THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JULY 11, 1940
Most everyone remembers Woodward’s department store. Many others have fond memories of another local chain, Wosk’s. But there was another defunct local chain that is a little more obscure — Forst’s. At one point, there were seven Forst’s stores in Vancouver, New Westminster and North Vancouver. Many were on the small side, but on July 11, 1940, Forst’s opened the “largest suburban store in Vancouver” at 2550 East Hastings. The three- storey building was spread over 50 metres along Hastings, and was big enough to house Forst’s offices and warehouse alongside the retail operation. The Vancouver Sun marked the opening of the new store with a six- page Forst’s section, which was virtually all ads. The grand opening sale included acetate “boudoir lamps” with “dainty shades” for $ 1.59, wheelbarrows for $ 3.29 and bicycles for $ 20.95. Many homes of the day used sawdust for heat and cooking, and Forst’s had an “A1 Major Sawdust Burner” on sale for $ 23.50. An Enterprise Capital “streamlined coal and wood range” was $ 74.50, while a Crosley “Shelvador” refrigerator was $ 199.95. If you didn’t have the cash, Forst’s “easy terms” allowed you to buy on an instalment plan. This was one of the secrets to the company’s success: it enabled working people to buy modern appliances. The store motto was: “You’ll Always Do Better at Forst’s.” Tinsmith Nichol Forst started the company in 1917, partly because he was in poor health and found it hard to work at his old vocation. He started off with an electrical repair shop at 1439 Commercial Dr. but found his niche selling bicycles at 1879 Powell and then 2432 East Hastings. Unfortunately he was plagued by poor health, and in 1928 died at the age of 53. His sons Alex and Eddie tried to sell the business, couldn’t, and decided to carry on. In 1929, they brought in three radios on a trial basis, and the next day sold them all on an instalment plan. So they expanded into radios, then appliances, then furniture, and added branches all over the city. In 1955, the Forsts sold their chain to a Montreal company for $ 1 million, which operated the stores into the 1960s. Alex Forst went into municipal politics in West Vancouver, where he was reeve ( the equivalent of mayor) from 1963 to 1970.