A round, glass-topped dining table with a sculptural base sparkles inside Holt Renfrew's newly expanded location at Toronto's Yorkdale Shopping Centre—but it's not for sale. The table forms the centrepiece of the Apartment, a tastefully furnished, 1,000-square-foot inner sanctum of private shopping that opened earlier this year as part of a $50-million reno.
The table is used for glasses of champagne consumed during personal shopping sessions, usually with a Holt stylist on hand. It is also used for catered lunches served during private spa treatments or fashion shows (like the one in September that featured models parading Fendi's latest line of dyed furs and exotic-skin handbags). More prosaically, the table supports the digital devices of children while their mothers shop in peace.
As one high-end spender put it: "It is such a treat to be able to go in and, at my leisure, privately view pieces selected for me in advance."
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There's no charge for all these extras. But only those invited by Holt Renfrew can indulge in them. Holt's CEO, Mark Derbyshire, says the Apartment concept gives luxury shoppers what they want—personalized service—and helps set the retailer apart from competitors like Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom that are starting to enter Canada. "How to further customize, how to further elevate, how to further engage our customer—that's how the Apartment came about," he says. "It's about creating a relationship and a memorable experience."
Though Derbyshire won't disclose how many shoppers have been invited inside the Apartment, Holt says customers have spent twice as much within its walls as they did at the Yorkdale location over the same period last year. In August, the privately held retailer announced it would expand the concept to its flagship stores in Calgary, Vancouver and on Bloor Street West in Toronto by the end of 2017—part of a $300-million nationwide expansion that will boost overall floor space from 800,000 to more than 1.2 million square feet.
In the meantime, Holt's new men's-only shop on Bloor borrows heavily from the Apartment, with a bespoke atelier staffed by Walter Beauchamp tailors and a gallery of Canadian artwork (for sale, of course). Customers can even shop for a new Ferrari, thanks to a partnership with the automaker. "We don't always think bigger is better," says Derbyshire. "We think the edit and curation of the finest in the world, delivered on an intimate scale, is what the customer wants."