J.C. Williams Group.
News that Holt Renfrew Men will close was deep in a news release announcing that Holt Renfrew is spending $400 million to renovate and expand stores across Canada. The flagship Holt Renfrew store down the street, at 50 Bloor St. W., will be renovated, adding a men’s department that will be 55 per cent larger than the boutique store being closed.
“As the Canadian luxury retail landscape evolves, so too is Holt Renfrew. These investments will help us to enhance the first-rate, luxury shopping experience our customers expect from Holt Renfrew,” said Mario Grauso, president, Holt Renfrew, in the news release.
Holt Renfrew spokesperson Nicole Plener said the employees at the bou- tique will simply change locations, moving down the street to the main store. A date for closure has not been confirmed, she added.
The boutique was launched at a time when sales in luxury menswear were on the rise in Canada and was appointed with the luxury consumer in mind. At launch, it featured a Ferrari 458 Italia in the front window (which it sold).
The floor was made of Canadian limestone, hand-cut in Toronto, laid down in a mosaic pattern.
Abronze sculpture by Canadian artist Dennis Lin overlooked the shoe department. A team of valets was posted at the front to ensure easy parking. A team of tailors was set up in the back, to provide quick and precise tailoring.
The store was launched under former Holt Renfrew president and CEO Mark Derbyshire, who stepped down in 2016.
Atkinson said that the store failed to present shoppers with an alternative to Harry Rosen, across the street, that was significantly better or different. The selection of merchandise was limited, including sizing.
“It you’re not 160 pounds and six-foot, almost nothing in there would work for you,” Atkinson said.
The decision to invest $400 million in renovating parts of the network is a sound one, she added.
“I think in retail and that sector particularly, you always have to be investing. It’s never done.”
According to the Holt Renfrew news release, the renovations will use Holt Renfrew Vancouver as a template to update Holt Renfrew Ogilvy in Montreal as well as significant renovations to the Bloor St. flagship store and a 10,000- square-foot expansion at the Yorkdale location, to be completed by 2020.
The women’s footwear department at 50 Bloor St. W. will be expanded, as will the beauty department and women’s leather goods area. A new Colette Grand Café is slated to open in late 2019.
The Yorkdale location will get two additional personal shopping suites.
Plener said the square footage of the store will not be in- creased, but some back-ofhouse space will be renovated to be made shoppable. She said Holt Renfrew anticipates that it will increase the number of employees across the board as a result of the renovations and expansions.
Holt Renfrew also signalled it will invest in new technologies and update its entire online presence. The luxury chain is owned by the Weston family, which also owns Loblaw Companies Ltd.