Holt Renfrew

This article is about the Canadian department store chain. For the co-branded Holt Renfrew–Ogilvy location in Montreal, see Holt Renfrew Ogilvy.
Holt, Renfrew & Co., Limited
Holt Renfrew
Formerly
  • William Ashton & Co.
  • William S. Henderson & Co.
  • John Henderson & Co.
  • Henderson, Renfrew & Co.
  • Renfrew & Marcou
  • G.R. Renfrew & Co.
Company typePrivate
IndustryRetail
Founded1837; 187 years ago (1837) in Quebec City, Lower Canada
FounderWilliam S. Henderson
Headquarters60 Bloor Street West,
Toronto, Ontario
,
Canada
Number of locations
7 (2022)
Area served
Canada
Products
  • Clothing
  • accessories
  • footwear
  • fragrances
  • jewellery
  • beauty products
ParentWeston family (1986–present)
Websiteholtrenfrew.com

Holt, Renfrew & Co., Limited (doing business as Holt Renfrew and colloquially Holt's)[1] is a Canadian luxury department store chain founded in 1837 by William S. Henderson. The original William Ashton & Co. store in Quebec City, Lower Canada (now Quebec) operated as a fur shop. The company serviced the greater North American and European markets with its mail order catalog beginning in the late 1800s, and was appointed Furriers in Ordinary to several members of the British royal family from 1886 to 1921.

The present-day Holt Renfrew name comes from the additions of business partner George Richard Renfrew in 1862, and company president John Henderson Holt in 1900. The company became a full-line retailer with the opening of the multi-level Sherbrooke Street store in Montreal in 1937. It was acquired by the Weston family in 1986, and was affiliated with the European department stores Selfridges, Brown Thomas, and de Bijenkorf until the Weston family divested of the Selfridges Group in 2022. As of 2022, Holt Renfrew operates seven department stores in four Canadian provinces, including the flagship store on Bloor Street West in Toronto and the former Ogilvy store (now Holt Renfrew Ogilvy) on Saint Catherine Street in Montreal.

Holt Renfrew is comparable to American department stores Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue. It competes with Saks Fifth Avenue and Canadian departments stores including Hudson's Bay and Simons.[2][3]

  1. ^ Campbell, Jennifer (October 20, 2009). "Toronto: Holt's opening party shows off top Canadian talent". Fashion. Retrieved November 23, 2009.
  2. ^ Baker, Ashley (February 15, 2007). "Canadian footwear friends, please report for duty". Glamour. Archived from the original on February 5, 2008. Retrieved March 16, 2007.
  3. ^ Eastwood, Alison. If the Shoe Fits. Marketing. June 25, 2007, page 18.