Bank of Canada cuts key rate for first time in more than 4 years
The Bank of Canada has cut its overnight rate by 25 basis points, a move not seen since the beginning of the pandemic.
The liquidation sales at Nordstrom stores across Canada will begin Tuesday.
A spokesperson for the department store chain confirmed the impending sales period Monday in an email to The Canadian Press, just after the Ontario Superior Court of Justice gave the U.S. retailer's Canadian branch permission to start selling off its merchandise.
At a hearing at Osgoode Hall in Toronto, lawyer Jeremy Dacks, who represented Nordstrom, said the company has "worked hard to achieve a consensual path forward" with landlords, suppliers and a court-appointed monitor to find an orderly way to wind down the business.
The monitor, Alvarez & Marsal Canada, suggested five potential third-party liquidators and Nordstrom was approached by another five. The company decided to go with a joint venture comprised of Hilco Merchant Retail Solutions ULC and Gordon Brothers Canada, which were involved in the liquidation of Target, Sears and Forever 21 in Canada, Dacks said.
They will oversee the sale of merchandise, furniture, fixtures and equipment, but not goods from third parties, which removed products this past weekend, Dacks said. He added that all sales will be final and no returns will be allowed.
Lawyers for Nordstrom landlords Cadillac Fairview, Ivanhoe Cambridge, Oxford Properties Ltd. and First Capital Realty testified Monday that they were pleased with how "smoothly" and "organized" the process has gone so far.
In approving Dacks' liquidation request, Chief Justice Geoffrey Morawetz agreed, saying Nordstrom is facing a "difficult time, but this process is unfolding in a very cooperative manner."
Nordstrom required court approval to begin the liquidation because it is winding down its Canadian operations under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act, which helps insolvent businesses restructure or end operations in an orderly fashion.
Nordstrom will close its six Canadian department store locations and seven Nordstrom Rack shops, which sell designer goods at discount prices.
When Nordstrom announced the move in early March, it said it expected the Canadian stores to close by late June and 2,500 workers to lose their jobs.
The company initiated the exit from the market because chief executive Erik Nordstrom said, "despite our best efforts, we do not see a realistic path to profitability for the Canadian business."
Nordstrom, an upscale department store chain that primarily sells designer apparel, shoes and accessories, first set its sights on Canada in 2012, opening its first store in Calgary at CF Chinook Centre in September 2014.
Its Canadian presence grew in the years since with massive stores that took up hundreds of thousands of square feet at CF Rideau Centre in Ottawa, CF Pacific Centre in Vancouver, Yorkdale Shopping Centre and CF Sherway Gardens in Toronto.
Then came Nordstrom Rack, which made its Canadian debut in 2018 at Vaughan Mills, a mall north of Toronto. At the time, Nordstrom said as many as 15 more Rack locations could follow.
Nordstrom promised each Rack would deliver savings of up to 70 per cent on apparel, accessories, home, beauty and travel items from 38 of the top 50 brands sold in its Canadian department stores.
Nordstrom had trouble with profitability because of its selection of products and the COVID-19 pandemic, said Tamara Szames, executive director and industry adviser of Canadian retail at the NPD Group research firm, a day after Nordstrom announced its exit.
"You would hear a lot of Canadian saying that the assortment wasn't the same in Canada that it was in the U.S.," she said.
She noticed Nordstrom started to shift its product mix away from some luxury brands around 2018 and saw it as a sign that the retailer was struggling to maintain its original vision and integrity.
The pandemic made matters worse because many stores were forced to temporarily close their doors to quell the virus and shoppers were less likely to need some of the items Nordstrom sells like dressy apparel because events had been cancelled.
Despite stores reopening and many sectors rebounding, Szames said the apparel business is the only industry NPD Group tracks that has yet to recover from the health crisis.
"The consumer has really been holding back in terms of spending within that industry."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 20, 2023.
The Bank of Canada has cut its overnight rate by 25 basis points, a move not seen since the beginning of the pandemic.
The Hospitals of Regina Foundation (HRF) issued an official apology on Wednesday following comedian Rob Schneider's set at a fundraising event on Saturday night.
If an Oilers fan in Edmonton has the spare time, they can not only potentially witness their hockey heroes win and take a step closer to claiming puck glory, they can brag that they journeyed the longest distance between two NHL markets to do it.
Air Canada is now offering free beer and wine on flights within Canada and the U.S. until the end of the year.
Billionaire Elon Musk is questioning diversity and inclusion hiring practices, using the social media platform he owns to criticize a job posting from the University of British Columbia.
Five people associated with the Hells Angels motorcycle gang are facing charges after police raided two homes and two unlicensed bars in Waterloo Region.
President Vladimir Putin warned Germany on Wednesday that the use of its weapons by Ukraine to strike targets inside Russia would mark a 'dangerous step.'
McMaster Children’s Hospital is pausing scheduled tonsil and adenoid surgeries for patients under the age of 18 after officials say two pediatric patients who underwent the procedure died shortly after being discharged.
It was Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s birthday on Monday, but he could've probably done without the package that one of his more obscure backbenchers dropped on his doorstep, writes former NDP leader Tom Mulcair in his latest column for CTVNews.ca.
Marking a milestone, Lakeshore resident Olga White celebrated her 107th birthday in style Wednesday.
The municipality of Tantramar, N.B., is holding a sale to get rid of surplus items it acquired after the Town of Sackville amalgamated with smaller communities last year.
For several weeks, a mysterious social media user has apparently been leaving $50 bills hidden across Metro Vancouver.
A statue dedicated to the Royal Regina Rifles Regiment has been officially unveiled in France just ahead of the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
A Cape Breton is this year's recipient of the McEuen Scholarship, which gives him basically a full ride to the medical school at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.
Mounties in Kelowna nabbed a would-be burglar with an apparent sweet tooth over the weekend.
When Alyssa Anklewich’s history teacher assigned her Westwood Collegiate class an essay about D-Day, the 15-year-old had other ideas.
Many people are familiar with the benefits of being in nature, but forest therapy goes a step further than a simple walk in the woods.
The Stanley Cup was passing through town Friday, and Lanny Legend took it upon himself to take it for a surprise visit.