brettrobinson
New Member
Anyone know what is happening with Up Country on King St E? They are clearing out their entire stock of furniture. Is it closing?
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Up Country on King St
- Thread starter brettrobinson
- Start date
urbandreamer
recession proof
I hope so it seriously is bad taste! Shop at Italinteriors instead.
RJR123
Active Member
It's hardly the Brick or Leon's. And most people can't afford the $10,000 couches at Italinteriors.
UpCountry was bought by another company - they are liquidating their current inventory. I believe they will be keeping the name.
AndreaPalladio
Senior Member
The sale's been going on since early July. Is there anything worth buying left?
RJR123
Active Member
I went on Sunday and while there seems to still be a pretty good selection left, the discounts aren't nearly as great as one would be led to believe from their adverts in the Star. It was more like a 25-30% discount (as opposed to the "up to" 80% touted in the Star).
AndreaPalladio
Senior Member
What? Incorrect information in an ad? In the Star? I can't, no, won't believe it.
RJR123
Active Member
'twas the day my innocence was lost.
Urban Shocker
Doyenne
If the sale's been going on since early July it's unlikely any of the 80% off junk is left.
AndreaPalladio
Senior Member
Usually at sales they sell off the good stuff at lesser markdowns first, and then the junk no one wants goes at the higher markdown.
RJR123
Active Member
Today is the last day so perhaps in an air of desperation they have marked them down further? Or maybe they'll just move it all to their warehouse facility. I'm curious to see if their overall furniture style will change with the new owners.
AndreaPalladio
Senior Member
I will admit to hardly ever going into that huge new store. Possibly they overextened themselves with this last move and expansion? It was always an operation which never seemed very settled, given that this is the 5 location that I can recall, offhand.
PukeGreen
Active Member
Bankrupt
Well, yesterday's article in The Star explains everything. UpCountry is bankrupt and there is no saviour. I feel sorry for those who left deposits they may never get back.
--
THE DOWNFALL OF UPCOUNTRY
Trendy urban furniture store declares bankruptcy; owner says he overexpanded with two new stores
Oct 13, 2007 04:30 AM
Dana Flavelle, Business Reporter
A well-known Toronto furniture retailer that catered to the hip young downtown crowd has filed for bankruptcy owing millions of dollars and leaving hundreds of customers in the dark.
With its sleek microfibre couches in neutral beige tones and dark Scandinavian-style wooden dining sets, UpCountry built its name on high design at moderate prices.
But the 15-year-old retailer became overextended after investing millions in a new King St. E. store and expanding into two new suburban locations in Vaughan and Burlington, the owner, Terry Iwaskiw said.
"We spent twice as much money as we had planned on the downtown store. And somehow I became convinced that opening two suburban stores was a good idea," Iwaskiw said in a telephone interview yesterday. "We overexpanded."
The company filed an assignment in bankruptcy on Wednesday, said Alan Shiner, a partner in the Richmond Hill firm of Shiner Kideckel Zweig, which is handling the bankruptcy.
The chain owes "millions," Shiner said, adding the final tally is still being calculated.
Hundreds of customers are affected, Iwaskiw said, adding that his main supplier is doing its best to ensure their orders get filled.
Most of what was sold in the store was made to order, he explained. Customers put down a deposit worth 50 per cent and paid the balance on delivery.
Elite Design Furnishings, of Concord, one of UpCountry's biggest suppliers, said it is trying to fill as many customers' orders as possible. "We've already helped a lot of people," said Elite Design's owner Rick De Groot, adding that he'd recently taken over the store in Vaughan Mills that formerly belonged to UpCountry.
But several customers told the Star they've had no luck finding out what has happened to their order.
Zachary Leung, 25, put down a $1,250 deposit on furniture he ordered three months ago from the UpCountry outlet in Vaughan Mills. But the pieces never arrived. A few weeks ago, he says he contacted the manufacturer, Gus Design, and was told his order should have been filled in about two to four weeks.
"It is disheartening to know they were open even up to the day before and still taking deposit money from customers who will obviously never get their furniture. I will most likely never receive mine, and thus am trying to find any means possible to get my deposit of $1,249.72 back," Leung wrote in an email.
Adding to the confusion for customers were reports that Elite Design Furnishings had taken over UpCountry's stores last August. Elite's De Groot said yesterday that's untrue. Iwaskiw said Elite was running the stores on his behalf while he oversaw the renovations at 310 King St. E. But he acknowledged that a formal sale of the company to Elite did not take place.
Leung said he was sorry to see the company close. "The store looks very high-end but when you go in the prices are not cheap but at the same time they're not as much as the real designer stores around the same area," he said.
