The Brick Ltd. is a Canadian retailer of
furniture
Furniture refers to movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (tables), storing items, eating and/or working with an item, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Fu ...
,
mattresses
A mattress is a large, usually rectangular pad for supporting a lying person. It is designed to be used as a bed, or on a bed frame as part of a bed. Mattresses may consist of a quilted or similarly fastened case, usually of heavy cloth, contain ...
,
appliances and home
electronics
The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification ...
. The company was founded as The Brick Warehouse LP by brothers, John, Fred, and
Bill Comrie
William H. Comrie (born June 29, 1950) is a Canadian businessman. He is the founder of The Brick, one of Canada's largest volume retailers of furniture, mattresses, appliances and home electronics.
Early life
Comrie was born on June 29, 1950, in ...
. The first warehouse opened on September 1, 1971 in
Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
,
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
. Its first expansion was to
Fort McMurray
Fort McMurray ( ) is an urban service area in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo in Alberta, Canada. It is located in northeast Alberta, in the middle of the Athabasca oil sands, surrounded by boreal forest. It has played a significant ...
,
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
in the 1970s and later acquired a competitor in the city of
Calgary
Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...
.
Over the past 51 years, The Brick has expanded across Canada and now operates 136 retail stores (including 20 franchise locations) in every province and territory except for
Nunavut
Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' ...
, while
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
stores are branded simply as Brick. In addition, the Brick Group Income Fund operates distribution centres in Calgary, Edmonton,
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
,
Winnipeg
Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...
,
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
,
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
and
Dartmouth.
History
The company was founded as The Brick Warehouse LP by brothers, John, Fred, and
Bill Comrie
William H. Comrie (born June 29, 1950) is a Canadian businessman. He is the founder of The Brick, one of Canada's largest volume retailers of furniture, mattresses, appliances and home electronics.
Early life
Comrie was born on June 29, 1950, in ...
. The first warehouse opened on September 1, 1971 in
Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
,
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
. Its first expansion was to
Fort McMurray
Fort McMurray ( ) is an urban service area in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo in Alberta, Canada. It is located in northeast Alberta, in the middle of the Athabasca oil sands, surrounded by boreal forest. It has played a significant ...
,
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
in the 1970s and later acquired a competitor in the city of
Calgary
Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...
. In 1975 it acquired the
Bad Boy Furniture chain of 40 stores in
Toronto, Ontario
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
area. Absorbed into The Brick, the rights to the Bad Boy Furniture name was lapsed and later revived by Lastman family in 1991.
In March 2004, the company acquired
United Furniture Warehouse
United Furniture Warehouse (UFW) was a Canadian retail furniture chain operating locations in Western Canada and Ontario. The company billed itself as "offering warehouse-style shopping at the lowest possible prices." The company was founded in ...
which had 81 locations throughout Canada at the time. In 2006, 24 stores were rebranded as "The Brick" in a strategic attempt to save on advertising costs and increase sales.
On November 11, 2012, The Brick announced that competitor
Leon's
Leon's Furniture Ltd. () (Meubles Léon Limité in Quebec) is a Canadian furniture retailer which first opened its store in 1909 in Welland, Ontario. The controlling interest in the company is owned by the Leon family, while some shares are trad ...
would acquire the company for $700 million subject to approval of shareholders. Following the acquisition, Leon's maintains the two separate chains.
In November 2012, The Brick agreed to pay $2.1 million to settle a class-action lawsuit filed by consumer rights group
Option consommateurs
Option consommateurs is a non-profit consumer organization dedicated to promoting and defending the interests of Canadian consumers.
The organization was founded in 1983 and is based in Montréal. Its focus areas are energy, agri-food, finan ...
in 2009 over claims the retailer's advertising was misleading.
In July 2017, The Brick re-branded all of its United Furniture Warehouse and The Brick Clearance Centres into a new branding called The Brick Outlet.
Other
In the 1980s, they were financial backers of the
Edmonton Brick Men
The Edmonton Brick Men (also Edmonton Brickmen) were a Canadian soccer team in Edmonton, Alberta that competed in the Canadian Soccer League and the Western Soccer Alliance. During their time in the WSA and the CSL, the team played at both John D ...
soccer team, which was owned by
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...
owner
Peter Pocklington
Peter Hugh Pocklington (born November 18, 1941) is a Canadian entrepreneur and vocal advocate of free-market capitalism.
Peter Pocklington was known among North American hockey fans as "Peter Puck", the maverick entrepreneur from oil-rich Albert ...
, with the team being named after the company and the team's logo using the same font for the word ''Brick'' as the furniture retailer.
References
External links
*
United Furniture Warehouse
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brick
Companies formerly listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange
Companies based in Edmonton
Retail companies established in 1971
Furniture retailers of Canada
Canadian brands