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TORONTO - Canada's lucrative home goods market is attracting more players as Winners Merchants Inc. comes out of the clothes closet to offer merchandise for the entire home.
The off-price clothing retailer, a division of TJX Companies of Framingham, Mass., is launching the HomeSense chain in Canada. The first two 25,000-sq.-ft. stores are to open next month in Brampton and Ancaster, Ontario, near Toronto. HomeSense will be modeled and merchandised after HomeGoods, an 80-store division of TJX that is expected to grow to 120 U.S. stores this year.
Seven HomeSense stores are expected to open this year in Canada, with three additional openings in May in Woodbridge, also near Toronto, as well as in Ottawa and Kingston. The seventh will open in the Toronto area in the fall. Another eight stores are planned for next year, with 10 more across the country in 2003. "Ultimately, we believe Canada can support 60...