Canadian Dollar Stores Begin Liquidation

Denninghouse Inc. (Concord, Ont.) has begun store closing liquidation sales in 92 of its Buck or Two and Great 88 stores across Canada.

Earlier this month, the operator of 325 dollar stores in 10 Canadian provinces sought bankruptcy protection.

While most of the chain’s stores are franchised, the 92 to be closed are all owned by Denninghouse. The closing of the corporate locations is a key first step in the restructuring of the business and operations. Denninghouse had previously advised that this step was required in order to allow its restructuring to focus on preserving the value of its franchise business.

Denninghouse has engaged The Ozer Group (Needham Mass.) to liquidate its corporate store assets, primarily dollar store inventory and store furnishings, Denninghouse has also advised this sale does not include any of its franchise operations. Denninghouse continues to operate its franchise network and is optimistic that it will be successfully restructured.

It is expected that the sale period will be quite brief, with each store remaining open only until the inventory is sold. Sales staff in each store will be retained for the time being.

The 92 closing corporate stores include seven in Alberta, 12 in British Columbia, seven in New Brunswick, 19 in Nova Scotia, 35 in Ontario, one in Prince Edward Island and 11 in Quebec. The franchise stores will remain open for business and will be unaffected by the liquidation of the corporate stores.