Ayre and Sons

Ayre and Sons, also known as Ayre & Sons and Ayre's, was a Newfoundland retail company whose principal business was a department-store chain. Charles R. Ayre established the company in St. John's in 1859 and opened its original flagship on Water Street. That location became the historic center of the business and represented the company's long association with downtown St. John's retailing. The company later developed beyond its original department-store format. During the 1960s, following Newfoundland's entry into Canadian Confederation in 1949, Ayre's expanded its department-store presence to other communities and commercial centers in the province. Recorded locations included Mount Pearl, Carbonear, Corner Brook, and Wabush, while an Ayre's department store opened at Avalon Mall in St. John's when the shopping centre opened in 1967. This expansion connected the business with both established downtown retailing and the province's emerging suburban shopping-mall format. Ayre and Sons also operated a separate supermarket business under the name Ayre's Supermarkets. In 1963, the supermarket operation was sold to Dominion Stores Ltd. At the time of the sale, it comprised six stores in the St. John's area—five in St. John's and one in Mount Pearl—as well as supermarkets in Carbonear and Corner Brook. The stores subsequently adopted the Dominion name, meaning that Ayre's supermarket identity disappeared even though many of the locations continued to operate as food stores under successor ownership. The later history of those supermarkets followed the changing structure of Canadian grocery retailing. Dominion was sold to A&P Canada, and Dominion's Newfoundland and Labrador stores were resold to local owners in 1987. Those operations were later combined with two smaller local chains under a parent company called Amalco Foods, while the retail brand remained Dominion. Loblaw Companies Limited acquired the amalgamated chain in 1995. These later transactions were not ownership of the remaining Ayre department-store business, but they explain the corporate and brand succession of the supermarket locations originally associated with Ayre's. The department-store company encountered financial difficulties in the 1980s. After a prolonged period of difficulty, Ayre and Sons filed for bankruptcy in 1991 and ceased to operate as a continuing department-store chain. Individual former locations had varied later histories. The Avalon Mall premises were substantially changed during the mall's 1993 renovation program and were subsequently occupied by other retailers and services. Former supermarket sites likewise became Dominion stores, other grocery formats, pharmacies, or redeveloped property. Ayre and Sons therefore survives principally as a historical Newfoundland retail name, associated with the development of department stores and supermarkets in St. John's and other communities across the province.

Ayre and Sons began in 1859, when Charles R. Ayre opened a department store on Water Street in St. John's, Newfoundland. The Water Street premises served as the company's original flagship and remained the defining location of the business. The company grew within the retail economy of Newfoundland and eventually operated both department stores and supermarkets. The supermarket activity developed under the Ayre's Supermarkets name. In 1963, that operation was sold to Dominion Stores Ltd. The sold business included six supermarkets in the St. John's area, with five in St. John's and one in Mount Pearl, plus stores in Carbonear and Corner Brook. After the transaction, the supermarkets adopted the Dominion banner. Their subsequent ownership history passed through A&P Canada and then local ownership in 1987. The local operators combined the Dominion business with two smaller chains and used Amalco Foods as the name of the resulting parent company, although the stores continued trading as Dominion. Loblaw Companies Limited acquired that amalgamated chain in 1995. The department-store side of Ayre and Sons continued to expand during the 1960s. The chain added locations in Mount Pearl, Carbonear, Corner Brook, and Wabush. In St. John's, it opened an Ayre's department store at Avalon Mall in 1967, the year the shopping centre opened. These locations show the company's movement from its historic downtown base toward suburban malls and regional communities. The company later faced financial problems in the 1980s. It filed for bankruptcy in 1991, ending Ayre and Sons as an operating department-store chain. Its former properties and affiliated supermarket sites followed separate paths. The Avalon Mall space was altered during a major renovation in 1993 and was later divided or occupied by unrelated tenants. Several supermarket locations became Dominion stores for periods of time, while others closed, moved, changed banners, or were redeveloped. A former Parade Street supermarket was destroyed in a major fire on December 21, 1992, after the Ayre operation had already become Dominion; the site later became the location of St. John's Central Fire Station. The historical Ayre name is consequently linked to Newfoundland's department-store and grocery-retailing development rather than to a current operating company.

• 1995

  Amalco grocery chain acquired by Loblaw

  [1]Ayre and Sonsen.wikipedia.org

  Loblaw Companies Limited acquired the amalgamated chain whose stores retained the Dominion name. The chain included supermarket operations that had originated with Ayre's.

• 1991

  Bankruptcy filing

  [1]Ayre and Sonsen.wikipedia.org

  Ayre and Sons filed for bankruptcy after encountering financial problems during the 1980s.

• 1987

  Dominion stores resold to local owners

  [1]Ayre and Sonsen.wikipedia.org

  After Dominion's sale to A&P Canada, the Dominion stores in Newfoundland and Labrador were resold to local owners.

• 1967

  Avalon Mall location opens

  [1]Ayre and Sonsen.wikipedia.org

  Ayre's opened a department-store location at Avalon Mall in St. John's when the mall opened.

• 1963

  Supermarket division sold

  [1]Ayre and Sonsen.wikipedia.org

  Ayre's Supermarkets was sold to Dominion Stores Ltd., covering stores in St. John's, Mount Pearl, Carbonear, and Corner Brook.

• 1859

  Company founded in St. John's

  [1]Ayre and Sonsen.wikipedia.org

  Charles R. Ayre founded Ayre and Sons and opened the company's original flagship department store on Water Street in St. John's.

A regional Newfoundland department-store and grocery retailer serving urban, suburban, and smaller-community markets through department stores and supermarkets.

• Department stores · 1859

  Ayre's Department Stores

  The company's principal retail format sold general department-store merchandise through its historic Water Street flagship and later regional and mall locations. The network expanded during the 1960s to communities including Mount Pearl, Carbonear, Corner Brook, and Wabush, as well as Avalon Mall in St. John's.

• Supermarkets · 1960

  Ayre's Supermarkets

  Ayre's supermarket operation served St. John's, Mount Pearl, Carbonear, and Corner Brook. The division was sold to Dominion Stores Ltd. in 1963, and the stores subsequently operated under the Dominion banner rather than the Ayre's name.

• 1991

  Bankruptcy and business closureOther

  Background

  The company encountered financial problems during the 1980s while operating its department-store chain.

  Action taken

  Ayre and Sons filed for bankruptcy.

  Aftermath

  Ayre and Sons ceased to operate as a continuing department-store chain, while individual former properties and supermarket sites followed separate later ownership, tenant, or redevelopment paths.

  Source

• 1963

  Sale of the supermarket divisionM&A

  Background

  Ayre and Sons operated supermarkets separately from its department stores, with locations in the St. John's area and other Newfoundland communities.

  Action taken

  The supermarket business was sold to Dominion Stores Ltd. and the stores adopted the Dominion brand.

  Aftermath

  The former Ayre supermarket locations became part of the later Dominion, A&P Canada, local-owner, Amalco Foods, and Loblaw succession described in the company's retail history.

  Source

1. 1Ayre and Sonsen.wikipedia.org