Moose Knuckles CEO Ellen Kinney on retail expansion, all-season growth and the brand’s next chapter

Moose Knuckles now operates almost 50 stores worldwide, including pop-ups, and is adding more. In September, the Montréal-born luxury outerwear brand opened in Chicago, Berlin and Macau, with a Shanghai flagship to follow, according to chief executive officer Ellen Kinney.

"We very much believe in the importance of retail and providing the full brand experience," Kinney told FashionUnited. "We'll continue to choose cities and locations where the customer connection is real, and we feel we can establish a long-lasting presence."

The Chicago store opened at 744 North Michigan Avenue on September 3, followed by Berlin at Kurfürstendamm 200 on September 10. Both introduce a new design direction for the brand's global retail environment, intended to serve as an adaptable framework for its future physical spaces. Travertine, terrazzo, brushed steel, warm wood and patinated brass were the materials chosen to reflect what Kinney described as "the duality at the heart of Moose Knuckles: refined meets raw, luxury meets function."

"We're a product-first brand, so the new stores feel more like a gallery. But a warm one!" Kinney said. "People try on a parka properly, and a good fitting can take half an hour. You shouldn't feel like you're standing in a freezer."

The concept is designed to travel while adapting to each city. "The DNA travels; the expression flexes," Kinney said, explaining that assortment, styling, local storytelling, partnerships and events will differ by market.

The brand's choice of cities starts with existing demand. "Germany was one of our best-performing e-commerce and wholesale markets in Europe well before we opened in Berlin," Kinney said. "Stores in the right places pay off beyond their four walls. We typically see a double-digit lift in e-commerce in the surrounding region."

The Chicago and Berlin stores will also act as physical touchpoints for City Tundra, the brand's FW26 global campaign, with experiential activations planned in Chicago on October 17 and in Berlin on October 29.

From merchandising to Montréal

Kinney joined Moose Knuckles in May 2025 from A.L.C., having previously run Kendall + Kylie and served as chief merchant at Derek Lam. She succeeded Victor Luis, who remains chairman.

Her first priority was to sharpen the brand's direction across product, merchandising and storytelling while protecting its Canadian outerwear authority and irreverent spirit. "Customers love this brand for real reasons. I didn't come here to reinvent it," she said. "I came to focus on it and drive us towards the right space to grow in a way that feels authentic and true to the roots of who we are."

Of Luis, she said: "Victor brought me into the brand. He's a great mentor always at an arm's length."

Kinney relocated to Montréal from Southern California for the role. "Montréal explains a lot about Moose Knuckles," she said. "It's creative, bilingual and a bit rebellious, with a European sensibility and North American energy."

Coming from a largely womenswear background, she said the role taught her how much engineering goes into a parka. "An average Moose Knuckles jacket takes 74 operations to make, and every choice of down, fill, shell and construction changes how it performs."

Cathay Capital, Bosideng and the founders' legacy

Cathay Capital has been majority owner of Moose Knuckles since 2019, while Bosideng took a stake of more than 30 percent in 2024, a transaction in which founders Noah Stern and Ayal Twik exited as shareholders.

Kinney said Bosideng brings expertise in both product and markets. "Bosideng has spent decades as a leader in down apparel. Their depth of knowledge in down, materials and making outerwear is incredibly valuable to a brand like ours," she said, adding that the group also brings a deep understanding of the Asian market.

On the founders, she said: "Noah Stern and Ayal Twik created something bombastic. They broke into a category with well-established players and did things differently, boldly, and tore down the existing outerwear barriers. That spirit and culture will always be part of our DNA."

To keep that voice, the brand favours co-creation over celebrity, with its FW26 campaign featuring creatives including Blondey McCoy, Miles Chamley Watson and AntsLive. "Successful brands don't chase culture. They create it," Kinney said.

Building a year-round business

While outerwear remains the brand's core, Kinney is expanding the assortment to reduce its reliance on a concentrated winter selling window. "Winter outerwear remains our authority, and we are building out the range of warmth levels around it, from lighter shells and lightweight down as well as innovation in pieces designed for Canada cold," she said.

In stores, that means newness in drops rather than one big seasonal delivery. "Winter will always be our peak. The goal is that it's not our only season," Kinney said.

Women's is another growth area. "Women's is a real opportunity for us, and we're building a more dynamic women's offering that you'll begin to see show up in coming seasons," she said.

The brand's business is fairly evenly balanced across North America, Europe and Asia, with offices in Shanghai and Seoul supporting what Kinney described as strong momentum in China.

Looking ahead five years, Kinney wants Moose Knuckles "to be one of the world's most distinctive Canadian luxury brands: known for down outerwear, with a broader assortment that customers can wear across all-seasons."