Ten Thousand Villages to close New Hamburg distribution centre and local stores

Ten Thousand Villages will be closing its head office and distribution centre in New Hamburg as well as local stores.

The fair trade stores in New Hamburg and Waterloo are slated to close on May 29. That's the same day the Ten Thousand Villages Canada website will be shut down. Theannouncement was made through the company's Twitter account Tuesday.

The retail stores were started by Mennonite Central Committee Canada in 1946. They sell items made by artisans around the world, often using local materials that are natural or recycled. It pays the artisans for their work to give them a "fair, stable income," the store's website says.

The Mennonite Central Committee Canada cited a "challenging retail environment" as the reason for the closures.

"In spite of all our best efforts, we have been unable to achieve the level of sales that would continue to provide us with the ability to operate a sustainable business model," the release said.

Stores in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and New Brunswick are also expected to close.

Stores in Alberta, one in Quebec and two in Ontario will remain open.

In February 2018, it was announced nine "unprofitable" fair trade stores would be closed, including in Calgary, Saskatoon, two in Montreal, two in Ontario St. Jacobs and Stratford.