Wise Stores was a department store chain located in Eastern Canada. It was founded in 1930 in Montreal by Alex Wise[1] and constituted on March 31, 1949, as Wise Stores inc.[2] It expanded outside of Quebec by opening its first stores in the Maritimes provinces in 1986 and eventually Ontario in 1988.[3]
 | |
| Industry | Department store |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1930 |
| Founder | Alex Wise |
| Defunct | 1995 |
| Fate | Bankruptcy |
| Headquarters | Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
In 1992, the company acquired the even longer running and competitor Peoples department stores from British retailer Marks & Spencer.[1] Under the terms of the purchase, the Wise and Peoples chains could not completely merge until the outstanding balance owed to Marks & Spencer for the transaction had completely been paid in full.[4] Because of this restriction, Peoples was instead operated as a subsidiary of Wise.[5]
Wise was basically a discount department retailer with store dimensions averaging those of Hart, Greenberg and Peoples; in contrast to the larger-sized Zellers, Woolco and Kmart.[6] Wise launched in June 1993 the chain Wizmart, a wholesale concept specialized in the sales of good derived from bankruptcies and closings.[7] At its peak, the company operated five divisions: Wise Stores inc. (48 stores), Peoples Stores inc. (178 stores), Wizmart, KLHR Liquidation, and NRMA.[8]
In 1994, the company shuttered 13 underperforming Wise and Wizmart stores.[9]
Peoples declared bankruptcy on January 13, 1995, while Wise avoided it but would still get liquidated anyway.[10] Wise eventually went bankrupt too on January 31, 1995.[11] Wise's incapacity of paying the amount it owed Marks & Spencer for the Peoples acquisition was the main reason for the demise of both chains. There were 53 Wise and 73 Peoples stores in operation at bankruptcy.[10][12] The original Wise store, located on 6751 St-Hubert street in the La Petite-Patrie neighbourhood, operated throughout the entire 65 years of the company.[13][14] Its founder Alex Wise was still chairman of the company as late as December 1994.[15] He died on January 12, 2004, at the age of 97,[16] and one of his three sons who presided the company with him, Ralph, died on October 21, 2015.[17]
29 of Wise and Peoples's vacated spaces became Hart Stores in August 1995.[18] Another 27 former locations of Wise/Peoples were acquired also in August 1995 by Winnipeg-based Gendis which used them to open mainly new Metropolitan Stores and to a lesser extend stores from its other banners such as Red Apple and Greenberg.[19] Six other stores (all Wise locations) had already been sold in March 1995 to Rossy by the liquidator in charge of disposing the bankrupt retail chain.[20]
LocationsEdit
QuebecEdit
- Boucherville — Place Pierre Boucher
- Chandler — Rue Commerciale
- Chandler — Place du Hâvre (Peoples store)
- Chateauguay — Rue Anjou
- Delson — Plaza Delson
- Gaspé — Place Jacques-Cartier
- Greenfield Park — Place Greenfield Park
- Joliette — Les Galeries Joliette
- Lachute — Carrefour Argenteuil
- LaSalle —Centre Le Cavalier
- Laval — Carrefour Laval
- Laval — Centre Saint-Martin
- Longueuil — Centre Jacques-Cartier
- Longueuil — Chemin de Chambly (Carrefour Super C)
- Montmagny — Galeries Montmagny
- Montreal — Iberville Street
- Montreal — Plaza Côte-des-Neiges
- Montreal — Plaza Saint-Hubert
- Montréal-Nord — Place Levasseur
- Paspebiac — Plaza Paspebiac.
- Pierrefonds — Pierrefonds Boul.
- Quebec — Carrefour Soumande
- Rouyn-Noranda — Les Promenades du Cuivre
- Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu — Carrefour Richelieu
- Saint-Jérôme — Carrefour du Nord
- Sainte-Foy — Place Laurier
- Sainte-Foy — Place Sainte-Foy
- Saint Léonard — Jean-Talon Street East
- Sherbrooke — Carrefour de l'Estrie
- Victoriaville — Boulevard des Bois-Francs N. (Place Sogestec)
Nova ScotiaEdit
- Bridgewater — Bridgewater Mall
- Dartmouth — Mic Mac Mall
- Glace Bay — Commercial Street
- Liverpool — Main Street
- Truro — Truro Mall
New BrunswickEdit
- Bathurst — Chaleur Centre Mall
- Tracadie — Rue Principale
- Shediac — Rue Main
OntarioEdit
- Cornwall — Pitt Street
- Hawkesbury — Main Street
ReferencesEdit
- ^ a b "Supreme Court of Canada - SCC Case Information - Search". January 2001.
- ^ "Gazette officielle du Québec". Government of Quebec. p. 35.
- ^ "Wise s'étend hors Québec". La Presse. Montreal. 10 December 1986. p. D4.
- ^ "Les dirigeants n'ont pas à tenir compte des intérêts de leurs créanciers". La Presse. Montreal. 30 October 2004. p. 6.
- ^ "Our Publications | Law Firm in Montreal".
- ^ "Hart, Greenberg, Wise and Peoples Discount department stores face markets squeeze". The Record. 29 May 1989. p. 5.
- ^ "Whizbang expansion; Wizmart joins stable of banners run by Wise Stores". Montreal Gazette. Montreal. June 30, 1993. p. F1.
- ^ "Inauguration de Wizmart". Le Soleil. Quebec City. 17 June 1993. p. B10.
- ^ Wise Stores Inc closes 13 stores.
- ^ a b "Peoples chain goes bankrupt". Montreal Gazette. Montreal. January 14, 1995. p. D1.
- ^ "Creditors pull the plug on Wise". Montreal Gazette. Montreal. February 1, 1995. p. E4.
- ^ "Peoples placed in bankruptcy: Marks & Spencer prompts move". Globe and Mail. Toronto. January 14, 1995. p. B3.
- ^ "Phone directory (1931-1932)". Lovell. p. 542. Retrieved 2019-09-22.
- ^ "Phone directory (1995)". Lovell. p. 1372. Retrieved 2019-09-22.
- ^ "Wise trying to restructure debt Retailer still open for business after seeking protection from creditors". Globe and Mail. Toronto. December 13, 1994. p. B10.
- ^ "Remembering the life of Alex WISE".
- ^ "Remembering the life of Ralph WISE".
- ^ "Who's afraid of Wal-Mart?; Not Harry Hart - he's itching to compete". Montreal Gazette. Montreal. June 16, 1995. p. C1.
- ^ "Winnipeg firm to open 16 outlets in ex-Wise, People's stores in Quebe". Montreal Gazette. Montreal. August 4, 1995. p. D8.
- ^ "Liquidator sells six Wise stores to Rossy". Montreal Gazette. Montreal. March 18, 1995. p. C3.