Stores
Last updated January 20, 2012

Store List
It was common knowledge that much of the Towers look was "inspired" by a major retailer in the United States - Target.

The red and white colour scheme is a good example. Even the overhead signing - nothing fancy, just a piece of wood, painted red with large white lettering - was the same.

Merchandising of department counters and checkouts matched closely Target's approach. Target's control of where and how merchandise would be placed was through the use of Planograms. If you worked for Towers you KNEW what a planogram was!

Map of all Towers and Bonimart store locations. Thanks to Kevin. K. for this contribution.

Towers/Bonimart Store Locations (by store name)
Store Name	Store Number	Location	Shopping Centre	Store Name	Opened	Photos & Notes
Aldershot	23	124 Plains Road Burlington, Ontario	Aldershot Plaza	Towers	1962-63	Note 1
Barrie	55	450 Bayfield Street Barrie, Ontario	Bayfield Mall	Towers	1980s
Baseline	54	1980 Baseline Rd. Ottawa, Ontario		Towers	late 1970s
Bedford	61	1658 Bedford Hwy. Bedford, Nova Scotia	Bedford Place Mall	Towers	1978
Belleville	25	540 Dundas St. West Belleville, Ontario		Towers	-
Bridgewater	74	441 Ld Have St. Bridgewater, Nova Scotia	Bridgewater Mall	Towers	-
Bracebridge	67	505 Hwy. 118 W Bracebridge, Ontario	Bracebridge Shopping Centre	Towers	-
Brantford	40	410 Fairview Dr. Brantford, Ontario	Brantford Centre	Towers	-
Brampton	46	400 Queen St. West Brampton, Ontario	This store later closed and moved to Hwy 10	Towers	-
Cole Harbour	64	900 Cole Harbour Rd. Dartmouth, Nova Scotia	Colby Village Shopping Centre	Towers	-
Chateauguay	44	15 Boul. St. Jean Baptiste Montreal, Québec		Bonimart	-	Note 1
Charlottetown	71	670 University Ave. Charlottetown, PEI	Charlottetown Mall	Towers	1974
Collingwood	63	55 Mountain Road Collingwood, Ontario	Blue Mountain Mall	Towers	October 21, 1980
Cyrville	42	1205 Cyrville Road Ottawa, Ontario		Towers	1962
Dartmouth	64	Dartmouth, Nova Scotia		Towers	-
Decairie	73	6855 Clanranald Ave. Montreal, Québec	Decairie Square	Bonimart	Late 1970s
Dixie	26	Dixie and Dundas Mississauga, Ontario	Dixie Plaza	Towers	July 1961
Dufferin & Dupont	47	1245 Dupont St. Toronto, Ontario	Galleria Mall	Towers	1972
Finch & Warden	59	2900 Warden Ave. Toronto, Ontario	Bridlewood Mall	Towers	1975
Goreway	60	7205 Goreway Dr. Malton, Ontario	Westwood Mall	Towers	-
Greenfield Park	28	5000 Boul. Taschereau Montreal, Québec	Mall Carnaval	Bonimart	October 5, 1961	Note 1
Hazeldean	62	300 Eagleson Rd. Kanata, Ontario	Hazeldean Mall	Towers	1979
High Park	22	2290 Dundas St. West, Toronto, Ontario	High Park	Towers	June 14, 1962
Jane and Finch	38	3929 Jane St. Toronto, Ontario	Jane Finch Mall	Towers	-
Kipling/Queensway	53	1255 The Queensway Toronto, Ontario		Towers	mid 1970s
Kitchener	65	700 Strasburg Road Kitchener, Ontario	Forest Glen Mall	Towers	-
Laval	70	Laval Montreal, Québec	Centre Commercial Deux Mall	Bonimart	late 1970s
London	32	1441 Wellington Road London, Ontario	Treasure Island Plaza	Towers	1961	Note 1
Metropolitan	24	7600 rue Viau Montreal, Québec	Place Viau	Bonimart	October 6, 1961
New Minas	45	9121 Commercial St. New Minas, Nova Scotia		Towers	1970
Niagara Falls	39	6777 Morrison St. Niagara Falls, Ontario	Niagara Falls Plaza	Towers	-
Newmarket	66	Newmarket, Ontario		Towers	-
North Bay	58	1899 Algonquin Ave. North Bay, Ontario		Towers	-
Oakville	41	Trafalgar Rd. & Leighland, Oakville, Ontario		Towers	Fall 1969
Owen Sound	37	911 10th St W, Owen Sound, Ontario	Sunset Strip	Towers	May 1967
Peterborough	35	950 Lansdowne St. W., Peterborough, Ontario		Towers	Late 1960s
Place Desormeaux	50	2877 Chemin de Chambly Montreal, Québec	Place Desormeaux	Bonimart	May 19, 1971
Place Duvernay	51	3100 Boul. de la Concorde E Laval, Québec	Place Duvernay	Bonimart	mid 1970s
Place St. Jean	49	400 Boul. Seminaire Montreal, Québec	Place St-Jean	Bonimart	-
Rexdale	43	2267 Islington Ave. Toronto, Ontario	Rexdale Mall	Towers	-
Riverdale	30	447 Carlaw Ave. Toronto, Ontario		Towers	-
Saint John	52	Prince Edward St. Saint John, NB		Towers	1973
Scarborough	21	2650 Lawrence Ave. E. Toronto, Ontario		Towers	November 17, 1960
Sorel	68	450 Boul. Poliquin Québec, Québec		Bonimart	-
Ste. Foy	29	2700 Boul. Laurier Québec City, Québec		Bonimart	October 12, 1961
Ste. Roche	41	Ste. Roche Québec City, Québec		Bonimart	-	Note 1
Stoney Creek	31	640 Queenston Rd. Hamilton, Ontario		Towers	-
Stratford	57	1067 Ontario St., Stratford, Ontario		Towers	1961
Sudbury	48	100 Elm St. Sudbury, Ontario	City Centre Mall	Towers	1971
St. Catherines	33	366 Bunting Rd. St. Catherines, Ontario		Towers	September 14, 1961
Summerside	72	100 Water St. Summerside, PEI	Waterfront Mall	Towers	1974
Westside	34	2400 Eglinton Ave. W. Toronto, Ontario	Westside Mall	Towers	-
Waterloo	27	70 Bridgeport Road East Waterloo, Ontario	First City Plaza	Towers	1961	Note 1
Welland	36	1000 East Main St. Welland, Ontario		Towers	-
Woodstock	56	645 Dundas St. Woodstock, Ontario		Towers	-

