Saks coming to HBC’s Yonge and Bloor location

We knew they were coming, just not where or when. In November, when Hudson Bay Co bought iconic American retailer Saks for US$2.4 billion, HBC vice chair Bonnie Brooks said seven stores would be opening in Canada, though would only suggest sometime in the next two years, when pressed for specifics.

On Thursday, in an interview with the Globe and Mail’s Marina Strauss, HBC owner Richard Baker confirmed that the luxury brand’s first foray here would be at Yonge and Bloor in Toronto, where an aging HBC store will be transformed into a sleek, glass-clad Saks Fifth Avenue. Though Baker didn’t set a date for an unveiling of the flagship store – the details of which are still only in architectural drawings – he did promise that it would be “double the size of Holts”, which is located one block away.

That would of course be the doyenne of high-end retailers in Canada, a brand synonymous with affluence and fashion, an arguably the most formidable competition to Saks’ dreams of dominating the luxury market here.

As Strauss’ comprehensive piece makes clear, Holts promises to be anything but a pushover. Not only is it owned by the Westons, a family intimately familiar with the whims of the wealthy, it has deep ties with the tiny percentage of Canadians who can afford $20,000 Chanel bags and $5,000 Louboutins. Nor are they standing still, ridding themselves of struggling lines, and expanding more aggressively into men’s apparel.

For Holts, broadening the base is now essential, as it’s not simply Saks that’s moving north, but also, of course, Nordstrom, as well as smaller though ultra-exclusive brands such as Hermes, all chipping away at this niche market. It’s for this reason that Saks needs to make a splashy entrance on the Canadian scene.