Канадская сеть универмагов "Simpson's" и "Simpsons Sears"

Canadian department store chain

The Robert Simpson Company Limited, commonly known as Simpson's until 1972, then as Simpsons, and in Quebec sometimes as Simpson, was a Canadian department store chain that had its earliest roots in a store opened in 1858 by Robert Simpson. In 1952 Simpson's started a 50 50 joint venture in Canada named Simpsons Sears Limited (later Sears Canada) with Sears, Roebuck, the American retailer. Simpsons Sears stores remained distinct from the Simpson's stores and the parent companies' agreement included language to keep them from competing too directly with each other. The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) purchased the Simpsons branded stores in 1978, but they were later converted to The Bay stores by the early 1990s. As part of the 1978 agreement, U. S. based Sears acquired full ownership of Simpsons Sears Limited.

Robert Simpson's original store (Simpson & Bogart after 1861), was opened in 1858 in Newmarket, Ontario at what is now 226 228 Main Street South (original building since demolished). it was co founded with William Trent as Simpson & Trent Groceries, Boots, Shoes and Dry Goods. A fire destroyed the store in 1870, and a new dry goods store was opened two years later in Toronto. 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.

In 1952, General Robert E. Wood, the Chairman of U. S. retailer Sears, Roebuck and Co., sent a letter to Edgar G. Burton, President of the Robert Simpson Company of Toronto, proposing a partnership between their two companies in order to serve the Canadian market. The deal to create Simpsons Sears Limited, a Canadian catalogue and department store chain separate from the Simpsons chain, was signed on September 18, 1952, and the terms were 50 50. Each company put up $20 million and had equal representation on the new company's board of directors. The new company was to have two main objectives. The first was to expand Simpsons' existing mail order business, which was sold to the new company. The second goal was to build a string of stores modelled on Sears, Roebuck's format right across the country. The agreement also contained a provision that would prove to be a major bone of contention in the coming years. Under its terms, Simpsons Sears could not open a retail store within 25 miles of Simpson's existing stores in Toronto, Montreal, Halifax, Regina and London. Simpsons closed on June 27, 1981, the store in Regina, Saskatchewan it had operated since 1916 after four consecutive years of financial losses with that location. It also closed its only store in Ottawa on January 29, 1983. The 83,000 square feet multi level store had never been profitable ever since Simpsons acquired it in June 1972 and was notorious for not having any escalators. In July 1984, Simpsons terminated 1,631 employees, including more than a thousand in Toronto alone. Simpsons lost $53 million that year alone. HBC acknowledged at the time that Simpsons wasn't doing great in Toronto but was still performing well enough to continue there and even planned to add three more locations to the existing 11 stores in the area. That year, the flagship Simpsons store in downtown Toronto completed a $30 million facelift with a relaunch known as the Miracle on Queen Street. Its cosmetics area was reputed to be the largest in the world and the basement featured a gourmet food hall similar to Macy's in Herald Square in New York City or Harrods in London. The St. Regis Room expanded and upscale shops such as Alfred Dunhill of London opened boutiques in the store.

The Hudson's Bay Company attempted to operate Simpsons as a more upscale nameplate than its main brand, The Bay, but was unsuccessful. Simpsons struggled to stand out from The Bay. Although Simpsons was slightly higher end than The Bay, the distinction was hardly noticeable to the average shopper. The Hudson's Bay Company came to the conclusion that it would be better to rationalize its operations than to divide its customer base. Finally, the demise of Simpsons came at a time when the Hudson's Bay Company was seriously controlling its operating costs in anticipation of an eventual entrance to Canada by American giant Wal Mart which was already conquering the retail landscape in its country and attracting Canadians living close to the border.

The Simpsons store on Queen Street West in Toronto continues to operate under the Hudson's Bay nameplate as the chain's, and Canada's, largest department store. The adjacent Simpson Tower, which used to house Simpsons offices, served as the main headquarters for the Hudson's Bay Company until the mid 2010s which still maintains some activities in the building. In 1991, Sears Canada acquired several Simpsons locations in the Toronto market, primarily where HBC had both Bay and Simpsons stores operating within the same shopping centre. The other six Simpsons stores were sold to Sears. The locations that Sears acquired were closed in July 1991, renovated and progressively reopened at various dates in August and September 1991 with the former Simpsons/The Bay employees. The Sears store at Mapleview Mall in particular opened on August 14, 1991, the same date The Bay replaced its Simpsons locations. Of the Simpsons stores in Quebec, three of them Anjou, Pointe Claire and Laval switched to The Bay on January 29, 1989. The three locations were rebranded in March 1989 after a transition period as Simpsons stores operated by The Bay. The other two Simpsons locations, in downtown Montreal and St Bruno, closed because there were existing The Bay stores near them. HBC unsuccessfully tried to find a buyer for the Simpsons store in St Bruno. The Bay store in St Bruno eventually relocated to Simpsons' vacated location that same year. The downtown store closed on January 28, 1989, but reopened in mid February for its final sale. The building later sat vacant for many years in the heart of the city's shopping district until it was turned in 1999 into a mall named Carrefour Industrielle Alliance, anchored by La Maison Simons and Famous Players (today Scotiabank Theatre). The Simpsons stores outside of the Greater Toronto and Greater Montreal areas were actually the first to be converted to The Bay on July 30, 1986. This included the stores in the province of Nova Scotia as well as Ontario locations in London, Kitchener, Kingston and Windsor. Like the ones in the Toronto and Montreal, many of these The Bay stores are still standing including those at White Oaks Mall, Cataraqui Centre, Fairview Park Mall, Devonshire Mall, Mic Mac Mall and Mayflower Mall. The Bay in Halifax, closed in 2011, was among the Simpsons stores rebranded in 1986.

The two most "exclusive" clothing departments in the former Simpsons downtown Toronto location, the St. Regis Room (now known as the Room and extensively renovated in late 2009 by Yabu Pushelberg) for women and the West End Shop for men, are still in operation at the Bay's downtown Toronto Queen Street store. Designers in the St. Regis Room include Givenchy, Christian Lacroix, Valentino, Armani Collezioni, Louis Féraud, Karl Lagerfeld, Balmain, Andrew Gn, Lida Baday, Bellville Sassoon, David Hayes, and others. The West End shop designers include Hugo Boss, Strellson, and others. While operated by Simpsons, the St. Regis Room offered some of the most exclusive fashion collections in Canada. Christian Dior, Oscar de la Renta, Yves Saint Laurent, Claude Montana, André Courrèges, and many others were featured in this luxury store.

Sir Joseph W. Flavelle, 1925–1929
Harris H. Fudger, 1929–1930
Charles L. Burton, 1948–1956
Edgar G. Burton, 1956–1968
G. Allan Burton, 1968–1978