Harry Rosen Celebrates 70 Years | Company in a Cycle of ‘Reinvention’

(Toronto) Toronto-based family business Harry Rosen is looking to become “modern” and “accessible” as it celebrates its 70th anniversary.

Founded by Harry Rosen, who died in December at age 92, and his brother Lou, the business began as a small custom menswear shop in Cabbagetown, Toronto, with a $500 down payment.

The luxury company has since built a reputation as the epitome of haberdashery, but now president and COO Ian Rosen, Harry Rosen’s grandson, says it’s on the verge of reinventing itself.

The company is investing $50 million in renovations to modernize its 14 stores and five outlets. It will also move its flagship store from Bloor Street West to Cumberland Avenue, where customers will enjoy a patio overlooking Yorkville, a customer lounge, an espresso bar and weekend valet parking.

The physical changes will refresh the brand’s footprint, improve its customer service, and most importantly, help Harry Rosen address a larger challenge: the evolution of men’s style.

“The old wardrobe was two blue suits, two grey suits, several shirts, several ties, and you could mix and match them so many different ways, that was the work wardrobe. Then you had a weekend wardrobe, which you didn’t really invest much in,” recalls Ian Rosen, wearing a beige polo shirt and navy blazer.

“Today’s man’s wardrobe is really about dressing for the day. It’s about preparing for work in a very different way.”

This shift—noted years ago by Ian Rosen but accelerated in part by the COVID-19 pandemic—means men are playing with denim, vests, outerwear and jackets with “soft” or unstructured shoulders.

They’re not afraid to mix more sophisticated pieces with more casual basics to create a “dressy-casual” look, he said.

While Harry Rosen remains a go-to for smart suits, bow ties and luxury shoes, a model in a sports jacket and light-wash jeans wouldn’t be out of place today. The same goes for racks of $1,195 Brunello Cucinelli shirts in an “easy fit” or a Canada Goose department selling belt bags, sweatpants and hoodies.

The rethinking of the product assortment is an acknowledgement of changing times, but for it to work, Harry Rosen must strike a balance, said Lanita Layton, a luxury and retail consultant who was formerly a vice president at Holt Renfrew.

“They don’t want to lose their older customers, but they have recognised that they now need to attract younger men,” she said.

You might think the company’s founder would have scoffed at the change, but Ian Rosen said his grandfather “never turned his back on change.”

“He was impressed by the way people were introducing what he called ‘sartorial elements’ into casual clothing,” he recalls.

Every week, he and his grandfather would walk through at least one store, discussing men’s fashion trends and shopping habits, but it was never a given that Ian would join his grandfather and father, Larry, in the family business to help navigate the current evolution of men’s fashion.

“I wanted to find my own thing.”

The importance of e-commerce

For much of his career, Ian has worked in management consulting, primarily helping grocery, apparel and consumer goods companies with their e-commerce strategies.

The companies had many parallels with Harry Rosen, who Ian said had made a lot of “core investments” in e-commerce but “didn’t really get into it.”

Recognizing the synergies between his son’s work and his own business, Larry invited Ian to develop an e-commerce plan for Harry Rosen.

“I joined the company in 2018, and I feel like my foot has been on the accelerator ever since,” Ian said.

So far, he has had to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused demand for the type of clothing Harry Rosen specializes in to plummet. Ian said the crisis came “at the worst possible time,” as the March to July period includes wedding season.

Despite the health crisis, consulting firm McKinsey concluded that the luxury market has grown, but it is not unscathed. Department store (and Harry Rosen rival) Nordstrom, for example, left Canada last summer due to profitability issues.

McKinsey predicted that growth across the luxury market would slow as even the wealthiest buyers felt the effects of an economic slowdown.

“Between interest rates and mortgage rates and the price of other things, it certainly makes the customer more demanding with their money,” Ian said.

Yet many customers are still willing to spend, especially through Harry Rosen’s e-commerce channels, which have grown so much that Rosen says “online is our biggest store.”

He found that customers will order a pair of shoes or a shirt they already own in a different color from the comfort of their couch, but take an informed but exploratory approach when visiting stores. They arrive armed with information gleaned from online searches, but are looking for inspiration or an entire season’s worth of purchases in one go.

The merchandise they can choose from today goes far beyond clothing. Harry Rosen now offers grooming products such as beard oils, toothpaste and deodorant, as well as home decor, stationery, books and kitchenware.

Ian sees these additions as a logical extension of Harry Rosen’s core strength – selection – which his grandfather developed by travelling the world in search of ‘the best of the best’ for buyers.

“We’re not looking to get into the furniture business,” Ian said. “We’re not looking to give people something they can get later.”

The company’s logic is sound, but the more it diversifies, the more likely it is to run into new competitors, according to Mr.^me Layton.

“Harry Rosen will say that everyone is his competition, and I would probably echo him,” Mr.^me Layton. They look at the world. They never just look at Canada.”

While succession planning is likely far from being Harry Rosen’s top priority with Larry at the helm, Ian as second in command and his brother Graham running the factory outlets, there are already glimpses of the future.

At the time of his death, Harry Rosen had nine grandchildren and six great-grandchildren, including Ian’s four daughters, all under five years old.

“I was trying to explain to my daughter what I had done this morning. She didn’t quite understand,” Ian said. “But my kids love models.”