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Finance Lifestyle

Addition-Elle and Thyme are closing in Canada

Addition Elle and Thyme will be shutting down operations this summer, parent company Reitmans has announced.

The news comes on the heels of a restructuring plan announced last month, which saw the Canadian clothing company file for creditor protection in Quebec superior court. The restructuring effort is meant to “re-position the Company for long-term success,” the brand said today in a statement.

Seventy-eight Addition-Elle stores (including eight locations in the GTA) and 54 Thyme stores (including three in the GTA) will be affected. Stores, once they are cleared to reopen post-COVID-19, will be open until July 18 (Thyme) and August 15 (Addition Elle). The online stores for both brands will close on the same day as their respective physical locations.

Sibling brands Reitmans, RW&Co. and Penningtons will remain open.

“The strategic decision to close two beloved Canadian fashion brands was not made lightly, but it is necessary to enable our business to move forward as a profitable organization,” president and CEO Stephen F. Reitman said.

“All of the efforts we put forth to turn these brands around were derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic and, unfortunately, we can no longer afford the required resources to bring them back to profitability.”

Addition Elle was the subject of a splashy, lifestyle-oriented rebrand a year ago, bringing on Canadian designer Andy The-Anh as creative director. Stores received a branding makeover, shelves were stocked with items like jade face rollers and jewelry from indie companies, and the brand even started offering upmarket items like genuine leather pieces and name-brand lines like Levi’s.

Reitman says they will continue to serve the plus market in Canada through both Reitmans and Pennington’s, a less fashion-forward plus brand aimed at a more casual demographic.

“We are committed to the plus-size market in Canada with both a size-inclusive offering at Reitmans, and dedicated expertise and service at Penningtons,” Reitman said. (RW&Co., which caters to men and women, does not offer plus size clothing.)

Though Pennington’s and Addition Elle’s online stores frequently offered identical inventory, there’s no word yet on how Pennington’s product offerings will change in Addition Elle’s absence.

@nataliamanzocco

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