A store in Burnaby’s biggest mall has seen another downturn in its fortunes.
Roots Corp., which operates a large store in Metropolis at Metrotown, reported a second-quarter loss of $1.2 million compared with a loss of $1.8 million in the same quarter last year as its sales edged higher.
The retailer says the loss amounted to three cents per diluted share for the 13-week period ended July 31 compared with a loss of four cents per diluted share a year earlier.
Sales in the quarter totalled $38.9 million, up from $38.2 million.
Roots says the increase in sales came despite its stores in Ontario being closed for about 60 per cent of the quarter compared with 45 per cent of the same quarter last year.
The retailer started the quarter with 68 corporate retail stores and five pop-ups locations temporarily closed, but reopened all but one store by the end of the quarter.
On an adjusted basis, Roots says it lost a penny per share in the quarter compared with an adjusted loss of four cents per share last year.
Other Metropolis stores are faring better.
Lululemon Athletica Inc., which operates a flag ship store in Burnaby’s Metropolis at Metrotown, handily beat expectations in its latest quarter with profits more than doubling on a 61% increase in sales. The company, which reports in U.S. dollars, says it earned US$208.1 million or US$1.59 per diluted share in the second quarter, up from US$86.8 million or 66 cents per share a year earlier.
Metropolis has seen a string of store closures, including Pink, Microsoft, Frank and Oak, Godiva chocolates, Rocky Mountain Soap Company, David’s Tea and, recently, Little Mountain clothing. Boys’ Co. also announced recently that it will be closing its Metropolis store.
And one of the city’s oldest businesses, J&M Coin and Jewellery, which had been at Metropolis at Metrotown for 35 years, opening up in 1986, also shut down.
But some of those spaces are starting to be filled by such retailers as Bikini Village, Meeku, Hugo Boss and more.
Fashion retailer Forever 21 also returned to Burnaby after the company’s collapse in 2019.
- With reporting by the Canadian Press
