Pennington’s Expands into US Market

Craig Patterson
Craig Patterson
Now located in Toronto, Craig is a retail analyst and consultant at the Retail Council of Canada. He's also the Director of Applied Research at the University of Alberta School of Retailing in Edmonton. He has studied the Canadian retail landscape for the past 25 years and he holds Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws Degrees. He is also President & CEO of Vancouver-based Retail Insider Media Ltd.

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Photo:  crestwell.comPhoto:  crestwell.com

Photo: crestwell.com

Montreal-based women’s plus-size retailer Penningtons (operating under the Reitmans corporate umbrella) expanded into the United States this month. 

Macy’s, Nordstrom and Lord & Taylor have all signed on to carry the brand’s new plus-size women’s line, mblm by Tess Holliday, which is a brand created by Penningtons in collaboration with celebrity blogger and plus-size model Tess Holliday.

Penningtons created the mblm brand in 2013 in an effort to provide the plus-size woman with younger, edgier fashion options, according to the company.  A partnership was formed and the collection officially launched earlier this year in March. 


The company has been innovating over the past year, having recently received accolades for its celebrity collaborations with Melissa McCarthy for the Canadian launch of her Seven7 collection, as well as its mblm by Tess Holliday collection. The brand also promoted its ‘body positive’ movement with its #iwontcompromise campaign. Consisting of a series of YouTube videos, the campaign went viral and garnered over 19 million views — and received several notable industry awards.

The mblm by Tess Holliday collection is currently available at Penningtons stores across Canada and online at Penningtons.com. The brand is also being sold online at, Macys.com, Nordstrom.com, LordandTaylor.com and select Lord & Taylor stores in the United States. 

Penningtons has been in business for over 65 years and operates 135 Canadian stores. 

Canadian Retail News From Around The Web: September 20, 2016



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