Corby Spirit and Wine Ltd. says it has agreed to sell the Lamb’s rum brand and certain related assets for $39.2 million in a move the company says will sharpen its focus on higher-growth areas of its business.
The Toronto-based spirits, wine and ready-to-drink beverage company said it has signed a definitive agreement to sell the brand and related intellectual property, along with brand inventories at closing, to Maison des Futailles, L.P., a subsidiary of Phildan Inc., and Glen Turner Company Limited, a subsidiary of COFEPP SAS.
Under the agreement, Phildan will acquire the North American rights to the Lamb’s brand, while COFEPP will acquire rights to the brand outside North America.
Corby said the transaction is intended to concentrate its resources on priority growth platforms, including ready-to-drink beverages and premium spirits, while freeing capital for higher-return opportunities. The company also said the sale will simplify its portfolio and support its long-term growth, profitability and shareholder value objectives.
Florence Tresarrieu
“The sale of Lamb’s is a disciplined portfolio management decision that supports Corby’s long-term strategy,” said Florence Tresarrieu, president and chief executive officer of Corby. “It allows us to further focus our resources on higher-priority categories, strengthen our financial position, and continue investing behind the brands and innovations that will drive Corby’s next chapter of growth.”
Corby said it and its affiliated companies will continue to provide transition support related to production and distribution of the brand for a period following the closing of the transaction.
The company’s board of directors has approved the sale.
For the buyers, the acquisition expands their ownership of the Lamb’s brand across different geographic markets.
Corby Spirit and Wine Ltd. photo
“Lamb’s is one of Canada’s most recognized rum brands, and we’re proud to welcome it into the Dandurand Group family. This acquisition strengthens our brand portfolio, expands our presence in the spirits category and reflects our long-term commitment to investing in brands with strong consumer recognition and significant growth potential,” said Hugues Gauthier, president of Phildan.
COFEPP, through its subsidiary Glen Turner Company Limited, will assume ownership of the brand outside North America.
“Lamb’s is a well-established brand in the United Kingdom that complements our existing portfolio and strategic objectives. We are excited about the opportunities ahead and committed to supporting the brand’s continued success, and building the next chapter of its long history,” said Christophe Pichambert, international director, La Martiniquaise-Bardinet.
Corby is a Toronto-based manufacturer, marketer and distributor of spirits, wines and ready-to-drink beverages. Its portfolio includes owned brands such as J.P. Wiser’s, Lot 40, Pike Creek, Polar Ice, McGuinness, Cottage Springs, Nude and Foreign Affair, while it also represents a range of international spirits, wines and ready-to-drink products in Canada through commercial affiliations.
Children’s audio platform Yoto has made its largest Canadian retail expansion to date through a new partnership with Indigo, bringing its screen-free audio players, cards and accessories to 90 stores across the country.
Karen Zakeri, Country Manager for Yoto Canada
The products launched August 5 in Indigo’s Kids departments and on Indigo.ca. Dedicated branded displays have been introduced in stores to help families explore Yoto’s card-based audio system, which gives children control over the stories, music and other content they hear.
The rollout marks Yoto’s first major national retail partnership in Canada after approximately four and a half years of building its direct-to-consumer business in the market.
Karen Zakeri, Country Manager for Yoto Canada, said the company waited until its Canadian operations, content library and fulfilment capabilities were ready to support expansion on a national scale.
“Canada has always been a key market for us. Yoto fans here have been some of our most loyal from day one,” she said. “But we wanted to earn this moment rather than rush it.”
Canadian Growth Drives National Retail Expansion
The Indigo partnership follows a period of considerable Canadian growth for Yoto. According to the company, Canada was its largest growth market globally last year, recording a 50 per cent year-over-year increase.
Much of that growth occurred without a major national bricks-and-mortar presence. Yoto had concentrated on its direct-to-consumer channel, supported by Amazon, paid media, word of mouth and a smaller network of independent retailers.
Zakeri said the strength of demand, despite limited physical availability, showed that the Canadian market was ready for a broader rollout.
“When organic demand outpaces your physical availability at that rate, it’s a clear signal the market is ready for you to show up in a bigger way,” she said. “Indigo allows us to meet that demand where families already are.”
Founded by Ben Drury and Filip Denker in 2017, Yoto offers two principal devices: the Yoto Player and the portable Yoto Mini. Children choose what to hear by inserting physical audio cards into the players, without navigating a conventional phone or tablet interface.
Yoto’s catalogue includes more than 1,200 stories, songs, activities and other audio experiences. The platform carries original programming and licensed or co-created content from publishers, music companies and entertainment brands. Its players have no cameras, microphones or advertising.
Building the Canadian Business Before Scaling
Yoto developed its Canadian business gradually, focusing first on the operational foundation needed to serve customers reliably.
