TORONTO — Before Walmart invaded Canada in 1994, discount chain Biway had bargain hunters across eight provinces piling in for deals on clothing, health and beauty aids, bedding and housewares. Now, 17 years after the chain shuttered, original co-chief executive officer Mal Coven, 89, is relaunching the concept next year but in a reimagined format called Biway $10 Store Ltd. “I knew the value in the Biway name and didn’t want to see it forgotten. So I found a vehicle to keep it alive,” said Coven, who began his “wonderful retail adventure” when the Filene’s buyer from Boston arrived in Toronto in 1961 to go into business with Biway founder and brother-in-law Abe Fish. During the 28-year span from 1962 to 1990, when Coven left the company, Biway operated 249 stores across the country, which sold simple “working man” staples like Lee and Levi’s jeans, Van Heusen men’s and women’s merchandise, and more at low prices. In its new incarnation, “$10 is the magic number,” Coven told WWD, referring to Canadian dollars. Launching in Toronto in August and with other locations to follow in 2020, the initial 7,500-square-foot location at Bathurst Street and Steeles Avenue will offer a mix of women’s wear; children’s wear from infants to
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