Farm goods retailer Peavey Mart closing all stores and seeking creditor protection
Company announced on Monday that it would begin closing all 90 Peavey Mart locations
A Canadian farm goods store chain is closing all its stores and seeking creditor protection, putting an end to days of speculation about the chain's future from its customers, who now have to look for alternatives.
Peavey Mart, headquartered in Red Deer, Alta., announced the closure of locations in Ontario and Nova Scotia on Thursday as part of what it referred to in a news release as an "organizational restructuring."
However, in an update on Monday, Peavey confirmed it would begin "closures and liquidation efforts" immediately, shuttering all 90 Peavey Mart locations, as well as six MainStreet Hardware stores run by the same company.
It has also sought an initial order for creditor protection from the Court of King's Bench of Alberta, a move the company said came after a thorough evaluation of all of its options.
"The Canadian retail industry is experiencing unprecedented challenges, including record-low consumer confidence, inflationary pressures, rising operating costs and ongoing supply disruptions along with a difficult regulatory environment," read a company statement.
"These factors have created significant obstacles for businesses like Peavey."
The statement announcing the closure said the company would work with stakeholders to look at options to preserve the brand, with Peavey's CEO calling it a "profoundly difficult decision."
"For nearly six decades, our customers' loyalty, employees' dedication, and the resilience of the communities we serve have been the cornerstone of our business," Doug Anderson said.
Closure speculation started with Ont. and N.S. stores
Before the nationwide store closure announcement on Monday, customers were beginning to fear the worst after the closures of the Ontario and Nova Scotia Peavey Mart locations. Social media was rife with speculation.
Peavey had said closing some of its stores would help optimize its retail footprint by reallocating resources to markets with stronger performance while addressing underperforming locations.
However, that post disappeared from its website and individual store managers in other parts of the country started sharing information indicating that they, too, would be shut down, which led to speculation that the entire retail chain would go under.
Searches for "Peavey Mart closing" trended across Canada, according to Google's online dashboard and local Facebook and Reddit groups in Western Canada were full of discussion and speculation about the store's future.
The company, which marketed itself as a "farm and ranch" retailer, traces its history back to 1967 when it was known as National Farmway. Its first retail location was in Dawson Creek, B.C., and over the decades, it spread across the country.
Though it was briefly owned by the Peavey Company of Minneapolis, it returned to Canadian ownership in 1984, and it says it is "100 per cent Canadian-owned and operated."
Customers look for alternatives
Fans of the chain say it provided a service for people in rural communities not found in other big box retailers by selling goods such as farm equipment and horse feed.
"It was a place you could go and readily get some stuff you need quickly," Crispin Colvin, an area director of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, told CBC News last week after the announcement of closures in that province.
"They're really a handy store. It's unfortunate because now people will have to drive farther to get things, which adds to the cost."
Colvin said while online retailing has changed the farm supply market, he and many other farmers like to see merchandise in person before they buy.
"Whether it's a bag of feed or whatever, I prefer to go in and have a look to see what the options are," he said. "Online gives you a picture, but there's a lot to be said for going into the store and seeing the product."
With files from Andrew Lupton, Jessica Ng and The Canadian Press