Before entering a national retail partnership, the company wanted to ensure its distribution, fulfilment and content offering were properly established for Canada. Zakeri said Yoto did not want to copy the approach used in its more mature markets without considering the needs of Canadian families.
“This launch with Indigo represents the moment all of that came together,” she said. “It’s not the start of our Canadian strategy, but it’s proof that now, the foundation is right, and we can build on it with confidence.”
Physical retail adds another route to market for a company that will continue to place considerable importance on direct sales.
Yoto’s own platform allows the company to maintain relationships with customers, observe purchasing patterns and respond quickly to feedback. Indigo gives the brand exposure to families who may be unfamiliar with the system or who want to handle a player and understand how its cards work before purchasing.
“DTC and retail aren’t competing channels for us. They’re complementary,” Zakeri said. “DTC lets us build direct relationships and respond quickly to what families want; retail like Indigo lets us put the product in front of new families who may not have discovered us yet, in a setting where they can see, touch and experience it in person.”
That physical interaction is particularly relevant for a product built around an ecosystem of players, audio cards and accessories. The Indigo partnership puts Yoto in front of parents who are already browsing children’s books, educational products and gifts.
Photo: Yoto
Why Indigo Was Selected
Yoto selected Indigo because of the retailer’s national reach and longstanding association with books, storytelling and discovery.
“Indigo isn’t just a retailer to Canadian families; it’s a cultural institution,” Zakeri said. “It’s where parents already go to build a love of reading and discovery in their kids, from picture books to gifts to experiences.”
Yoto extends that connection with storytelling into audio. Its card-based format allows children to select and control their own stories, music and learning content independently.
Nicole Savo, Kids Senior Category Manager at Indigo, said the product aligned with the retailer’s focus on encouraging a lasting interest in reading and learning.
“At Indigo, everything we do is rooted in inspiring a lifelong love of reading and learning,” she said. “We’re thrilled to bring Yoto to our customers because they share that same belief—that stories have the power to spark imagination, creativity and connection.”
Savo said Yoto also gives families a way to keep children engaged with stories without relying on a conventional screen, whether they are at home, travelling or spending time outdoors.
The products are available through Indigo’s Kids departments in 90 stores nationwide and through the retailer’s website.
Dedicated Displays and a Larger Holiday Presence
Yoto has been introduced through dedicated branded displays within Indigo’s existing Kids sections.
The approach places the products alongside categories associated with children’s reading, learning and imaginative play, while giving Yoto a clear visual identity within the department. The displays are intended to help shoppers understand the players and browse the card library.
Zakeri said Yoto would appear more prominently within the Indigo ecosystem during the holiday season, although the companies have not yet disclosed details of the planned activity.
The holiday period is likely to be an important test of how the brand performs in a national retail setting, particularly among shoppers encountering Yoto for the first time while looking for children’s gifts.
The Yoto Mini and travel-oriented content have already generated strong interest among Canadian customers, according to Zakeri. She said families are using the portable player during cottage weekends, road trips and flights.
Yoto is also seeing demand for recognizable entertainment properties and music tied to current cultural interests, including Disney and K-pop. Other areas of interest include original stories, music discovery and audio developed for bedtime or focus routines.
Make Your Own cards have consistently ranked among the company’s bestselling products, Zakeri added. Families can use the cards to add their own recordings or audio, including stories, music and personal messages.
Demand for Tactile, Screen-Free Experiences
Yoto’s retail expansion comes as some parents reconsider the role of phones and tablets in children’s entertainment.
Zakeri said the company is seeing several consumer trends converge, including concern about unstructured screen time, interest in child-led play and renewed enthusiasm for tactile products that children can hold and collect.
Yoto’s physical cards allow children to browse and choose content without opening an app or navigating an illuminated screen. Once audio has been downloaded, Wi-Fi is not required for regular listening, according to the company.
Zakeri compared the interest in tangible children’s products with the resurgence of vinyl records and board games. In each case, the physical format becomes part of how consumers discover, organize and interact with the content.
For Yoto, the combination of physical cards and digital audio also creates opportunities for repeat purchases. Families can expand their libraries over time through individual titles, collections and user-created cards.
The system therefore sits across several retail categories, including children’s books, toys, consumer electronics, licensed entertainment and gifts. Indigo’s Kids departments give the company a setting where those categories already overlap.
Canadian Authors and French-Language Content
As its distribution expands, Yoto is also working to make its content and marketing more specific to the Canadian market.
The company ran a dedicated Canada Day campaign for the first time in 2026, highlighting Canadian content and interests. It has partnered with Canadian parent communities and is exploring collaborations with domestic brands.
Content localization will be another priority. Yoto is pursuing work involving Canadian authors and examining opportunities to expand its Quebec French-language library.
