Simpsons (department store)
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Private (1858-1978) Subsidiary (1978-1991) |
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| Industry | Retail |
| Fate | Converted to The Bay |
| Successor | The Bay |
| Founded | Toronto, Ontario, Canada (1858) |
| 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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Robert Simpson (Founder) 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, or Simpsons (Simpson's until 1972), was a Canadian department store chain, founded by Robert Simpson in 1858. The Hudson's Bay Company purchased the chain in 1978, and it ceased operation in the 1990s.
The dry goods store that later became the Robert Simpson Company opened in 1858 in Newmarket, Ontario. A fire destroyed the store in 1870 and reopened two years later, in Toronto. Robert Simpson House at 384 Botsford Street was his home Newmarket from 1861 to 1876. The company was renamed the Robert Simpson Company Limited in May 1896 shortly 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, who 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 Toronto's most exclusive restaurants, the Arcadian Court, which opened in 1929 and still operates today 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 Co. 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 company, 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