Department Stores then and now

[adma]

And the Dufferin Mall Zellers, too, was tiny--a relic of the days when it was competition for Kresge and Woolworths, not Kmart and Woolco...

[JasonParis]

Thanks for this. I'm actually interested in finding out more about even the discount department stores like Kmart and Woolco, Zellers etc.

You'll probably want to include Towers (Bonimart in QC) on that list too!

[Cast_Member]

And the Dufferin Mall Zellers, too, was tiny--a relic of the days when it was competition for Kresge and Woolworths, not Kmart and Woolco...

Now the store is a fitness centre and you can still see the remnants at the entrance like the green floor and iron handrails leading to the basement. I remembered it was a messy store just like its competitors like Woolworth and Bargain Harold's.

[nhincompoop]

Woolco in Dufferin Mall became Wal-Mart.
Bi-Way in Dufferin Mall became mall space (Solutions Store, then possibly something else, then Globo Shoes).
Many other Bi-Ways became Dollaramas, but I can't remember if the one in Dufferin Mall did before it moved to its current location.
Sears became Home Depot at Gerrard Square.

[nhincompoop]

The Zellers in Dufferin Mall became general mall space.

Consumers Distributing (a Canadian retailer with significant American presence) became No Frills in Dufferin Mall and the old location of No Frills became Toys 'R' Us I believe.

I think the Winners in Dufferin Mall is where Consumers Distributing used to be. The old No Frills became Toys R Us when it moved north to the old Eaton's space.

[Molybdenum]

Sears became Home Depot at Gerrard Square.

Only the first floor of the Sears at Gerrard Square became Home Depot. The top floor became Winners + mall space

[willg]

There used to be an Eaton's at the Promenade in Thornhill. The first floor was converted to a T&T Supermarket and the upper floor was converted to additional retail (Old Navy, Urban Outfitters).

[gbelan]

eatons @ sheridan mall mississauga (now known as sheridan centre) was converted to office space for an insurance company

[Johnny Au]

I think the Winners in Dufferin Mall is where Consumers Distributing used to be. The old No Frills became Toys R Us when it moved north to the old Eaton's space.

You are right. My memory is quite fuzzy.

[adma]

Funny how Cloverdale has escaped mention for its classic-50s-Morgans-turned-The-Bay-turned-Zellers (and the old Zellers space going Winners/Kitchen Stuff Plus on us)

[Kingsway]

Outside the GTA...Stone Road Mall Zellers (I think it was Towers before) became Home Outfitter and Moxies

[airplane-dude]

Outside the GTA...Stone Road Mall Zellers (I think it was Towers before) became Home Outfitter and Moxies

Not quite, it was a Kmart.

The Consumers is also the malls new foodcourt. They also used to have a Miracle grocery store which is now a Chapters.

[vancouverguy_76]

Does anyone remember the old Creeds store in the Manulife Centre? It was a smaller (~35,000 sq ft), very high-end women's fashion/department store... it was a shame when they went under: http://www.torontolife.com/features/big-bang/?pageno=2

It had Canada's first Chanel boutique, and included shops for Krizia, Yves Saint Laurent, Ungaro, Sonia Rykiel, and Christian Dior.

This blog includes some former Canadian department stores. It's very well done and worth a look: http://departmentstoremuseum.blogspot.com

Warning: if you're a retail info junkie like me, you can spend hours on that blog, lol

[jbcurio]

As far as Scarborough Town Centre goes:

Simpsons -> The Bay
The Bay -> Wal-Mart (Wikipedia claims Sears was located in between - was this true?)
Eatons -> Sears

[DaninToronto]

Not quite, it was a Kmart.

The Consumers is also the malls new foodcourt. They also used to have a Miracle grocery store which is now a Chapters.

I remember it being a Kmart as well