Robert Simpson Company
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Private (until 1978) Subsidiary (1978–1991) |
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| Industry | Retail |
| Fate | Converted to The Bay |
| Successor | Hudson's Bay |
| Founded | 1858 (as Simpson & Trent) 1872 (as R. Simpson, Dry Goods) |
| Founder | Robert Simpson |
| Defunct | 1989 (Quebec) 1991 (elsewhere) |
| Headquarters | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
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Area served
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Canada |
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Key people
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Albert Ernest Ames Joseph Flavelle Harris Henry Fudger Charles Luther (C.L.) Burton Edgar G. Burton G. Allan Burton Edgar "Ted" Burton |
| Products | Clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, appliances, housewares, tools, and electronics |
| Parent |
Hudson's Bay Company (1978–1991) |
The Robert Simpson Company Limited, commonly known as Simpsons (previously Simpson's until 1972), was a Canadian department store chain that had its earliest roots in a store founded by Robert Simpson. The Hudson's Bay Company purchased the chain in 1978, but the Simpsons stores were later converted to The Bay stores by the early 1990s.
Robert Simpson's original store was opened in 1858 in Newmarket, Ontario. A fire destroyed the store in 1870, and a new dry goods store was opened two years later in Toronto. Robert Simpson lived at 384 Botsford Street in Newmarket from 1861 to 1876.
The company was renamed the Robert Simpson Company Limited in May 1896, not long before Robert Simpson's sudden death on 14 December 1897, at the age of 63. With no male heir, Simpson's death placed a heavy burden on his wife, Mary, and daughter, Margaret. They sold the business for $135,000 in March 1898 to a syndicate of three Toronto businessmen, Harris Henry Fudger, Joseph Flavelle, and Alfred Ernest Ames.
In 1912, Charles Luther (C.L.) Burton became assistant general manager at the Robert Simpson Company, then under the directorship of his old friend and mentor, H. H. Fudger. By 1929, Burton was president of Simpson’s, becoming chairman of the board in 1948, when his son Edgar assumed the presidency.
The store in downtown Toronto included one of the city's most exclusive restaurants, the Arcadian Court, which opened in 1929 and still operates today (as an event space) after the store's acquisition by Hudson's Bay Company in 1978. Throughout its history, Simpsons was the traditional carriage-trade department store in Toronto, competing with the T. Eaton Company. The motto "You'll enjoy shopping at Simpson's" was conceived by Robert Simpson and remained the company's slogan until its acquisition by the Hudson's Bay Company.
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. Competitor Eaton's became "Eaton". However, management did not want the company known as Simpson, so it dropped the apostrophe and changed the name to "Simpsons". After the Hudson's Bay Company acquired the firm, it changed the name of the chain to Simpson for the stores in Quebec, while retaining the Simpsons name in other provinces.
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Wikipedia