“We want Yoto to feel like it was made for Canadian families,” Zakeri said.
The company is also preparing to launch a partnership with a major Canadian author during the holiday season. Yoto has not yet identified the author or disclosed details of the project.
The French-language opportunity could help the brand reach more families in Quebec and other bilingual markets. It also supports Yoto’s goal of building a Canadian offering informed by local customer demand.
Further Retail Partnerships Planned
Indigo is Yoto’s first major Canadian retail partner, though the company plans to continue broadening its physical distribution.
Zakeri said Yoto would pursue retailers whose values and customer base align with the brand. She did not identify prospective partners or provide a timeline for additional announcements.
Over the next 12 to 24 months, Yoto’s Canadian strategy will centre on expanding its business-to-business retail network, developing partnerships with Canadian brands and communities, and using customer feedback to guide product and content decisions.
Those priorities could lead to a deeper French-language catalogue, further Canadian author collaborations and content connected to emerging cultural interests.
“Canadian families grew this business on trust,” Zakeri said. “Our responsibility now is to honour that as we scale into what comes next.”
The Indigo rollout gives Yoto a national physical platform after Canadian consumers had already demonstrated demand through online purchases and recommendations within parent communities. It also provides a foundation for the company’s next stage of growth, connecting wider retail availability with a more localized Canadian content strategy.
It said comparable sales accelerated to 3.8%, including 8.5% at Burger King US and 5.5% at International. RBI returned $435 million of capital to shareholders via dividends and share repurchases.
And it said it remains on track for 8% organic Adjusted Operating Income growth in 2026.
Josh KobzaTim Hortons photo
Josh Kobza, Chief Executive Officer of RBI commented, “We built on our strong start to 2026 with another quarter of over 3% global comparable sales and double-digit earnings growth, led by Burger King’s standout performance and continued strength at International. These results show the benefits of our diversified portfolio and that the strategy we outlined at Investor Day is working. Burger King’s performance is a great example of what’s possible when you invest in the fundamentals and execute well – an approach we’re applying across all of our brands.”
Restaurant Brands International Inc. is one of the world’s largest quick service restaurant companies with nearly $49 billion in annual system-wide sales and over 33,000 restaurants in more than 120 countries and territories. RBI owns four of the world’s most prominent and iconic quick service restaurant brands – Tim Hortons, Burger King, Popeyes and Firehouse Subs.
RBI’s principal executive offices are in Miami, Florida. In North America, RBI’s brands are headquartered in their home markets where they were founded decades ago: Canada for Tim Hortons and the U.S. for Burger King, Popeyes and Firehouse Subs.
McDonald’s says its new specialty beverage platform is performing at or above expectations in Canada, giving the restaurant giant early evidence that an expanded cold-drink menu can generate customer visits beyond its traditional meal periods.
Canada is one of the first major markets participating in the rollout, alongside the United States and Germany. Australia introduced the platform in July, with additional countries expected to follow as McDonald’s develops beverages into what it believes can become a long-term global growth platform.
The strategy reaches well beyond adding new drinks to the menu.
Executives said during McDonald’s second-quarter earnings call this week that the strongest early results have come during the afternoon, when restaurants typically have excess capacity. More than half of the beverage traffic across the initial launch markets has been occurring after lunch, creating new customer occasions rather than simply shifting existing demand. Customers are also adding food to many beverage purchases, producing average cheques approximately 50 per cent higher than McDonald’s full-day average.
McDonald’s did not disclose Canada-specific sales, traffic or average-cheque figures. The company said results from Canada and the other initial markets were consistently meeting or exceeding expectations.
Canada Becomes an Early Launch Market
McDonald’s Canada introduced its permanent beverage lineup nationally in May, adding Crafted Sodas, Refreshers and Cloud Iced Coffees at participating restaurants across the country.
The menu includes Crafted Sodas such as Sprite Berry Bliss, Orange Dream and Creamy Strawberry Coke, alongside fruit-based Refreshers and a range of Cloud Iced Coffees topped with cold foam.
The drinks are considerably more elaborate than the fountain beverages and traditional iced coffees long associated with McDonald’s. Cold foam, fruit garnishes, popping pearls and layered flavours move the chain into territory more commonly occupied by coffee shops, bubble tea operators and specialty beverage concepts.
Importantly, McDonald’s is pursuing that opportunity through its existing restaurants, drive-thrus and digital ecosystem rather than introducing a separate store format.
Canada’s menu also demonstrates how the company intends to scale the platform globally. While the overall beverage architecture is shared across markets, flavours and product combinations can be adapted to local tastes, allowing McDonald’s to balance global consistency with regional preferences.
Creating a New Afternoon Occasion
The most significant insight from the earnings call was not which drinks customers are ordering, but when they are buying them.
