Cleo and Ricki’s close as retail world continues to change

Cleo and Ricki’s won’t be keeping their doors open much longer.

The Vancouver-based company Comark Holdings Inc. announced plans to wind down the two stores as well as downsize Bootlegger Clothing Inc. The company operates 221 stores across Canada with around 2,000 employees.

"I am actually surprised they have lasted this long. Because this is the definition of what I would call middle retail, where you know that middle retail, mall retail that has really suffered over the last decade. they are not low end, they are not high end and there are somewhere in between,” says retail analyst Bruce Winder.

Jim Cormier with the Retail Council of Canada says now is a tough time for retailers as many shoppers have exhausted their finances for Christmas.

“It is a slow time of year for our members, and we often do regrettably see certain retailers that declare bankruptcy or go under all together around this time of year,” says Cormier. “You deal with a high-tax environment here in Canada regardless of where you are but in particular places here in Atlantic Canada. You deal with transportation issues, we have had supply chain issues from products not being able to get to Canada.”

Winder says the pandemic was also a major factor.

“The pandemic weakened them in a lot of cases, but what it also did is it weakened the consumer. A lot of consumers, you come this time of the pandemic, and you look at the cost of rents, cost of mortgages, the cost of food, there's just not a lot of money left over. So, what consumers have been forced to do is do things differently,” he says. "For a clothing retailer, if you’re in the middle of a range, it’s seemingly a good spot to be but so many people due to high inflation and high taxes that we live with here in Canada are looking at even if I get lesser quality I can buy online from this international low-end retailer and they can ship to my door.”

Jason Leblanc from Dartmouth says he's doing a “no-spend January.”

“I like online, it's very easy. However, it's always nicer to go into a store and buy what you need there because online is almost just a little too accessible," says Leblanc.

Jen Price says she's a big shopper and often purchases online and in person.

"I'm more in person, actually. I like to try it on because some of the return policies aren't so great for online so, yeah, I like to go in,” says Price.

Winder says some shoppers turn to luxury while others thrift and purchase second hand.

"People are either sort of watching their money or they are quite well off. That's how retail has played out, you're seeing very high-end stores in very high-end malls doing very well and then you're seeing value stores within value malls doing very well or emerging marketplaces like e-commerce companies,” says Winder.

Winder notes the retail market is changing rapidly and retailers can struggle to change their business models to keep up. He says they are better off closing completely and starting back up with a new entity.