 |
History
Last updated
February 21, 2010 |
|
|
1960 |
|
Towers
radio commercial, circa 1960 |












 |
- Towers Marts of Canada brought the chain discount store concept
to Canada in November of 1960. A crash building program would open
12 discount plaza units of 100,00 square feet each in just over two
year. In Quebec, the stores went under the Bonimart banner.
The first store was opened at the corner of Lawrence Ave. East and
Midland Ave. Each selling department within a Towers store was
operated as a licensed concession.
- Read Elayne Freeman's first hand
account of opening day
here.
|
| 1961 |
- Talks are underway to open gasoline outlets at Towers Department
Store locations.
MORE
|
| 1962 |
- A new store opens (the third) at Bloor and Dundas Sts. On the
opening day, the first 1,000 customers were sold silver dollars at
80 cents each. Seven sets of triplets, ranging in age from 3 to 24,
took part in the opening ceremonies. They helped Ben Rosenberg,
president of Towers Marts and Prosperities Ltd. fill a time capsule
and photographs and newspapers. The capsule will remain buried until
2062. [Editor's note: I wonder what happened to it?} Donald Jaffey,
president Allied Towers Merchants, said that centralizing
warehousing, bookkeeping and inventory control will help streamline
merchandising operations.
MORE
- Allied Towers Merchants Limited offers shares in this May 23
announcement in the Star.
MORE
|
| 1963 |
- Shares of discount department store operator Towers Marts and
Properties Ltd. drop from a high of $9 to a level of $1 per share.
MORE
-
Discounter
Ben Rosenberg, president of Towers Marts and Properties store chain,
announces March 6 that Towers is in receivership. Twelve of Towers'
13 stores are making money, he says. Attempting to cut costs, he
announces that Allied Towers Merchants Ltd. has just taken over
merchandising, cashiering and other in-store operations.
MORE
- The Star reports on May 29 that Allied Towers Merchants suffered
a $268,492 net loss for 1962. Three months earlier, Allied Towers
assumed the merchandising functions formerly done by Towers Marts
and Properties.
MORE
- Bankruptcy trustee J.L. Biddell comments on the affairs of
Towers Marts and Properties Ltd. "(They are) the most complicated
matter I have ever been connected with." About 120 creditors
consider a proposal that would keep the company in business.
MORE
|
| 1964 |
- M.W. Book is elected president and general manager of Allied
Towers Merchants.
MORE
- Maxwell Goldhar is appointed president and a director of Towers
Marts and Properties Ltd.
MORE
- Sales of Allied Towers Merchants Ltd. in the first seven months
compare favourably with 1963 figures.
MORE
|
| 1970 |
- The Richelieu Valley will have its
first one-stop regional shopping centre... Place St. Jean, a
$4,300,000 fully enclosed shopping complex, will contain a discount
department store... It will contain a 66,000 square-foot Les
Galeries Towers department store...
MORE
|
| 1973 |
- Toronto Star for October 5 reports that Eaton's, Simpsons, The
Bay and Towers will be open for the Thanksgiving Monday.
MORE
- In the October 27 edition of the Star, "a fight's shaping up
over extended store hours."
MORE
- In Canada, the Oshawa group introduces a hypermarket (department
and grocery store together) near Montreal and calls it Hypermarché.
|
| 1974 |
- Falsely accused shoplifter at Towers Brantford store awarded
over $80,000 by the Ontario Supreme Court.
MORE
|
| 1975 |
- The Kipling and Queensway Towers store is robbed by two men who
climbed to the roof of the store and down a vent. Over $5,000 in
men's watches and clothes are taken.
MORE
- Coles Book Stores Ltd., once had a connection with Towers - they
operated the toy, games and stationery concessions.
MORE
|
| 1976 |
- Towers Department Stores joins with Hudson's Bay Co., the Great
Atlantic and Pacific Co. of Canada, F.W. Woolworth and Gambles to
create The Retail Research Foundation of Canada - a non-profit
organization that conducts quality, specification and safety tests
on a variety of products that retailers propose to sell to Canadian
consumers.
MORE
|
| 1977 |
- Former Vice President of Towers pleads
guilty to fraud.
MORE
|
| 1982 |
-
Towers Head Office moves from Orfus Road
to Airport Road in Mississauga.
