Frank and Oak Canada: All stores close, brand sold in 2025

There’s something quietly unsettling about watching a homegrown brand you’ve seen in every mall suddenly vanish. Frank and Oak, the Montreal-born label that dressed a generation of Canadian men in affordable essentials, has closed all 14 of its retail stores across the country as of May 2025, and its original corporate entity has been sold to a new owner. This article traces why it happened, who bought the brand, and what the restructuring means for Canadian shoppers who still want to buy Frank and Oak online.

Founded: 2012 ·
Headquarters: Montreal, Canada ·
Stores at peak: 14 ·
Stores closed: 14 ·
Acquirer: Modasuite Inc. ·
Year of closure announcement: 2025

The following table summarizes the key facts about Frank and Oak’s operations and status.

Is Frank and Oak a Canadian brand?

Yes, Frank and Oak is a Canadian brand — born and built in Montreal. Co-founders Ethan Song and Hicham Ratnani launched the company in 2012, initially as a direct-to-consumer menswear label that sold online before expanding into physical retail across Quebec, Ontario, and British Columbia.

History of Frank and Oak

The brand quickly earned a reputation for sustainable materials and a subscription-style “Style Plan” that let members receive curated boxes. By its mid-2010s peak, Frank and Oak had opened stores in downtown Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, and Ottawa. At the time of its closure, it employed roughly 150 people across its headquarters and retail locations.

Where is Frank and Oak based?

Headquarters are in Montreal, Quebec. The brand’s corporate parent during its final years was UGC Canada Holdings Inc., also referenced as Unified Commerce Group, which filed for bankruptcy protection under the Canada’s Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. All corporate operations were run out of Montreal before the sale.

The pattern: Frank and Oak was Canadian in every operational sense — supply chain, retail footprint, and corporate structure. Its sale to Modasuite Inc., a brand management firm, doesn’t change that heritage, but it does mean the brand’s physical presence in Canada is currently zero.

Why are Frank and Oak closing down?

Frank and Oak filed a Notice of Intention (NOI) to restructure on December 4, 2024, citing financial difficulties from COVID-19 and ongoing supply chain issues. The company cited rising rents, limited retail vacancies, and cautious consumer spending as additional pressures.

Financial challenges

By March 2025, liquidation sales of existing inventory began, and all sales were final. The Superior Court of Quebec approved the sale of Frank and Oak’s intellectual property to Modasuite Inc. (described in some reports as Lamour Group and Thread Collective Inc.) in spring 2025.

COVID-19 impact

Like many apparel retailers, Frank and Oak faced severe supply chain strains during COVID-19 and subsequent global conflicts, which compounded earlier financial vulnerabilities.

Competition

The Canadian direct-to-consumer apparel space is crowded. Brands like Kit and Ace, Arc’teryx, and Lululemon dominate premium essentials. Frank and Oak’s mid-range positioning — affordable, sustainable, but not “outdoorsy” — left it vulnerable to both fast-fashion competition from below and premium displacement from above. The company’s second restructuring attempted to address this, but the retail footprint simply couldn’t survive.

Does Frank and Oak ship to Canada?

Yes. The Frank and Oak website remains operational for e-commerce, and the company continues to ship within Canada. During the liquidation period, inventory levels fluctuated, but the brand confirmed that Canadian customers can still order online.

Shipping within Canada

• Free shipping on orders over $100
• Deliveries via UPS or FedEx
• Standard delivery time: 3-7 business days depending on location

International shipping

Frank and Oak also ships to the US and select international markets. However, US operations experienced accelerated closure of fulfillment capacity by end of April 2025 due to tariff-related issues. International customers should expect longer delivery windows and potential customs delays.

Who bought Frank and Oak?

The Superior Court of Quebec approved the sale of Frank and Oak’s intellectual property to Modasuite Inc., a brand management firm, in early 2025. Some reports refer to the acquirer as Lamour Group and Thread Collective Inc. The original corporate entity, UGC Canada Holdings Inc., filed for bankruptcy and wound down operations in spring 2025.

Modasuite Inc.

Modasuite Inc. is a brand management company that specializes in revitalizing distressed apparel labels. The acquisition includes the Frank and Oak name, trademarks, design archives, and digital assets. The sale did not include the retail leases or physical stores — those were terminated as part of the restructuring.

Sale of brand and assets

The acquisition marks a clean break: the old company is gone, and a new entity — likely a newly formed company held by Modasuite — continues to operate the brand. The brand relaunched in a limited capacity on March 19, 2025, focusing on natural fibres, quality basics, and limited-run collections. Menswear comes first, with womenswear planned for fall.

Why this matters: Modasuite owns the brand but not the stores. For Canadian consumers, the question is whether the brand will ever return to physical retail or remain exclusively online. For the label’s former employees, the sale means their roles at the old company are gone.

Is Frank and Oak closing in Canada?

All 14 Canadian retail stores have closed. The closures occurred in phases between March and May 2025. Ten stores were slated to close by May 7, 2025, including locations in Quebec City, Laval, Vancouver (Cordova and West 4th), Brossard, Montreal (Stanley and St. Viateur), and Ottawa (CF Rideau Centre). Vancouver’s Gastown and Kitsilano locations closed on May 18, 2025. The online store remains operational under new ownership.

Store closures

All store leases were terminated. Liquidation sales ran from late March 2025 through the store closure dates, with all sales final and no returns accepted. The brand’s physical presence in Canada is now zero.

Online operations

The Frank and Oak website continues to operate under Modasuite Inc. ownership. Inventory is limited and reflects remaining stock from the old company’s production runs. The brand relaunched with a new, smaller collection in March 2025, but it’s unclear whether Modasuite will invest in full-scale restocking.

The pattern: The brand is not dead — it’s been sold and rebooted in miniature. But the closure of all 14 stores signals a fundamental retreat from the physical retail model that once defined its growth. For now, Frank and Oak exists only online, with a quiet promise of a future that may or may not include physical stores.

Timeline: Frank and Oak 2012–2025

• 2012 — Frank and Oak founded in Montreal (Global News)
• December 4, 2024 — Notice of Intention to restructure filed (Retail Dive)
• March 2025 — Liquidation sales begin (Insauga)
• March 19, 2025 — Brand relaunch under new ownership (The Main)

What this timeline shows: a fast-moving collapse.

What’s unclear about Frank and Oak’s future

We are grateful to our customers and team members who have supported us over the years. This difficult decision was made to position the brand for a sustainable future under new ownership.

— Frank and Oak spokesperson, announcing closure of stores (Global News, April 2025)

US operations accelerated their closure by end of April 2025 due to tariffs, customs issues, and Trump-related unpredictability.

— Retail Dive (industry trade publication)

The brand relaunched on March 19, focusing on natural fibres, quality basics, limited-run collections; men’s line first, womenswear in fall; no broad retail footprint.

— The Main (Montreal-based culture magazine)

The consequence: Frank and Oak is no longer the ubiquitous Canadian mall brand it once was. But it isn’t gone. For the Canadian shopper who loved the quality — and for the investor watching the restructuring — the question is whether Modasuite can rebuild what was lost, or whether the brand will remain a ghost of its former self. The choice for the new owners is clear: invest in production and marketing to win back trust, or let Frank and Oak fade into a footnote of Canadian retail history. For Canadian consumers, that means either rediscovering a brand they once knew, or moving on to the next homegrown label.

Frequently asked questions

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