Apparel and Footwear Specialist Retailers in Canada

2020 IMPACT

Beset by numerous headwinds involving various trends but largely brought on by COVID-19 the channel sees among the sharpest drops in value in 2020

Apparel and footwear specialist retailers faced several headwinds in 2020, including a declining consumer interest in once popular fast fashion and mid-market brands, closing down of shopping malls during COVID-19 as well as the decreasing consumer purchasing power due to higher unemployment rates. Store closures across multiple brands also continued to close, partially as a result of higher rents and also due to intensified competition, as many brands of apparel and footwear specialist retailers have entered the Canadian market over the course of recent years, necessitating a change in strategy for many existing retailers.

Reitmans closes its Thyme Maternity and Addition Elle stores per a restructuring plan and will focus on evolving its three premium fashion brands instead

In 2020, brick-and-mortar stores continued to suffer in a challenging retailing environment, a situation that got worse after the outbreak of COVID-19. Some large retailers restructured their businesses by shutting down stores and switching focus to e-commerce.

L Brands to permanently shutter nearly 35% of its Victoria’s Secret stores and one Bed & Body Works outlet in Canada while focussing on growing its online business

Another retailer that announced plans to close numerous outlets in Canada in 2020 was L Brands, parent company of the US-based lingerie and fashion retailer Victoria’s Secret, following a temporary shutdown brought about by the COVID-19 lockdown. In May 2020 L Brands revealed its decision to substantially reduce its Canadian store count by permanently shuttering nearly 35% of its Canadian network, or 13 of Victoria’s Secret’s 38 Canadian stores, as well as one Bath & Body Works location in the country.

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