MORE
-
Kent Drugs Ltd., a wholly owned
subsidiary of the Oshawa Group Ltd. operating under the name Drug
City, buys the assets of Metro Drugs Manitoba Ltd.
MORE
|
| 1983 |
- Ray Wolfe, chairman and president of
of Oshawa Group Ltd.,
announces that sales have increased 11.7 per cent to $2.12 billion.
This despite the lower profit from Towers Department Stores.
MORE
- Don Beaumont, vice-president of Marketing for Towers concedes
competition for toy sales from Toys "R" Us will likely be something
to be reckoned with. "We've watched them for many years and have
developed a healthy respect for them but Canada is another market,
another world. Many prosperous American businesses have moved to
Canada and have not enjoyed similar success."
MORE
- Larry J. Crystal is appointed
General Manager of the Restaurant Division
MORE
|
| 1984 |
- Shoppers are advised not to
shop at the Riverdale Plaza or
Galleria Shopping Centre stores. The reason? If you want to cash a cheque there you are going to have your photo taken.
MORE
- Oshawa Group profit is up. Towers Department Stores helps out.
MORE
- Towers, and other retailers, remove fake 'Cabbage Patch' dolls
from their shelves.
MORE
|
| 1985 |
|
|
| 1987 |
- W.L. Atkinson, president and chief executive officer of Towers
Department Stores Inc. is named to the Peel Region's first Junior
Achievement board of governors.
MORE
- Max Wolfe, founder of the Oshawa Group Ltd., passes away. He was
a grocer and businessman born in Lithuania in 1893 and raised near
Newmarket, Ontario. At age 16, with $25 cash and a $60 loan, he
bought a horse, wagon and load of apples and went into business. In
1914, he launched Ontario Produce Co. with his brother Maurice to
supply army bases. The operation expanded to become known as the
Oshawa Group Ltd. and at his death it included IGA, Food City, Dutch
Boy, Towers Department Stores and Drug City.
|
| 1988 |
- Towers looks for experienced retail department managers for
"...our new 'Store of the Future' in Newmarket opening early 1989.
[Editor's note: This store never opened.]
MORE
-
13 are charged in Towers store
promotion - Police say at least 13 people knew they could splurge on big purchases
without paying a cent. All of them had
scratch-and-save cards which, when checked by the sales clerks, showed they had
won a 100-per-cent discount and would get the goods free.
MORE
|
| 1989 |
- William L. Atkinson,
President and Chief Executive Officer of Towers Department Stores Inc. announces
the appointments of Donald A. Beaumont as Executive Vice President and Chief
Operating Officer, and William Douglas as Vice President Marketing.
MORE
|
| 1990 |
- The October 4 edition of the Star reports that Woolworth Corp.
of New York is interested in putting in a offer for Towers, despite
Hudson's Bay Co. signed letter of intent to buy the 51-outlet
operation from the Oshawa Group.
MORE
- Globe and Mail article "A bidding war
could erupt for the Towers department store chain run by Toronto's
Oshawa Group Ltd."
MORE
- The Toronto Star, on October 23, reports that "Oshawa, Hudson's
Bay seal pact on store sale." While details are sketchy, a "definite
agreement to sell its bargain-basement Towers and Bominart
department store operations" for between $100 million and $150
million has been reached.
MORE
- The November 5 edition of Discount Store News reports that “Zeller's
parent gobbles up Towers - Hudson Bay Company buys Towers Department Stores Inc.
from Oshawa Group Ltd., Zeller's Inc.”
MORE
- On November 16, the Star reports that "Hudson's Bay to expand
despite slump."
MORE
- Zellers buys Towers/Bonimart from the Oshawa Group, 51 stores
for $181.5 million ($3.6 million per store, or some $60 per square
foot). Zellers buys another half billion dollars in sales and gets
an 18 percent market share. President Paul Walters predicts Zellers
will overtake Sears in 1991 sales. He also promises that Zellers
will remain headquartered in Montreal ("Our roots are here; we
wouldn't think of changing that"). Towers is doing some $90 per
square foot. The Zellers marketing will bring most of the stores up
to the Zellers productivity. [Ed. note.
site]
-
Zellers clinches deal to take over
Towers Hudson's Bay beats out Woolworth. Ross Cowan, retail
analyst for Levesque Beaubien Geoffrion Inc., estimated the price may be up to
$150-million. He described the sale as a good fit. "I think it's a great
opportunity for Zellers."
