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[IluvMTL]

October 21, 2014 3:07 pm

Jacob to close all stores; liquidating merchandise

 

By Staff The Canadian Press

A Jacob clothing store is shown in Montreal, Tuesday, May 6, 2014.

THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

 

TORONTO – Womenswear retailer Boutique Jacob Inc. is abandoning its restructuring efforts and closing all its 92 stores in Canada.

The Montreal-based clothing chain says efforts over the last few months to “try to breathe new life into the company” have failed.

 

READ MORE: Jacob clothing store files for bankruptcy

RELATED STORIES

 

 

• Jacob clothing store files for bankruptcy
  

 

The insolvent retailer has been liquidating inventory at its Canadian storessince filing for protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act in May.

It says it will proceed with selling all of the remaining merchandise at its stores and online at Jacob.ca.

The company has been under creditor protection since November 2010 when it underwent operational restructuring, which included closing some 50 stores. Jacob was founded in 1977.

Spokeswoman Cristelle Basmaji said the retailer has been working over the past few months to develop a “viable relaunch plan” and find new financing, but those efforts have failed.

© The Canadian Press, 2014

[jesseps]

Thankfully there are a few companies left and that seem to be doing pretty well in the fashion-retail industry that is based in Montreal: Aldo, Dynamite-Garage, Reitmans and Ardene (from what I heard, they are expanding). The best way to make money in this industry, is if you have really good marketing behind your product and sell online and/or to retailers.

[IluvMTL]

http://montrealgazette.com/business/local-business/retail/blocked-in-quebec-u-s-stores-shut-down-english-only-web-sites-when-they-open-here

 

Blocked in Quebec: U.S. stores shut down English-only web sites when they open here

 

EVA FRIEDE, MONTREAL GAZETTE

More from Eva Friede, Montreal Gazette

Published on: November 12, 2014Last Updated: November 12, 2014 5:20 PM EST

Many retailers have closed their sites to Quebec traffic due to language restrictions.

 

As the invasion of U.S. retailers continues and as the Internet increasingly becomes the marketplace and the research centre of consumers, some Quebecers are getting unpleasant surprises: some companies have blocked access to their websites here either because they have voluntarily complied with the French Language Charter or because they have received a notice from the Office québécois de la langue française.

 

The latest sites to shut down are Williams-Sonoma, West Elm, Pottery Barn and Pottery Barn Kids, all part of the same San Francisco-based company and all arrived in Quebec within the last two years. The sites shut down on Oct. 22, according to a company spokesperson.

 

But a quick survey shows many prominent U.S. retailers with brick-and-mortar stores in Quebec continue to operate English-only shopping sites here.

 

The probable reason: the Office québécois de la langue française, charged with ensuring that Quebec’s French Language Charter is respected, sends notices to retailers only if complaints are filed, said spokesman Jean-Pierre Le Blanc.

 

The Williams-Sonoma spokesperson confirmed in an email that the brands have ceased e-commerce activities in Quebec for an undetermined period in order to comply with Quebec language regulations. The home pages and other information pages are available in English only, but clicking on the shopping link takes you to a redirect loop.

 

“We are actively working with the stores in order to find ways to continue to make the shopping experience memorable for our Quebec customers,” the spokesperson wrote.

 

BCBG, Club Monaco and Urban Outfitters are among other retail brands that block access to shopping or to their entire sites in Quebec.

 

Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie, part of the same Philadelphia-based company, blocked access to their websites when they opened stores here. Anthropologie, which opened in Montreal in late 2012, launched its French website 13 months later. Urban Outfitters remains blocked. But Free People, also part of the chain, does not have a store here and the site is accessible, either for research or Internet sales.

 

Similarly, Club Monaco shut its site in Quebec when it launched an online shopping site. A visit to its home page invites customers to visit its store, which is soon to expand and move to a prominent location at Ste-Catherine St. W. at Metcalfe, from Les Cours Mont-Royal. Founded by Canadian Joe Mimran in Toronto in 1985, Club Monaco is now owned by Ralph Lauren and headquartered in New York.

 

The Club Monaco web site for Canada, as seen in the rest of Canada but not in Quebec.

 

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Modifié 13 novembre 2014 par IluvMTL

[IluvMTL]

The retailer has tremendous opportunity to open stores in various Canadian cities. In oil rich Alberta, for example, an Edmonton location is almost a certainty. Winnipeg is ripe for at least one Whole Foods location, and rumours are running rampant that a Victoria, BC location is currently in the works.

