Holt Renfrew Vancouver Flagship to be One of North America’s Largest Luxury Stores

Holt Renfrew will expand its Vancouver flagship to an impressive 190,000 square feet. When completed at the end of 2016, only a handful of North American luxury stores will be larger. The following is our analysis where we also discuss how Holt’s Vancouver location will also feature Canada’s largest leathergoods hall. 

For full details on Holt’s Vancouver expansion, we direct you to this article where we discuss the overhaul which will add about 40,000 square feet, as well as possibly a ground-level Chanel boutique with its own street entrance. 

In our analysis below, we have determined large American luxury retailers to include Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman and Barney’s New York. We have excluded Nordstrom and Bloomingdale’s, as both carry a considerable amount of mid-range merchandise. 

Only a handful of North American luxury stores exceed 190,000 square feet. These include the following: 

New York City:

• Saks Fifth Avenue: 646,000 square feet,
• Bergdorf Goodman 316,000 square feet, including a 250,000 square foot main store and 66,000 men’s store across the street,
• Barneys New York: 230,000 square feet.

San Francisco, California: 

• Neiman Marcus, Union Square: 252,000 square feet

Beverly Hills, California: 

• Saks Fifth Avenue, Wilshire Boulevard: 285,000 square feet, including a 175,000 square foot east store and 110,00 square foot west store.  

Houston Texas: 

• Neiman Marcus, Houston Galleria: 224,000 square feet
• Saks Fifth Avenue, Houston Galleria: 210,000 square feet, replacement location: 198,000 square feet (opening early 2016)

Dallas, Texas:

• Neiman Marcus, Northpark Center: 218,000 square feet

Atlanta, Georgia:

• Neiman Marcus, Lenox Square: 206,000 square feet

Although Vancouver’s Holt Renfrew will be the chain’s largest when completed at the end of 2016, Holt’s Bloor Street business will technically boast more square footage. The Bloor Street store includes 175,926 square feet at 50 Bloor Street West, about 3,800 square feet on the ground level of 60 Bloor Street West, and an estimated 4,000 to 5,000 square feet dedicated to personal shopping suites upstairs in 60 Bloor Street West. Holt Renfrew also operates a 16,500 square foot men’s store at 100 Bloor Street West, about 500 feet to the west of its 50 Bloor flagship. Therefore, Holt’s currently operates about 200,000 square feet on Bloor Street. The company plans to further expand 50 Bloor and sources at Holt’s say that details are still being finalized.

Furthermore, Montreal will see a 220,000 square foot combined Holt Renfrew/Ogilvy location in 2017, resulting in the closure of Holt’s nearby 84,000 square foot unit. Although the new Ogilvy/Holt’s is expected to carry a substantial amount of luxury product, industry insiders expect it will also carry a substantial variety of more moderately-priced brands. 

Business in Vancouver reports that Vancouver’s expanded Holt Renfrew will feature a 30,000 square foot leathergoods section — triple the size of its current offerings. If correct, it would be the largest department of its kind in Canada, including even those within Hudson’s Bay’s Canadian flagships. 

Retail News From Around The Web: April 27, 2015