VANCOUVER -- Three, two, one, go!
Shoe lovers will be able to line up at dawn, and then race to buy designer brands at discount prices, for one last time as the iconic department store Army & Navy shuts down for good.
The company has five stores in Vancouver, New Westminster, Langley, Calgary and Edmonton. They were closed and staff laid off in March due to the COVID-19 crisis.
But the New Westminster store will open on June 4 for one final sale. Alberta residents can look for bargains on the same day in Calgary.
“It was one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever made,” Army & Navy president and CEO Jacqui Cohen told CTV Morning Live about the closure. “A hundred and one years of history, and a lot of great memories, but we just could not survive the business climate.”
Launched by her family in 1919, the stores sold surplus good from the war at discount prices. The masses came.
But recently, their customers' focus has shifted to online sales, and the once hectic shoe sale became a less spirited affair.
Cohen said the pandemic was the final straw. During Thursday’s interview, she became emotional when ask about her staff.
“Thank you. I am so appreciative,” she said of the company's employees. “I’m overwhelmed with a love bubble, I have been hearing from so many people.”
