The last Roots franchise store in Canada, in downtown Charlottetown, is closing in January.

Owner Chris Cudmore, who has been operating the store for about 25 years, said Roots has left the franchise retail store model of business behind.

"At one time there might have been 15 or 20 franchises across the country, but we're the last franchise standing and we really didn't fit the Roots model anymore,” said Cudmore.

“They had an infrastructure just to service us. They had two or three employees dedicated to looking after the franchises.”

It did not make business sense for Roots to continue operating that infrastructure, said Cudmore. The Roots store will close for good Jan. 3.

Roots continues to operate corporate-owned stores across the country.

The Cudmore family has a long retail history in Charlottetown. It was also part of the independent clothing store Henderson and Cudmore, which was a fixture in the downtown for decades.

That history will continue. Cudmore's son will take over the space occupied by the Roots store with a Cool as a Moose franchise. The Cool as a Moose chain has stores in Halifax, Quebec City, Banff, and Whistler.

About eight of the current Roots employees have been offered work at the new store.