Afternoon traffic has long represented an opportunity for quick-service restaurant operators because restaurants typically have available capacity between the lunch and dinner rushes. Every additional beverage visit during those hours improves utilization without requiring another restaurant or additional dining space.
McDonald’s believes beverages can become a destination in their own right.
Management said customers frequently add food to their beverage purchases, increasing average order values while creating incremental visits that may not otherwise have occurred.
The company developed the broader strategy through testing in parts of the United States, where it evaluated customer demand, restaurant equipment, employee training and operational execution before expanding into Canada and other international markets.
Executives now view beverages as a platform capable of supporting multiple years of growth through new flavours, seasonal offerings, loyalty promotions and future product innovation.
That represents a different approach from the limited-time entertainment collaborations that have become common across the restaurant industry.
Chief Executive Officer Chris Kempczinski told analysts that McDonald’s must be careful not to rely too heavily on what he described as “borrowed equity” such as movies, sporting events or celebrity partnerships. While those campaigns can generate significant short-term attention, permanent menu platforms provide a stronger foundation for recurring customer visits and sustainable growth.
Competition Extends Beyond Traditional Quick Service
McDonald’s is expanding into one of the most competitive segments of Canada’s restaurant industry.
Tim Hortons has recently broadened its own cold beverage lineup with Sparkling Quenchers, Protein Quenchers and flavoured iced beverages, while Starbucks, bubble tea chains, convenience stores and specialty beverage operators continue investing heavily in the category.
McDonald’s has chosen to compete through visually distinctive drinks featuring cold foam, fruit garnishes and colourful flavour combinations designed to appeal to younger consumers and social media sharing.
The company also benefits from advantages many competitors cannot match, including one of Canada’s largest restaurant networks, an extensive drive-thru system and direct access to millions of customers through its mobile app and loyalty platform.
The objective is straightforward: encourage consumers to think about McDonald’s when they want an afternoon drink, even if they are not initially planning to purchase a meal.
Balancing Value and Premiumization
The beverage strategy also illustrates how McDonald’s is attempting to balance affordability with higher-value purchases.
The company brought back Summer Drink Days alongside the beverage launch while continuing its broader value initiatives, including $1 small McCafé coffee and $5 McValue Meals.
Those promotions reinforce McDonald’s value credentials while allowing Crafted Sodas, Refreshers and Cloud Iced Coffees to occupy a more premium position within the menu.
The approach reflects current consumer behaviour. Many customers remain highly price-conscious on everyday purchases while continuing to spend selectively on products they perceive as distinctive, convenient or indulgent.
McDonald’s is attempting to capture both ends of that spectrum within a single restaurant visit.
Execution Will Determine Long-Term Success
The earnings call also highlighted the principal risk facing the strategy.
McDonald’s acknowledged that U.S. restaurant teams became overwhelmed during the second quarter after several major initiatives, including value menu changes, digital promotions, the beverage rollout and FIFA marketing, were introduced within a relatively short period. The result was slower service and lower customer satisfaction.
Management has already begun simplifying restaurant operations and reducing non-customer-facing activities to allow employees to focus more closely on speed, hospitality and food quality.
“If it looks great on paper, but you can’t execute it, it doesn’t matter,” Kempczinski told analysts.
The company did not identify comparable issues in Canada. Even so, the U.S. experience illustrates the operational challenge associated with introducing products requiring additional preparation steps into a system built around speed and consistency.
Canadian restaurant teams now prepare beverages using syrups, cold foam, fruit toppings and multiple product builds while continuing to deliver McDonald’s core menu efficiently.
Execution is particularly important in Canada because approximately 92 per cent of the country’s 1,520 McDonald’s restaurants are operated by franchisees. Consistency across hundreds of independently operated restaurants will ultimately determine whether the platform can achieve the scale the company envisions.
Part of McDonald’s Next
The beverage rollout is one of the earliest public examples of McDonald’s Next, the company’s new global growth strategy that will be presented in greater detail during its September Investor Day.
The strategy focuses on improving food quality, strengthening customer engagement, simplifying restaurant operations and enhancing hospitality while identifying productivity improvements that can help fund future investment.
McDonald’s also plans to launch what it describes as the largest training initiative in its history on October 5, providing instruction centred on taste, quality and hospitality to more than two million restaurant crew members, company employees and supplier partners.
Taken together, those initiatives reflect a broader shift in strategy. Rather than relying primarily on periodic promotional campaigns, McDonald’s is investing in permanent platforms that it believes can generate recurring customer visits over many years.
Financial Results
McDonald’s reported global comparable sales growth of 1.3 per cent during the second quarter.
Comparable sales increased by 0.8 per cent in the United States, while International Operated Markets, which include Canada, recorded growth of 1.5 per cent. International Developmental Licensed Markets increased 1.9 per cent.
