Little less sparkle downtown Jeweller Maison Birks closes up shop after 120 years By: Gabrielle Piché Posted: 7:00 PM CDT Monday, Mar. 27, 2023 Last Modified: 3:55 PM CDT Tuesday, Mar. 28, 2023 Updates

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A gem has left Winnipeg’s core.

After 120 years, Maison Birks — known to some as Birks Jewellers — is exiting Winnipeg. On Monday, blue signs peppered 191 Lombard Ave., steps from Portage and Main, advertising “last chance” sales and announcing the shop’s closure.

“I’m kind of sorry to see them go,” said Gerry Gordon, a jewelry appraiser on Lombard. “They’ve been around in Winnipeg ever since I can remember.”

The Montreal-based company laid roots in Winnipeg in 1903. Then-named Birks Jewellers spent most of the 20th century on Portage Avenue, a roughly five-minute walk from the Eaton’s department store.

For the past 15 years, Maison Birks has called 191 Lombard Ave. home.

“I’m kind of sorry to see them go… They’ve been around in Winnipeg ever since I can remember.”–Gerry Gordon, jewelry appraiser

The company did not explain its reasons for closure by print deadline. Instead, it highlighted how it’s selling its goods at Independent Jewellers on Notre Dame Avenue.

“We look forward to continuing to serve our clients in Winnipeg out of Independent Jewellers Ltd., as well as online,” Jean-Christophe Bédos, CEO of Birks Group Inc., wrote in a statement.

Maison Birks officially closed shop Saturday.

For Gordon, it’s another jewelry store closure. There have been plenty over the 32 years he’s been in business, he said.

Many, like Sutton Smithworks, have retiring operators, Gordon said. Some have left downtown because of a lack of foot traffic, he added. He regularly appraises jewelry for companies.

“I think the location kind of hurt (Maison Birks),” he said. “Look at the Peoples, Ben Mosses, Charm, all those jewelry (stores). They’re all in the malls. I just don’t see one of them coming in.”

Downtown is busiest during the work week, and parking is lacking at the site, Gordon said. Further, brick-and-mortar jewelry stores must now compete with online sales and a younger demographic which often picks cheaper lab diamonds over mined diamonds, he said.

Lab diamonds can take six weeks to grow, according to Gordon.

“They’re a nightmare to appraise… they just keep dropping in price,” he said. “You flood the market, then the price drops.”

Birks Group’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) was $2.8 million in the 26 weeks ending Sept. 24, 2022, according to Birks Group’s 2023 mid-year financial report.

The EBITDA was down from $5.9 million during the same period in 2021, the report shows. Birks Group recorded a net loss of $2 million for the 26-week period ending Sept. 24, 2022, after a net income of $1 million for the 26-week period ending Sept. 25, 2021, according to the report.

Eamonn O’Reilly said he began working for Birks in 1970. He continued to repair jewelry for the company through contract work at his own business, Avoca Jewellers.

“I always refer to myself as a Birks goldsmith,” he said. “I loved working there… it was a joy.”

At the time, Birks was still on Portage Avenue. O’Reilly was one of four goldsmiths. There was a department for chinaware and another for silverware, he said. There was a bustle to the place.

“I was very impressed with the store when I went to work in it,” he said.

He’d greet customers and replate items. The company bought him books about diamond setting because he wanted to learn, he said.

“It’s a different business model now — what they are selling, how they are selling it,” O’Reilly said.

“I always refer to myself as a Birks goldsmith… I loved working there… it was a joy.”–Eamonn O’Reilly

The company no longer sells flatware collections or silverware.

“A lot of people don’t want that anymore,” O’Reilly noted.

Birks Group operated 23 Maison Birks stores in Canada as of March 1, according to a news release.

Maison Birks has the 3,187-square-foot space near Portage and Main until the end of the month, according to Jack Hurtig, vice-president of real estate brokerage for A.S.H. Management Group.

“We haven’t identified a replacement tenant yet,” Hurtig said. “We’re certainly looking for a unique user.”

The heritage building is in a spectacular location with great visibility, he added. It’s been more difficult finding downtown tenants since the pandemic, he said.

“The way people work has changed,” he noted. “Landlords just have to be creative.”

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com