Examining unprecedented retail luxury growth in Canada

While other sectors may be struggling to find their feet within the post-pandemic environment, luxury retailers are thriving // By Craig Patterson

Luxury retail in Canada is undergoing a dynamic transformation, marked by a surge of high-end brands establishing themselves and expanding across the country. Key cities such as Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary, and Edmonton are witnessing openings of new luxury stores, more so than at any time in Canada’s history.

The rapid expansion could create an over-saturation of luxury stores in the country. At the same time, new suburban luxury nodes are being created that will compete with more traditional urban cores.

Bloor-Yorkville: Toronto’s premier luxury district

Toronto’s Bloor-Yorkville area continues to reign as a major luxury retail destination in Canada. The district, known for its village-like feel, recently added various luxury brand stores. Bloor Street West, formerly known as the ‘Mink Mile’, has seen a remarkable number of flagship luxury stores open on the street recently.

In the past 18 months alone, Bloor Street saw the openings of flagship Rolex, Van Cleef & Arpels, Ferragamo, Alexander Wang, Bon Point, Bulgari, Burberry and Loro Piana stores, as well as a 10,400 square foot Saint Laurent. There will be even more movement in 2025 when Tiffany & Co. relocates and opens a flagship in a branded building at 66 Bloor Street West, and other leases nearby are signed.

The Yorkville village area itself has developed with luxury retail, including along Yorkville Avenue and adjacent streets. Yorkville Avenue is lined with luxury stores including Chanel, Brunello Cucinelli, Christian Louboutin and Balenciaga. In the fall of 2024, U.K.-based Derek Rose opened its first store on Hazelton Avenue, while U.S.-based jeweller Chrome Hearts unveiled a store on Scollard Street, marking the first luxury brand on the street. We can expect Yorkville to continue to expand its luxury offerings, with brokers saying some top brands have shown serious interest.

Bloor-Yorkville vs. Yorkdale: competing for affluent shoppers

Toronto’s Bloor-Yorkville and the Yorkdale Shopping Centre are locked in a rivalry to capture the attention of the city’s affluent shoppers. BloorYorkville offers an architecturally unique and charming outdoor experience enriched by luxury hotels, upscale dining, services, and cultural landmarks. Meanwhile, Yorkdale provides an expansive indoor shopping experience featuring an impressive availability of luxury stores. The climate-controlled environment and curated mix of luxury stores make Yorkdale a preferred destination for convenience-driven shoppers who want everything under one roof.

Many luxury brands are seeing the benefit of having stores in both nodes, given their different shopping patterns and diverse consumers.

Yorkdale Shopping Centre: A luxury powerhouse

The Yorkdale Shopping Centre continues to solidify its status as a premier luxury shopping destination in Canada. Its luxury retail expansion has attracted a host of high-end brands, including the recent openings of Loewe, Brunello Cucinelli, Loro Piana, Jimmy Choo, Versace and Rimowa in a new 65,000 square foot luxury wing. The world-class luxury corridor will add other luxury brands soon including Canada’s first Maison Margiela store, replacement stores for Saint Laurent and Gucci, and a 12,000 square foot Dior flagship store.

These boutiques join an already impressive clustering of luxury brands in the mall that have developed since sometime around 2013. Yorkdale has the largest and most concentrated clustering of luxury stores in Canada. The mall is also the launch pad for more international brands entering the country than anywhere — and it doesn’t hurt that Yorkdale is also the most productive mall in Canada in terms of sales per square foot, as well as the mall with the highest sales in the country, exceeding $2 billion annually.

Royalmount: raising Montreal’s luxury landscape

Montreal’s Royalmount project is transforming the city’s luxury retail scene. The development aims to become a key player in Montreal’s luxury market by offering a curated mix of high-end brands and unique services. The shopping centre is located on Montreal Island, accessible by highway and transit.

The centre, which opened on September 5, 2024, is the first in Quebec to feature a clustering of standalone luxury brand stores. Names such as Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Tiffany & Co., David Yurman, Rolex, TAG Heuer, and others opened at Royalmount, which is part of an ecosystem that includes restaurants, a food hall, and various attractions aiming to entice visitors from the city and beyond.

Royalmount will compete with downtown Montreal for luxury shopping dollars. In fact, Retail Insider is being told that some shoppers from the West Island are heading to Royalmount instead of the city’s core, which features luxury retailers such as Holt Renfrew Ogilvy.

Holt Renfrew Ogilvy: a cornerstone of Montreal’s luxury scene

Downtown Montreal’s luxury market is anchored by Holt Renfrew Ogilvy, a flagship store spanning over 250,000 square feet and featuring a range of luxury concessions. Renowned brands such as Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co., Gucci, and David Yurman operate within its walls, while Holt Renfrew Ogilvy maintains exclusive partnerships with Hermès, Dior, and Giorgio Armani. The beautiful store at Sainte-Catherine Street and De La Montagne dominates downtown Montreal’s luxury retail scene, and will compete with Royalmount in a market that doesn’t spend as highly on luxury goods as residents in Toronto and Vancouver. There are hopes that affluent residents of Montreal will spend more at home with the increased availability of top brands in the city.

