Jacob (formally known as Boutique Jacob, Inc) was a private, family owned Canadian chain of women's and girls' clothing store chain based out of Montreal, Quebec. At its peak, Jacob once had over 200 stores all over Canada, usually in malls. In addition to its main brand Jacob, the company operated under the banners Jacob Connexion, Jacob Lingerie, Josef and Danz.
Boutique Jacob launched in Sorel-Tracy in 1977. [1] The first store outside of Quebec was opened in Toronto in 1985. Jacob opened its first US store (in Cambridge, Massachusetts) circa 2000. Jacob's flagship store was at the corner of Sainte-Catherine and Drummond streets in downtown Montreal.
In 2005, the company launched Josef, seeking an older demographic which market research suggested were more active spenders. [2]
Jacob had begun closing locations in 2008, shuttering 52 stores with 355 staff in two years. In November 2010, the company owed to suppliers, employees and the National Bank of Canada. It received court protection from creditors, through the Quebec Superior Court and the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act, planning to reformat its operations. [2] The company attributed its woes to entries by international retailers into the Canadian market, including H&M and Zara, [2] [3] The remainder of the stores were shuttered in 2014 and online site briefly ceased operating in 2015. [4]
In April 2015 the online site was restarted offering only their fragrance and announced plans to open a few stores in Quebec only. [5] Jacob emerged from bankruptcy perated six locations, all of which are located in the province of Quebec. [6] [7] Among these five stores is the original 1977 Sorel store and another store in Old Quebec. [7] The other three were located in Montreal. [6] [7] Those stores had closed again as of early 2018. [1]
As of 2018, the brand was selling via Costco under the brand Chic by Jacob and fragrances via their website. [8] [1]
Zellers was a Canadian discount store chain founded by Walter P. Zeller in 1931. It was acquired by the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) in 1978, and after a series of acquisitions and expansions, peaked with 350 locations in 1999. However, fierce competition and an inability to adapt during the early stages of the retail apocalypse resulted in Zellers losing significant ground in the 2000s.
Hudson's Bay, also known as The Bay, is a Canadian department store chain. It is the flagship brand of the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), the oldest and longest-surviving company in North America as well as one of the oldest and largest continuously operating companies in the world.
Sears Canada Inc. was a publicly-traded Canadian company affiliated with the American-based Sears department store chain. In operation from 1952 until January 14, 2018, and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, the company began as Simpsons-Sears—a joint venture between the Canadian Simpsons department store chain and the American Sears chain—which operated a national mail order business and co-branded Simpsons-Sears stores modelled after those of Sears in the U.S. After the Hudson's Bay Company purchased Simpsons in 1978, the joint venture was dismantled and Hudson's Bay sold its shares in the joint venture to Sears; with Sears now fully owning the company, it was renamed Sears Canada Inc. in 1984. In 1999, Sears Canada acquired the remaining assets and locations of the historic Canadian chain Eaton's. From 2014, Sears Holdings owned a 10% share in the company. ESL Investments was the largest shareholder of Sears Canada.
Metro Inc. is a Canadian supermarket chain operating in the provinces of Quebec and Ontario. The company is based in Montreal, Quebec, with head office at 11011 Boulevard Maurice-Duplessis. Metro is the third-largest grocer in Canada, after Loblaw Companies Limited and Sobeys.
Sobeys Inc. is a national supermarket chain in Canada with over 1,500 stores operating under a variety of banners. Headquartered in Stellarton, Nova Scotia, it operates stores in all ten provinces and accumulated sales of more than C$25.1 billion in the fiscal 2019 operating year. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Empire Company Limited, a Canadian business conglomerate.
Future Shop was a Canadian electronics store chain. It was established in 1982 by Hassan Khosrowshahi. By 1990, the chain had become the country's largest retailer of computer and consumer electronics. In October 2012, the company operated 149 locations across Canada.
