VANCOUVER — Holt Renfrew is stepping up its presence in Vancouver with plans to grow the size of its existing downtown store by 30 per cent.
The company says it will add nearly 40,000 square feet to its Dunsmuir Street location, giving it room to nearly double the size of its personal shopping area, as well as add a new Holts Cafe and other expanded departments.
Holts is bulking up operations as part of a $300-million investment announced last year, which will see updates to other flagship stores in Calgary and Toronto before the end of 2017. New stores are also planned for Montreal and Mississauga, Ont.
Competition in the high-end retail market has been heating up over the past year, as U.S. retailer Nordstrom moves forward with plans to open six department stores in some parts of Canada.
Saks Fifth Ave. is slated to open two stores by spring 2016 and one of its discount locations around the same time.
Holts says its expansion in Vancouver will be completed by the end of 2016. Part of the new space will come from expanding into a store that was previously home to SportChek.
