FROM OUR NOVEMBER ISSUE: MILESTONES-70 YEARS! HARRY ROSEN, “FOR A LIFE WELL-DRESSED”
The entire MR team proudly presents our November 2024 issue. If you haven’t received a hard copy, please page through our digital version, and we’ll continue to post individual stories here on MR-mag.com. If you haven’t been getting MR in print, be sure that you are on our mailing list for future issues by completing this form.
Our mission: To empower men to look and feel their best for any occasion. We do this by curating the world’s best product, by understanding the full range of individual style choices from conservative to high fashion, and by offering the best service in the business (online and in-store!).
Hot now: Elevated sportswear is our fastest-growing category. Knitwear, soft jackets, casual pants, dressy sneakers… all are now staples of the modern man’s work and weekend wardrobes. Outerwear continues to be an important business for us, across luxury collections like Brunello Cucinelli, Zegna, and Tom Ford, but also in brands like Canada Goose, Moncler, Moorer and Herno.
Online sales: Now 20% of our business, we’re confident we can grow it profitably to represent 1/3 of our business. (This ranges substantially by category of course.)
Recent move: We’re developing shared strategic plans that look three to five years out. Working season over season limits the big swings and partnership strategies you can put into place.
Your thoughts on vendors selling direct to consumer? Canada is a complex market, as many have learned the hard way. We understand how important it is for brands to show up in totality which is why we feature shop-in-shop presentations and designated brand champions. That said, we don’t operate a women’s business and realize many brands have other priorities to consider. Our goal is to champion key brands and complement those with the Harry Rosen value proposition and secret sauce we’ve been developing for 70 years.
Changes planned: We’re more focused than ever on Canada and on men. We’re committed to updating all our stores in the next five years to present the newest retail experience to our clients. We feel this is the most important investment we could make, along with continuing to connect our digital and physical experiences through tools like our Club Harry loyalty program, omnichannel shopping, and booking online appointments.
Greatest challenges you now face? We’re retailers–what’s not a challenge? The biggest opportunity is people. We have more new people in our organization than ever before, and training them in the “Harry Rosen Way” is our top priority.
Strategy for attracting young guys: Believe it or not, young men are very into clothing! They care about how they dress and how they present themselves. More and more of our younger clients are aspiring leaders and entrepreneurs who recognize the value of dressing well.
Your secret to having reached this milestone anniversary? We reached 70 years because we haven’t forgotten how we got here. Our evolution as a business is based on the attitude that Harry and his brother Lou adopted on Parliament Street in 1954: take it one customer at a time. Being family-owned and operated ensures that we’ll never allow Harry’s values to fade into obscurity.