Neiman Marcus not coming to Canada after all

The last few years have seen an influx of American retail heavyweights in Canada, including soon-to-launch department dinosaurs Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom. So, it certainly didn’t seem like too much of a stretch for Neiman Marcus to be next in line–especially since the high-end retailer was recently bought by the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board. Unfortunately, those hopes have now been dashed. Retail Insider reports that CEO Karen Katz recently addressed speculation about possible international expansion.“My greatest dream would be to have a few stores across the world,” she said,“but it would be very difficult to envision that over the short term. That would be the hardest thing that we could ever try to pull off.”

Instead, Neiman Marcus is planning for ultra-conservative expansion, focusing on “slow domestic growth” and e-commerce. Katz didn’t close the door entirely on an eventual northern expansion, but her remarks suggest it won’t be happening anytime soon. In the meantime, Canadians can get their luxury fix by shopping the store’s website—provided they don’t mind donating a wad of cash to Canadian Customs.