| Type | Public (TSX: BRK) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1971 |
| Founder(s) | Bill Comrie, Fred Comrie and John Comrie |
| Headquarters | Edmonton, Alberta, Canada |
| Key people | CEO Bill Gregson[1], CFO David Merkley, CDO Frank Talarico |
| Products | Home Furnishing |
| Website | www.thebrick.com |
The Brick Ltd. (TSX: BRK) opened its first store in Edmonton, Alberta in 1971, and has grown to become one of Canada's largest volume retailers of furniture, mattresses, appliances and home electronics. The company was founded as The Brick Warehouse LP in Edmonton, Alberta with the first warehouse opening on September 1, 1971. Its first expansion was to Fort McMurray, Alberta in the 1970s and later acquired a competitor in the city of Calgary.
Over the past 35 years, The Brick has strategically executed its expansion across Canada and now operates 194 retail stores (including 20 franchise locations) in the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and the Yukon. (Quebec stores are branded simply as Brick.) In addition, the Brick Group Income Fund operates distribution centres in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto and Montreal.
In March 2004, the company acquired United Furniture Warehouse which had 81 locations across Canada at the time.[2] In 2006, The Brick rebranded 24 of these stores under their own name in an attempt to save on advertising costs and increase sales.[3]
Contents |
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 organization. Bill's son Mike Comrie (aka. "The Brick") is currently on hiatus from the NHL recovering from a hip injury [4] and his other son Paul Comrie had a brief career in the NHL.