Holt Renfrew is (finally) going to let us buy designer clothing online

The looming influx of American luxury retailers like Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue is encouraging Canadian fashion fixture Holt Renfrew to step up its game. The high-end department store recently announced plans for a menswear expansion along Bloor Street. Now it looks like the company is finally going to launch a proper e-commerce site. At present, the Holts website features select designer pieces, and its blog Holts Muse is a decent destination for style tips and trend reports, but most of the store’s inventory can only be browsed in person. Holts president Mark Derbyshire discussed the upcoming online boutique with the Financial Post’s Hollie Shaw. He didn’t specify a launch date, but he described the platform as “one of the most innovative sites I can imagine.”

Holts won’t escape the escalating luxury retail wars by moving online, which is great news for Toronto’s notoriously dull online shopping scene. Hudson’s Bay is also introducing a comprehensive e-commerce site, set to coincide with the arrival of Saks at Toronto Eaton Centre in 2015.