Iwaskiw said problems fulfilling orders plagued the business after it expanded. "The infrastructure wasn't there to fulfil the orders," he said. "We went from being a $7 million-a-year business to a $17 million-a-year business."
The company's problems aren't related to a soaring loonie or the move to manufacture offshore, Iwaskiw said. In fact, his main supplier, Elite Design, had moved more of its production to China in recent years, he noted. "If we had stayed where we were at 214 King St. E., we would have been fine."
Instead, he moved down the street and plowed nearly $3 million into a loft-style store complete with concrete flooring, soaring ceilings and chrome and glass fixtures, at the same time as he opened two new suburban locations.
For Iwaskiw, who said he founded the business and designed many of the furniture collections, the closing is a sad occasion. "I have a lot of goodbyes to say to the staff."
http://www.thestar.com/article/266484
Well, yesterday's article in The Star explains everything. UpCountry is bankrupt and there is no saviour. I feel sorry for those who left deposits they may never get back.
--
THE DOWNFALL OF UPCOUNTRY
Trendy urban furniture store declares bankruptcy; owner says he overexpanded with two new stores
Oct 13, 2007 04:30 AM
Dana Flavelle, Business Reporter
A well-known Toronto furniture retailer that catered to the hip young downtown crowd has filed for bankruptcy owing millions of dollars and leaving hundreds of customers in the dark.
With its sleek microfibre couches in neutral beige tones and dark Scandinavian-style wooden dining sets, UpCountry built its name on high design at moderate prices.
But the 15-year-old retailer became overextended after investing millions in a new King St. E. store and expanding into two new suburban locations in Vaughan and Burlington, the owner, Terry Iwaskiw said.
"We spent twice as much money as we had planned on the downtown store. And somehow I became convinced that opening two suburban stores was a good idea," Iwaskiw said in a telephone interview yesterday. "We overexpanded."
The company filed an assignment in bankruptcy on Wednesday, said Alan Shiner, a partner in the Richmond Hill firm of Shiner Kideckel Zweig, which is handling the bankruptcy.
The chain owes "millions," Shiner said, adding the final tally is still being calculated.
Hundreds of customers are affected, Iwaskiw said, adding that his main supplier is doing its best to ensure their orders get filled.
Most of what was sold in the store was made to order, he explained. Customers put down a deposit worth 50 per cent and paid the balance on delivery.
Elite Design Furnishings, of Concord, one of UpCountry's biggest suppliers, said it is trying to fill as many customers' orders as possible. "We've already helped a lot of people," said Elite Design's owner Rick De Groot, adding that he'd recently taken over the store in Vaughan Mills that formerly belonged to UpCountry.
But several customers told the Star they've had no luck finding out what has happened to their order.
Zachary Leung, 25, put down a $1,250 deposit on furniture he ordered three months ago from the UpCountry outlet in Vaughan Mills. But the pieces never arrived. A few weeks ago, he says he contacted the manufacturer, Gus Design, and was told his order should have been filled in about two to four weeks.
"It is disheartening to know they were open even up to the day before and still taking deposit money from customers who will obviously never get their furniture. I will most likely never receive mine, and thus am trying to find any means possible to get my deposit of $1,249.72 back," Leung wrote in an email.
Adding to the confusion for customers were reports that Elite Design Furnishings had taken over UpCountry's stores last August. Elite's De Groot said yesterday that's untrue. Iwaskiw said Elite was running the stores on his behalf while he oversaw the renovations at 310 King St. E. But he acknowledged that a formal sale of the company to Elite did not take place.
Leung said he was sorry to see the company close. "The store looks very high-end but when you go in the prices are not cheap but at the same time they're not as much as the real designer stores around the same area," he said.
Iwaskiw said problems fulfilling orders plagued the business after it expanded. "The infrastructure wasn't there to fulfil the orders," he said. "We went from being a $7 million-a-year business to a $17 million-a-year business."
The company's problems aren't related to a soaring loonie or the move to manufacture offshore, Iwaskiw said. In fact, his main supplier, Elite Design, had moved more of its production to China in recent years, he noted. "If we had stayed where we were at 214 King St. E., we would have been fine."
Instead, he moved down the street and plowed nearly $3 million into a loft-style store complete with concrete flooring, soaring ceilings and chrome and glass fixtures, at the same time as he opened two new suburban locations.
For Iwaskiw, who said he founded the business and designed many of the furniture collections, the closing is a sad occasion. "I have a lot of goodbyes to say to the staff."
http://www.thestar.com/article/266484
Quite unfortunate. Another lesson in not biting off more than you can chew...
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adma
Superstar
Up Country Up Chucked.
grey
Senior Member
Can anyone recommend some alternatives? I'm tired of sitting on boxes.