Simpson's
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Robert Simpson Company, or Simpson's, was a Canadian department store chain, founded by Robert Simpson in 1872. Robert Simpson had no male heir and on his death in 1897, the business was sold to a consortium of investors made up of Albert Ernest Ames, Joseph Flavelle and Harris Henry Fudger. The chain was eventually bought by the Hudson's Bay Company, and the Simpson's brand is no longer in use.
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[edit] History
The Simpson's store in downtown Toronto included one of Toronto's most famous and exclusive restaurants, the Arcadian Court, which opened in 1929. The store was acquired by Hudson's Bay Company in 1978, and the Arcadian Court is still in operation today. Throughout its history Simpson's was the traditional carriage trade department store in Toronto--competing with the rival T. Eaton Co.
In 1952, Simpson's partnered with Sears, Roebuck and Company, a U.S. department store chain, to create Simpsons-Sears Limited, a Canadian catalogue and department store chain separate from the Simpson's chain. The terms of the partnership agreement stipulated that no Simpsons-Sears store could be built with in a 25-mile radius of existing Simpson's stores in Toronto, Montreal, Halifax, Regina and London, Ontario. Simpson's agreed not to build any new stores outside of those cities.
In 1972, Simpson's and Simpsons-Sears Limited agreed to end the 25-mile restriction, and permit Simpson's and Simpsons-Sears Limited stores anywhere. In 1973, when Simpsons-Sears opened a store in the city of Mississauga, just west of Toronto, the company decided to use only the "Sears" name in order to prevent confusion with Simpson's stores operating in Toronto. Through 1973 and 1974, the remaining Simpsons-Sears stores and the catalogue operation were converted to the "Sears" name, although the legal partnership continued under the Simpsons-Sears name.
In 1978, Simpson's was acquired by the Hudson's Bay Company. Under federal competition law, the partnership had to be ended, and Simpson's and Simpsons-Sears Limited could not longer share facilities. Simpsons-Sears Limited became Sears Canada, although some Sears stores continued to carry the Simpsons-Sears name informally well into the 1980s.
In 1989 the flagship downtown Toronto Simpson's store completed a $30 million facelift with a relaunch known as the "Miracle on Queen Street", including a cosmetics area reputed to have been the largest in the world. The basement featured the addition of a gourmet food hall like Macy's in Herald Square in New York City or Harrods in London, and the St. Regis Room was expanded. Upscale shops such as Alfred Dunhill of London were included.
The Hudson's Bay Company attempted to run Simpson's as a more upscale brand than its main brand The Bay, but was unsuccessful. The Simpson's operations were merged with The Bay in 1989 in the province of Quebec, and 1991 in the rest of the country. Since then, all of the stores have either been converted to The Bay or been closed, and the Simpson's name is no longer used.
[edit] St. Regis Room and West End Shop
The two most "exclusive" clothing departments in the former Simpson's downtown Toronto location, the St. Regis Room for women and the West End Shop for men, are still in operation at The Bay's downtown Toronto Queen Street store. Designers in the St. Regis Room include Givenchy, Christian Lacroix, Valentino, Armani Collezioni, Louis Feraud, Karl Lagerfeld, Balmain, Andrew Gn, Lida Baday, Belville Sasoon, David Hayes, and others. The West End shop designers include Hugo Boss, Strellson, and others.
While operated by Simpson's, the St. Regis Room, offered some of the most exclusive fashion collections in Canada. Dior, Oscar de la Renta, Yves Saint Laurent, Claude Montana, Courreges, and many others were featured in this luxury department.
[edit] Simpson's in popular culture
From 1981 to 1987, children across the United States and Canada saw Simpson's as the setting for the television show Today's Special, which used the Yonge Street location for certain scenes. The store was never explicitly mentioned by name except in the closing credits, though the store's name was visible in certain scenes. [1]
Simpson's is seen and mentioned in the 1988 movie Short Circuit 2.
[edit] Locations
- Toronto: Queen and Yonge, Cedarbrae Plaza, Fairview Mall, Hillcrest Mall, Markville Shopping Centre, Scarborough Town Centre, Sherway Gardens, Shoppers World, Woodbine Centre, Yorkdale Shopping Centre
- Brampton: Shoppers World, Bramalea City Centre
- Burlington: Mapleview Centre opened 1990, converted to Sears 1991
- Halifax Regional Municipality: Mic Mac Mall, West End Mall
- Kingston: Cataraqui Town Centre opened 1982, converted to The Bay
- Kitchener: Fairview Park Mall
- Laval: Carrefour Laval
- London: White Oaks Mall opened 1976, converted to The Bay, Dundas and Richmond converted to The Bay in 1985, now Market Tower
- Mississauga: Erin Mills Town Centre
- Montreal: Saint Catherine Street converted to Simons, Galeries d'Anjou
- Oakville: Oakville Place converted to Sears, 1991
- Ottawa: Sparks Street opened as Murphy-Gamble, 1909, converted to Simpson's, 1971, Closed 1983.
- Pointe-Claire: Fairview Pointe-Claire
- Regina: former R.H. Williams store, closed 1981.
- Saint-Bruno de Montarville: Les Promenades St-Bruno
- Sydney: Mayflower Mall
- Windsor: Devonshire Mall converted to The Bay
Simpson's distribution centre in Toronto was at the corner of Allen Road and Lawrence Avenue West (now the site of Lawrence Square Mall).
