Harry Rosen will expand and renovate its Montreal flagship, adding approximately 11,000 square feet to the store. The expanded store will become the company's second-largest, following its 54,000 square foot Toronto flagship. New features for the Montreal location will include multiple shops-in-store as well as the company's largest shoe department.

Les Cours Mont Royal, home to Montreal's flagship Harry Rosen store. Image Source

According to CEO Larry Rosen, the 'new' Montreal Harry Rosen store will be state-of-the-art. Its current 22,000 square foot store will be enlarged by 50%, bringing it to an impressive 33,000 square feet. When completed in the fall of 2015, it will boast the company's largest shoe department. Expanded areas for men's accessories will be rolled out, including a shop-in-store for Robert Tateossian cufflinks and accessories. A fragrance bar will be launched. Boutiques for Brunello Cucinelli, Giorgio Armani Black Label, Ermenegildo Zegna, Canali, Tom Ford, Dolce & Gabbana and others will be featured. Valet parking will be provided and a new streetfront entrance will be created by annexing adjacent retail space.

Inside the elegant Les Cours Mont Royal. Harry Rosen's expansion will see the store occupy 33,000 square feet over three floors. Image Source

Montreal's Harry Rosen store, located at Les Cours Mont Royal, originally opened in 1999 and at the time, was the second-largest in the chain (following the then-32,000 square foot Bloor Street location in Toronto). Since its opening, Harry Rosen stores have become larger. In the fall of 2008, its Bloor Street flagship expanded from 32,000 to 54,000 square feet, making it one of North America's largest upscale men's stores. In 2010, its Calgary store expanded from about 18,000 square feet to just over 30,000 square feet. Its Yorkdale Shopping Centre location is completing an expansion that will see it grow to occupy almost 31,000 square feet. Given the increase in store sizes, Montreal's Harry Rosen store expansion was to be expected.

Les Cours Mount Royal is an upscale Downtown Montreal retail centre that was once a large hotel. Built in 1922, the then-Mount Royal Hotel was the largest in the British Empire, with 1,100 rooms. In 1988, about 200,000 square feet of the hotel's lower portion was converted to retail. It now houses Canada's largest DKNY store, and is home to one of Montreal's most luxurious womenswear retailers, Ursula B.

Tom Ford is one of several shops-in-stores that will feature prominently in the newly expanded Harry Rosen. Other shops will include Giorgio Armani, Brunello Cucinelli, Dolce & Gabbana, Zegna, Canali and others. Image Source

Montreal will see increased competition in luxury menswear as Ogilvy and Holt Renfrew merge to create a 220,000 square foot luxury store. Located only three blocks west of Harry Rosen, the new Ogilvy/Holts store is expected to open in 2017. We're not yet sure of the size of the new Ogilvy men's store, though sources estimate that it will be roughly 40,000 square feet. Saks Fifth Avenue is expected to open a store within the Downtown Montreal Hudson's Bay at 585 Sainte Catherine Street West. Saks will be smaller than Ogilvy, if we can rely on the fact that the Downtown Toronto Saks will be about 150,000 square feet and the Sherway Gardens store will be roughly 130,000 square feet.

Thank you to Harry Rosen's CEO, Larry Rosen, for providing us with an interview from which we gathered this information. In the coming weeks we'll provide more exciting news on what's happening with Harry Rosen as the company celebrates its 60th anniversary.

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