Canadians will soon have one less place to shop for fair-trade goods. Ten Thousand Villages recently announced plans to close all corporate operations within the country, which includes their head office, distribution centre, online store, wholesale operations and 10 company stores across the nation.
"It is with the heaviest of hearts we announce the closure of the corporate operations of Ten Thousand Villages Canada," reads a statement on the company's website. "Thank you for 74 years."
They anticipate that all company stores will close on or around May 29 of this year. A full list of closure dates is available online. Most Ten Thousand Villages locations are run by the Mennonite Central Committee, but those operated by separate boards may be able to stay open. We'll let you know if that changes.
In the meantime, you can still shop the Ten Thousand Villages stores and website. If you sign up for their email newsletter, you'll receive 10% off your first online order, and they just released a batch of new arrivals. Shipping is free throughout most of Canada (excluding the territories and Newfoundland) if you spend $100.
Not all...still open in Steinbach MB.
at least 8 stores across Canada will remain open.
Steinbach will remain open.
All company stores (and corporate operations) owned by the Mennonite Central Committee are shutting down. Ones owned by other boards are staying open, at least for now – so a few across the country aren't leaving us yet!