 

Expansion into Quebec is uncertain, we're told, as the likelihood of store unionization could eat into profits. Real estate brokerage Northwest Atlantic is handling Whole Foods' Canadian store expansion, except for those located in British Columbia.

 

 

http://www.retail-insider.com/retail-insider/2014/11/whole-foods

[IluvMTL]

Whenever an American company drags its heels on operating here, you assume it's because of the added translation and other related costs. Interesting to find out that it may actually be fear of unionization.

 

They're getting closer though. Opening in Ottawa.

Modifié 25 novembre 2014 par IluvMTL

[Rocco]

Freakin terrible news... I'm telling you we're becoming more and more of a backwater by the day.

 

Good news actually! We won't have to endure another english banner on a storefront. Even Loblaws Inc learned it the hard way -- 10 years too late -- as they revert back all 'Loblaws' stores to 'Provigo' name in Quebec. Talk about an admission of failure.

[vivreenrégion]

Whole Foods pourrait perdre beaucoup l'été avec les marchés publics Jean-Talon - Atwater etc

 

il y a même un site ... http://www.marchespublics-mtl.com/

[jesseps]

Good news actually! We won't have to endure another english banner on a storefront. Even Loblaws Inc learned it the hard way -- 10 years too late -- as they revert back all 'Loblaws' stores to 'Provigo' name in Quebec. Talk about an admission of failure.

 

I have seen a few Loblaws that did not switch to Provigo.

 

Anyways I think the one in Ottawa is already open and if it is, I'll be going down with a few friends.

Modifié 25 novembre 2014 par jesseps

[IluvMTL]

Upscale sporting goods retailer Sporting Life has opened its sixth Canadian location at Ottawa's Lansdowne Park. The 43,000 square foot store is the latest for the company, which intends to open two stores a year for the next several years. Its stores are relatively large, measuring in the 30,000-50,000 square foot range. Its next confirmed store locations will open in Calgary and in Richmond Hill, Ontario, and the retailer is said to be seeking retail space in Vancouver, Edmonton, and Montreal.

 

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[IluvMTL]

http://www.retail-insider.com/retail-insider/2015/1/suitsupply

 

Rendering via Suitsupply.

Rendering via Suitsupply.

 

Popular Dutch men's suit retailer Suitsupply will open its second Canadian store in Montreal in the summer of 2015. Its location will puts it among some of Canada's top retailers, as Montreal's will see a substantial increase in upscale menswear offerings between now and 2017.

 

Located at 2148-2150 Rue de la Montagne, the 6,515 square foot, three-level Suitsupply will feature the brand's suits, casual wear, evening wear, private shopping and made-to-measure

 

Click image for interactive Google map.

Click image for interactive Google map.

 

Suitsupply will locate amongst some of Canada's best upscale menswear shops. Immediately north is Holt Renfrew, which will close in 2017 to merge with Ogilvy two blocks to the south. The merged Ogilvy/Holt's will measure 220,000 square feet, housing a substantial menswear section. Harry Rosen's 22,000 square foot Les Cours Mount-Royal flagship will be overhauled and expanded by the end of 2015, and will measure about 33,000 square feet when completed. One of Canada's most prestigious menswear stores, L'Uomo, is located across Peel Street from Harry Rosen. And Saks Fifth Avenue is expected to open at least one Montreal location in 2017, with a definitive announcement expected within the next few months.

 

Suitsupply's first Canadian store opened in February of 2014. The 4,800 square foot, two-level store is located on Hazelton Avenue in Toronto's upscale Yorkville area

Toronto store. Rendering: Suitsupply.

Toronto store. Rendering: Suitsupply.

 

Suitsupply is a vertically integrated men's suit retailer that was started in 2000 in Amsterdam. It has received many awards and was voted #1 men's suit retailer by the Wall Street Journal. Prices start at under $500 and both quality and style are considered to be exceptional.

 

Suitsupply has stores in 17 countries throughout the world. It currently operates 12 American locations, and it expects to open four more in 2015.

 

A source familiar with the company tells us that Suitsupply intends to eventually open locations in Calgary and Vancouver. We'll update you when we learn more.

 

Thank you to Urban Toronto's bAuHaUs for alerting us to the store's new address and rendering

 

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Modifié 8 janvier 2015 par IluvMTL