The Archambault store located at the corner of Berri and Sainte-Catherine streets will close its doors in June.
The news was announced to employees on Friday morning.
The Archambault Group maintains that it can no longer ignore the “increasing deterioration” of commercial prospects around Place Émilie-Gamelin and management maintains that this makes it “impossible” to renew the lease which was about to expire.
“The evolution of the urban fabric in the sector, combined with the evolution of consumer habits, no longer makes it possible to make operations profitable, despite the investments made in recent years”, explains the spokesperson for the company, Floriane Claveau, in an electronic communication.
The “transformation” of the Place Émilie-Gamelin sector is invoked as the main source of deterioration of the commercial potential of the store on rue Berri.
Management specifies that construction sites have “major” impacts that must be taken into account when assessing the future of a storefront retail business.
Over the years, specifies the spokesperson for Archambault, the sector has become a “laboratory of urban diversity”, and is no longer able to generate sufficient traffic.
The reassignment of the Place Dupuis hotel during the pandemic, the old bus station which remains vacant, the new bus station and the Berri-UQAM station which constitute centers of urban migration, the decommissioning of the Latin Quarter , the demolition of the old Saint-Luc hospital and the construction of the new CHUM, the real estate redevelopment of the adjacent quadrangle into skyscrapers, Sainte-Catherine Street has become pedestrianized in the summer, major developments on the Place des Festivals, telecommuting and tele-studies at UQAM and in the city center in general which reduce traffic, the reduction of parking spaces as well as the work to come on Place Émilie-Gamelin and the surrounding area are all elements that can be included in the definition of “urban mix”.
Aware of the heritage value of the store’s giant illuminated sign, the management will not ask for its removal after the closure in June. The decision will probably belong to Quebecor, owner of the building. The sign’s removal in 2018 sparked protests that led to its rapid relocation.
34 jobs affected
The Berri Street store has 34 employees, mostly unionized. They will be able, we are told, to apply to be reassigned to positions and places that interest them.
Dominic Béland, president of the SEPB 574 section affiliated with the FTQ and himself a long-time employee of the store, says he is first worried about the people affected by the decision, but also thinks of the other aspect concerned by the announcement.
It is a part of Quebec culture that is going away. It is enormous. 1896. It is part of the cultural history of Quebec. If it’s not the oldest, it’s one of the oldest entertainment stores in Quebec.
Dominic Béland, president of the SEPB 574 section affiliated with the FTQ and long-time employee of the store
Founded in 1896, the Archambault Group has belonged to Renaud-Bray since 2015. There will remain 14 Archambault establishments in operation: Boucherville, Brossard, Gatineau, Laval (2), Anjou, Jean-Talon, Place des Arts, La Capitale, Sainte-Foy , Saint-Romuald, Sherbrooke, Trois-Rivières and Saguenay.
Along with the ground floor, the Berri Street store occupies three floors. In addition to musical instruments, sheet music, loudspeakers, CDs, films and books, there are stationery, kitchen items, games and toys.