Agnew-Surpass

Agnew-Surpass Shoe Stores Ltd. was a Canadian shoe retailer. Agnew Shoes was founded in Brantford, Ontario in 1879, and merged in 1928 with Surpass Stores. In 1962 the chain was acquired by American firm Genesco, and in 1987 it was sold to a numbered company controlled by former Bata Shoe executive Michael Graye. Despite being the largest chain of shoe stores in Canada, the chain went bankrupt in 2000. The company maintained locations on major shopping streets, sometimes in the same location for decades, and moved with the times, opening in shopping malls when those became popular. In its last days, franchising was attempted but all to no avail. The rise and fall of Agnew-Surpass is a relatively small scale example of the fate of Canadian business in the 21st century. Old, large firms such as the T. Eaton Company have vanished entirely and others such as the former Steel company of Canada teeter under bankruptcy protection. Meanwhile, surviving retailers such as Canada's oldest corporation, The Hudson's Bay Company are foreign owned.