Ogilvy (department store)
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Display of a window at Ogilvy in 1941
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| Privately held company | |
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1866 |
| Founder | James Angus Ogilvy |
| Headquarters | Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Products | Clothing and accessories, footwear, fragrances, jewellery, beauty products |
| Website | http://www.ogilvycanada.com/ |
La Maison Ogilvy, or Ogilvy in English and French, is a prominent retail establishment located in downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1866, the store, at 1307 Saint Catherine Street West, is considered a retail landmark. It began as a dry goods store, and today hosts an array of luxury goods shops, brands and boutiques. Much of its retail space is devoted to designer brand shops including Louis Vuitton, Michael Kors, Burberry, and Hugo Boss, in addition to other well known labels such as Canada Goose. Ogilvy is the only one of Montreal's four major west-end retailers still operating under its original name and is also known as the "Grande dame of St. Catherine Street". In July 2011, the store was purchased by the Selfridges Group Ltd., a subsidiary of Wittington Investments and the owner of the Selfridges and Holt Renfrew retail chains.
In 1866, James Angus Ogilvy, a recent immigrant from Kirriemuir, Scotland, opened a wholesale and retail dry goods store at 91 and 93 Mountain Street in Montreal. Ogilvy is said to have started with a single counter and one employee. He remained at the same location for the next ten years until moving his "fancy and staple dry goods" business to 199 St. Antoine Street on the northeast corner of Mountain and Antoine. In 1884, Ogilvy relocated again, this time to the northwest corner of Mountain and St. Antoine. In 1889, James A. Ogilvy & Sons expanded its store to include house furnishings, household linens, and fine dry goods, in addition to serving as "agents for the celebrated Rob Roy Linen Fire Hose."
In September 1896, James Ogilvy unveiled a new, larger, three storey granite premises, at the corner of St. Catherine Street West and Mountain Street. Designed by David Ogilvy, the proprietor's architect son, the store was described as "having every device known at the present time for the convenience of the public, the comfort of employees, and the economy of time." Amenities included a ladies' sitting room, detailed in cherrywood, and furnished with writing tables and chairs. In spite of the larger, more prestigious quarters, Ogilvy declared that his business would remain largely unchanged:
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