Department stores in Canada- statistics & facts

Department stores are large retail establishments that offer a wide range of products displayed in different departments such as apparel, accessories, appliances, cosmetics, home goods, and electronics to name a few. In Canada, they are popular shopping locations, and many Canadians prefer to purchase their goods from department stores compared to other retail channels. In 2019, there were over 500 department stores across the country being Winners, Nordstrom, and Hudson Bay among the most known department store brands.

The Canadian department store landscape

In the last eight years, retail sales of general merchandise stores in Canada, have increased by about 30 percent. However, in its neighboring economy, the United States, the department stores industry has performed poorly in recent years. In 2019, Winners, a Canadian discount department store brand was the leading apparel retailer of the territory. In that year, its parent company, TJK Companies, generated net sales of over four billion dollars in Canada. Winner was one of the first off-price department stores in the North American country, and as of 2019, it had over 250 stores across the territory. Moreover, the Hudson’s Bay Company or HBC, the oldest company of North America, experienced a significant decrease in revenues. Like many other department stores such as Macy’s, Hudson’s Bay sales in the past couple of years plummeted, after figures peaked at 14.46 billion Canadian dollars back in 2016. The company, as many of its counterparts, suffered from the rapid consumer shift towards online shopping. In early 2020, Hudson’s Bay decided to go private and proceed to exit the Toronto Stock Exchange in March of that year.

Consumer attitudes towards department stores

Despite the closure of several retail spaces amidst the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, department stores are still considered by consumers as popular shopping locations in Canada. According to a survey conducted in September 2020, the most common reasons why consumers in Canada enjoy shopping at department stores are because of the brands they carry and the wide variety of goods they offer. Meanwhile, in the same survey, over half of respondents considered Holt Renfrew department stores as too expensive.

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Estimated department stores and general merchandise global market size 2022: 2.3tr USD

Retail sales Canada: 674bn CAD

Leading Canadian apparel retailer based on dollar share: Winners

Editor’s Picks Current statistics on this topic

Retail & Trade

Canada: sales of retail trade 2012-2021

Department Stores

Canada: number of Nordstrom department stores 2022, by province

Forecast size of the department store and other general merchandise stores market worldwide from 2021 to 2026 (in billion U.S. dollars)

Department Stores

World: department stores market size 2021-2026

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Global overview

Premium Statistic World: department stores market size 2021-2026
World: department stores market size 2021-2026
Forecast size of the department store and other general merchandise stores market worldwide from 2021 to 2026 (in billion U.S. dollars)
Premium Statistic World: sales of the leading department store companies 2021
World: sales of the leading department store companies 2021
Sales of the leading department store companies worldwide in 2021/22 (in billion U.S. dollars)
Premium Statistic Canada: leading retail companies 2021, by revenue
Canada: leading retail companies 2021, by revenue
Leading retail companies in Canada in 2021, by revenue (in billion U.S. dollars)

Canadian overview

Premium Statistic Canadian leading apparel retailers dollar share 2020
Canadian leading apparel retailers dollar share 2020
Dollar share of leading apparel retailers in Canada in 2020
Premium Statistic Canada: number of department stores 2022, by province
Canada: number of department stores 2022, by province
Number of department stores in Canada as of December 2022, by province
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Canada: number of department stores 2022, by employment size
Number of department stores in Canada as of June 2022, by employment size
Premium Statistic Largest luxury apparel retailers in Canada by number of stores 2014-2020
Largest luxury apparel retailers in Canada by number of stores 2014-2020
Largest luxury apparel retailers in Canada from 2014 to 2020, by number of stores

