The Brick
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The Brick TSX: BRK.UN is Canada's largest chain of large volume furniture and consumer electronics retail stores. It is operated by The Brick Warehouse LP. Popular for its slogan "Nobody Beats The Brick" (a slogan copied by The Wiz, an American company that uses "Nobody Beats The Wiz"), it currently has over 80 stores operating in Canada along with over one million square feet of wharehouse space (5 warehouses and 6 clearance centres) and employs over 5,200 people.
The company was founded as The Brick Warehouse LP in Edmonton, Alberta with the first warehouse opening in September 1, 1971. Its first expansion was to Fort McMurray, Alberta in the 1970s and later acquired a competitor in the city of Calgary. Since the 1980s, the Brick has expanded across Canada and recently into Quebec, but Quebec stores call themselves simply Brick. Toronto area stores took over former Stuart's furniture shops.
The Brick was founded by the Comrie brothers, John, Fred, and Bill. Bill and Fred were ice hockey players and Fred was once part of the Pittsburgh Penguins organisation. Bill's son, Mike Comrie, is a hockey player in the NHL.
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[edit] Operations
The Brick Stores are found in:
- Alberta
- British Columbia
- Manitoba
- Nova Scotia
- Ontario
- Prince Edward Island
- Quebec
- Saskatchewan
United Furniture Warehouse - recently acquired with 80 stores across Canada:
- Alberta
- British Columbia
- Manitoba
- Ontario
- Quebec
- Saskatchewan
- Yukon
The Company originally started under the name of "Bill Comrie's Furniture Clearance Centre" and as it grew, moved to occupy the ony "Brick Warehouse" in Edmonton (where most buildings are constructed of wood).
Immediately after the company went public, Bill Comrie used a portion of the proceeds that he received from the sale of part of his ownership of the company to pay a bonus to all of its employees using the following formula for employees employed greater than one year as of July 1, 2004: 5% of current earnings times Years of service, to a maximum of 20 years. Even those employees that were employed for less than one year at the time of payout of the bonus received a bonus, generally averaging a couple hundred dollars. Note that in total, Bill Comrie paid out over $40 million of his own money to cover these bonuses.
[edit] Brands
The Brick carries a wide variety of consumer brands, including:
- General Electric
- Jenn Air
- Kitchenaid
- La-Z-Boy
- LG
- Maytag
- Natuzzi
- Palliser
- Sony
- Whirlpool
[edit] Other Divisions
The Brick's 168 stores (14 franchised) are operated under The Brick Group banner. Besides the Brick stores, the firm also sells furniture through other affiliates:
- www.bid.com - linked with Brick's main website
- Home Show Canada - 3 locations in Toronto, Ontario area in 2001 - to be re-branded The Brick Superstores in 2006
- Mid-Northern Appliances Industries - division of the Brick in Toronto, Ontario
- United Furniture Warehouse
- Sleep Better (first group of stores opened in the Toronto, Ontario area on August 11, 2005)- re-branded The Brick Mattress Store in 2006
- Trans Global Warranty Corporation
- Trans Global Insurance Company (TGI)
- Trans Global Life Insurance Company (TGLI)
- The Brick Group Income Fund
- The Second Foundry Holding Corporation
[edit] Competition
Current competitors of the Brick include:
