A Canadian clothing brand known for its high-quality athletic wear, hats and basics has abruptly shut the doors to one of its prime locations, which opened in Toronto’s fashion district just over seven years ago.
Anyone walking by the Queen West storefront of Reigning Champ, located near Peter St., will notice the space newly papered-up and abandoned, with a brief farewell message left in its large front windows.
“Thank you, Queen West — it’s been a great run,” reads the statement, printed on sleek branded posters that completely obscure the defunct store’s interior. “Please shop with us online or visit in-store at our 41 Ossington and Yorkdale Centre locations.”
The 383 Queen Street location of Reigning Champ has closed its doors forever after just over seven years. Photo by Becky Robertson.
Management at the Ossington store — now the sole outpost of the company left in downtown Toronto — confirmed the news to blogTO this week, saying that the closure was simply a matter of the area “no longer being a shopping destination.”
“They decided not to renew the lease,” they said, noting the numerous other recent closures along the stretch, which have included big brands like H&M and Zara.
The former retail giant permanently shuttered its landmark, multi-storey location back in late 2022, while the latter closed its similarly large storefront without warning this past fall.
Both had been in operation for more than 15 years. Reigning Champ was located in between them, just steps away along the seemingly-dying strip where not even big players are finding the costs of doing business in the neighbourhood worthwhile.
Though Queen West was once widely considered one of the hippest streets in the city, its face has evolved rapidly and some would say, for the worst in the last few years, it being one of the throughfares hardest-hit by pandemic-era closures.
Vacant addresses have abounded, with forthcoming condos (at Bathurst) and transit stations (at Spadina) culling additional retail and restaurant space.
Soulless and temporary-feeling vape, fast-food and other stores have filled some of the voids, but business like Reigning Champ continue to bow out, and the vibe of the artery is not at all the same as a result.
The clothier, founded in Vancouver, is quite the Canadian success story, with its products available at more than 100 outlets worldwide and collaborations with such esteemed labels as Adidas, Converse and the NBA under its belt. The company was sold to Aritzia in 2021, when it was valued at approximately $63 million.
As noted in the Queen Street store’s goodbye, Reigning Champ’s Ossington presence, which debuted in 2016, will remain open, as will its pop-up launched in Yorkdale Shopping Centre last spring.
The PR teams for the company and for Aritzia have yet to respond to request for comment.
