Venerable B.C. department store Army & Navy has opened its first express store mere blocks from its 100,000-square-foot Cordova Street store.
“I always thought that my Army & Navy [stores] had to be huge but I’ve had to rethink myself,” Army & Navy owner Jacqui Cohen told Business in Vancouver April 8.
“Maybe the answer is a 5,000-square-foot store. A lot of stores have express stores now – even Walmart – although their express stores are 40,000 square feet.”
The new 1,800-square-foot store is in the 175-foot-tall Dominion Building, which was the tallest building in the British Empire when it was completed in 1910.
The Cohen family has owned the landmark building since the 1940s.
“It used to be a furniture store but the site has been empty,” Cohen said. “We thought, ‘We’re not making any money on the rent, so why don’t we open a small store?’ Now we’re thinking that this could be the future for Army & Navy.”
Does this mean that Cohen is close to demolishing the building that houses the store at 38 West Cordova Street in order to make way for a new commercial complex? After all, the Cohen family owns the entire city block that houses it.
“Not yet,” Cohen said. “I’ll keep you posted.”