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'Holt Renfrew' is a chain of high-end Canadian department stores. It is comparable to Barneys New York,^[1] Saks Fifth Avenue, and Bloomingdale's^[2] in the United States, and to two other upmarket chains owned by the same family, Britain's Selfridges and Ireland's Brown Thomas.^[3] Once the "Furrier-in-Ordinary" to Queen Victoria, the chain began in 1837 as a hat shop in Quebec City, Canada.^[4]

Contents

Origins

Recent history

Today

References

See also

External links

Origins

With a small assortment of caps and hats, William Samuel Henderson of Derry, Ireland, arrived in Quebec City in 1834. He joined the retailing firm of Ashton and Company in 1835. After buying controlling interest in 1837, he renamed the company after himself, and opened a store on rue Buade.^[5]
In 1849, Henderson started selling furs, and three years later, sold the shop to his brother, John Henderson. In 1860, G. R. Renfrew, who had been an employee, bought a partnership, and the firm became Henderson, Renfrew & Co. In 1867, John Holt bought out Henderson's remaining interest, and the company eventually was renamed Holt Renfrew & Co. Ltd. in 1908.
The company built a reputation for furs that was solidified in 1886 when the firm had the honour of being appointed "Furrier-in-Ordinary to her Majesty" by Queen Victoria. The company eventually received five generations of Royal Warrant.
The company expanded to Montreal, and in 1889 it extended into Ontario with the opening of a Toronto store. Stores followed in Winnipeg in 1910, Ottawa in 1942, Hamilton in 1945, Edmonton in 1950, and Calgary and London in 1953. The chain also opened outlets in some of the country's most notable hotels, including the Royal York, the Château Frontenac, and the Château Laurier.
In the 1930s and 1940s, the company started adding international designer lines such as Christian Dior. Many well-known upscale designers have since been added.

Recent history

The façade of the Holt Renfrew store in Calgary

The firm was purchased by New York financiers CIT Group Incorporated in 1965, and resold in 1972 to the American retail chain Carter Hawley Hale, which also owned Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman at that time. In 1979, the Holt Renfrew head office was moved from Montreal to Toronto.^[6]
Holt Renfrew returned to Canadian ownership when Galen Weston bought the chain in 1986. Through George Weston Limited, Wittington Investments, and other holding companies, the Weston family owns or controls over 200 companies, including Canada's largest food retailer, Loblaw Companies Limited, and upscale department stores Brown Thomas in Ireland and Selfridges in the United Kingdom.
Weston and his wife, Hilary Weston, immediately sought to revitalize the chain, which was perceived to have been in decline during its time under absentee foreign ownership. Well-known retail designer Naomi Leff was hired to guide store renovations, new designer boutiques were opened, and changes were made to the merchandise mix.
In 2004, Holt Renfrew was named "Store of the Year" by the National Association of Store Fixture Manufacturers at its 33rd annual Retail Design Awards.^[7] Later that year, Caryn Lerner took the reins as firm president, succeeding Andrew Jennings, who left in February to head up Saks Fifth Avenue. Lerner has held senior management positions at QVC, Jones New York, Barneys New York and Bloomingdale's. She had most recently headed Escada.^[8]
In 2005, the chain launched yet another rebranding exercise to further refine its image. Lead by Alannah Weston, the daughter of Galen Weston, the rebranding entailed a new logo, the return of children's wear to the chain's stores, a drastic increase in floor area devoted to footwear, store renovations and the construction of a new store in Vancouver.^[9]

Today

Montreal Holt Renfrew store.

Holt Renfrew bills itself as "a national retail specialty store of international renown and the headquarters for the world’s most prestigious brands and innovative designers". It currently operates stores in Toronto (on Bloor Street, and in Yorkdale Shopping Centre and Sherway Gardens), Montreal, Quebec City, Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver. There are also "Last Call" end-of-the-line stores at the Vaughan Mills in Vaughan, Ontario, and in Portage Place in Winnipeg.
The Bloor Street (Toronto), Montreal, Edmonton, and Vancouver locations include ''Holt's Café'', an informal diner-like restaurant concept, that features famous tartine made from the world-renowned Poilane bread that is flown in directly from Paris, France. ^[10]

References

1. Baker, Ashley. "Canadian footwear friends, please report for duty". February 15, 2007. Glamour.com, Fashion Blog: Slaves to Fashion. [1] (restrieved March 16, 2007)
2. Eastwood, Alison. ''If the Shoe Fits''. Marketing. June 25, 2007, page 18.
3. Selfridges Official Site, "The Present", [2] (retrieved March 16, 2007)
4. Holt Renfrew, Official History, [3] (retrieved March 16, 2007)
5. Canadian Register of Commerce & Industry, University of Western Ontario, [4], (retrieved March 16, 2007)
6. Foley, Bridget. "New Strategies Return the Glow to Holt Renfrew", Women's Wear Daily. February 7, 1990.
7. Holt Renfrew, Announcements and Awards,[5]. (retrieved March 18, 2007)
8. Kletter, Melanie. "Lerner Named President at Holt Renfrew". Women's Wear Daily. September 10, 2004.
9. Moin, David. "Holt Renfrew Focused on Mission to Keep Growing". Women's Wear Daily. October 18, 2005.
10. Holt Renfrew Official Site, [6].

See also

★ List of Canadian department stores

External links

★ Official site