Army & Navy Stores (Canada)

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For the British department store, formerly of this name, see Army & Navy Stores (United Kingdom)

Army & Navy Stores
Type	Department store
Founded	1919
Headquarters	Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Industry	Retail
Products	Clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, hardware, outdoor gear, beauty products, and housewares.
Parent	Army & Navy Stores Inc.
Website	Army & Navy Stores

Army & Navy is a department store chain in Canada billing itself as "Canada's Original Discount Store". It currently operates 6 stores in Alberta and British Columbia.

[edit] History

Samuel Joseph Cohen opened the first Army & Navy location in Vancouver, British Columbia on West Hastings Street in 1919, selling liquidation stock from closing, bankrupt, or destroyed stores, and World War I army and navy surplus goods at low prices.

A second store was opened in Regina, Saskatchewan on Scarth Street in 1920, and a third location was opened in Edmonton, Alberta in 1928 on 104th Street. A fourth store opened in Moose Jaw (Saskatchewan) in 1933. Army & Navy opened a store in New Westminster (British Columbia) in 1939, bringing the total to 6 stores. An additional Edmonton store, located at 97th Street and 103rd Avenue in the north end, was opened in 1955 and renovated and enlarged in 1968, and in 1969, Army & Navy also renovated and doubled the size of its Regina location.

With the death of Samuel Cohen in 1966, Garth C. Kennedy became president of the company, with Jack D. Cohen as vice-president. In 1973, Army & Navy took over a former Eaton's location in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan at 21st Street and 3rd Avenue. In 1978, the New Westminster store moved in into the former Eaton's store at 502 Columbia Street which closed in late 1977 a few blocks away and remains there today, the store was very little renoavted from its days as an Eaton's store, and in 1980, an eighth location was opened in Calgary, Alberta at 1107 33rd Street NE. In 1998, CEO Garth Kennedy died and the company was turned over to Jacqui Cohen. In 2000, the Moose Jaw store closed, followed soon after by the other two Saskatchewan stores. A new store was opened in Langley, British Columbia in 2001, and in Edmonton in 2003 in the Londonderry Mall.