The North West Company facts for kids
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| Public | |
| Traded as | TSX: NWC |
| Industry | |
| Founded | 1987 |
| Headquarters | Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada |
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Key people
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Daniel G. McConnell, President & CEO |
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Number of employees
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6,805 |
| Subsidiaries |
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The North West Company Inc. is a big Canadian company that sells groceries and other goods. It has stores in Canada's western and northern areas. You can also find their stores in Alaska and Hawaii in the US. They even have stores in other countries and US territories in places like Oceania and the Caribbean.
This company has a long history! It started from an old fur trading business called the North West Company. That original company was based in Montreal, Canada, from 1779 to 1821. It later joined with the Hudson's Bay Company in 1821. The business continued as a part of Hudson's Bay Company for many years. Then, in 1987, a group of investors bought this part of the company. In the 1990s, it became The North West Company we know today. It's now a public company, meaning anyone can buy shares in it. The company's operations in Alaska, called the Alaska Commercial Company, have roots going back to the Russian-American Company. In 2007, they bought Cost-U-Less, which has stores in Hawaii and other islands. In 2017, they also bought a big part of Roadtown Wholesale Trading Ltd in the British Virgin Islands.
A Look Back: The Company's History
In the early 1700s, the French controlled much of what is now Canada. They had a large network for trading furs. After the British took over New France in 1763, French traders started the North West Company. They kept expanding their fur trade deeper into Canada.
The competition between the North West Company and the Hudson's Bay Company had a big impact. Many fur trading posts were built across Canada. Explorers mapped out the Canadian interior. Sadly, the beaver population was greatly reduced because of the high demand for furs. This fur trade also caused more tension between the British, French, and Indigenous Peoples.
What the Company Does Today
The main office for The North West Company is in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. This building is partly on the site of an old fort called Upper Fort Garry. It used to be the main office for the Hudson's Bay Company. The company also has offices in the US cities of Anchorage, Alaska, and Boca Raton, Florida.
As of 2014, The North West Company had many employees. There were 4,921 employees in Canada. Another 1,726 employees worked in its international stores. These international stores are in Alaska, the South Pacific, and the Caribbean. The company is known for being the largest employer of Indigenous People in the business world.
The company runs stores under several different names:
In Canada
- Northern (122 stores): You can find these stores in Northern Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Labrador, Nunavut, Northwest Territories, and Yukon.
- NorthMart (6 locations): These are larger stores in places like Cross Lake, Manitoba, Iqaluit, Nunavut, Goose Bay, Labrador, and Hay River & Inuvik, Northwest Territories.
- Quickstop (5 locations)
- Giant Tiger (31 locations): These are in Western Canada and are run as franchises from Giant Tiger Ltd.
- Valu Lots (1 location): This store is in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.
- Solo Market (1 location)
- North West Company Fur Marketing (2 locations)
- Crescent Multi Foods: This is a distributor that works in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and northern Ontario.
- Inuit Art Marketing Service
- North Star Air: This is an airline based in Thunder Bay, Ontario, that carries both cargo and passengers.
Around the World
- AC Value Center (30 stores): These stores are all in Alaska.
- Quickstop (3 stores): These are also located in Alaska.
- CostULess (12 stores): You can find these stores in places like American Samoa, Barbados, the Cayman Islands, Curacao, Fiji, Guam, Hawaii, Sint Maarten, and the US Virgin Islands.
- Pacific Alaska Wholesale: This is a distributor based in Anchorage.
- Roadtown Wholesale (8 stores): These stores are in the British Virgin Islands.
Money Services: We Financial
We Financial is the part of the company that offers money services. They have ATMs (automatic teller machines) in each store. They also offer the We Credit Card and We Prepaid Visa. These cards are offered together with Peoples Card Services. We Financial also helps people cash cheques and offers tax services. Plus, they run 64 Canada Post Outlets, which are like small post offices.
