Army & Navy throws open doors for final sale before shutting up shop forever

Lower Mainland residents who want one final shop at an Army & Navy can do so Thursday at the New Westminster location.

In May, company president and CEO Jacqui Cohen announced the department store chain would be closing all five Western Canada locations after 101 years in business.

The company has stores in New Westminster, Langley, Calgary and Edmonton, as well as in Vancouver. The Vancouver store has already closed.

But on Thursday, the downtown New Westminster location opened at 10 a.m. for customers to grab some bargains, with all items in store on sale. The sale, which is also running at the store's Calgary location, is scheduled to run for six weeks.

According to the Vancouver Heritage Foundation, the Army & Navy location in the city was the oldest retailer in the Gastown neighbourhood. 

Built in 1889 and taken over by Army & Navy in 1948, the building at 33 West Cordova St., on the edge of the Downtown Eastside, is designated as a protected heritage property by the City of Vancouver.

Residents of the area say losing the store, which has been a staple part of so many people's lives, is a heavy blow.

"I know many people who raised their kids on the groceries there. They always had good prices on solid products," said longtime neighbourhood resident Dean Wilson on CBC's The Early Edition Thursday. 

Known for its discount goods and spring shoe sale, the company also employed hundreds of locals.

"It was like an anchor, not only for the community, but for all of us," said Wilson.

Cohen, granddaughter of store founder Sam Cohen, says her grandfather's philosophy — "Buy cheap, sell cheap. Pass the deal onto the customer" — was a motto from which she never deviated. 

On the prospect of redeveloping the property or selling it, Cohen says, "it's too early to say, but certainly it will be something that benefits the community."