Corporate restricting and filing for creditor protection could end up closing one of the most popular retail outlets in Burnaby’s biggest mall.
Aldo, which sells footwear and other goods, has been an institution in Burnaby’s Metropolis at Metrotown.
But Aldo Group Inc. says it is filing for creditor protection, stating that it plans to restructure the business as it reels from the hit brought on by COVID-19.
This might come with some of the company’s stores being closed and staff being laid off.
The Montreal-based footwear retailer says e-commerce at its three main brands — Aldo, Call It Spring and Globo — will continue and it plans to reopen some storefronts – but not all of them - when able to under local guidelines for each location.
Aldo says it has obtained an initial order under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act from the Superior Court of Quebec.
It has also applied for creditor protection in Canada and the U.S., with plans to do the same in Switzerland.
CEO David Bensadoun, whose father Aldo founded the chain in 1972, says "the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has put too much pressure" on business and cash flows.
The retail fashion industry, already undergoing a sweeping shift amid the migration to online shopping, has been hit hard by a pandemic that has shuttered storefronts across the globe and sent apparel revenues plummeting.
- With files from the Canadian Press
