| Wise Stores inc. | |
| Industry: | Department store |
| Fate: | Bankruptcy |
| Foundation: | 1930 |
| Founder: | Alex Wise |
| Defunct: | 1995 |
| Location: | Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
Wise Stores was a department store chain located in Eastern Canada. It was founded in 1930 in Montreal by Alex Wise.[1]
By October 1988, the company had 28 stores and acquired 15 Continental outlets in eastern Quebec, New Brunswick and Ontario to bring to 43 the total number of Wise locations.[2]
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.[3] Because of this restriction, Peoples was instead operated as a subsidiary of Wise.[4]
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.[5] Wise launched in June 1993 the chain Wizmart, a wholesale concept specialized in the sales of good derived from bankruptcies and closings.[6] At its peak, the company operated five divisions: Wise Stores inc. (48 stores), Peoples Stores inc. (178 stores), Wizmart, KLHR Liquidation, and NRMA.[7]
On December 15, 1994, the company announced the shuttering of 13 Wise and Wizmart stores.[8] The announcement would leave the Wizmart division with only location.[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 operated throughout the entire 65 years of the company on the same address at 6751 Saint Hubert Street in the La Petite-Patrie neighbourhoud,.[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 96 and one of his three sons who presided the company with him, Ralph, passed on October 21, 2015.[16] [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]
Peoples Department Stores Inc. (Trustee of) v. Wise