Hart Stores

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For the defunct American retail chain, see Harts Stores.

Hart Stores Inc. (TSX: HIS) is a junior mid-sized department store dominated in the region of Eastern Canada. It was founded in 1960 by Harry Hart, in Rosemere, Quebec. Hart stores are based in the provinces of Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador and Ontario. The head office was originally based in the Montreal borough of Anjou but moved to Laval, a northern suburb of Montreal, in early 2006.

The company currently operates 80 stores across Canada, branded as Hart, Bargain Giant or Géant des aubaines ("Bargain Giant" in French), primarily in smaller and suburban markets.

The Hart clothing retail operation is one of several diverse retail and inside-sales businesses that operate under the Hart family umbrella. Computer retail and corporate IT services fall under their Hartco Income Fund group of brands (managed independently from Hart Stores), including Metafore, Northwest Digital, CompuSmart, MicroAge and their original Compucentre chain of stores. The Telephone Booth/Cabine Téléphonique, a chain of stores that sells wired, cordless and cellular phones, was operated by Hartco until its recent purchase by Glentel.

During the Annual shareholders meeting held on June 15, 2000, the shareholders approved a plan of arrangement to distribute its wholly-owned subsidiaries of computer and IT services to the Company's common shareholders. The arrangement resulted in the formation of a separate publicly traded company operating under Hartco Corporation. The department store division operated as Hart Stores and was listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

From a historical level of losses, before the plan of arrangement, the company began to report sustained and consistent profits under new leadership. In fiscal 2006 the company reported net profits of $7.0 million.

On October 23, 2007 the company was charged and fined by the Ontario Ministry of Labour for violating safety regulations after a worker's head was crushed. http://www.sootoday.com/content/news/full_story.asp?StoryNumber=28026