Swimwear retailer back to make a splash
Swimco was one of the many Canadian businesses hit hard by COVID-19.
With in-store shopping on hold, many bricks-and-mortar stores struggled. That, coupled with a decreased need for vacation swimwear, forced the longtime Calgary-headquartered company to file for bankruptcy in fall 2020 and shutter its stores.
Now, Swimco is looking to make a splash again with the reopening of retail locations in key markets such as Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary.
We caught up with Dave Bacon, co-owner of the company, to learn more:
Q For those who aren't familiar, what is Swimco?
A Swimco is a Canadian swimwear retailer that specializes in making sure that your entire family can enjoy your next beach vacation, hot holiday, weekend at the lake or jump into the pool. We carry a wide selection of swimwear, beachwear and resort wear for women, men and children — year-round.
Q What makes it unique?
A Many retailers talk about their great staff, excellent customer service and terrific selection. Everybody at Swimco goes through an extensive training process where our staff become fit experts. Our staff try every swimsuit on and see how the suits fit on each other to learn what will work for every body type. We actively recruit people who are empathetic and great communicators. We don't want to sell you a swimsuit, we want to hear your story, find out why you came to Swimco and then find you what you need for your upcoming cruise, or week in Hawaii, or aqua-cise class in the pool.
Q After shuttering stores amid the pandemic, you're opening a few new locations. What made this the right time to do so?
A In the spring of 2021, we continued to see strong sales of swimwear online. We were presented with an opportunity for a pop-up store in a great location in south Calgary. The six-week trial along with the return to in-person shopping made us realize that we needed to open a few stores. We chose to open stores in Calgary and Edmonton, which were traditionally strong markets for Swimco.
We recently opened our third store in a former Swimco location in Park Royal Shopping Centre in West Vancouver. While preparing the store to open, numerous customers stopped by to thank us for reopening. Customers were excited to know that in addition to the Calgary and Edmonton stores, they could once again shop in-person in Vancouver.
Q Lastly, any plans to open more locations?
A Our customer service team gets requests every day from customers across Western Canada to reopen a Swimco store in their city. We will continue to evaluate opportunities for new stores in our traditionally strong markets.