MORE
-
Donald A.
Beaumont, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Towers
Department Stores Inc., announces the appointment of Al Leblanc as Vice
President, Operations.
MORE
-
In a
move that surprised the industry here, Oshawa Group said it is getting out of
department store retailing with an agreement to sell its Towers/Bonimart stores
to Hudson's Bay Co.
MORE
-
Speculation is mounting that the giant Zellers Inc. chain is close to buying the
Towers and Bonimart department stores run by Toronto's Oshawa Group Ltd.
Officially, at least, neither side will comment on the prospects for a deal or
even confirm that discussions are going on. "I can't say anything about it,"
said a spokesman for Zellers' Toronto-based parent Hudson's Bay Co.
MORE
-
375
employees at the Towers/Bonimart office in Toronto and 55 workers at
the Montreal office will be laid off Feb. 9, 1991
MORE
|
| 1991 |
- Discount Store News reports that “48 Towers due for remake.”
The March 4, 1991 article goes on to detail the conversion. John Urie, Zellers
executive vice president, expects sales of the latest Zellers
prototype stores "...to show double digit percentage increases."
MORE
- Toronto Star reports that "Zellers sees banner year, plans
expansion" in its March 6 edition. Paul Walters, Zellers president
and chief executive officer, says "We are not retrenching - not
pulling back and waiting for the storm to blow over. We intend to
dominate the Canadian mass retail market, pure and simple." The
purchase of Towers increased Zellers sales by about $500 million,
Walters said. Analysts indicate that the purchase grew Zellers slice
of the Canadian retail market to about 18 per cent, from 15 per
cent.
MORE
- The Toronto Star reports, on May 18, that despite the recession,
"Oshawa Group gains after Towers sale."
MORE
|
|
1992 |
- Flea market flourishes where abandoned
Bonimart once stood
MORE
- Zellers loses money despite Zellers
benefitting because it
received discounts from suppliers to stock the 47 Towers-Bonimart stores
acquired from Oshawa Group Ltd.
MORE
- Laid off Bonimart employees receive
little known benefits from Quebec government
MORE
- Oshawa Group uses surplus cash from
sale of Towers stores to buy more IGA
MORE
|
|
2004 |
- Zellers gives up on old Towers Sudbury
location
MORE
|
|
The
Oshawa Group History
The Oshawa Group was one of Canada's largest suppliers of food,
operating in both the wholesale and retail sectors. The company ran 102
supermarkets under a variety of banners, including Food City, IGA, and
Dutch Boy. It was also the largest wholesale supplier to independently
owned IGA stores in Canada. Oshawa was active in the general
merchandwase and pharmaceutical market as well, running 39 Towers
department stores in Ontario, nine Bonimart stores in Quebec, and 156
drugstores under the Pharma Plus, Drug City, and Metro Drugs chains. The
company also operated 25 pharmacy units throughout its department stores
and supermarkets.
The
company was originally incorporated in Ontario on June 18, 1957 as
Oshawa Wholesale Ltd., and operated as a distributor to grocery stores
during its first few years.
But as the company grew in the early 1960s, it quickly began to
diversify.
In 1963 Oshawa purchased a controlling interest in the Dominion Mushroom
Company, a large mushroom growing and packing concern. Earnings
surpassed $1 million in 1963, and Oshawa soon invested heavily in
supermarkets.
In September, 1964 the company acquired full control of the Independent
Grocers Alliance (IGA) Distribution Company.
Oshawa diversified into general merchandising retailing in January, 1966
when it purchased a 75% interest and took over management of the
six-store Rite-Way Department Store chain, which operated throughout
Ontario.
A year later the company acquired the rest of Rite-Way's shares and
purchased Allied Towers Merchants Ltd., another department store chain,
combining the operations of the two under one management group.
Oshawa continued its diversification into other businesses and new
geographical areas in the late 1960s.
In July, 1968 the company purchased Kent Drugs Ltd. The acquisition
added about $7 million to Oshawa's annual sales, and Oshawa President
Ray D. Wolfe announced the company's plans to put Kent Drug store units
in new Towers Department stores.
