The Fall of the Retail Titans

These days, stores seem to be closing faster than we can keep track. Like dominos, once one store gives notice of its closure and another retailer’s announcement of the same nature seems to be fast on its heels. This isn’t a bandwagon that other big name stores should be hopping onto though. Have you been able to follow what’s been closing the past little while and tweaking your list of go-to destinations at the mall?  

October 2014: Montreal-based JACOB announces that they will be closing their doors to the public for good. Restructuring efforts were unable to revive the ailing company and they were forced to admit that they had come to the end of the road.

November 2014: Smart Set closes down a number of their locations while the remainder of their stores will be converting into other chains that are under the same parent company, Reitmans. Past Smart Set locations are set to sport names such as Thyme Maternity, RW&Co., Penningtons, and Addition Elle. 

December 2014: Mexx Canada declares bankruptcy; consequently, they are closing their 170 locations across Canada. Like JACOB, Mexx made a brave attempt to try and salvage their business through restructuring efforts. Unfortunately just as with JACOB, despite their efforts, they just weren’t able to make ends meet.

January 2015: Target realizes that Canada isn’t really the place for them and makes the move to close all of their 133 locations, taking their red and white stores away after less than two years of operation.

January 2015: On the same day that giant retailer Target falls, Sony follows suit and makes the announcement that they are going to be closing all 14 of their retail stores in Canada. In the wake of weak sales in the television and smartphone departments, Sony couldn’t keep up. Their products will continue to be available online as well as in third party retail stores such as Best Buy.

These days, retailers in Canada are closing left and right, and big names that were once dominating forces are falling fast. Consequently, countless Canadians have suffered job loss in the past several months.

Right now, Sears, Indigo Books and Music Inc. as well as Reitmans are in a tight spot as they face declining sales and stiff competition from other big names in the industry. Will one of these companies be the next to fall or will they be able to successfully avoid this trend of store closures and reassert their presence on the market?