Systemwide sales grew four per cent in constant currencies, and McDonald’s generated more than US$4 billion in restaurant margins during the quarter.
The company continues to plan approximately 2,600 gross restaurant openings globally this year but now expects to reach 50,000 restaurants in 2028, one year later than previously anticipated, reflecting higher development costs and a more challenging consumer environment.
McDonald’s did not disclose a Canadian restaurant-opening target.
Canada’s early beverage results are likely to play an important role in determining how quickly the company expands the platform across additional international markets. If the early performance continues, beverages could become one of McDonald’s most significant growth opportunities outside its traditional breakfast, lunch and dinner business.
Neighbourhood Pharmacy Association of Canada photo
Neighbourly Pharmacy Inc., Canada’s largest and fastest-growing network of independent pharmacies, says it recently acquired seven additional pharmacies across the Prairies and Central Canada in multiple transactions, bringing its national footprint to 332 pharmacies and further expanding access to essential community healthcare.
“Independent pharmacies play an essential role in the health of the communities they serve, and we’re honoured that more pharmacy owners continue to choose Neighbourly as their long-term partner,” said Skip Bourdo, Chief Executive Officer of Neighbourly.
Skip Bourdo
“These acquisitions reflect our commitment to supporting local healthcare providers, investing in the communities we serve, and ensuring patients continue to have access to trusted care close to home. We look forward to welcoming these pharmacy teams to Neighbourly and building on the strong foundations that they have already established.”
Neighbourly says it is Canada’s largest and fastest-growing network of community pharmacies.
“United by a patient-first focus and their role as essential, trusted healthcare hubs, Neighbourly pharmacies deliver accessible care with a personal touch,” says the company which has been around since 2015.
Shopify announced Wednesday financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2026. Shopify said it achieved 34% revenue growth (33% in constant currency) and 18% free cash flow margins.
“This was a monster quarter: more than 30% growth in GMV (Gross Merchandise Volume) and revenue and gross profit and free cash flow,” said Harley Finkelstein, President of Shopify. “We power every kind of business, and with AI, we’re expanding what’s possible for all of them. No one else comes close.”
GMV was $115.6 billion, the fifth straight quarter of more than 30% growth. Revenue increased 34% year over year to $3.58 billion.
Shopify provides essential internet infrastructure for commerce. Millions of businesses in 175+ countries use Shopify—from entrepreneurs to brands like Aldo, BarkBox, Carrier, Meta, SKIMS, Supreme, and Vuori.
“GMV growth accelerated on top of last year’s already strong Q2 with solid results across all merchant sizes, channels, and geographies. Alongside this momentum, we continue to drive operating leverage, which flowed through to 18% free cash flow margins. Broad-based, consistent, and compounding growth with financial discipline; that’s exactly the model that we’ve been building,” said Jeff Hoffmeister, Chief Financial Officer.
Harley FinkelsteinJeff Hoffmeister
The company said AI is becoming a major driver of merchant growth and the company’s own productivity.
For the third quarter of 2026, Shopify said it expects:
Revenue to grow at a low-thirties percentage rate on a year-over-year basis;
Gross profit dollars to grow at a mid-to-high twenties percentage rate on a year-over-year basis;
Operating expenses as a percentage of revenue to be 33% to 34%;
Stock-based compensation to be $150 million; and
Free cash flow margin to be in the high-teens to low-twenties.
Welcome to the Daily Synopsis by Retail Insider. We hope you enjoy the 11 articles we published covering key developments in Canadian retail.
Sleep Country expanded its portfolio through acquiring Sleep Number, boosting its North American presence with 600 U.S. stores and enhancing its omnichannel retail strategy. Fendi opened its only independent Canadian boutique at Vancouver’s Oakridge Park, marking a significant return to the market with luxury offerings. Goodfood filed for CCAA protection to restructure and simplify operations under new CEO Najib Maalouf while maintaining service continuity.
Wayfair’s results highlight contrasting furniture market trends with a U.S. recovery contrasting subdued Canadian demand amid economic pressures. Retail Insider also published that Australian beef imports may sustain Canadian consumer demand as local prices remain high, and May retail sales data signals retail gains driven by fuel rather than discretionary spending.
Sunterra Market at West Market Square in Calgary. Photo: Trip Advisor
Alberta-based Sunterra Group, with a portfolio of grocery stores and meat processing facilities, recently went through a court-approved for sale or investment process within its court-supervised restructuring proceedings under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA).
In April, the Court of King’s Bench granted the sale and investment solicitation process for the company with a portfolio of agriculture and food businesses in Alberta including a multi-generational pork production operation with more than 595,000 square feet of barn infrastructure on 1.150 acres of land across eight facilities and a premium grocery retailer operating seven “farm-to-fork” market locations.