Also in 1968 Oshawa purchased Rockower of Canada Ltd., a firm which
operated the men's and boys' departments in 26 of Oshawa's Towers
stores.
Oshawa's food distribution unit was greatly expanded late in the year by
the purchase of Shop & Save Ltd., an IGA supplier in Quebec.
The company branched into Canada's maritime provinces when it acquired
Bolands Ltd., which as supplier to 45 IGA stores in that region had
accounted for about $27 million in sales the previous year.
By the end of its shopping spree Oshawa was the supplier to 325 IGA
stores in five provinces and had become well diversified in the general
merchandise and drug store markets.
In the 1970s Oshawa became more involved in real estate dealings. In
mid-1970 the company purchased an interest in Baxter Estates, a real
estate partnership which owned an apartment building in Winnipeg and a
shopping center in Calgary. (The company sold its interest in Baxter
three years later for a nearly 100% profit).
In November, 1971, three months after it changed its name to The Oshawa
Group Ltd. to reflect its diversity, the company purchased the rest of
Marchland Holdings Ltd., a real estate developer it already half-owned.
At the time of the acquisition Marchland owned four Towers-Food City
shopping centers and a commercial complex in Sudbury, Ontario that
included a shopping mall, hotel, office center, theater, and parking
garage. Oshawa also purchased the remaining third of the modular home
developer Systems Construction Ltd. of Ontario.
In early 1972 Oshawa moved into western Canada by acquiring Codville
Distributors Ltd. Oshawa's bid was accepted over the competing bid of
Westfair Foods Ltd., a subsidiary of George Weston Ltd., because
Oshawa's offer was more attractive to Codville's minority stockholders.
In October, 1973, Harvey S. Wolfe succeeded his brother Raphael Wolfe as
president of Oshawa; Raphael became chairman and CEO.
The Oshawa group introduced the first hypermarket (Hypermarché) in North
America near Montreal in 1973. A hypermarket is a superstore which
combines a supermarket and a department store. The concept has been
created in France, then exported to other countries.
The format was pioneered by Carrefour upon opening its first such store
in 1963 at Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois, France,[1][2][3] In the Americas,
In 1976 Oshawa bought out its partners in the Decairie Square shopping
mall in Montreal. In December, 1977, Norman S. Lipson, former president
of Oshawa's Tower Department Stores unit, pleaded guilty to four counts
of fraud which involved kickbacks of $411,000. Lipson had resigned from
his position in late 1976. He was sentenced to two years' imprisonment
and fined $30,000.
In the late 1970s the Wolfes began to slim Oshawa's operations a bit.
The company shed its 50% interest in the Consumers Distributing Company,
Ltd. in 1978. Consumers Distributing sold brand-name general merchandise
at reduced prices in large, no-frills showrooms; Oshawa had entered into
a joint venture with the limited-service retailer, providing capital for
the chain's expansion eight years before. Oshawa also sold its 90%
interest in Coinamatic Laundry Equipment in late 1978.
The early 1980s saw Oshawa emphasize its core businesses--food
wholesaling and retailing. In 1983 group sales surpassed $2 billion. In
1985 the company strengthened its presence in the Atlantic provinces
when it acquired nine supermarkets and a distribution center in Nova
Scotia from Dominion Stores Ltd. and bought 22 Canada Safeway
supermarkets in the Toronto-Hamilton area.
In 1986, as group sales passed the $3 billion mark, Oshawa divested its
Dominion Mushroom farm due to both erratic earnings and the unit's need
for a major capital reinvestment, and sold its Decairie real estate in
Montreal and its Sudbury shopping center.
In the late 1980s Oshawa took bold steps to improve its food retailing
business. Oshawa's corporate-owned Food City stores took on a new
"streetscape" look. The store layout was intended to resemble an
old-fashioned sidewalk merchant atmosphere, and at the same time appeal
to young urban professionals as well as retirees. Oshawa targeted
upscale consumers wherever possible with specialized services and fancy
merchandising.
For example, in 1987 the company's Thornhill, Ontario Food City
superstore added a kosher deli, bakery, and meat department to appeal to
the community's large Jewish population. By specializing wherever
possible, Oshawa commanded beefier margins on premium products and
services.
