Simpson's

From Free net encyclopedia

For the London restaurant called Simpson's, see Simpson's-in-the-Strand.

Image:Simpsons in Toronto.jpg The Robert Simpson Company, or Simpson's, was a Canadian department store retailer, founded by Robert Simpson in 1872. The chain was bought by the Hudson's Bay Company, and the Simpson's brand is no longer in use.

1 History
2 Simpson's in popular culture
3 Locations
4 See also
5 External links

[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 The Bay in 1978, and the Arcadian Court is still in operation today.

In 1952, Simpson's partnered with Sears, Roebuck & Co., 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 Toronto suburb of Mississauga, the company decided to use only the "Sears" name in order to prevent confustion 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.

The Bay attempted to run Simpson's as a more upscale brand than its main brand The Bay, but was unsuccessful. In 1991, the Simpson's operations were merged with The Bay. Since then, all of the stores have been converted to The Bay, and the Simpson's name is no longer used.

[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, though the store's name was visible in certain scenes. [1]

[edit]