Interested parties who wanted to pursue this opportunity were given a deadline of June 25 to submit a letter of intent to the sale advisor, KPMG Corporate Finance Inc. The next phase involves the assessment of those submissions.
FTI Consulting Canada Inc. is the court-appointed monitor.
Exterior of the Sunterra Market at Bower Place in Red Deer, Alberta. Photo: Red Deer Branding Photography
In February Retail Insider reported that an Alberta judge ruled that Sunterra engaged in cheque kiting on what the court described as an “astonishing scale,” finding the company liable to U.S. agricultural lender Compeer Financial for approximately $35 million.
In a decision issued on January 27 by the Court of King’s Bench in Calgary, Justice Michael Lema also held Sunterra’s president personally responsible for the debt, marking a significant escalation in the legal and financial pressures facing the vertically integrated agri-food group, said the news story.
The ruling arrived as Sunterra continued to restructure under court supervision following months of financial strain, lender disputes, and operational disruption. While the decision focuses on conduct between Canadian and U.S. affiliates and lenders, it carries implications for the broader Sunterra group, including its premium Sunterra Market grocery stores across Alberta, said the story.
In his written decision, Justice Lema likened the financial practices at issue to a game of musical chairs where there are not enough seats when the music stops. He concluded that Sunterra’s Canadian entities fraudulently misrepresented the availability of funds behind cheques sent to the United States, inducing Compeer to continue honouring payments that were not backed by actual cash balances.
Founded in 1970 by the Price family, Sunterra traces its origins to Pig Improvement Canada, a hog-production business built on higher-standard farming practices. The company launched Sunterra Meats and Sunterra Market in 1990, the latter debuting in downtown Calgary’s Bankers Hall with a European-style market concept that emphasized fresh food, in-house production, and premium positioning.
Sunterra Market in Edmonton’s Lendrum Centre. Photo: Tripadvisor
In 2025, Sunterra filed a Notice of Intention (NOI) to make a proposal under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (BIA) and Harris & Partners was appointed as Proposal Trustee.
Court documentsindicated the company had more than 200 creditors with liabilities of $18.9 million
“Please be advised that the Company is not bankrupt and has availed itself to a procedure whereby an insolvent person, with creditor and Court approval, restructures its financial affairs,” said court documents. “The role of the Proposal Trustee in this matter is to monitor the cash flow of the Company during the restructuring process, to assist with the development of the Proposal, and to liaise with creditors, who will ultimately make the decision regarding the Proposal.”
In April 2025, Sunterra obtained protection under CCAA.
On its website, Sunterra for its market lists five Calgary locations, one in Edmonton and one in Red Deer. It also states that the Commerce Place location on Jasper Avenue in Edmonton is permanently closed.
Michael Kehoe, Broker with Fairfield Commercial Real Estate, said Sunterra Market has been a fixture on the Calgary grocery and food service scene for a generation and for Calgary consumers it would be sad to lose a family-owned and operated shopping option in this retail sector.
“Several of the five locations would be desirable to other retail grocery brands with other spaces likely to be repurposed with other commercial uses once the dust settles on everything. The Calgary retail scene is constantly evolving, and the extremely competitive retail grocery business is changing before our eyes with new value-oriented food stores serving the community. This trend will likely continue as the city densifies and expands,” he said.
Sleep Country Corp. says its acquisition of Sleep Number will give the retailer a foothold in the U.S. market while adding what CEO Stewart Schaefer calls the industry’s most technologically advanced mattress brand to its growing portfolio.
In an interview with Retail Insider, Schaefer, President & CEO of SleepCountry, Dormez-vous, Endy, Hush, Silk & Snow, Casper, Simba, and Sleep Number, said the deal is about more than adding another mattress brand. He said Sleep Number’s network of about 600 U.S. stores, established brand recognition and proprietary sleep technology provide an opportunity to expand the company’s North American footprint while also bringing the brand into Sleep Country and Dormez-Vous stores in Canada and into the U.K. through its Simba business.
Schaefer said the acquisition fits the company’s long-standing strategy of buying brands that offer products, technology or customer appeal it does not already have, adding that he believes Sleep Country’s current collection of brands now serves virtually every segment of the sleep market while leaving room for continued organic growth.
Image Provided by Stewart Schaefer Sleep Number storefront in an American shopping centre. Photo: Sleep Number
“What a lot of people don’t know is that the Sleep Number product is the most advanced, innovative technology mattress in the world. It’s huge in the United States,” said Schaefer.
“The mattresses – there are like seven different mattresses – mattresses are air-controlled, so you can make the bed itself softer or harder at any point in time and on both sides of the bed. You also can make the bed cooler or hotter. It actually blows air conditioning or heating, like stuff you’ve seen in some of the cars now.
