Thompson shoppers have one less destination when it comes to purchasing clothes with the recent closure of the Bootlegger store in the City Centre Mall.
Comark Inc. – the company that operates Bootlegger, Ricki’s and cleo stories – obtained an Ontario Superior Court of Justice order granting it protection from creditors under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) March 26 to enable it to restructure its operations.
"For our customers and employees, what is most important is that our Ricki's, Bootlegger and cleo stores across Canada remain open for business," said Gerry Bachynski, president and CEO of Comark in a March 26 news release. "As we work through the restructuring process, we will continue to stock the latest mix of exclusive private-label and nationally branded apparel, and all of our popular rewards programs, gift cards, warranties and exchanges will be honoured. We remain committed to providing the same superior service customers have come to expect from us. Comark enters CCAA protection with the full support of its lenders and shareholders. Together, we are firmly committed to emerging from creditor protection financially stronger, more competitive and well-positioned for the future."
However, one of the first acts in the restructuring process was to close underperforming stores in the first 30 days.
“That one [in the City Centre Mall] has closed as a result of the restructuring,” Nick Anstett of Longview Communications told the Thompson Citizen April 16, speaking on behalf of Comark.
Employees of stores that were closing were informed that they were shutting down soon after the creditor protection announcement and the Thompson store gave 30 days notice to City Centre Mall, said mall manager Keith MacDonald. Bootlegger had been operating in City Centre Mall since 2003.
Comark, established in 1976, had 101 Bootlegger, 155 Ricki’s and 87 cleo stores across Canada before the closures. A pre-filing report by Alvarez and Marshall Canada Inc., the company appointed as monitor to assist Comark in restructuring under the CCAA, said that the company’s profitability had dipped because of declining revenue and the decline of the Canadian dollar in relation to the U.S. dollar. The company’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) dropped from $42.7 million Canadian in the fiscal year that ended in February 2013, to $32.2 million the following fiscal year and $16.7 million in its most recent fiscal year, which ended in February 2015.
