When was eatons sold

But rising competition, then the internet, rendered them irrelevant. By Joe Castaldo November 29, It was an upscale shop that catered to women, who could socialize free of male chaperones, and was divided into sections offering furs, hand fans, haberdashery, jewellery, clocks and hats. The shop may well be considered the first department store, though it was a few decades ahead of its time.

The concept evolved in Canada from the trading posts and general stores that dotted the landscape, and was borne by a few converging trends: mass production, urbanization, rising disposable income and more efficient global trade owing to steamships and rail.

Department stores were different from anything Canadians had seen. The buildings were sprawling, multi-storey architectural marvels incorporating novel technology, such as electric lighting.

His Canadian counterparts were no less ambitious, staging concerts, lectures and art exhibits on their premises. The spectacle is said to have been shut down after three days due to poor ventilation.

He also, however, introduced a memorable pneumatic tube system that transferred cash, letters, and documents around the massive complex. The pneumatic tube system automatically conveyed cash from the counters to the basement where all of the money would be collected. This also included a motorized delivery service coinciding with the rise of the automobile, which replaced human-powered carts and horse-backed carriages. They briefly sold their own car model to consumers through their stores and catalogue.

Salespeople soon learned, however, that cars required consistent maintenance and lessons for drivers, so the venture could not last. That being said, electric car company Tesla Motors recently drew the ire of car companies by offering direct-order services through their website.

The company was invested heavily in the war effort, as over 3, of their employees enlisted to fight on the Western Front. When the war ended in , over 1, soldiers resumed work duties at the flagship location in Toronto. One of the more surprising items financed by the Eaton company were 15 motorized armoured trucks with mounted machine guns. The vehicles, which looked like a small submarine on wheels, struggled to adapt to the muddy trench warfare, broke down at high speeds and offered little maneuverability.

In , though, British Army officer Ernest Swinton introduced the tank, which would see combat on the Western Front by the end of the war. Today, retail giants from around the world populate the Eaton Centre complex, and with every year, shopping becomes an increasingly digitized experience, be it through websites like Amazon and Alibaba, or through cashless payments and automated checkout kiosks.

In , the U. Simpsons had five retail locations and a relatively strong mail order business. Simpsons-Sears also used credit terms that enabled buy-now pay-later sales on installment.

John David Eaton struggled in his role as president, lacking the flexibility to respond to new market changes. He relied on a team of store managers and executives who lived lavish private lives and tended to make limited efforts to refresh their store layouts. In , the company attempted an ambitious new branch of discount stores, Horizon, but were compelled to either fold them back into the main brand or close them after only a few years.

The centre, which continues to bear the name of the defunct firm, opened in , replacing the company locations at College and Yonge Street and at Queen Street. That scheme met with considerable public resistance and was abandoned. A series of marketing missteps, including the cancellation of the popular Trans-Canada sale, created further ill will towards the company. Two years of cutting and restructuring could not save the firm, and it declared bankruptcy in August It was an ignoble end to a company that had done much to shape the Canadian economy and shopping for much of the 20th century.

Joy L. Santink, Timothy Eaton and the rise of his department store Browse vintage photos and store directories from various locations. Search The Canadian Encyclopedia. Remember me. I forgot my password. Why sign up? Create Account.

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