Canadian apparel brand Oak + Fort says it has obtained creditor protection as it works to restructure its business.
The Vancouver-based company says the move is necessary because U.S. tariffs have joined other price pressures and led to a decline in consumer confidence and spending.
The tariffs arrived after Oak + Fort pushed to open 26 new Canadian and U.S. stores in the last four years, which the company says resulted in a reduced and ultimately insufficient investment in its e-commerce platforms.
Court documents show the company owes more than $25 million to creditors including some landlords who didn’t receive May rent payments.
Oak + Fort says it will continue to operate stores and an e-commerce business during the restructuring.
It was founded in 2010 as an online boutique that eventually expanded to 42 stores in Canada and the U.S. selling womenswear, menswear, accessories, jewelry and home goods.
Vancouver-based retail strategist David Ian Gray, founder of DIG360, said that there have been a rolling series of challenges for the retail sector, which has had to deal with high interest rates.
“At the very same time, consumer spending has really dampened — and not just for a month or two,” he told CBC News. “It’s really settled down into a slump.
“And there’s a big difference between consumers who are buying on need, such as grocery or home improvement household items, versus where they might want to buy some fashion.”
Gray says the tariffs have added to a “perfect storm” for retailers like Oak + Fort, and others may face similar challenges in the months to come.
The strategist said that the company had done a great job engaging shoppers in Vancouver and B.C. over the years.
“But like we’ve seen with so many retailers, sometimes the enthusiasm you see from shoppers in your home market, you forget that might have taken you five or more years to build that up,” the analyst said.
“And suddenly you need to have the same level in new places … happening overnight. And so, it’s not really a surprise to me that they’ve had some struggles.”
Christy Wong, who is from New York, said she was shocked to hear that the retailer was seeking creditor protection, and that many people went to the retailers’ outlet in that city.
“A lot of my closet is made of Oak + Fort pieces, so if they really go out of business, I’ll be very sad,” Wong told CBC News. “I wouldn’t know where to shop.”