In 1988 Oshawa tripled its drug store chain by acquiring the 109 retail
units of Boots Drug Stores for C$45 million. The stores were renamed
Pharma-Plus Drugmarts and joined the 34 Kent Drugs and 12 Metro Drugs
units in operation. The addition helped Oshawa sales to top $4 billion
in 1989.
On November 2, 1998, Empire Company Limited ("Empire") and The Oshawa
Group Limited ("Oshawa") announced that Empire, through Sobeys Inc.
("Sobeys") would acquire all of the voting common shares and Class "A"
non-voting shares of The Oshawa Group Limited. The transaction included
Oshawa's retail and wholesale operations across Canada, with the
exception of the Maritimes. Sobeys also acquired Oshawa's food service
business, SERCA Foodservice Inc. which operates coast-to-coast.
|
|
The
Oshawa Observer
The Observer was a "...quarterly newspaper published by and for the
employees of the Oshawa Group Limited and subsidiary companies" -- which
included, of course, Towers Department Stores.
As an employee of Towers for many years, I would receive the Observer at home,
glance it and toss it.
Except for one edition.
The "Spring Issue. Volume 12, No. 1", published June 1974, I kept for some
reason. And I'm glad I did. It's a unique snap shot of Towers - who was
just promoted, who just got married and who celebrated the birth of a child.
I'm going to pick out this and that from this edition for you to enjoy.
Page 3
There is, more me at least, an extraordinary photo on this page. It was included
in an article, by Oshawa President Harvey S. Wolfe, that bemoaned the fact that
many small towns still had laws in place that forced businesses to close by 6
pm.
 |
The photo is of an opening of a Towers store - a store that opened in, or
before, 1974. I don't know which one. The noticed (and OMG, remember!) the
cashier uniforms and the cash registers.
The uniforms where an outrageous canary yellow colour, with a short mini skirt
and a "beret" cap that had a little "stem" on the top -- like a stem of a pear!
The cash registers where from a company called Sweda.
Cashiers had to (and I remember this because I had to know how to do this):
|
-
Separate the taxable items, from the non-taxable items.
-
The machine had 7 or 8 columns of vertical buttons, arrange
from zero at the bottom to nine at the top. They were colour coded. These
buttons where mechanical. You had to apply some force to depress each one.
-
Towers tickets were made up the CLASS, ITEM and PRICE. The
CLASS, or department, would identify a category of products -- like candy.
The ITEM number would identify a specific product in that department -- like
Coffee Crisp chocolate bar.
-
Cashiers has to enter the each piece of information one a
time. It was commonly referred to as "3-pass" entry.
-
Starting
with the first taxable item, they would press the ITEM button. Then,
moving their index finger swiftly up and down, enter the item number. It
meant (counting from the right) entering the first digit in column 4, the
second digit in column 3, and so on. Experienced cashiers would zip up and
down -- their finger nails making clicky noises as they flew up and down.
Once done entering the item number, they would press the big "ENTER" button
on the far right. The cash register would go ca-chunk. The numbers would
appear (white against a black background) in the mechanical display at the
top of the machine.
-
Next came the class number. Cashiers would press the
CLASS button and enter (just as described above) this 3-digit number and
press the ENTER button. Ca-chunk.
-
Finally, the PRICE would be entered.
-
When the ENTER button was pressed for the last time,
a little bit of the customer receipt would peak out (with that item printed
on it) and, unseen, a computer paper tape on the right side of the machine
would be punched with little dots. (These tapes would be sent in daily for
computer processing at the Head Office.)
-
The cashier would then move on to the next item.
-
I don't recall a way of repeating the transaction if a
customer was buying two or three of the same item.
-
Once all the taxable items were done, the cashier would
press the SUBTOTAL button. Using a chart, the casher would then manually
calculate the tax, press the TAX button and enter the amount.
-
The cashier would then move on to the non-taxable items.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
What
else happened on the day Towers was officially taken over by Zellers? |
October 22, 1990 was the day that Zellers acquired
the 51 Towers-Bonimart discount stores in Eastern Canada for estimated
$150 million.
What else happened on October 22 in Canadian history?
1996
Canada - End of General Motors strike at Oshawa and Boisbriand, as GM
and the CAW settle three-week strike that idled over 46,000 workers
across North America.
1995
New York City - Prime Minister Jean Chrétien joins 200 other world
leaders in New York for three days of festivities marking the 50th
anniversary of the United Nations organization.
