Reitmans Canada Ltd. is a Canadian

retailing Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and t ...

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...

, specializing in women's clothing. The company operates several store brands, includin
ReitmansPenningtons
an
RW&CO.
Reitmans was founded in 1926 by

Herman Herman may refer to: People * Herman (name), list of people with this name * Saint Herman (disambiguation) * Peter Noone (born 1947), known by the mononym Herman Places in the United States * Herman, Arkansas * Herman, Michigan * Herman, Min ...

and

Sarah Reitman Sarah Reitman (c. 1881–1950) was a Romanian–Canadian businesswoman and co-founder in 1926 of Reitmans with her husband Herman Reitman Herman Reitman (1870–1941) was a Romanian-Canadian businessman and co-founder in 1926 of Reitmans Reitm ...

, in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. The immediate success of the first store on

Saint Laurent Boulevard Saint Laurent Boulevard, also known as Saint Lawrence Boulevard (officially in french: boulevard Saint-Laurent), is a major street in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. A commercial artery and cultural heritage site, the street runs north–south through ...

prompted the Reitmans to open a second store which sold exclusively women's clothing. The founders grandsons Jeremy Reitman (who died in 2019) would later serve as chairman of the board and chief executive officer, with his brother Stephen Reitman as president and chief operating officer. By 2016, the company was active in 685 locations with stores in every province and two of three territories in Canada. For the fiscal year of 2015, net earnings were $13,415,000 on sales of $939,376,000. However, Reitmans Canada Limited sought protection under the ''Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act'' (the "CCAA") in May 2020 in order to facilitate its operational, commercial and financial restructuring. They subsequently closed their Thyme Maternity (54 locations) and Addition Elle (77 locations) stores over the summer of 2020. As at April 30, 2022, the Company operated 406 stores consisting of 237 Reitmans, 92 Penningtons and 77 RW&CO. The company's stock was moved from the

Toronto Stock Exchange The Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX; french: Bourse de Toronto) is a stock exchange located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the 10th largest exchange in the world and the third largest in North America based on market capitalization. Based in t ...

to the

TSX Venture Exchange The TSX Venture Exchange is a stock exchange in Canada. It is headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, with offices in Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal. All trading through the Exchange is done electronically, so the Exchange does not have a "trading f ...

Reitmans Divisions

Reitmans Canada Limited stores organized into operating chains aimed at different market segments. ReitmansMarkville

Current divisions

* '
Reitmans
'' is Canada's largest women's clothing specialty chain. There are 270 Reitmans stores, with stores in all ten provinces and two of Canada's three territories. * '
RW&CO.
'' caters to men and women aged 25 to 40. It is the only chain in the Reitmans group that caters to both women and men. There are 89 RW & Co stores, with stores located in every province except Prince Edward Island. * '
Penningtons
'' caters to plus sized women. The chain offers career, casual clothing, underwear and accessories. There are 122 Penningtons stores, with stores located in all ten provinces.

Closed divisions

* Hyba, re-branded from Smart Set, was a women's activewear store closures were announced by Reitmans in March 2019; however, the Hyba clothing line continued to be carried at Reitmans stores thereafter * Thyme Maternity caters to pregnant women. There were 63 Thyme Maternity stores, with stores in every province except Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island. * Addition Elle focused on plus sized women. There were 90 Addition Elle stores. * Cassis focused on women aged 40 to 60 but closed in 2011.

References

External links

Reitmans Corporate Website

Reitmans Store Website
{{Reitmans Companies formerly listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange Companies listed on the TSX Venture Exchange Retail companies established in 1926 Clothing retailers of Canada Companies based in Montreal 1926 establishments in Quebec Companies that have filed for bankruptcy in Canada