In its heyday, Le Chateau had nine stores along a roughly three-kilometre stretch of Ste-Catherine Street in Montreal.<\/p>\n
The Canadian retailer was a staple of nearly every mall and shopping district in the country, with 240 locations at its peak.<\/p>\n
\"The more sales we made, the more stores we opened and the more stores we opened, the more sales we made,\" says Franco Rocchi, a Le Chateau executive that started with the clothing brand four decades ago as a sales clerk at one of the Ste-Catherine Street locations.<\/p>\n
\"That was the retail formula back then and it worked. It was all about brick and mortar -- not only for Le Chateau but for Aldo, Gap and others throughout the 70s, 80s and 90s. We were in every primary market, secondary market and tertiary market.\"<\/p>\n
Le Chateau defined edgy clubwear, formal dresses and fashionable office attire for decades in Canada, but started facing increasing competition from foreign retailers like H&M and Zara in the early 2000s.<\/p>\n
By 2014, Le Chateau was losing money. But the company had a plan: Close 100 stores over five years, with a return to profitability in 2020.<\/p>\n
\"We did it the honourable way,\" Rocchi says. \"We had leases, we had handshakes, we had good relationships with our landlords. We thought we could navigate the five-year plan.\"<\/p>\n
But the exit strategy the retailer spent half a decade working toward hit a major snag.<\/p>\n
\"The plan included a turnaround, a return to profitability,\" Rocchi says. \"But the irony was that magic year we worked towards for five years was 2020.\"<\/p>\n
Pandemic shutdowns not only shuttered the retailer's stores throughout 2020. Proms, weddings, galas and parties -- key drivers of the retailer's dress sales -- were outright cancelled.<\/p>\n
Le Chateau filed for creditor protection in October 2020, joining the ranks of dozens of big-name retailers that buckled under the weight of COVID-19 restrictions.<\/p>\n
In June, Suzy's Inc. -- the company behind women's clothing brand Suzy Shier -- stepped in to buy Le Chateau's intellectual property and now it's making a comeback with the online launch of an evening wear collection ahead of the holidays.<\/p>\n
The so-called glamour capsule unveiled Tuesday offers shoppers a hint of what to expect with the brand's official relaunch under its new owner set for spring.<\/p>\n
Rocchi -- now senior marketing director of Suzy\/Le Chateau -- says the curated, limited-edition collection highlights the brand's focus on high-fashion occasion wear.<\/p>\n
\"Even as we were going through the challenge of closing stores, we actually started to see significant success in our dress business,\" he says. \"We were seeing year-over-year growth in our occasion business. We found our sweet spot, which was beautiful dresses at a great price point.\"<\/p>\n
The full collection planned for 2022 will include footwear, accessories and menswear, with women's dress wear available in select Suzy Shier stores across the country.<\/p>\n
\"We will have stores within stores at about 35 Suzy locations across the country,\" Rocchi explains. \"It won't just be Le Chateau products pushed into Suzy stores. It will be a clearly demarcated beautiful shop, so customers will know it's Le Chateau.\"<\/p>\n
He adds that there will be no \"cannibalization\" between the brands, as Suzy Shier is focused on casual, weekend and work wear.<\/p>\n
\"We like to say our customers can wear Suzy by day and Le Chateau by night,\" Rocchi says.<\/p>\n
Indeed, the Suzy Shier website appears divided in half, with a model wearing a sweater and items like warm hats and gloves on one side, while a model is dressed in an evening gown on the other side along with items like sparkly \"party tops.\"<\/p>\n
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 16, 2021<\/p>\n
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Original post: <\/p>\n
Le Chateau's return from bankruptcy includes online sales, stores within stores - AM800 (iHeartRadio)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In its heyday, Le Chateau had nine stores along a roughly three-kilometre stretch of Ste-Catherine Street in Montreal. The Canadian retailer was a staple of nearly every mall and shopping district in the country, with 240 locations at its peak. Continue reading