Hart Stores Inc. is a mid-sized value-driven department store in Eastern Canada. It was founded in 1960 by Harry Hart, in Rosemère, Quebec. Hart Stores is based in the provinces of Quebec, New Brunswick, and Ontario. The head office used to be in the Montreal borough of Anjou but moved to Laval, Quebec, a northern suburb of Montreal, in early 2006.
The T. Eaton Company Limited, later known as Eaton's and then Eaton, was a Canadian department store chain that was once the largest in the country. It was founded in 1869 in Toronto by Timothy Eaton, an immigrant from what is now Northern Ireland. Eaton's grew to become a retail and social institution in Canada, with stores across the country, buying-offices around the globe, and a mail-order catalog that was found in the homes of most Canadians. A changing economic and retail environment in the late twentieth century, along with mismanagement, culminated in the chain's bankruptcy in 1999.
Holt, Renfrew & Co., Limited is a Canadian luxury department store chain founded in 1837 by William S. Henderson. The original William Ashton & Co. store in Quebec City, Lower Canada operated as a fur shop. The company serviced the greater North American and European markets with its mail order catalog beginning in the late 1800s, and was appointed Furriers in Ordinary to several members of the British royal family from 1886 to 1921.
Carrefour Laval is a superregional shopping mall in Laval, Quebec, Canada. It is located in the Chomedey neighbourhood of the city at the intersection of Laurentian Autoroute (A-15) and Autoroute Jean-Noël-Lavoie (A-440).
Steinberg's was a large family-owned Canadian grocery store chain that mainly operated in the province of Quebec and later Ontario. In addition to its flagship supermarket chain, the company operated several subsidiaries across the country. The company went bankrupt in 1992, three years after being sold to private interests, after 75 years in business.
Provigo is a grocery retailer based in Quebec, Canada, consisting of over 300 stores and franchises throughout the province. It operates a retailing chain of stores and distribution warehouses. It is owned by Loblaw Companies Limited.
Van Houtte Inc. is a company based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada that processes, distributes and sells coffee and coffee related goods. They have expanded their product selection, which now includes tropical teas, sandwiches and salads. It was founded by Albert-Louis Van Houtte.
Wise Stores was a department store chain located in Eastern Canada. It was founded in 1930 in Montreal by Alex Wise.
The Aldo Group, branded and stylised as ALDO, is a Canadian multinational retailer specializing in shoes and accessories. Established in 1972 in Montreal, Quebec, the company was founded by Aldo Bensadoun. Its corporate headquarters are based in Saint-Laurent, Quebec. Stores in Canada and the U.S. are owned by Aldo Group, while international stores are franchised.
Réno-Dépôt was a Canadian chain of home supply stores owned by Rona, Inc. Primarily operating in Quebec, Réno-Dépôt was a warehouse-styled format with a focus on discounted renovation and household hardware products. The chain briefly expanded into Ontario under the name The Building Box; following Rona's acquisition of Réno-Dépôt, these stores were re-branded as Rona Home & Garden locations in 2004.
Les Ailes de la Mode Inc. was a Quebec department store chain. Its flagship store was in downtown Montreal and was the anchor tenant of the Complexe Les Ailes. Les Ailes de la Mode also subleased a section of their department stores to Bowring Brothers.
Glentel Inc. is a Canadian telecommunications retailer based in Burnaby, British Columbia, jointly owned by BCE Inc. and Rogers Communications.
Boutique La Vie en Rose Inc. is a Canadian lingerie retailer headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. The brand produces and sells a range of undergarments, sleepwear, and swimwear aimed at women in the 25-55 age group. Since 2003, La Vie en Rose also offered underwear, sleepwear, loungewear and swimwear for men under the brand name "La Vie en Rose MAN". In 2016, the company launched a new line for men called "LV96". As of September 2017, La Vie en Rose has permanently stopped offering products for men, explaining that "In order to focus on women's comfort and well-being, we will no longer carry our men's collection".
DavidsTea is a publicly traded Canadian specialty tea and tea accessory retailer based in Montreal, Quebec. It is the largest Canadian-based specialty tea boutique in the country.