Iconic Canadian Businesses People Desperately Miss

Founded: 1872
Peak Number of Locations: Unconfirmed
Out of Business: 1991

Simpsons was one of Canada’s first department stores. It sported all the usual department store needs but with one main difference. Former shoppers may still vaguely recall the two the higher end stores in the Simpsons chain, The St. Regis Room and The West End Shop, which sold most one’s designer needs, which not many stores at the time were privy to selling.

Simpsons @sheilagr27 / Pinterest.com

In 1978, Hudson’s Bay Company continued their department store take-over, much like Walmart in America, by purchasing the Simpsons brand and by the early 1990s the Simpsons name was no more. The remaining Simpson stores were converted into Hudson’s Bay stores. This brought an end to the iconic Canadian business that had lasted for over a century.

Founded: 1892
Peak Number of Locations: 26
Out of Business: 1993 

Remembered for their $1.49 sales on the first Tuesday of every month, where shoppers could get a wide variety of goods for just a buck forty-nine, this British Columbia-based Canadian department store chain dated back all the way to 1892. Woodward’s had its own auto-centre, clothing departments, and even hair salons (for the shopper who needed a quick trim).

Woodward's @rwilobe / Pinterest.com

In 1993, most of Woodward’s twenty-six locations were sold to the Hudson’s Bay Company, the legendary Food Floor chain was sold to EMP and the remainder of the stores were closed for good. To the delight of nostalgic shoppers,  after more than a decade’s absence, the Food Floor was reopened in 2009, at the former Woodward’s location in Vancouver.

Founded: 1971
Peak Number of Locations: 65
Out of Business: 1982 

Catalogue stores are something that has been mostly forgotten over the years. For anyone who had been to these stores, they will always remember searching through the seemingly, endless catalogues of clothes, accessories, and appliances. It was a unique shopping experience to say the least. One would go to the location, browse a catalogue of goods, and give the clerk a list of items that they wanted. The clerk would then put the order together.

Shoprite @bobbycole5473 / Pinterest.com

With sixty-five catalogue stores, Shoprite was just no match for Consumers Distributing, which had more than four hundred catalogue store locations. Many people have probably forgotten about this dark horse in the industry, the same way the youth are forgetting Sears. Although it’s not around anymore, it did help set the pace in the catalogue shopping experience for over a decade.

Founded: 1962
Peak Number of Locations: 160
Out of Business: 1994

For more than three decades, the American franchise Woolco had its footprint right across Canada. At their 160 discount retail locations, they provided their customers with anything from bedding to clothes, and even children’s toys and things for around the house.  Woolco was quite popular because they had pretty much everything, and all at a very reasonable price.

Woolco @VanishedChicagoland / Pinterest.com

Unfortunately, by the early ’90s, Woolco just couldn’t keep up with the bigger franchises that were coming through. They eventually caved and in, 1994, and sold most of the Canadian locations to Walmart.

Founded: 1869
Peak Number of Locations: 90
Out of Business: 2002

Eaton’s was one of the most household names in Canadian department store shopping for the better part of a hundred and thirty years. Its popularity and footprint grew so large that it was even the sponsor for the Santa Clause Parade from 1905-1982.

Eaton's @krazyfella / Pinterest.com

With poor family management by the newer generation of Eaton’s and the added pressure by Hudson’s Bay Company and Sears Roebuck, Eaton’s just couldn’t keep up with the competition. In 2000, Sears Canada bought most of the remaining Eaton’s stores and remodelled them into Sears stores. The Eaton’s Centre shopping malls in Toronto and Montreal have allowed for the Eaton name and legacy to continue long after the last store closed in 2002.

Founded: 1906
Peak Number of Locations: 138
Out of Business: 2000

Most people who grew up in the ’80s and ’90s will remember Lumber Beaver’s catchy commercials and bright yellow and green logo. During its day, Beaver Lumber was a great hardware and lumber store with over a hundred locations right across the country, dozens of lumber yards across the prairies. They sold most anything that one would need for DIY home renovations. 

Beaver Lumber @monacoplace / Pinterest.com

Beaver Lumber was sold to Montreal’s Molson brewing company in 1972, and eventually lost a long battle with up and coming rival, Home Hardware. In 1999, Beaver Lumber sold its remaining locations to Home Hardware, and the jolly, skipping beaver that everyone knew and loved, hung up his overalls for the last time.

Founded: 1919
Peak Number of Locations: 390
Out of Business: 2008

A mainstay in every province in Canada, Dominion grocery stores were once the go-to grocery store for the majority of Canadians. Anyone who has ever been to one of the locations will remember the name ‘Dominion’ written in big, red, cursive letters on the side of the building, and who can ever forget seeing that green maple leaf in the centre of the ‘D’ every time one would look up at that sign.

