Aldo Groupe
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| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Genre | Retailer |
| Founded | Montreal, Quebec |
| Founder(s) | Aldo Bensadoun |
| Headquarters | Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Products | Shoes |
| Website | http://www.aldoshoes.com |
The ALDO Groupe owns and operates a worldwide chain of shoe and accessory stores. The company was founded by Aldo Bensadoun in Montreal, Quebec, in 1964 where its corporate headquarters remain today. It has grown to become a worldwide corporation, with over 950 stores under 6 retail banners: ALDO, ALDO Accessories, Spring, Feetfirst (FIRST in the United States), Globo, and Little Burgundy. There are also ALDO outlet, ALDO Kids, ALDO Liquidation, Spring Liquidation, and clearance stores. Canadian, American, and UK stores are corporate stores while international stores are franchisees. The company once operated the now closed or re-branded banners Simard & Voyer, Pegabo, Transit, and Stoneridge.
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History
ALDO shoes was found in Canada in 1972 as a footwear concession within Le Chateau. The original group included stores in Montreal, Ottawa, Quebec City, and Winnipeg. The first freestanding ALDO store was opened in Montreal, in 1978. The brand expanded in the 1980s and 1990s, with stores operating under the name ALDO. The first ALDO store opened in the United States in 1993 in Boston, Massachusetts. The first international store opened in Israel in 1994. The brand expanded in the 2000s into Saudi Arabia in 2001, England in 2002, and Singapore in 2003. Since then, the brand has further expanded on the international market.[1] The company opened stores in Australia under a franchise agreement in 2005 and starting in 2006, it began to enter the Chinese market. In 2007 'ALDO Group China' was found to manage Chinese operations [2]
The group has started other brands as well. In 1991, the company launched the Transit banner in Canada. Five years later, they started the FeetFirst banner which caters an older client group. Additionally the company operates Globo Shoes catering to the family market.[3] In 2008 the company began to re-brand some of its Stoneridge stores at Little Burgundy stores. The new Little Burgundy stores carry brand name footwear and accessories from over seventy designers.[4]
Charity Work
The company supports many different charities through various efforts. In the 1980s, ALDO began to support the Youth Aids organization by selling various accessories in its ALDO stores.[5] FeetFirst has supported The Cure Foundation since it opened and supports National Denim Day in Canada both organizations work to raise money for breast cancer research. [6]
In late 2008 with the help of the band Simple Plan, Spring began to sell bracelets for War Child Canada.[7]
ALDO Next Step
In 2008 the company launched its Next Step program aimed at going green and becoming more environmentally friendly. The first step of the program was to launch a new shoe box design that incorporated a handle into the box, eliminating the need for customers to use a bag to take their purchases home.[8] The company also changed the bags that it does use to be made from wood-free paper.
References
- ^ "ALDO History". http://www.aldoshoes.com/us/history. Retrieved 2009-05-20.
- ^ http://www.aldoshoes.com/ca-eng/history
- ^ http://www.globoshoes.com/ca-eng/culture
- ^ http://www.littleburgundyshoes.com/ca-eng/culture
- ^ http://www.youthaids-aldo.org/act
- ^ http://www.feetfirstshoes.com/ca-eng/pages/aboutus/cure
- ^ http://www.myspringshoes.com/ca-eng/pages/storeSection/warchild
- ^ http://www.aldoshoes.com/ca-eng/nextstep
External links
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