A very reputable Canadian name in men's footwear, Dack's Shoes,inbusiness since 1834, has gone into bankruptcy. The longevity of the company has not allowed it to escape the financial issues that have plagued this industry for the past decade. This well-known and respected Canadian retailer, synonymous with high quality footwear for men, will be closing all six (6) of the remaining Canadian stores after liquidating the entire inventory.
Declining market share and overhead, compounded by economic conditions have made the retail market very unstable.Consequently, Dack's Shoes Limited filed for Bankruptcy on Dec. 9th, 2009. Starting immediately, there will be a chain-wide liquidation of all merchandise at the four Toronto and the two Alberta stores.
The story of Dack's Shoes for Men reads like a history of southern Ontario. It began at the turn of the 19th century, when Matthew Dack emigrated from Stradbally, Queen's Country, Ireland to Kingston, Ontario where he began a boot and shoe business.
In 1834, Matthew moved to "Muddy York" - the same year it was renamed Toronto. Toronto boasted a thriving population of 10,000 then. The first Dack's store opened at the Corner of King and Jordan Streets in downtown Toronto, where Dack, with good workmanship and the finest leathers, crafted a very successful men's shoe business.
In more recent history, Dack's has tried to restructure and bringin new business. For 175 years, Dack's had been a Men's Shoe Store, until they introduced Women's shoes in order to increase sales. Although introducing new lines did create a steady increase in sales, trying to restructure and capture future market share during this time of global economic downturn and vastly reduced consumer spending have proved impossible.
The Dack's Liquidation Sale is being conducted by Danbury Sales and will continue until all stock is sold.Never in the history ofthe company has the Dack's and Church shoes entire inventory beendiscounted at this level at all existing locations.
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