Mark's Work Wearhouse, sometimes branded as Mark's, is a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 clothing retailer. First opened in Calgary

Calgary

Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...

, Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

 in 1977 by Mark Blumes, a former retail executive with the Hudson's Bay Company

Hudson's Bay Company

The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...

, it has been owned since 2001 by Canadian Tire

Canadian Tire

Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited is one of Canada's 60 largest publicly traded companies. The firm operates an inter-related network of businesses engaged in retailing hardgoods, apparel and petroleum as well as financial and automotive services, employing more than 58,000 people across Canada...

. It was originally called Mark's Men's Work Wearhouse, but rebranded as Mark's Work Wearhouse when they started carrying women's clothing in the 1990s.

In Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

, stores had carried the name "La Ouerâsse," a meaningless French-sounding version of the word "wearhouse," but they were rebranded as L'Équipeur ("Outfitter") in 1990. As of 2007, 39 stores operate under the banner L'Équipeur. They were the official retailer of the Montreal Alouettes

Montreal Alouettes

The Montreal Alouettes are a Canadian Football League team based in Montreal, Quebec.The current franchise named the Alouettes moved to Montreal from Baltimore, Maryland, in 1996 where they had been known as the Baltimore Stallions...

 football team from 2005-2010.

Products

The company traditionally sold work clothes for labour-oriented jobs, but expanded its selection in the 1990s to include business casual

Business casual

Business casual is a popular dress code in professional and white-collar workplaces in Western countries. In the United States, 43% of non-self-employed workers commonly wear casual business attire. Casual street wear is the next most common work attire , closely followed by uniforms...

 clothing for both men and women, and sportswear

Sportswear

Sportswear or activewear is clothing, including footwear, worn for sport or physical exercise. Sport-specific clothing is worn for most sports and physical exercise, for practical, comfort or safety reasons....

 as well. In the last few years, the company has expanded its offerings with a series of children's clothing, primarily available in Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

 and British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

.

Brands

The chain has a number of exclusive brands, including Denver Hayes, WindRiver (casual), BluePine, Dakota (work/casual wear&work boots; formerly Mark's), WorkPro (work boots) and the new ladies collection, Ispiri. They still carry Levi's, Lee's

Lee (Jeans)

Lee is a brand of denim jeans, first produced in 1889 in Salina, Kansas. The company is owned by VF Corporation, the largest apparel company in the world. Its headquarters is currently in Merriam, Kansas, just outside of Kansas City, Missouri...

, Carhartt

Carhartt

Carhartt, Inc., is a U.S.-based clothing company founded in 1889. It is still a family-owned company, owned by the descendants of company founder Hamilton Carhartt, with its headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan.-Carhartt in the United States:...

, Point Zero, J. B. Goodhue, Sorel

Sorel

Sorel is a line of winter boots, currently a subsidiary of Columbia Sportswear. The boot has long been popular in Canada for its high quality and warmth. The Sorel line was introduced in 1962 by Kitchener, Ontario-based Kaufman Rubber Co. , and became the world's best-selling cold weather boot...

, Dickies

Dickies

Williamson-Dickie Manufacturing Company, more commonly referred to as the brand Dickies, is an American company headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas that manufactures and sells work-related clothing and other accessories, including back packs, steel-toe boots, and belts. Its major competitors are...

 and many other popular brands. The few franchise stores carry different brands such as Columbia

Columbia Sportswear

Columbia Sportswear Company is a United States company that manufactures and distributes outerwear and sportswear. It was founded in 1938 by the late Paul Lamfrom, father of present chairperson Gert Boyle. The company is headquartered in Washington County, Oregon, in an unincorporated part of the...

.