Aritzia started in Vancouver more than 40 years ago, but the United States has increasingly become the engine driving the Canadian retailer’s growth.
The company generated $638.1 million in U.S. revenue during the first quarter of its 2027 fiscal year, an increase of 54.5% from the same period a year earlier. American customers now account for 67.1% of Aritzia’s total revenue, compared with 32.9% from Canada.
Those numbers make Aritzia an increasingly unusual Canadian retail success story. Rather than relying primarily on its domestic market and treating the United States as an additional source of sales, the company has built a business in which the U.S. is now substantially larger.
Overall first-quarter revenue increased 43.4% to $951 million, while comparable sales rose 35.1%. Adjusted net income per diluted share nearly doubled from the previous year, and the company reported record first-quarter adjusted EBITDA margin of 20%.
Aritzia’s expansion has relied heavily on physical stores at a time when much of the retail industry has spent years emphasizing e-commerce.
The company has opened prominent boutiques in major American shopping markets, including flagship locations in New York. It plans to open another 12 to 13 boutiques during fiscal 2027, with 11 or 12 of those stores expected to be in the United States.
Digital sales remain important, but Aritzia’s results suggest stores and e-commerce can reinforce one another rather than compete. New boutiques introduce the brand to customers, while digital channels allow those customers to continue shopping without returning to a store.
That strategy requires substantial investment. Aritzia expects approximately $250 million in capital expenditures this fiscal year, including roughly $210 million associated with new and repositioned boutiques scheduled to open during fiscal 2027 and 2028.
The expansion is taking place despite a difficult trade environment. Aritzia said tariffs and the elimination of the U.S. de minimis exemption created a 260-basis-point headwind to adjusted EBITDA margin during fiscal 2026. The company nevertheless improved that margin through lower markdowns, expense management and other savings.
That ability to grow through higher trade costs will be important if Canada-U.S. commercial tensions continue.
Aritzia also faces the normal risks that come with rapid retail expansion. Opening stores requires significant upfront spending, and a fashion brand must continually convince customers that its products remain desirable. A strategy that works during a period of strong demand can become more difficult if consumer tastes or economic conditions change.
So far, demand has continued to support the investment. Aritzia expects fiscal 2027 revenue of between $4.55 billion and $4.75 billion, representing growth of approximately 23% to 28%.
For Canadian investors, the bigger story is what Aritzia’s growth says about the company’s transformation. It is no longer simply a successful Canadian retailer expanding into the United States.
With roughly two-thirds of its revenue now coming from American customers and nearly all of its planned new stores this year located south of the border, Aritzia is becoming a North American retailer with Canadian roots.