“It also has the adjustable component, and it comes with health apps and checks your heart rate. It really is the crown jewel. They’ve been around for 42 years. It’s longer than we’ve been around, which is 32 years.
“For 30 years, I’ve always admired it. We used to actually sell the product in Canada about 20 years ago, but we were a very different business, and we were importing it from the United States. We weren’t very good at importing at the time because everything in our business was from local distributors.”
Not only was it the quality and uniqueness of the product, but being able to have that with the 600 stores across the United States allows Sleep Country to enter the U.S. with store distribution, with the quality of this incredible product, with their fulfillment centres, and brand awareness that is literally through the roof, explained Schaefer.
“It’s rare that I can find something that’s unique to Canada because I’m going to bring that into our 300 stores in Canada, since all the other brands I already have here in Canada,” said Schaefer.
“I’m going to take it to the UK, and we’re going to combine it with our Simba brand in the UK, and we’re going to open up brick-and-mortar stores in the UK with that brand.”
Sleep Number store. Image: CenterPoint
He said the plan is to roll the Sleep Number brand into the company’s Sleep Country stores and Dormez-Vous stores. Although there’s no need to do standalone stores, there may be a few flagship stores.
“I might put one in Yorkdale Mall. I might put one in Calgary, in Chinook mall, some of the high-profile malls in the country. But the majority is going to roll seamlessly into my own stores,” he explained.
Over the past few years, Sleep Country has been on a buying spree of different brands. What’s the strategy behind all this?
“I always ask myself the question when I’m looking at something: build or buy?,” said Schaefer.
“If I can build it, in most cases, anything related to our business we can build. The only times that I buy are when they have something uniquely different that I guess, over time, I could develop myself, but it’s something uniquely different that I don’t have.
“When we bought Endy, it was clear that they were unbelievable as the number one bed-in-a-box company in the country. Hush was edgy and cool on the accessories side of the business.
“Silk & Snow was affordable luxury, a whole other category besides their beds, which were fantastic, between all their linens, sheets, and some of their introduction into furniture. Again, something uniquely different than what we did.
“Simba was the same thing in the UK—a brand that resonated unbelievably with the consumer.
“Every single time when I saw these companies, we would meet the teams, and the teams themselves would be uniquely different from our teams. In many ways, they created an incubator of talent within the sleep space.”
Endy photo
Whenever there’s an opportunity to expand, the company only does so after measuring how the brand scores with the consumer.
“If the brand scores unbelievably well, that’s the first interest we take. If the product is innovative and different from what we currently have, that’s the second part,” he shared.
“Then, if there’s an opportunity to give us something—in this case, Sleep Number—we could have gone to the United States and opened up stores ourselves, I guess. But it would take me at least a decade to build out that many stores, maybe even longer. It’s taken me 32 years to build out 300 stores.
“Instantly, I now have 600 stores in the U.S., and 600 stores with a very powerful brand name that I would say is equal to the Sleep Country name in Canada, as Sleep Number is in terms of brand awareness in the United States.”
Schaefer believes Sleep Country has hit its critical mass of quality, amazing brands that really tackle all customer segmentations, all merchandising hierarchies, and all marketing demographics.
“You never want to say that you’re done, but between all the different brands that we have right now, there’s really nothing I’m missing for the consumer. It always goes back to the consumer. I always think through the eyes of the consumer,” he explained.
“I still walk through my stores today after 32 years, and I act like a consumer and ask myself, “What am I missing? What can’t my customers get?” In these Sleep Number stores, I’m going to bring Silk & Snow’s sheets, pillows, linens, and all their beautiful products into those stores.
“In the UK, Simba is the number one digital brand out there, but I’m going to bring the Simba digital brand into a brick-and-mortar environment with Sleep Number because you couldn’t probably do Simba by itself.
“I think we have the collection of brands that resonate incredibly well with the consumer, and we’re just going to continue to grow organically, just like we’ve been doing with Sleep Country.
“Now I think, between all these brands, we have enough of a portfolio to open greenfield locations for the rest of our larger plan. If something comes along, we’re always opportunistic. If some brilliant young person comes up with a new idea or something different worldwide, hopefully someone will knock on our door and show us something because we’re always curious about something a little more special.”
Silk & Snow x Sleep Country Canada
Schaefer also said Sleep Country is looking to launch the new Bed Bath & Beyond concept in the fourth quarter of this year.
“There’s a technology stack that we’re working on, the merchandising. They’re taking their time in curating a really special type of collection. It’s not going to be your everyday. We’re not looking to compete against the world of Amazon or Walmart. We want to make it really special and have a curated collection of products,” he said.
“Recently we also just took over Kitchen Stuff Plus, which is a chain of 20 stores in Ontario. They’re in the kitchen business. The reason we did that, once again, is that we know bath and we know bed. I didn’t know the “Beyond” part—the kitchens part—very well.
