Dressed for success, for over 100 years
MCGUIRE’S MEN’S WEAR CLOSING ITS DOORS AFTER DECADES AS A LETHBRIDGE MAINSTAY
In Lethbridge, it was quite a year. In 1905, Canadian Pacific announced Lethbridge would become its new divisional point — and it would build a giant railway trestle across the Oldman River valley. Lethbridge’s elected officials were preparing for city status, within a year.
And “two Macs” opened a men’s wear store on 3 Avenue South.
A.R. McGuire and A.L. McKelvie were the entrepreneurs, bringing in work clothes for miners and railway workers as well as finer clothing for the growing community’s businessmen and professionals.
They weren’t operating the only men’s wear store, of course. And little did they know that their enterprise would remain a fixture of Lethbridge’s retail trade for more than a century.
McGuire’s Men’s Wear is the city’s second-oldest independent business, today’s owners say. But it, too, will become part of history, when Phil Nicas and Dean Goughnour retire later this month.
“We’ve had a good run, for a good many years,” says Nicas. But it’s time to bow out. The business took on the McGuire name when one of the founding partners bowed out. It remained in the McGuire family until the early 1950s, although its founder died several years earlier.
That’s when Peto Nicas and two partners bought in. He became the sole owner in 1970 and didn’t retire until 1995.
His son, Phil, came on board in 1972 — Goughnour two years earlier — and they’ve been business partners since 1989.
“It’s a different business world now,” says Nicas.
Styles kept changing over the years. That’s what kept us in business.
–Phil Nicas – McGuire’s Men’s Wear
In the 1950s, Lethbridge boasted at least 20 men’s wear stores. Retail is dominated by national chain stores today — for groceries, furniture and certainly men’s wear. And customers’ preferences are different.
“It’s much more casual. We sell more jeans than dress pants now.”
But change is part of the business.
“Styles kept changing over the years,” he says. “That’s what kept us in business.”
Looking back, Goughnour smiles as he remembers some of those styles.
“People wanted ultra suede sports coats in the late ’70s,” he says. “We sold a lot.”
Cashmere topcoats were once popular as well — for those who could afford them.
It was “casual Fridays” that led to today’s informal approach to attire, he says.
But it wasn’t that long ago that bankers, doctors, retail staff — even car salesmen — wore suits and ties.
“We’d have a suit sale in September,” for all the teachers heading back to the classroom.
Then as now, Goughnour says, McGuire’s takes pride in tailoring suits and other garments to the customer’s specifications.
“We won’t let anyone out of the store with ill-fitting clothes,” he says.
All McGuire’s suits are Canadian made, he adds, then fitted in their store.
After serving Lethbridge families for three generations or more, that’s the reputation they’ve built.
“We’ve kept up with the styles, the quality and the service.”
But there was one time when McGuire’s literally couldn’t measure up, Goughnour recalls. Students were coming in for graduation suits — and the store had none!
One night, a Calgary break-in gang that had already hit stores in Medicine Hat and Calgary arrived here. McGuire’s was located next to Capital Furniture in those days, he explains. After breaking into the furniture store, the crooks found their way into McGuire’s — then filled the furniture store’s truck with their booty and drove away.
When they arrived next morning, McGuires’ staff faced a big problem.
“We didn’t have any suits to sell.”
Fortunately, he says, the suits were covered by insurance — and their suppliers in Eastern Canada rushed to send more.
Calgary police caught up with the gang, Goughnour reports, though not before most of the merchandise was gone.
But Capital got the truck back, he says — “and our hangers.”
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