XS Cargo was a Canadian

discount store A discount store or discounter offers a retail format in which products are sold at prices that are in principle lower than an actual or supposed "full retail price". Discounters rely on bulk purchasing and efficient distribution to keep down cost ...

chain founded in 1996 by Mike McKenna and headquartered in Mississauga,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

. At its peak, it operated 50

warehouse A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the outskirts of cities ...

-style stores, the first of which opened 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 ...

, mostly in

strip mall A strip mall, strip center or strip plaza is a type of shopping center common in North America where the stores are arranged in a row, with a sidewalk in front. Strip malls are typically developed as a unit and have large parking lots in front. ...

s, across eight provinces selling a wide range of

brand name A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

clearance,

liquidated Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a company is brought to an end in Canada, United Kingdom, United States, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, and many other countries. The assets and property of the company are redistr ...

, overstocked and unsold merchandise purchased from distressed retailers. It also administered two distribution hubs in Edmonton and Mississauga. In June 2011, XS Cargo was sold for around $5.3 million to

Greenwich, Connecticut Greenwich (, ) is a town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. At the 2020 census, the town had a total population of 63,518. The largest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast, Greenwich is home to many hedge funds and other ...

-based private investment firm KarpReilly LLC. Duncan Reith, former senior vice president of merchandising for

Canadian Tire Corporation Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited is a Canadian retail company which operates in the automotive, hardware, sports, leisure and housewares sectors. Its Canadian operations include: Canadian Tire (including Canadian Tire Petroleum gas stations a ...

, was named the Company's new President and CEO, succeeding the retiring McKenna, in January 2012. On July 30, 2014, XS Cargo filed for bankruptcy protection, reporting about $15.8 million in assets and $18.7 million in debt, including $7.4 million owed to

unsecured creditor An unsecured creditor is a creditor other than a preferential creditor that does not have the benefit of any security interests in the assets of the debtor. In the event of the bankruptcy of the debtor, the unsecured creditors usually obtain a '' ...

s. In September, having been unable to successfully restructure, the chain began to liquidate its inventory; by October 26, all its

brick-and-mortar Brick and mortar (also bricks and mortar or B&M) refers to a physical presence of an organization or business in a building or other structure. The term ''brick-and-mortar business'' is often used to refer to a company that possesses or leases r ...

outlets closed and the company officially went out of business. XS Cargo's liquidator cited the entry of

Target Target may refer to: Physical items * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artillery, f ...

into the Canadian market, which intensified competition among "well-established traditional retailers", resulting in diminishing business, as the prime reason for the company's failure.

References

Furniture retailers of Canada Retail companies disestablished in 2014 Defunct retail companies of Canada Canadian companies disestablished in 2014 {{Canada-company-stub

See also

References