1992
Toronto Ontario - Atlanta Braves beat Blue Jays, 7-2, in Game 5 of the
World Series, as Lonnie Smith hits a grand
slam; first American team to win a World Series game outside the US.
1990
Ottawa Ontario - Senate passes Mulroney government bill overhauling the
Unemployment Insurance Fund; employers and workers to shoulder the
entire cost.
1987
Montreal Quebec - Queen Elizabeth II makes a speech in which she praises
the distinct character of Quebec.
1986
Montreal Quebec - Dominion Textile announces it is withdrawing from
South Africa in support of Canada's anti-apartheid policies.
1976
Toronto Ontario - English rock group the Who wrap up their tour with a
concert in Maple Leaf Gardens; last show Keith Moon will play in North
America.
1970
New Brunswick - Richard Bennett Hatfield 1931-1991 leads Progressive
Conservatives to victory in NB election, defeating Liberals under Louis
Robichaud.
1970
Ottawa Ontario - Lester Bowles Pearson 1897-1972 named first chairman of
the Board of Governors of the International Development Research Centre;
former Prime Minister.
1968
Ottawa Ontario - Edgar Benson brings down budget; proposes serious
changes to tax savings plans and capital gains; Benson Budget.
1958
Ottawa Ontario - Blanche Margaret Meagher 1911- appointed Canadian
Ambassador to Israel, Halifax-born Meagher Canada's first woman
ambassador; later serves as ambassador to Austria and Sweden.
1947
Ottawa Ontario - Government removes wartime price controls on meat.
1945
Ottawa Ontario - King Government brings in Canadian Citizenship Act to
the House of Commons; becomes law in January, 1947; abolishes 'Canadian
national' or 'British subject' as the legal terms for non-aliens in
Canada..
1944
Savio River, Italy - Seaforth Highlanders Private Ernest Alva 'Smoky'
Smith shows conspicuous heroism, holding the Savio River crossing
against German counter-attacks and destroying at least two enemy tanks;
awarded the Victoria Cross.
1936
Berlin Germany - Canada signed its first trade treaty with Germany.
1917
Alma Quebec - Alma incorporated.
1908
Montreal Quebec - Patriotic celebration takes place at the National
Monument, to celebrate the mobilization of the 24th Battalion of
Montreal Infantry for service in France.
1908
Montreal Quebec - Laying of the cornerstone of the École des Hautes
Études Commerciales building.
1885
London England - Judicial Committee of the Privy Council rules against
the appeal of Louis Riel's sentence, and he will be hanged in Regina
Nov. 16, 1885.
1881
Toronto Ontario - McGill and U of T play Canada's first college football
game on the University of Toronto lawn; the two teams try to play
annually after that; the first football games under the Canadian
Intercollegiate Athletic Union (CIAU) will be played in 1898.
1867
Montreal Quebec - Failure of the Commercial Bank.
1854
London England - John Rae 1813-1893 arrives in England to claim the
£10,000 British Admiralty prize for discovery of the fate of Sir John
Franklin's expedition; the Hudson's Bay Company explorer, fur trader and
surgeon made four expeditions to the Arctic before meeting an Inuit man
who told him of a group of white men who died of starvation four years
earlier, and sold him some marked silverware and a medal which confirmed
they were remains of the Franklin expedition. Rae will not be awarded
the prize until July, 1856, since his report quotes Inuit statements
that the last survivors had resorted to cannibalism, and many Britons,
including Lady Franklin, insisted that sailors of the Royal Navy would
never do such a thing; therefore Rae was not to be believed.
1846
Toronto Ontario - Founding of Toronto, Hamilton, Niagara, & St.
Catharines Telegraph Company; first telegraph company in Canada.
1837
Verchères Quebec - About a thousand young Patriotes, Les Fils de la
Liberté [Sons of Liberty], go on maneuvres in the outskirts of Montreal,
in preparation for a great meeting the following day at St-Charles
[Grande Assemblée des Six-Comtés à Saint-Charles-sur-le-Richelieu].
1670
Quebec Quebec - Shipbuilder Jean Langlois starts construction of another
barquentine.
1642
Quebec Quebec - Father Charles Raimbault dies at Quebec; first Jesuit in
New France. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|