page_title: Holt Renfrew
section_title: Before World War II
hierarchical_section_title: Holt Renfrew / Operations during 20th century / 1900–1949 / Before World War II
caption_attribution_description: English: Holt Renfrew newspaper advertisement, annoucing the opening of a new Toronto store, The Globe, June 20, 1910.
context_page_description: Holt, Renfrew & Co., Limited is a Canadian luxury department store chain founded in 1837 by William S. Henderson. It is currently owned by Selfridges Group, through which it is affiliated with the European department stores Selfridges, Brown Thomas, and de Bijenkorf. The chain is comparable to the American department stores Barneys New York, Neiman Marcus, and Saks Fifth Avenue.
  Once "Furriers in Ordinary" to Queen Victoria, the chain was founded as a fur shop in Quebec City.
context_section_description: In 1900, John Henderson Holt, who began his career as a company clerk, was appointed president and the firm became known as Holt, Renfrew & Co.  By 1908, the company's structure had changed again and it had become Holt, Renfrew & Co., Limited.  Meanwhile, the company continued to display its furs at various international expositions, such as the Franco-British Exhibition, held in London, England, that same year. Described as a "great merger of fur firms" by the press, in 1910 Holt Renfrew acquired Dunlop, Cook Co. Limited, and established new premises at Montreal, on fashionable St. Catherine St. W., in addition to taking over the firm of W. J. Hammond, "the largest fur house in the West," at Winnipeg, Manitoba.  With the death of John H. Holt in 1915, A.E. Renfrew was appointed company president, a position he held until his retirement in 1919.
  In 1937, in conjunction with the company’s 100th anniversary, Holt Renfrew unveiled a new six-storey Montreal headquarters and flagship store.  Designed by the Canadian architectural firm of Ross and Macdonald, the structure was built in what became known as the Streamline Moderne style of Art Deco.  Women’s Wear Daily wrote of the limestone structure, located at the corner of Sherbrooke and Mountain streets, as "one of the most modernly and attractively appointed retail establishments on this continent" and further commented that "throughout the store the aim has been to secure an effect of luxury and good taste." Press reports also noted the new store's commitment to haute couture and how "New York fashions, as well as London and Paris models, are represented in the dress, coat, sportswear, millinery and other fashion departments." Holt Renfrew also retailed the work of Canadian high-fashion designers such as Marie-Paule Nolin, whose salon and workroom were hosted by the store during the 1940s.
  
  With the outbreak of armed conflict in Europe and Canada's early entry into World War II, Holt Renfrew's fashion reflected the new homefront realities.  With the rationing of textiles and other materials, the company's designs featured shorter sleeves and raised hemlines.  Retail expansion during this time was muted, with the exception of Holt Renfrew's acquisition of Simon Furs of Ottawa in 1945.
caption: Holt Renfrew newspaper advertisement announces its new Toronto store in The Globe, June 20, 1910.
exif: {"Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "96", "Image YResolution": "96", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop Elements 6.0 Windows", "Image DateTime": "2013:03:26 10:53:48", "Image Padding": "[]", "Image ExifOffset": "2244", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "4454", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "7917", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "768", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "909", "EXIF Padding": "[]"}