An ALDO store in Promenade An Aldo store in the mall SM Aura Premier in Bonifacio Global City, Metro Manila, Philippines. The Aldo Group (corporately styled The ALDO Group) is a Canadian retailer that owns and operates a worldwide chain of shoe and accessory stores. The company was founded by Aldo Bensadoun in Montreal, Quebec, in 1972, where its corporate headquarters remain today. It has grown to become a worldwide corporation, with nearly 2,150 stores under three retail banners: ALDO, Call It Spring/Spring and GLOBO. Stores in Canada, the U.S., the U.K., and Ireland are owned by the Group, while international stores are franchised. The company once operated the now closed or rebranded banners. Little Burgundy (which it sold to Genesco), Simard & Voyer, Christian Shoes, Access, Pegabo, Transit, Stoneridge, Locale, Feetfirst and FIRST (which was the American version of Feetfirst). ALDO shoes were founded in Canada in 1972 as a footwear concession within Le Chateau. The original group included stores in Montréal, Ottawa, Quebec City, and Winnipeg.
Aldo Bensadoun known today as a global shoe giant built his empire starting in Montréal. After four generations, the Bensadoun family continues into the shoe industry. "Mr. Bensadoun never intended to follow in the footsteps of his father, a shoe retailer in Morocco and France, or his grandfather, a cobbler in Algeria" (Strauss, 2010).[1] Aldo Bensadoun learned Italian to better communicate with his suppliers in Italy, and eventually he cut out the middleman who serviced him between Canada and European manufacturers (Strauss, 2010).[1] The first freestanding ALDO store was opened in Montréal, in 1987. The brand expanded in the 1980s and 1990s, with stores operating under the name ALDO across Canada. Entering in the US market was going to be a challenge, this was a market where many Canadian companies failed to prosper. "It opened one store in 1990 in the decidedly unfashionable border town of Plattsburgh, N.Y., a mere hour's drive from the ALDO Group headquarters. The store served as a lab where ALDO tested its logistics, marketing and hiring in preparation for a broader American assault" according to Kuncharsky (2002).
[] The first store outside of North America opened in Israel in 1995. The brand expanded in the 2000s into Saudi Arabia in 2001, England in 2002, and Singapore in 2003. Since then, the ALDO Group, with the ALDO and Call It Spring/Spring banners, has further expanded on the international market. In 1991, the company launched the "Transit" banner in Canada, which later became "Spring" upon launching in the US. Five years later, they started the "Feetfirst" banner which caters to an older clientele. Additionally the company operates "Globo Shoes" geared towards the family market.[4] In 2010, the company once again began to evolve when it introduced, in Canada, a new store concept called "Lōcale", which will replace the current "Feetfirst" stores. "Lōcale" is a footwear and accessories boutique-style concept store aimed at young professionals; it offers a number of brand names.[1] The company has also revived the Pegabo brand which used to be its own chain of stores and is selling the brand in Feetfirst and Lōcale stores.
In spring 2011, the Pegabo brand also launched at Hudson's Bay stores in Canada. In 2010, the company made major announcements, which led to major expansion in the American market. The ALDO Group and JCPenney announced the launch of the Call It Spring brand which would sell as a shop-in-shop concept in JCPenney stores across the United States.[5] The Call It Spring concept was expected to be in 600 JCPenney stores by the fall of 2011 and JCPenney would be the only department store retailer of the brand.[6] The ALDO Group also announced that it was partnering with Kohl's department stores to design and produce exclusive footwear products which would be sold under private and exclusive brand names. The new ALDO-designed products were to launch in Kohl's stores for the Spring 2011 season. The ALDO Group partners annually with YouthAIDS, an education and prevention program of Population Services International using media, pop culture, music, theater, and sports to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS.
[9] According to the ALDO Group's website, the company introduces fundraising products annually for the program, and has generated $3.5 million in donations to date.[10] The program was launched in 2005 with a celebrity advertising campaign, created by the New York ad agency Kraftworks NYC. ALDO Product Services (APS) is a division of the ALDO Group launched in 2010[12] providing branded wholesale and private label fashion footwear and accessories. In December 2012, the U.S. Department of Labor found that a factory producing goods of Aldo were paying employees under minimum wage. On an episode of CBC Marketplace, test results were shown that jewelry being sold in Aldo stores across Canada had significantly higher levels of cadmium than permitted by Health Canada. Aldo – Men's and women's footwear and accessories Banff Trail – Men's, women's and children's footwear BBX – Men's and boys' footwear Call It Spring – Men's and women's footwear and accessories
First – Men's and women's footwear K Studio – Men's and women's footwear and accessories Luca Ferri – Women's footwear Max Comfort – Men's footwear Melia[16] – Footwear and accessories Mr. B's - Men's footwear and accessories No Angel – Girls' footwear Pegabo[17][18] – Men's and women's footwear Solemate – Women's footwear and accessories Transit – Men's, women's and children's footwear Weekenders – Men's footwear According to its official website, the ALDO Group has locations in over 100 countries around the world. ^ a b c dThese games are great for breaking the ice and helping new kids feel welcomed. Some of the criteria I've looked at for choosing the best "get to know you" games include: how well the game facilities players to learn about each other whether that's simply names or something more, how well the game provides a springboard for conversation after the game is over, how well it works for groups that mostly already know each other as well as groups that have never met before
, how fun it is to play and how much is involved in setting up the game. A good get to know you game that is quick to explain and quick to play. Helps get kids moving and mingling as well. Might also be a good way to get kids into random groups or pairs at the end of the game, as they'll be moving to different seats and sitting next to different people during the game. See instructions for this get to know you game » Two Truths and a Tale This has got to be my all time favourite small group get to know you game. I've played this on countless camps as the first get to know you activity for my small group. I find it really gives the group a good insight into how each member thinks, what's important to them and what they like to talk about. And as a leader, with the amount of times I've played it, I don't even need to think that hard to come up with my own truths and a lie. I highly recommend this get to know you icebreaker game. Maybe a bit of a wildcard entry in this category, but I think it works really well.
The game involves getting teams of kids to work together to build something. It's a fantastic team building game, but I think is also a really good get to know you game as it provides opportunities for people to interact while working together to achieve something. It gives people an opportunity to showcase their personality and their gifts in a way that other youth group games don't. Speed Dating With A Twist If you want a straight forward talking game without any bells and whistles added, then this is the get to know you youth group game for you. Pair the kids up, give them some questions or discussion topics to talk about, give them a minute and then rotate. Chocolate is always a great way to break the ice and help people bond. This game uses M&M chocolates to get the players to interact with each other about their different "favourites". Doesn't put too much pressure on anyone, can be really funny and it has CHOCOLATE! Highly recommended for a small group situation. Never Have I Ever
Get To Know You Bang "Bang!" encourages kids to react quickly and this is a modification of the classic game which helps kids get to know everyone's names really well. It is good because there's pressure on everyone to remember names, not just the new kids. The kids that have been hanging around for years still might find themselves forgetting names under the pressure. A funny one to play with a fairly confident group of people as it involves taking off a shoe, picking up another shoe and finding the owner. It also might be wise to choose to play this one when the weather is cooler to avoid stinky shoe situations! A favourite of mine as it is a great way to randomly mix up the people playing the game. If you're up for some chaos with your group then this is another great "get to know you" game for you. Players need to continually repeat an answer to a question about themselves and find other people who are answering the same thing. It's positivie is how chaotic it can get!