Laco Sac is one of the longest-surviving stores in the CF Toronto Eaton Centre, having withstood decades of change in the constantly evolving mall.

The luggage and travel gear store opened in the mall in 1991 and has been in business for 33 years as of 2024.

In its over three-decade journey, the family-run enterprise — headed by 76-year-old Varouj Kharabian — has persisted through an influx of multinational stores, leasing trouble and competition from within the market.

They business survived even when other stores around them in the mall were closing. Kharabian's daughter Natasha, who joined the family business as operations manager in 2014, says that the mall, and as a result, the store have undergone many changes.

"With the influx of the American chains in the early 2000's including but not limited to Hollister, Forever 21, Victoria's Secret, Abercrombie and Fitch, Nordstrom, Old Navy, Gap and William & Sonoma, a cataclysmic shift started to take place," Natasha said.

"The mall started to implement a massive facelift and as a result leases were cut or simply not renewed. At the time the mall wanted all the independently owned (smaller) stores to be filtered out to make space for the gargantuan American chains. It's been years since and many of those chains have closed their doors, most recently and shockingly Nordstrom, Ted Baker, William & Sonoma and Old Navy."

Laco Sac's lease was also on the "chopping block," but Natasha says that her father didn't give up. Varouj negotiated again and again with the management and leasing.

"A temporary location was arranged. Laco Sac moved four times. Wherever the mall had trouble filling a spot, had yet to find a tenant, Laco Sac would fill in. Until finally a permanent spot was arranged. Laco Sac made it work with sheer will," said Natasha.

"[We] still work the locations, still take care to chat with clients, still work with cultivating relationships with the management and leasing at the mall, as well as suppliers. Decades of relationships and dedication, to trying different approaches and seeing what got better results," she said.

The business has faced many trials along the way.

During the blackout of 2003 that engulfed the northeast in darkness, the Eaton Centre was closed. Another landmark event was the G20 Summit protest in June 2010, which also saw the mall famously shuttered. Most recently, the mall withstood the historic global disruption of the pandemic which led to a slump in businesses worldwide.

"During the early closures, it was about having savings to carry you through financially. My parents could have hired more staff and worked less but they worked long hours on good days to be prepared for bad days," Natasha said.

"Those years of foreseeing the possibility of challenge made staying afloat during short-term closures possible. The slumps were difficult but having more than one location to lean on helped. The online store was also helpful, but it was a huge challenge overall to overcome."

She says that when they reopened, the connections they had made over the years helped them regain foothold.

"Connections we had spent years forging with smaller manufacturers helped us get product when supply issues were causing major problems for competitors who primarily purchase product from overseas. We became the primary place to get luggage for many," she said.

Natasha, who has been in the business for over a decade, says that "lasting customer loyalty built over time, a commitment to service and client relations, a dedication and ability to evolve and competitive pricing" are the secrets to their success.

"We switched products like moving from handbags to travel and luggage when we noticed market changes. We listened to client needs, whether it was brands or precise products," Natasha said.

Varouj was 37 years old when he came to Canada from Lebanon in 1987. Almost 40 years later, he says that he got good advice in the beginning that served him well.

"When we started, it wasn't a good deal. People took advantage. I was told, "don't think that you open a business, you make money." I took the advice," Varouj said.

Natasha also attributes it to being a small business that the family could still oversee its operations. Just then, Varouj takes out his mobile phone and shows us security camera footage from their other store.

"I feel like sometimes companies grow too big and they lose the handle on it. I think it remains small enough that we could still be here and handle things on a very grassroots level," Natasha said.