Dominion @lfpress / Facebook.com

The 1990s saw the beginning of the end for Dominion, as stores by that name only remained in the Greater Toronto Area. Elsewhere around the country, the stores were converted into A&Ps. In 2008, just a decade shy of its hundredth anniversary, the remaining stores were sold to MRU Inc. and converted into Metro stores.

Founded: 1894
Peak Number of Locations: 467
Out of Business: 1998

George Kinney was inspired by his father, an owner of a general store in New York. George’s father had got himself into some financial difficulties, so in order to help out, the young Kinney bought a store in Waverly, NY. The first Kinney Shoes was born, with a mission to provide good, affordable footwear to the country. 

Kinney Shoes @prjohnnyrivera / Twitter.com

In 1963, F.W. Woolworth bought the company, but in 1998 the Venator Group said it would be closing Kinney’s 467 stores. It was a sad day for the legacy that George Kinney had created, but some businesses don’t last forever. 

In many ways the Kinney business emulated the American dream as a company that started out with humble family roots and expanded to become a national treasure. 100 years in the industry is an impressive feat for anyone. Kinney even spawned Foot Locker in 1974. 

Founded: 1986
Peak Number of Locations: 121
Out of Business: 2017

HMV, was not just a music store, it was a complete musical experience. From the neon pink signs to the staff picks of music, HMV left a musical imprint in the minds of anyone who was a teenager in the 90’s. In the 2000’s HMV stores could be found in almost every major city across the country and would even have concerts at some of their larger locations.

HMV @thevinylfactory / Pinterest.com

As with most music stores, the digital age was not too kind to HMV. The business tried to adapt by including video games and movies into their catalogue, but it just wasn’t enough. In 2011, HMV was sold to Hilco Uk and subsequently sold to Sunrise Records in 2017. April of 2017, brought with it the closing of HMV’s flagship Toronto location at Yonge and Dundas Square.

Founded: 1948
Peak Number of Locations: 1
Out of Business: 2016

With twenty-three thousand lights on the sign, Honest Ed’s was literally a beacon of light in its one and only, iconic location in downtown Toronto, for nearly seventy years. From vacuums to winter coats, Honest Ed’s had almost everything, including great slogans. Honest Ed Mirvish made sure that every customer knew that, ‘only the floors were crooked’.

Honest Ed's @kmeganc / Pinterest.com

After more than fifty years of the business growing, 1990 saw the start of the decline of Honest Ed’s. It hung on for almost thirty more years, but on New Year’s Eve 2016, Torontonians bid their final farewell to Honest Ed’s. To the delight of Ed Mirvish fans everywhere, the sign is being refurbished and will be hung at the entrance of the Mirvish Theatre down the street.

Founded: 1970
Peak Number of Locations: 52
Out of Business: 1985

In 1970, Harold Kamin, opened up his first location of Bargain Harold’s, with the goal of being the place where Canadians would go for all of their discount housing needs. The stores were so popular that in just fifteen years Kamin opened up another fifty-one locations.

Bargain Harold's @ryno1004 / Twitter.com

By 1985, with fifty-two locations, Harold Kamin was living the ‘Canadian Dream’, and sold the entire business to K-Mart for $16 million. This permanently brought an end to Bargain Harold’s imprint on the Canadian discount retail industry.

Founded: 1983
Peak Number of Locations: 250
Out of Business: 2001

Bi-Way was another of Canada’s discount retail stores that just couldn’t compete with its American counterparts. At its peak, there were over two hundred Bi-Way locations across Canada, and was known for great prices on clothing and other essential household items. The Hardof Wolf Group ended up buying out the remaining Bi-Way stores and turning them into dollar stores. 

Bi-Way @80kid90teen / Twitter.com

Fear-not Bi-Way enthusiasts, in 2018, it was announced that there would be Bi-Way resurrection, as there were plans to reopen a location in North York after nineteen years. These plans were put on hold, but are sure to be resumed soon.

Founded: 1945
Peak Number of Locations: 260
Out of Business: 1993

A&A Records was a place where the youth of the day were able to, not only, browse through the newest records of the day but also listen to the album in store if they so desired. The classically old-style music store had locations in every province and usually set up shop right in the centre of the downtown districts.

A&A Records @davidr0517 / Pinterest.com

Aggressive expansion in an already saturated music store industry, turned out to be A&A’s undoing. By the end of 1993 all of the 260 locations were no more as Music World and Sunrise records each took over some of the A&A locations and the remaining ones just simply closed down for good.

Founded: 1921
Peak Number of Locations: 7,400
Out of Business: 2017

There was a time when Radio Shack stores were everywhere, with over 7,400 locations. By 2017, this number had dwindled down significantly to just 1,000. Its owners, General Wireless Operations, announced plans later that year to close nearly all of the stores, leaving 500 franchises still operating. 

RadioShack @RadioShack / Pinterest.com

It was a sad ending for the company that first emerged in 1921. Although Radio Shack did flourish in its prime it soon became defunct as the technology world moved on. Brothers Theodore and Milton Deutschmann likely had higher hopes for their business.