French luxury brand Louis Vuitton made the decision to relocate its Edmonton store last year, which is said to have been one of the reasons that Edmonton’s Holt Renfrew ultimately closed. Louis Vuitton operated a concession space at Holt Renfrew in Edmonton for years, starting as a handbag counter in the 1990’s. Louis Vuitton’s sales at Holt Renfrew in Edmonton were said to be about $20 million, representing more than half of all sales at Holt Renfrew’s downtown Edmonton store. Losing Vuitton was said to have been the nail in the coffin for keeping Holts in downtown Edmonton — Vuitton opened a 4,500-square-foot store at West Edmonton Mall in June of 2019 and several other luxury brands carried at Edmonton’s Holt Renfrew store are also expected to announce stores at West Edmonton Mall in 2020.

For several years, Holt Renfrew was in discussions to expand its presence in the Edmonton market, according to sources. The 32,000-square-foot Holt Renfrew store at Edmonton’s Manulife Place could have expanded to encompass the entire retail podium of the Manulife Place, which also includes a tall office tower above it. Other retail tenants were said to be relocating for the Holt Renfrew store expansion though ultimately, it never happened. High-end menswear retailer Henry Singer was said to have been considering moving into the ICE District as part of the shuffle at Manulife Place, and other tenants such as restaurant concept Zenari’s had already relocated in anticipation of Holts’ expansion.