The Beginnings
John Young, a successful dry goods merchant, and an early promoter of the local cotton industry constructed Coppley Apparel Groups home in Hamilton Ontario in 1856. The property, then known as the Commercial Block, is the finest surviving pre-confederation stone building of provincial importance. In 1883, the company began on this site when G.C. Coppley, E. Finch Noyes, and James Randall purchased John Calder & Co.
 In 1950, at the age of fifty, Mr. Max Enkin purchased Coppley Noyes & Randall Ltd. Mr. Enkin, notable for his work to integrate thousands of refugees into Canada after World War II, was a highly distinguished gentleman who was bestowed with many honours during his lifetime including the prestigious Order of the British Empire and Order of Canada in 1983.
The New Age
The company flourished through the 1960’s and 1970’s with a compelling stable of American and European fashion brands licensed for distribution in Canada. By the 1980’s, Coppley had established a reputation as a forward-thinking and fashionable apparel firm. In the early 1990’s, the company entered into the American market. The company was purchased by Hartmarx Corporation in 1998 and renamed Coppley Apparel Group. Today, the company offers fashion-forward made-to-measure and ready-to-wear clothing under a variety of labels including its signature brand, Coppley.
The tailored clothing industry faced it greatest challenge ever with the movement to casual dressing in the mid-1990’s. As retailers in both Canada and the United States reacted with the scaled down clothing inventories to combat the new trend, Coppley revolutionized the tailored clothing industry’s way of doing business by delivering made-to-measure suits within seven working days. Faster than many tailors could do alterations. Coppley reengineered the custom suit standard and created a competitive advantage.
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