Holt Renfew to close smaller stores, focus on flagships

OTTAWA — Holt Renfrew will close two of its smaller locations in Ottawa and Quebec City in order to focus on growing its flagship stores and a new opening in Mississauga, Ont. The 35,000-square-foot regional stores are slated to close in January, while a 120,000-square-foot space at Mississauga’s Square One in spring of 2016. The move signals a shift toward the executive shopper, Carleton business professor Ian Lee told the CBC. Industrial and commercial centres like Toronto and Calgary are more attractive to companies looking to appeal to the big spender than the capital cities of Ottawa and Quebec, which have a higher concentration of more modestly paid public-sector employees, he added.