MONTREAL -- DavidsTea Inc. announced on Thursday its plans to reopen just 18 stores in Canada, seven of which are located in Quebec.
The tea retailer has sent lease termination notices to its 82 other stores, which will come into effect in 30 days.
The decision was made as part of the brand’s restructuring plan under creditor’s protection.
The 18 stores set to reopen “are all located in major shopping malls,” DavidsTea said in a statement.
In addition to seven stores in Quebec, five will be located in Ontario, and the rest will be scattered around Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba and New Brunswick.
The proposed new lease terms are expected to give the company termination rights at the end of 2020 and the flexibility of an option to extend leases.
“We believe that a select group of our best-performing stores, complementing our growing online and wholesale business model and supported by an entrepreneurial organization, will enhance DAVIDsTEA’s ability to emerge from the CCAA restructuring process as a more sustainable and resilient organization,” Herschel Segal the founder, chairman and interim CEO of the brand said in a statement Thursday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 30, 2020.
