A moment in history: Oct. 30, 1973

On this day in 1973, Edmonton's two Army and Navy stores were advertising a winter sale.

The Army and Navy chain of stores got its start on the West Coast, with the first store opening in 1919. As the name would imply, it specialized in selling army surplus, as well as wares bought from closing businesses. Over the next decade, that single store would grow into Canada's first discount department store chain, with Edmonton's first location appearing in 1928 on 101 Street.

The Army and Navy store faced stiff competition from other department stores in Edmonton's downtown, but it found its niche by offering a smaller selection of goods at lower prices. That would help cement the store's success during the Great Depression, with the chain specifically advertising to farm families struggling with low incomes and crop failures. During the 1930s, much of Army and Navy's revenue was coming from farmers spending their government relief cheques at the store for clothing, farm supplies, and other essentials. The financial collapse of the era also provided the stores with a ready supply of stock, purchased from other retailers that went bankrupt.

During the Second World War, Army and Navy became the first department store in Western Canada to offer a self-serve shoe sales department. Years later, it would also start its annual shoe sales, a tradition that would draw thousands of customers every year and continued for around 70 years.

The war also provided a new influx of army surplus for the stores to sell. Surplus flight boots reportedly became a common solution for Edmontonians in the winter, perhaps due to the extensive wartime aviation going on at the city's original airport.

In 1950, Army and Navy opened its large location on Whyte Avenue, which still remains one of the area's most recognizable landmarks. Further expansion in 1955 saw another store open at 97 Street and 103 Avenue. That store would be further expanded and renovated in the '60s, converting the second-floor storage into more retail space. By this time, Army and Navy employed more than 500 people in Edmonton alone.

The eighties saw the chain's mail-order business decline and eventually shut down, but the physical stores would continue drawing in crowds. In 2003, the company opened a new location in Londonderry Mall to replace its 97 Street store.

Shifting consumer habits and new competition shrank the company in the 2010s. The Londonderry location closed down in 2016. Army and Navy's well-known store on Whyte Avenue would keep the doors open for another four years before the company folded in 2020, closing it and four other stores across Western Canada. Lower sales due to the COVID-19 pandemic dealt the final blow, the company said.

The large brick Army and Navy store on Whyte has been shuttered for the past six years, largely left empty save for hosting occasional seasonal markets. But its new owners, who purchased the building in 2024, are attempting to attract new tenants to the building. Leder Investments, the private investment arm of the family behind Supreme Steel, says that the basement of the building is being leased to Anytime Fitness, and they are actively seeking other retailers to bring customers back through the doors once again.

This clipping was found on Vintage Edmonton, a daily look at Edmonton's history from armchair archivist Rev Recluse of Vintage Edmonton.