Saks to open stores in Ontario spring 2016

Hudson Bay Co. says it has picked Ontario to open its first round of discount fashion outlets under the Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th name.

The retailer said Wednesday that Ottawa, Niagara-on-the-Lake and Vaughan, just outside Toronto, will each be home to a new Off 5th store in the spring of 2016.

The move comes as retailers look to grab the attention of a growing aspirational upper middle class in Canada, which likes to wear popular high-end fashion labels like Dolce & Gabbana, Paul Smith and Alexander McQueen, but wants to pay a more reasonable price.

"We've been able to create that treasure hunt environment," said Jonathan Greller, president of Saks Off 5th in an interview. "Consumers want true fashion at real value."

In Ottawa, the Off 5th store will open at the new Tanger Outlets mall in Kanata, while a former Home Outfitters store will be replaced by Off 5th at Vaughan Mills.

Another new location will open in Niagara-on-the-Lake, about a 20-kilometre drive from another Off 5th store on the U.S. side of the border, the company said.

Hudson's Bay, which acquired Saks two years ago, plans to open as many as 25 Off 5th locations across Canada by 2019.