Comark Holdings to shutter bulk of its stores

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 09/01/2025 (341 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Specialty apparel retailer Comark Holdings — owner of Bootlegger Clothing Inc., Cleo Fashions Inc. and Ricki’s Fashions Inc. — said it will commence shuttering operations at the bulk of its stores this year.

The Vancouver-based company was among several clothing retailers that sought to restructure operations, including filing for creditor protection during the COVID-19 pandemic. On Tuesday, Comark said it will shrink its store count considerably by fully liquidating operations at its Ricki’s and Cleo brands, which sell women’s office apparel. It will also close some of its Bootlegger stores with the intention to finding a buyer for the remaining business.

Comark’s Bootlegger brand will continue to seek viable restructuring options during this time, it stated in a news release on Tuesday. It added that its storefronts will remain open during the liquidation process.

It currently operates a total of 221 retail outlets in eight Canadian provinces — British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador. It has a total of 13 stores in Manitoba; 10 in Winnipeg, three in Brandon.

Ricki’s, Bootlegger and Cleo are locally housed in Shoppers Mall. The Brandon Sun reached out to the stores by phone and staff confirmed the stores were still open as of Wednesday. Winnipeg is also home to the company’s 400,000-square-foot distribution hub.

Comark is owned by companies controlled by Bob Irwin Silver and Ronald Stern, who are also the co-founders of FP Newspapers Inc., which owns the Winnipeg Free Press, The Brandon Sun, The Carillon and several other Manitoba-based news and media publications.

The company’s retail operations include a total of 2,056 hourly and salaried employees across Canada, including store-level and head office personnel.

“After careful consideration of all reasonably available options, the company has determined that it is in the best interests of its stakeholders to wind down its Ricki’s and Cleo operations and to close all Ricki’s and Cleo retail store locations. The company will continue to explore opportunities with respect to Bootlegger through the CCAA process, which will include reducing its retail footprint to better position the company in today’s retail environment,” Comark said in a news release on Tuesday afternoon.

While many retailers have had a challenging time rebounding from mandated shutdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic, Comark has encountered its own unique obstacles.

It completed a successful CCAA restructuring in 2020, but experienced a ransomware cyberattack in November 2021 that significantly disrupted business operations during the holiday sales period.

It has also had to deal with growing competition from ultra low-cost fashion retailers. Recent supply chain and vendor issues have caused material delays in the receipt of seasonal merchandise and resulting loss of revenue. For the first nine months of 2024, sales were down 19 per cent and the company lost $21 million on operations during that time.

» Winnipeg Free Press, with files from Connor McDowell