Eaton's

Eaton's was once Canada's largest department store retailer. Founded in Toronto by Timothy Eaton, an Irish immigrant, in 1869, Eaton's first advertisement read "We propose to sell our goods for CASH ONLY – In selling goods, to have only one price." In an era where haggling for goods was commonplace, this was a revolutionary business practice.

Decline and Bankruptcy

In the 1970s, Eaton's tried to expand its reach in Canadian retailing by opening a chain of discount or "junior" department stores called Horizon. The Horizon chain was closed in 1978. Three of its stores were converted to Eaton's stores, and the others were shuttered.

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In the 1970s and 1980s, Eaton's was a partner in the development of other downtown malls in smaller centres, particularly in Ontario, intended to foster the revitalization of urban cores. Nearly all these malls — in cities such as Sarnia, Brantford, Hamilton and Guelph — had high vacancy rates and poor patronage, and contributed to the store's financial problems.

Related Topics:
Sarnia - Brantford - Hamilton - Guelph

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The economic recession of the early 1980s hurt the company. The consolidation of department store retailers gave rise to national competitors such as the Hudson's Bay Company, Sears Canada and Zellers, all of whom took market share from Eaton?s. By the 1990s, American retailers, particularly Wal-Mart, were expanding into Canada, and Eaton?s found it increasingly difficult to compete.

Related Topics:
1980s - Hudson's Bay Company - Sears Canada - Zellers - 1990s - Wal-Mart

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Retailing and land use trends in the last decades of the 20th century did not favour Eaton?s. Traditional department stores, including (but not limited to) Eaton?s, commanded an ever-shrinking share of the Canadian retail dollar, as discount department stores, such as Wal-Mart and Zellers, and specialty stores (the so-called ?category killers?) expanded their respective shares of retail sales. With the advent of urban sprawl, most Canadian downtown shopping districts (which were historically dominated by Eaton's) had to increasingly share the retail sales pie with growing suburban shopping areas (where Eaton?s was just one of many competitors).

Related Topics:
20th century - Category killers

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Eaton?s difficulties, however, were not all caused by external forces. Poor management by the last generation of Eaton family members to run the chain certainly contributed to the demise of Eaton?s. Stores that once served as landmarks in their respective communities were not renovated. New Eaton?s stores built since the 1960's were largely indistinguishable from other chain stores, thus increasingly reducing Eaton?s status as a destination store. The chain that had touted itself in the 1940's and 1950's as ?The Store for Young Canada? lost touch with younger customers, and unintentionally became known as a chain that catered to older shoppers. Once known for its superior customer service (with its staff proudly known as "Eatonians"), Eaton's began to cut back on sales staff and training in an effort to trim costs. The end of the catalogue and of the Eaton?s Santa Claus parades helped sever the emotional links between Canadians and the Eaton?s chain. One apocryphal tale states that once the women of the Eaton family stopped shopping at Eaton?s, the chain was doomed.

Related Topics:
1960's - 1940's - 1950's

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In one particularly disastrous move, Eaton?s moved to an ?Everyday Value Pricing? strategy in 1991, which meant that all discounts and sales, including Eaton?s famous Trans-Canada Sale, were eliminated. The strategy quickly drove away customers and was soon abandoned.

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The chain, which controlled almost 60% of all department store sales in Canada in 1930, had been reduced to a market share of 10.6% in 1997. The T. Eaton Co. Limited first filed for bankruptcy protection in 1997. The chain finally folded in 1999 after operating for 130 years, and its corporate assets were acquired by Sears Canada.

Related Topics:
1930 - 1997 - 1999 - Sears Canada

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Sears Canada closed some Eaton's stores, converted others to Sears stores, sold others to The Bay, and kept a number of downtown stores with the intention of relaunching eatons in 2000 as a more high-end, modern brand, with a lowercase "e" in a circle as its logo and a splashy ad campaign built around the colour aubergine. However, that seven-store experiment did not last, and in 2002 Sears retired the eatons name and converted the remaining stores to Sears, including the flagship Eaton Centre store in downtown Toronto. However, the mall is still known as the Toronto Eaton Centre.

Related Topics:
2000 - Aubergine - 2002 - Toronto Eaton Centre

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