“So here was this wonderful opportunity to create some type of partnership with Kitchen Stuff Plus. We’re going to help with that brand, but at the same time, we’re going to take the talented people from Kitchen Stuff Plus to help build out a broader kitchen selection in Bed Bath & Beyond. So the online store is going to launch in the fourth quarter. Brick-and-mortar will launch sometime in 2027. I don’t know when. It’ll probably be in the back half of the year.
“We want to get it right. We want to listen to our customers and see what they say. If they’re happy with the selection, it’s easier to make adjustments online than in a brick-and-mortar environment. Once we feel that we’ve got the recipe right, then we will look to open up stores across the country.”
The report examines Canadian retail loss prevention, physical security, cybersecurity, fraud prevention, shrink reduction, payments security and retail risk management. Drawing on Retail Insider reporting, industry research and public data, it considers how risks once handled separately are becoming interconnected across stores, digital platforms, supply chains and corporate operations.
Retail Insider Reports are designed to deliver executive-level insights across major retail sectors and can be accessed through the Retail Insider Report Hub.
General Themes
Risk has moved beyond merchandise: Loss prevention now encompasses employee safety, customer data, digital infrastructure, payment systems, inventory accuracy and operational continuity.
Crime is influencing real estate decisions: Persistent theft and safety concerns can affect operating hours, capital investment, expansion plans and the viability of individual locations.
Security can introduce commercial friction: Locked products, access controls and other protective measures may reduce shrink while also discouraging purchases and weakening the customer experience.
Thin-margin retailers face greater exposure: Sustained shrink and rising security costs can quickly undermine locations in categories where profitability is already limited.
Technology is widening the security mandate: Artificial intelligence, video analytics and electronic surveillance are becoming more important, but so are protection against cyberattacks, payment fraud and account takeovers.
Data integrity is becoming a loss issue: Inventory errors, weak audit trails and inaccurate operational data can produce lost sales and financial damage even when no criminal act has occurred.
Collaboration is increasingly necessary: Retailers, landlords, governments, law enforcement agencies and communities all have a role in responding to organized retail crime and repeat offenders.
Retail Insider Coverage
Retail Insider’s reporting documents how security pressures are translating into operating and investment decisions. The report points to 7-Eleven’s warning that crime and theft could place multiple Winnipeg locations at risk of closure. It also examines London Drugs’ closure of its Woodward’s location in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside following years of operating losses and persistent safety challenges.
In Toronto, Dudley’s Hardware cited break-ins, vandalism and neighbourhood safety concerns among the factors behind downsizing and eventually closing its longstanding downtown location. These cases show how persistent crime can affect more than merchandise costs. It can determine whether a retailer maintains hours, carries certain products or continues serving a community.
Retail Insider coverage also followed research and industry developments involving EY, QBE, Equifax Canada and DALBAR. Together, those stories connect cyber threats, AI-enabled attacks, first-party fraud, customer friction and inventory accuracy to a broader retail risk environment.
Broader Industry Coverage
The report says retail theft now costs Canadian businesses more than $9 billion annually, while shrink is estimated at approximately 1.5 per cent of retail sales. Retail Council of Canada-led enforcement initiatives seized 121 weapons in 2024, and 81 per cent of retailers reported that organized retail crime offenders had become more violent. Repeat offenders accounted for 17.7 per cent of arrests during the council’s initiatives.
Those conditions are placing added pressure on frontline employees and on the economics of individual stores. Health and personal care stores, including pharmacies and drugstores, recorded a pre-tax profit margin of approximately 5.7 per cent in 2023, according to Statistics Canada data cited in the report. In a thin-margin business, sustained shrink and additional security spending can quickly influence a location’s viability.
The response also carries commercial risk. Research from DALBAR and Competitor IQ found that 38 per cent of shoppers had abandoned purchases because of security measures and in-store friction. Retailers therefore face a difficult calculation: controls strong enough to reduce loss may also restrict access, slow transactions and erode customer trust.
Beyond stores, Equifax Canada reported a 31 per cent year-over-year increase in first-party fraud. IBM placed the average cost of a Canadian data breach at nearly $7 million in 2025. These figures reinforce the report’s conclusion that payments, loyalty programs, inventory systems and digital commerce platforms now belong within the retail security discussion.
Editor’s Take
The central shift is that loss prevention has become a question of enterprise resilience and market presence. Crime, fraud, cyber threats and weak operational data can all influence where retailers invest, how stores are designed and whether certain locations remain viable. The retailers under the greatest pressure may be those operating essential, thin-margin stores in communities already vulnerable to losing local services. Effective loss prevention will require integrated decisions across security, technology, operations, real estate and customer experience.
