![‘Fashion doesn’t stop at handbags’: Montreal retailer Bentley eyes post-pandemic comeback](https://globalnews.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/CP165401680.jpg?quality=85&strip=all&w=720&h=379&crop=1)
‘Fashion doesn’t stop at handbags’: Montreal retailer Bentley eyes post-pandemic comeback
Global News
Bentley is plotting an international expansion that will tap into an underserved market that hovers between high-end luxury and big box stores.
A luggage and bag store isn’t exactly top of mind during lockdowns.
So Bentley & Co. Ltd. quietly tightened operations and positioned itself for a post-pandemic comeback.
The retailer’s predecessor, Bentley Leathers Inc., filed for bankruptcy protection in late 2019. It then began cutting its store count, overhauling its online platform, upgrading its warehouse and distribution network and slashing the brands and styles it sells.
The result is a more curated, less cluttered shopping experience that blends timeless luggage styles with new candy-coloured suitcases and vegan handbags, the company said.
“Fashion doesn’t stop at handbags,” Bentley president Walter Lamothe said in an interview. “Luggage can be useful and reliable — but it can also look good and be affordable.”
The company’s streamlined operations and fresh new look appear to be paying off.
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As travel rebounded and airlines struggled with lost and delayed bags this fall, the Canadian luggage stalwart stepped up to help distressed travellers.