The Brick

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For other uses, see Brick (disambiguation).
The Brick
Type Public (TSX: BRK.UN)
Founded 1971
Founder(s) Bill Comrie, Fred Comrie and John Comrie
Headquarters Flag of Canada Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Key people CEO Bill Gregson[1], COO Troy Davis, CFO Nick Bobrow, CDO Frank Talarico
Industry Retail
Products Home Furnishing
Website www.thebrickgroup.ca

The Brick Group Income Fund (TSX: BRK.UN) 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 in 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 Group Income Fund 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. In addition, the Brick Group Income Fund operates distribution centres in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto and Montreal. Quebec stores are branded simply as Brick.

The Brick Group Income Fund 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 a hockey player in the NHL.

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

[edit] Brands

The Brick carries a wide variety of consumer brands, including:

[edit] Other Divisions

The Brick's 210 (14 franchised) are operated under The Brick Group banner. Besides the Brick stores, the firm also sells furniture through other affiliates:

  • www.bid.com - linked with Brick's main website
  • Home Show Canada - 3 locations in Toronto, Ontario area in 2001 - re-branded The Brick Superstores in 2006
  • Mid-Northern Appliances Industries - division of the Brick in Toronto, Ontario
  • United Furniture Warehouse
  • Sleep Better (first group of stores opened in the Toronto, Ontario area on August 11, 2005)- re-branded The Brick Mattress Store in 2006
  • Trans Global Warranty Corporation
  • Trans Global Insurance Company (TGI)
  • Trans Global Life Insurance Company (TGLI)
  • The Brick Group Income Fund
  • The Second Foundry Holding Corporation

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.integratir.com/newsrelease.asp?ticker=T.BRK.UN&news=2131022574&lang=EN&alt=
  2. ^ "The Brick plans $400M IPO as income trust". Ottawa Business Journal. 2009-05-31. http://www.ottawabusinessjournal.com/280637025308211.php. 
  3. ^ "Brick to rebrand Sleep Better chain". National Post. 2006-01-17. 

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Brick"
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