DeSerres is established across Canada with its modern, spacious and colourful stores
that provide materials and supplies to artists, arts and crafts enthusiasts, and
children, students and designers.
With our inspiring stores and transactional website, DeSerres is the leading retailer of
arts and craft supplies in Canada. We offer our customers a wide selection of decorating
items, bead bars for jewellery-making, stationery, books, frames and framing services,
plus toys for kids. Everything to put people in touch with their own creativity.
For more information about our stores including opening hours and the products and
services offered, or to find a store near you, click here.
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1908
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At the age of 27, Omer DeSerres acquired an ironwork store on the corner of Sainte-Catherine and Saint-Denis
streets in Montreal, which he turned into a hardware store. As the years went by,
Omer DeSerres opened new branches and diversified his activities. He became a major
distributor of plumbing and heating equipment!
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1937
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The founder’s oldest son, Roger DeSerres, joined the business. With his father,
he transformed the hardware stores into department stores.
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1949
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The company’s founder, Omer DeSerres, passed away
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1950s
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The business, led by Roger DeSerres, numbered seven stores and sold a variety of
products, including sports equipment. To meet the demand from students of the École
des arts appliqués, whose building neighboured on the downtown store, a department
was created to stock fine art and graphic art supplies.
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1975
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The market for department stores was transforming, and competition was fierce. The
founder’s grandson, Marc DeSerres, joined the company. He decided the company
should find its niche in art supplies—a market that was
in the process of expanding. Quebec advertising agencies began to purchase their
supplies at Omer DeSerres, and the business quickly became a reference in the
field. Omer DeSerres also benefited from the close proximity of Université du Québec
à Montréal, which had made its home in the neighbourhood
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1986
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The company acquired Trottier and Lizotte and Pavillon des Arts (in Quebec.)
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1988
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The company acquired Loomis & Toles (in Ontario). Ten years later, the stores
were renamed Loomis Art Store.
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1989
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The company created the Omer DeSerres Chair of Retailing at HÉC, or l’École des
hautes études commerciales (in Montreal)
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1991
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The company acquired Eez Zee Art (in Ottawa).
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1992 - 2005
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The business took a new direction: DeSerres now aimed to attract the general public,
opening nine “new concept” stores: Oakville (Ontario), Chicoutimi, Laval, Sherbrooke,
St-Hubert, Trois-Rivières, Quebec
City, Marché Central (Montreal), and Concordia Express (Montreal).
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2006
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The business continued to grow, and for the first time, DeSerres opened a store
in the heart of downtown Montréal, in Place Montréal-Trust.
Two other stores opened their doors, one in Pointe-Claire and the other in Boisbriand
(both in Quebec), while the Vancouver, B.C. store moved to a choice new location
on Broadway Boulevard.
Creative DIY crafts started to grow in popularity: scrapbooking took a major place
at DeSerres, and the Scrapbooking Club was born
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2007
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The rhythm of growth continued with new stores opening their doors: St-Léonard,
Gatineau and Brossard (in the Dix30 area) in Quebec, as well as Edmonton in
Alberta. Always in step with the trends, DeSerres opened its innovative in-store Bead
Bars.
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2008
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DeSerres celebrated its 100th anniversary!
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2009
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DeSerres launched an interior decoration department, offering a wide choice of stick-on
decorations. In December, deserres.ca unveiled
its new, improved website.
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