The future of a fashion company’s three retail stores in Burnaby has become a little clearer after a significant break in negotiations with its creditors.
Reitmans (Canada) Ltd. says its creditors have approved a Plan of Arrangement that will see them receive a distributed $95-million settlement.
Reitmans operates three stores in Burnaby, Market Crossing, Lougheed Town Centre and Metropolis at Metrotown.
The clothing retailer filed for creditor protection and obtained an initial order under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act in May 2020. That left customers and staff in Burnaby wondering what the future would hold for the company that has operated in this city for decades.
That order was later amended and restated until Jan. 28, 2022.
Reitmans says under the Plan of Arrangement, it will distribute an aggregate amount of $95 million to its creditors in full and final settlement of all claims, including an initial payment of up to $20,000 per claim.
Reitmans says it will seek the sanction of the Plan of Arrangement on Jan. 4, 2022.
A list of known creditors as of September 2020, posted online by court-appointed monitor Ernst & Young Inc., shows Reitmans owed a total of $192,656,167 at that time.
Canadian retail sales were up 1.6 per cent to $57.6 billion in October and Statistics Canada also said its preliminary estimate for November pointed to an increase in retail sales of 1.2 per cent for the month.
But it cautioned the figure would be revised.
"Canadian trade was moving into the fast lane in October and November, before Omicron likely applied the brakes in December," Andrew Grantham, a senior economist with CIBC Capital Markets, said in a client note.
The 1.6 per cent increase in retail sales in October beat estimates of one per cent, he noted, adding that Statistics Canada's early estimate for November suggests retail and wholesale sales saw further impressive gains last month.
"Were it not for the rise of Omicron and retightening of some restrictions across the country, we would probably be having to upgrade our Q4 GDP forecast even further," Grantham said in the CIBC Economic Flash. "As it is, something around 4.5 per cent may still be appropriate factoring in a modest December pullback."
One of the biggest increases was at sporting goods, hobby, book and music stores, which saw sales soar 17.5 per cent.
- With reporting by the Canadian Press
