Miracle Mart (Canada)

Miracle Mart
Subsidiary
Industry Retail
Fate Bankruptcy, Dissolved
Founded 1960
Defunct 1992
Headquarters Saint-Laurent, Quebec, Canada
Products Discount store
Parent Steinberg

Miracle Mart was a chain of discount department stores with locations in Ontario and Quebec, Canada based in Saint-Laurent, Quebec.

History

It was founded in 1960 by Montreal-based grocery chain Steinberg and its first store opened in 1961. Miracle Mart was initially supposed to operate under the name Steinberg-Woodward as part of a joint venture between Steinberg and Vancouver-based department store Woodward's, but the partnership rapidly ended.

Miracle Mart operated at mid-level and competed with the likes of Towers/Bonimart, Zellers, Woolco and Kmart. There was also a similarly named grocery chain, Miracle Food Mart (Steinberg's rebranded all their Ontario grocery stores to Miracle Food Marts starting in 1969), that operated exclusively in Ontario. Often found together, some locations with both a grocery and department store became Steinberg Beaucoups or Miracle Beaucoups.

In order to provide photographic film-processing services at Miracle Mart stores, a company was created by the Greenberg brothers, named Angreen Photo, which evolved into Astral Photo and became giant Astral Media.

The chain was facing financial problems since the early 1970s. In 1986, Steinberg closed several Miracle Mart department stores, including all Ontario stores outside of the Ottawa area. The remaining stores in Quebec and Ottawa that didn't close were renamed M, and the Miracle Mart name disappeared. The size of some Miracle Mart stores was also reduced upon their conversions as M stores. This rebranding strategy by the chain proved to be ineffective, as the M department chain was struggling financially and turned out to be as unsuccessful as its predecessor.

When Socanav took over Steinberg and was trying to sell parts of the company off, a buyer for the poorly performing M stores could not be found. They were liquidated in 1992, virtually the same time parent company Steinberg went bankrupt. The original store in Pont-Viau, Laval was still in operation when the company declared bankruptcy.

Locations

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Quebec

Ontario

References

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