Department store chains

Premium Statistic Nordstrom Canada's apparel and accessories sales 2015-2020
Nordstrom Canada's apparel and accessories sales 2015-2020
Nordstrom apparel and accessories sales in Canada in 2015 to 2020 (in million Canadian dollars)
Premium Statistic Canada: number of Nordstrom department stores 2022, by province
Canada: number of Nordstrom department stores 2022, by province
Nordstrom's number of department stores in Canada in 2022, by province
Premium Statistic Winners: number of stores in Canada 2016-2022
Winners: number of stores in Canada 2016-2022
Number of Winners stores in Canada from 2016 to 2022
Basic Statistic Hudson's Bay: retail sales 2012-2019
Hudson's Bay: retail sales 2012-2019
Retail sales of Hudson's Bay Company from 2012 to 3rd quarter 2019 (in billion Canadian dollars)
Basic Statistic Hudson's Bay: number of stores globally 2012-2019, by brand
Hudson's Bay: number of stores globally 2012-2019, by brand
Number of Hudson's Bay Company stores from 2012 to 2019, by brand
Basic Statistic TJX Companies: net sales worldwide 2015 to 2022, by business segment
TJX Companies: net sales worldwide 2015 to 2022, by business segment
Net sales of TJX Companies worldwide from 2015 to 2022, by business segment (in billion U.S. dollars)
Premium Statistic Canadian Tire: revenue in Canada 2019-2021, by brand
Canadian Tire: revenue in Canada 2019-2021, by brand
Revenue of Canadian Tire Corporation in Canada from 2019 to 2021, by brand (in billion Canadian dollars)
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TJX Companies: advertising costs worldwide 2015-2022
TJX Companies revenue share worldwide in 2022, by region
Basic Statistic Nordstrom: ad spend worldwide 2014-2022
Nordstrom: ad spend worldwide 2014-2022
Nordstrom Inc. advertising expenses worldwide from 2014 to 2022 (in million U.S. dollars)
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Canadian Tire: marketing and advertising spending 2018-2021
Canadian Tire Corporation marketing and advertising spending in Canada from 2018 to 2021 (in million Canadian dollars)

Shopping malls

Premium Statistic Canada: leading shopping malls 2019, by sales per square foot
Canada: leading shopping malls 2019, by sales per square foot
Leading shopping malls in Canada in 2019, by sales per square foot (in Canadian dollars)
Premium Statistic Sales growth of shopping malls in Canada in by province 2019
Sales growth of shopping malls in Canada in by province 2019
Year-on-year sales growth of shopping malls in Canada as of July 2019, by province
Premium Statistic Canada: busiest shopping malls 2019, by footfall
Canada: busiest shopping malls 2019, by footfall
Busiest shopping malls in Canada in 2019, based on annual footfall (in millions)

Shopping behavior

Premium Statistic Most common offline purchases by type in Canada 2022
Most common offline purchases by type in Canada 2022
Most common offline purchases by type in Canada in 2022
Premium Statistic Canada: attitudes towards department stores 2020
Canada: attitudes towards department stores 2020
Consumer attitudes towards department stores in Canada in 2020
Premium Statistic Canada: expensive department stores according to customers 2020, by brand
Canada: expensive department stores according to customers 2020, by brand
Department stores considered too expensive in Canada in 2020, by brand
Premium Statistic Canada: consumers shopping in department stores post-lockdown 2020
Canada: consumers shopping in department stores post-lockdown 2020
Likelihood of returning to department stores since the coronavirus outbreak in Canada in 2020

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Key figures

The most important key figures provide you with a compact summary of the topic of "Department stores in Canada" and take you straight to the corresponding statistics.

Number of department stores in Canada
493
Detailed statistics
Canada: number of department stores 2022, by province
Canadian province with the most number of department stores
Ontario
Detailed statistics
Canada: number of department stores 2022, by province
Department stores employing between 200 and 499 people
277
Detailed statistics
Canada: number of department stores 2022, by employment size

Retail sales of Hudson's Bay Company
5.47bn CAD
Detailed statistics
Hudson's Bay: retail sales 2012-2019
Income of Hudson's Bay Company
-542m CAD
Detailed statistics
Income of Hudson's Bay Company 2012-2018
Number of Hudson's Bay stores
89
Detailed statistics
Hudson's Bay: number of stores globally 2012-2019, by brand
Nordstrom apparel and accessories sales
263m CAD
Detailed statistics
Nordstrom Canada's apparel and accessories sales 2015-2020
Number of Winners stores
280
Detailed statistics
Canada: number of stores of selected discount chains 2021