Who owns jean machine

Their online store will also be non-operational as of the new year. The retailer made the sad announcement on Twitter yesterday and, surprise, hardly anyone cared. The tweet got a pitiful 5 retweets and a single like. November 1, The retailer did get some love on Instagram, though. Their announcement got over comments from customers and employees who are sad to see the jean shop go. I will miss jean machine endlessly.

Jean Machine's decision to shutter all of its locations in Ontario was likely a difficult one to make. The store launched a rebrand to appeal to an older demographic in after they were acquired by a Vancouver-based retail company.

But, even that couldn't save them from bankruptcy, which the retailer filed in January If you live in Ontario, you likely have a Jean Machine location near you - even though you've probably never noticed. In response, jeans manufacturers have started producing more relaxed, comfortable, stretch-fit denim, he said. According to market research firm Euromonitor, Canadian shoppers returned to denim in , as the trend towards yoga pants, leggings and track suits began to show signs of decline.

The rise was attributed to an influx of retailers in Canada such as Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue as well as a weak loonie. Earlier this month, True Religion, cited by Euromonitor as another example of a super premium jean brand, filed for bankruptcy protection in the U. Retail expert Farla Efros says the main reason for the discrepancies in consumer appetite for denim in the two countries is that the U. In the case of True Religion, the brand is not only sold in department stores like they are in Canada, but also in stand-alone locations under their own banner.

She also noted that in terms of retail trends, Canada is often considered three years behind what happens in the U. Pseudonyms will no longer be permitted. By submitting a comment, you accept that CBC has the right to reproduce and publish that comment in whole or in part, in any manner CBC chooses. Jean Machine had a few stores in the U.

The jeans sold out that first day at the Pentagon City mall in Washington, D. Time has a way of making you forget the old rises, Iggy Eterno says. He recently found his favourite pair of Pepe Jeans from and tried them on.

When the Frisco jean hit stores, it was considered low-rise, but there was about 12 inches of fabric between the centre crotch and the waistband which is considered high-rise today. Eterno remembers the fly was 2. As rises went lower, stores like Old Navy and American Eagle entered Ontario malls, and competition began to change, in the mall and online.

Around , yoga pants and athleisure were clearly taking a bite out of the denim market, says Farla Efros, the president of the consulting firm HRC Retail Advisory. As the world became more casual, a nice pair of dark denim jeans began to replace black pants at the office, she says. Fast-fashion retailers had cheap and easy options, and there was premium denim at places like Nordstrom.

The market was crowded and Jean Machine was in the middle. They had online sales in , but it was a small portion of the business, Darren Perlman says. Bissy Waariyo, 28, doesn't agree. She discovered Jean Machine as a teenager and was a loyal customer because she could always rely on jeans that fit properly. Jean Machine had solved the problem, but the brands she saw seemed a little dated.

In , fashion is more gender-neutral, vintage-inspired and curated. Jean Machine never had anything that pricey. Yoga Jeans were added around , and every year Perlman made a trip to the San Pedro market in Los Angeles, where he found the maxi skirts and dresses that were popular.

It was almost next to impossible. In early , Jean Machine filed for bankruptcy protection, and its 30 stores were purchased by Comark Services Inc. They felt denim was ready for a comeback. There had been rent relief for some of the locations, but that was due to expire, and 10 leases were up for renewal in The forecast was not promising, he says, and Comark decided in the summer of to shutter the chain. Staff will be given severance based on years of service.

In the second week of January, Eterno drove to Sudbury to close his first store. When he arrived at the mall with the store manager, the lowercase sans-serif sign was already down. The Eaton Centre — Store 24 — closes Jan. The store is half-empty, and the jeans are arranged by size, so customers can find their final bargain with ease. But staff are still asking if they can just make one suggestion.

The customer agrees, and as she stands at the cash register purchasing the Marilyn, she says she is sorry the store is closing. He still wears jeans every day, except on the beach, where he finds twill shorts a better fit. Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited.