- Simpsons (department store)
The Robert Simpson Company, or Simpsons (Simpson's until 1972), 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 ofAlbert Ernest Ames ,Joseph Flavelle andHarris Henry Fudger . The chain was eventually bought by theHudson's Bay Company , and the Simpsons brand is no longer in use.History
The Simpsons store in downtown
Toronto included one of Toronto's most famous and exclusive restaurants, theArcadian Court , which opened in 1929. The store was acquired byHudson's Bay Company in 1978, and the Arcadian Court is still in operation today. Throughout its history Simpsons was the traditional carriage trade department store in Toronto--competing with the rival T. Eaton Co.Name change
Until 1972, the operating name of the company was Simpson's. During a time of increased pressure and sensitivity towards French language issues in
Quebec , the company dropped the apostrophe. Although not yet law, companies began dropping the English possessive "'s" from their names. Rival Eaton's became simply "Eaton". However, company management did not want the company known as Simpson, so it dropped the apostrophe and changed the name to "Simpsons" (as reflected in the logo above and photo below). After Hudson Bay's Company acquired the company, it changed the name of the chain to Simpson for the stores in Quebec while keeping the name to Simpsons in other provinces.impsons-Sears
In 1952, Simpsons 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 Simpsons chain. The terms of the partnership agreement stipulated that no Simpsons-Sears store could be built within a 25-mile radius of existing Simpsons stores in Toronto,Montreal , Halifax, Regina andLondon, Ontario . Simpsons agreed not to build any new stores outside those cities.In 1972, Simpsons and Simpsons-Sears Limited agreed to end the 25-mile restriction, and permit Simpsons 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 Simpsons 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.
Acquisition by the Hudson's Bay Company
In 1978, Simpsons was acquired by the
Hudson's Bay Company . Under federal competition law, the partnership had to be ended, and Simpsons and Simpsons-Sears Limited could not longer share facilities. Simpsons-Sears Limited becameSears Canada , although some Sears stores continued to carry the Simpsons-Sears name informally well into the 1980s.In the early
1980s , the Hudson Bay's Company converted three Simpsons stores into Bay stores. On the other hand, an existing Bay store was converted to a Simpsons store around the same time.In 1989 the flagship downtown Toronto Simpsons 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 that at
Macy's inHerald Square inNew York City orHarrods inLondon , and the St. Regis Room was expanded. Upscale shops such as Alfred Dunhill of London were included. The downtown store remains the largest department store in Canada.The Hudson's Bay Company attempted to run Simpsons as a more upscale brand than its main brand
The Bay , but was unsuccessful. The Simpsons operations were merged with The Bay in 1989 in the province ofQuebec , 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 Simpsons name is no longer used.The
Canadian Intellectual Property Office database reports that the trademark to the name "Simpsons" is now owned bySears Canada . It was purchased from the Hudson's Bay Company in 2001, some ten years after the name was officially retired.St. Regis Room and West End Shop
The two most "exclusive" clothing departments in the former Simpsons 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 includeHugo Boss , Strellson, and others.While operated by Simpsons, 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.Simpsons in popular culture
From 1981 to 1987, children across the United States and Canada saw Simpsons 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 theclosing credits , though the store's name was visible in certain scenes. [http://todays-special.schuminweb.com/general-information.asp]Simpsons is seen and mentioned in the 1988 movie "
Short Circuit 2 " (although the store that was referred to as Simpsons was actually the Eaton's store).See also
*
Hudson's Bay Company
*List of Canadian department storesExternal links
* [http://todays-special.schuminweb.com/todays-special/behind-the-scenes/simpsons.php Simpsons - The Store]
* [http://www.civilization.ca/cpm/catalog/cat2407e.html Canadian Museum of Civilization - Company histories: Simpsons]
* [http://www.hbc.com/hbcheritage/history/acquisitions/retail/simpsons.asp HBC Heritage: The Robert Simpson Company Limited]
* [http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/cx/?id=112131 Emporis Listing of Toronto flagship]
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