Oakridge Park: Vancouver’s luxury destination

Vancouver’s Oakridge Park (formerly Oakridge Centre) is undergoing a major transformation to become a hub for high-end shopping. The development will house brands like Tiffany & Co., Christian Louboutin, Louis Vuitton, Miu Miu, Alexander Wang, Maison Margiela, and many others, offering a range of brands that may not have been able to locate space in the downtown core.

The former Oakridge Centre had a handful of luxury stores before its temporary closure in 2020 for an overhaul. That means that there’s a pre-existing client on Vancouver’s West Side that is likely to return. The vastly larger number of luxury brands in the 2025 “2.0” version of Oakridge will require critical spending power to support them.

When completed in the summer of 2025, Oakridge Park aims to become a second luxury node in Vancouver, complementing the well-established Alberni Street ‘Luxury Zone.’ Alberni Street itself features flagship stores from top-tier brands such as Prada, Hublot, Burberry, and Rolex. Adjacent streets house stores for brands such as Hermes, Dior, Cartier, Thom Browne, Saint Laurent and others.

Oakridge Park vs. Downtown Vancouver: competing for luxury shoppers

As Oakridge Park establishes itself as a luxury destination, it will compete with downtown Vancouver’s Alberni Street/Luxury Zone for high-end clientele. The downtown Luxury Zone’s central location and prestigious status as a luxury corridor make it a key player in Vancouver’s retail scene, which has developed significantly over the course of the past decade with top brands.

Downtown Vancouver’s advantage is its proximity to hotels, attractions, cruise ships and tourists — while at the same time, the core has struggled with vagrancy and crime. Oakridge Park, on the other hand, lacks downtown’s tourist advantages but makes up for it with a fresh environment that can be controlled as a private indoor space.

It will be interesting to watch how the two luxury nodes attract shoppers in 2025, and whether or not both Oakridge and downtown will be successful attracting luxury shoppers concurrently.

Western Canada’s luxury expansion: CF Chinook Centre and West Edmonton Mall

In Western Canada, Calgary’s CF Chinook Centre and Edmonton’s West Edmonton Mall have added luxury retailers in recent years, catering to demand while taking business away from downtown cores.

In 2019, CF Chinook Centre added Louis Vuitton as a tenant, joining brands such as Burberry and Tiffany & Co. in the mall. The shopping centre could see more luxury brands come as landlord Cadillac Fairview looks to establish a suburban luxury node. Louis Vuitton left downtown Calgary’s Holt Renfrew store for CF Chinook Centre — and there are now rumours that before the end of the decade, Holt Renfrew itself could exit downtown Calgary for CF Chinook Centre.

In Edmonton, West Edmonton Mall got busy in 2020 by adding a Louis Vuitton store, starting a movement that saw Gucci, Saint Laurent, Balenciaga, and Moncler subsequently open in the mall. And as in Calgary, the suburban West Edmonton Mall pulled brands from downtown. And in the case of Edmonton, the exit of Louis Vuitton from Holt Renfrew resulted in Holts shutting down entirely in the downtown core in early 2020.

While Calgary and Edmonton have seen luxury brands move into the market recently, the further expansion of new luxury brands isn’t expected to be nearly as dramatic as in Canada’s largest three cities, at least not for the foreseeable future.

Challenges facing luxury retailers in Canada

Despite the positive outlook, luxury retailers in Canada face challenges, including economic uncertainty, competition from online platforms, and the complexities of serving diverse regional markets. Companies such as Gucci recently slowed expansion plans in Canada, given the company’s lack of financial performance globally.

Other luxury houses have been reporting concerning global financial numbers as well. In 2024, conglomerates that have seen growth for years are now seeing weaker consumer spending, driving decisions to slow down store expansions in some markets. At the same time, brands are looking to markets with projected stronger growth and are signing long-term leases accordingly.

In Canada’s top luxury retail nodes, it’s clear that luxury brands are banking on the longterm success of Canada, particularly with retail nodes attracting high-end shoppers. That means that leases for new stores continue to be signed, including a flurry of activity that has seen Bloor Street and Vancouver’s Luxury Zone transform almost beyond recognition.

Despite economic challenges faced by many Canadians, the country is still home to a wealthy demographic that can afford luxury goods. Outof-country visitors, including tourists, also help support luxury retail in Canada. Landlords and some luxury retailers have been advocating for the Canadian government to allow international tourists to get the tax back on goods purchased in the country. Similar programs in places such as France have resulted in lineups at luxury stores to buy goods.

The new luxury nodes that are developing across the country could potentially lead to over-saturation. Royalmount in Montreal may have been a risky move, considering how little luxury spending was happening in downtown Montreal. Hopes are that the market will expand with affluent locals choosing to shop at home, instead of elsewhere.

The same can be said of downtown Toronto versus Yorkdale, and now Vancouver’s luxury market will be tested with Oakridge Park offering a more robust clustering of luxury stores than what is available in the downtown ‘Luxury Zone’. It remains to be seen who will ultimately be successful and whether or not the market can handle duplicate store locations in competing luxury nodes. Another wild card in downtown Vancouver is Holt Renfrew, which houses many luxury brand concessions that will also open standalone stores at Oakridge Park.