Leon's franchise opens new store in Stratford, P.E.I.

STRATFORD, P.E.I. — The owner of the Leon’s Furniture franchise in P.E.I. is happy to see the furniture store return to the greater Charlottetown area after a four-year absence.

Dave MacDonald, who owns the franchise with his brother, Duane, said while their new store is not right in the P.E.I. capital, they are happy for the time being with where they have opened — in the bottom floor of a new apartment building in Stratford.

The MacDonald brothers opened Leon’s Kinlock on Sept. 4 and will be staying at the location for another two years until a bigger permanent site is built.

“We are going to be building a bigger store over there,” Dave MacDonald said in a telephone interview with The Guardian on Oct. 15. “It will be twice the size of the current location.”

MacDonald worked at the location in the Charlottetown neighbourhood of Sherwood 25 years ago when he graduated from Holland College. He did his on-the-job training there, starting in the warehouse and working his way up to sales associate on the floor.

The Leon’s-Callbeck banner has been flying in Summerside, Bedeque and Charlottetown for the past 40 years, he said.

Charlottetown businessman Danny Murphy purchased Leon’s, moving it to the Royalty Power Centre in the P.E.I. capital (the old Sears location) before he got out of the furniture business and sold it four years ago. Callbeck’s purchased the Leon’s franchise for P.E.I. from Murphy in 2024.

The Callbeck family opened P.E.I.’s first Leon’s franchise at their namesake company’s original store in Bedeque in 1989. In 1990, they moved it to Charlottetown.

When the MacDonalds eventually purchased Callbeck’s Home Hardware from the Callbeck family, the Leon’s franchise was not included in the sale.

The Callbeck family retained ownership of the furniture business until 2012 when they sold it to D.P. Murphy.

Leon’s has been trying to get to the Charlottetown area ever since the store closed at the Royalty Power Centre.

If everything goes right, MacDonald said there will be shovels in the ground in Stratford in the spring of 2027 on a new 25,000-square-feet location.

“We know Leon’s was down there (in Charlottetown) for a long time, almost 40 years,” MacDonald said. “This was our game plan when we flipped this store in Summerside three years ago.”

MacDonald said he and his brother were operating a Callbeck’s Home Hardware in Summerside when Leon’s approached him about switching banners.

MacDonald said they secured the Stratford space in May.

“We were told there was a need for (a Charlottetown area) store. We knew what kind of business they were doing (before). We feel we can be one of the major players in the Island with two stores in major cities in P.E.I.”

MacDonald said when it comes to hiring employees, family matters a lot.

He seeks out associates who have a passion for selling furniture. It also does not hurt if they have a connection with the Leon’s brand.

Ahnais Young, 24, started as a sales associate when the Stratford store opened, coming in with a background in customer service.

Young’s father, Gary, manages the Leon’s store in Summerside.

“As a child, my father started working at the Sherwood store in warehouse management and sales as well,” Young said in an interview at the Stratford store on Oct. 16. “We were always around the store running around, testing out chairs, sofas, furniture and running sometimes down to the warehouse. We’d sit down with him in the office sometimes. It was a lot of great memories.”

Young was soon hooked on the business.

“I love furniture and home decor and helping people improve what they have or getting a new start. A lot of people are building houses. This is such a great job. I really like what I do.”

Gordon Lloyd, 71, has been a sales associate with Leon’s for more than 30 years. Many repeat customers will come in and ask for him.

“This is better than getting a real job,” Lloyd laughs when asked why he is so popular with customers. “It’s a fun job. This is not work.”

Beyond meeting people every day, Lloyd said it also comes down to the people he has worked with over the years.

“A couple of my workmates were two of the best people that you could ever work with,” Lloyd said. “You could never find two people like that to work with. They were extra special.”

MacDonald said putting a furniture store on the ground floor of an apartment building is not traditionally where retail would go, but the brothers did not want to wait until they could get a bigger standalone location constructed in two years.

“We know the location is not ideal,” MacDonald said. “We are trying to get the word out and got more signage out.”

Still, he said it’s the right spot for now.

“We knew we wanted to be in the Stratford location. In the Charlottetown area there wasn’t a lot of options so this, we feel, is going to be good.”

To find the Leon’s Kinlock store, turn into the Home Hardware parking lot and go down Irving Avenue past What’s the Scoop ice cream.

Leon’s Kinlock is on the ground floor of an apartment building with the number nine on it.

Dave Stewart is a reporter for The Guardian in Prince Edward Island. He can be reached at dstewart@postmedia.com and followed on X at @DveStewart.