This week, Tiffany & Co. will relocate its Montreal Holt Renfrew concession to the nearby La Maison Ogilvy. The move signals a southward shift in luxury brands in Montreal, as Holt Renfrew on Sherbrooke Street West prepares to shutter in order to merge with an expanded Ogilvy on Ste-Catherine Street West.
Tiffany & Co. will continue to operate a 2,000 square foot free-standing unit at the base of the Ritz Carlton Hotel, located directly across Rue de la Montagne from Holt Renfrew’s Sherbrooke Street location. No city in the world boasted two Tiffany stores operating within such close proximity, and Vancouver is the only other Canadian city to feature two downtown Tiffany & Co. locations.
Both Holt Renfrew and Ogilvy are owned by parent company Selfridges Group. The Ogilvy building, located at the northwest corner of Ste-Catherine Street West and Rue de la Montagne, will expand from a current 160,000 square feet to about 220,000 square feet before the end of 2017. Ogilvy, which generally operates at lower price points than Holt Renfrew, already features a number of premium branded concessions including Louis Vuitton and Christofle. After Ogilvy’s expansion is complete and Holt Renfrew closes, Holt’s concessions such as Chanel, Giorgio Armani, Hermes, Dior and Prada are expected to move into the expanded Ste-Catherine Street store which will formally be called Ogilvy, part of the Holt Renfrew & Co. collection.
Sherbrooke Street West, once considered to be Canada’s most prestigious shopping street, has seen a decline in luxury retail over the past two decades. As recently as the 1980’s and 1990’s, brands such as Cartier, Ungaro, Sonia Rykiel, Versace, Polo Ralph Lauren, and others lined its storied sidewalks. All brands have closed, though the street continues to serve affluent shoppers with its free-standing Tiffany & Co. and Escada locations, as well as the existing Holt Renfrew unit. When Holt Renfrew shutters, Escada and Tiffany & Co. at the Ritz will be the lone luxury holdouts. Immediately south of Sherbrooke Street West, however, Rue de la Montaigne continues to house a number of luxury retailers as it extends towards Ogilvy, including names such as Montblanc, Chateau d’Ivoire jewellers and, soon, Canada’s largest Suitsupply location.
