Benedicta Chan‘s blog post on Nordstrom’s future expansion into Canada sparked my curiosity in regards to how competitors such as Holt Renfrew would react to the arrival of this high-end retailer.

Interestingly, according to this Vancouver Sun article, Holt Renfrew will soon launch a lower-priced chain called hr2 in the spring. The company stated that the “hr2 concept will offer designer goods at great value”. Though the new hr2 chain is more budget-friendly, this new line has stepped into direct competition with Nordstrom’s lower-priced Rack outlets. With the first hr2 store set to open in Montreal in March 2013, Holt Renfrew will be be able to introduce their products to Canadian consumers before Nordstrom’s big arrival in 2014.

In this CBC article, Blake Nordstrom said the reason for the delay in moving Nordstrom into the Canadian market was that “the company wanted to ensure it understood Canadian customers before taking the leap”. Since one of Nordstrom’s main goals is to provide outstanding customer service, it is vital that they fully understand their Canadian consumers in order to successfully deliver customer excellence. However, it is still too early to tell whether having a later launch date will put Nordstrom at a disadvantage in winning the hearts (and money) of its Canadian consumers.