The Swimco Group store in the Mayfair Shopping Centre has closed now that the Calgary-based company has officially entered bankruptcy.
“As of Friday, Swimco has officially entered bankruptcy and all proceedings are being handled by Deloitte,” company marketing director Brett Bacon said in an email Monday.
“All locations across the country are permanently closed.”
The national retailer had 25 locations in Canada before the pandemic was declared.
The family company aimed to fit a wide range of sizes and shapes. It started before the words “body positive” became part of our lexicon.
Swimco began as a mail-order business in the 1970s and opened its first retail store in Calgary in 1982, opening in Victoria in the 1990s. In 2011, the company bought Swimwear Etc., expanding its numbers. It moved to online sales in 2014.
Swimco was known for what it called its “fit experts” who helped customers find the most flattering suits.
In June, the company filed a notice that it planned to make a proposal under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act.
Chief executive Lori Bacon said at the time that its proposal to creditors would reduce store numbers by five and would provide time to renegotiate leases and downsize its head office.
Swimco had temporarily closed all stores and laid off its more than 200 staff in March, bringing most back by late June.
Sales, however, did not rebound as travel restrictions were in effect globally. The company’s only revenue between mid-March and mid-May came from online sales, Bacon said.
cjwilson@timescolonist.com
