Kanuk, the Montreal Label, Puts Its U.S. Business in Focus
Kanuk, a Montreal brand founded in 1974, is owned by Thread Collective, a Montreal-based group that also owns Psycho Bunny, Frank and Oak and Salt Life. In a report published on 4 November 2026, Women's Wear Daily (WWD), the fashion trade publication, covered the brand's American business and its president, Elisa Dahan.
The brand has been moving between owners for more than a decade. Kanuk was run by its founders until 2015, when Corporation Financière Champlain bought it. In 2024, the company was sold to Thread Collective, with the investor Bertrand Cesvet leading the deal.
Dahan co-founded two other labels, Mackage and Dodiee, before taking the top job at Kanuk.
The brand's presence in the United States has changed shape. Kanuk opened a flagship store, the brand's own large shop, in New York's SoHo district in 2021. That store has since closed. Today the brand is sold mostly online in the U.S., through the department store Nordstrom and through its own website.
Shoppers in Canada can also buy the brand in stores. Kanuk products are sold at Simons, a Canadian department store chain, according to a National Post report from January 2026.
The company's own website runs separate regional stores for Canada, the United States and Europe. Each one prices goods in its local currency: Canadian dollars, U.S. dollars and euros. The site also advertises free shipping on orders over $200. The KANUK trademark and copyright are held by a company called 9167200 Canada Inc.
Expansion is also under way outside North America. In January 2026, the fashion business news site FashionNetwork reported that Kanuk was moving beyond Québec toward markets worldwide, starting with Italy.
For readers, the story is about ownership and sales channels more than about any single product. A brand can be made in Canada, sold through a Canadian chain, and still rely on online shopping in the United States to reach most of its American customers.
Thread Collective's ownership of several other brands is one reason the company is watched in the trade. Those brands sit in different price ranges and sell through different channels, and the group's approach to each one is set by the people who run it.
