Dominion Stores (historical)
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| Division | |
| Industry | Supermarket |
| Fate | Rebranded as Metro |
| Founded | 1919 in Toronto, Ontario Canada |
| Founders | J. William Pentland Robert Jackson |
| Defunct | December 2008 |
| Headquarters | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Brands |
Private labels: Master Choice Equality |
| Parent | Metro Inc. |
| Website | www.metro.ca |
Dominion Stores was once a national chain of supermarkets in Canada, which was known as the Dominion of Canada at the time of the company's founding. The chain was founded in 1919 in Ontario and was later acquired by the Argus Corporation. It was later sold to The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company (A&P), which restricted the chain to the Greater Toronto Area. Stores outside Ontario were converted to the A&P banner or sold to third parties. A&P's Canadian division was later acquired by Metro Inc., which rebranded the remaining Dominion stores to its namesake banner in 2008.
Dominion store started from one Toronto store on May 23, 1919. The store was founded by American businessmen Robert Jackson of New Hampshire and William J. Pentland of Connecticut. Pentland was manager of A&P stores in Connecticut and was hired by Jackson. By the end of 1919, they had a 20-store chain of which 18 were acquired from rival Loblaws. A year later, they had 61 stores. In 1929, Dominion tried to acquire a stake in Loblaws, but the stock market crash ended the growth. During the Depression, Dominion lost both founders: Jackson went bankrupt and Pentland was killed in an auto accident in 1933.
Dominion's leadership was not resolved until 1939, when J. William Horsey became president. He in turn sold Dominion Stores to Argus Corporation. Smaller stores were consolidated from 574 to 195 by 1954. In the 1950s, Dominion began to build large stores with airy ceilings and large glass fronts. The chain also expanded beyond Toronto to other parts of Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Atlantic Canada.
Dominion Stores was acquired by A&P's Canadian division, A&P Canada, from Hollinger in 1985. Some Dominion locations, rebranded Mr. Grocer in an attempt to break union contracts and convert company-owned stores to franchise locations, were not part of the A&P transaction. These were sold to National Grocers, which phased out the "Mr. Grocer" brand and signage.
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