Apr 2, 2026
Andrew Lutfy, owner of the Montreal-based clothing brand Garage, has a net worth of $5.3 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index (1). It’s a success story that many dream of, as he started working as a stockroom clerk at the first Garage store back in 1982.
Garage is known for its grungy, Y2K fashion, from halter tops to low rise jeans and body-hugging dresses. And while this may just be the style you see in old high school photos of yourself for some, Gen Z is embracing these looks of the past, putting Garage— or, Groupe Dynamite — top of mind when it comes to fast fashion brands. Research from investment firm Stifel found that Garage’s profit margins are comparable to other popular brands like Zara and Lululemon (1).
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Here’s how Lutfy went from sweeping stockroom floors to earning billions.
The deal that changed everything
While he worked in Garage’s first store which was owned by his then-girlfriend’s family, he earned a sweat-equity stake of 25%. That early stake got his foot in the door, but the real turning point came in 2003, when Lutfy bought out the remaining shares and took full control of the business. He brought the clothing design and manufacturing in-house, according to Bloomberg (1).
Getting in on the ground floor was certainly a good start for Lutfy, but as time went on, things changed. The company was impacted by the emergence of online shopping in the 2010s, as well as the pandemic in 2020. Both situations made for a steep decline in mall foot traffic.
Data published in January 2020 by REIS Moody’s Analytics found that more shopping mall units were empty across the U.S. at the end of 2019 than any time during the past two recessions (2).
Amidst these changes in the retail sphere, Lutfy managed to keep Garage afloat by filing for creditor protection in September 2020 and emerging with a lower lease bill (3). Negotiating this lower rent price allowed Lutfy to save some money and helped the company make it through the financial tribulations of the pandemic. Since then, the company has focused on closing stores in lower-tier malls and increasing them in higher-end shopping centers.
By remaining nimble amidst changing consumer and economic environments, Lutfy has been able to keep Garage afloat.
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Gen Z’s impact
As of right now, Garage has 176 stores in Canada, 131 in the U.S. and plans to add about 40 more by the end of fiscal 2028 (1).
While Lutfy’s business choices have definitely contributed to Garage’s ability to remain successful, it’s also worth noting that Gen Z’s interest in their brand has also made an impact. The brand's TikTok account has nearly 500K followers and garners hundreds of thousands of views on each video they post (4). And if you search the tag #GARAGEpartner, you’ll find 37K posts of young influencers showing off the brand (5).
Even more notably, Gen Zers are prompting a resurgence of shopping in person at malls, which bodes well for physical retail stores. According to research firm Circana, shoppers aged 18 to 24 made 62% of their total general merchandise purchases in stores in 2025, compared to 52% for people 25 and older (6).
Lutfy’s ability to adapt and capitalize on shifting consumer trends shows how timing and flexibility can turn even a mall-based brand into a multibillion-dollar business.
Article sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.
Bloomberg (1); REIS Moody’s Analytics (2); News Wire (3); TikTok (4, 5); Wall Street Journal (6)
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Em Norton is a Staff Writer for Moneywise. Em holds a B.A. in Professional Writing from York University and has been writing professionally since 2019. Em's work has previously been published by Room Magazine, IN Magazine, Our Canada and more.