Store list at bottom of flyer
(circa 1984)

Click for a larger view

Store List by District
Towers/Bonimart Store Locations (by district, as of April 1990)
[Ed note: Thanks to Bill Douglas for providing this list of stores by district.]

District 1
Dale Stoke, District Manager
25	Belleville
35	Peterborough
42	Cyrville
54	Baseline
62	Hazeldean

District 2
Al Waechter, District Manager
27	Waterloo
32	London
40	Brantford
56	Woodstock
57	Stratford
65	Kitchener

District 3
Bob Hogg, District Manager
23	Aldershot
26	Dixie
31	Stoney Creek
33	St. Catherine
36	Welland
39	Niagara Falls

District 4
Roger Delledone, District Manager
34	Westside
38	Jane & Finch
43	Rexdale
46	Brampton
53	Kipling & Queensway
60	Goreway

District 5
George Campbell, District Manager
21	Scarborough
22	High Park
30	Riverdale
47	Dufferin & Dupont
59	Finch & Warden
66	Newmarket

District 6
Al Hammond, District Manager
37	Owen Sound
48	Sudbury
55	Barrie
58	North Bay
63	Collingwood
67	Bracebridge

District 7
Jacques Valence, District Manager
24	Metropolitan
29	Ste. Foy
41	Ste. Roche
44	Chateauguay
51	Place Duvernay

District 8
Mike Sanfacon, District Manager
28	Greenfield Park
49	Place St. Jean
50	Place Desormeaux
68	Sorel
70	Laval

District 9
Art Peck, District Manager
45	New Minas
52	Saint John
61	Bedford
64	Dartmouth
71	Charlottetown
72	Summerside

Hypermarché

Claude Leduc writes: It's my first time here, so wanted to offer a scan of a store Towers operated in Laval, Québec, in 1973, called Hypermarché. It was a combination of Towers/Bonimart with Food City in one building. Was corner St-Martin and Daniel Johnson boulevard at the time. Needless to say 3 years later, the stores separated into "Bonimart" and "Hypermarché". These days, this store is torn down...

Here's additional historical information about Hypermarché, or Hypermarket superstores, taken from Wikipedia, including a reference to the Oshawa Group: Fred Meyer, which today are very large stores which combine a supermarket and a department store, opened its first one-stop shopping center in 1931. It included a grocery store alongside a drugstore plus home products, off-street parking, gas station, and—eventually—clothing. In 1962, Meijer opened its first hypermarket in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1962, entitled "Thrifty Acres", and calling the format a "Supercenter", and in Europe by Carrefour, which opened its first such store in 1963 at Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois, France. In the Americas the format remained in regional use only until the late 1980s, however the Oshawa group introduced a hypermarket near Montreal in 1973.

Rexdale Towers

		This used to join the mall to Towers department store. When you entered the mall, Rexdale hobbies was to the right and a restaurant was to the left. Rexdale Plaza was built in 1957, Catalina Restaurant with its solarium on the left, was originally a tire store when the plaza was extended this far in the 60's. Two garage service bays were to the left of the photographer. This laneway was part of a public thoroughfare called Blairmore Rd. while The Elms golf course occupied the lands to the right on which the Towers building was erected in the 70's.
Another remembrance: Up until I was 10 years old I lived in Rexdale too, on Islington Ave. near Dixon Blvd. There were a lot of boons in the building but for the most part they only caused trouble for each other. I used to love going to Rexdale Plaza as a kid - there used to be a Towers department store where you could go to the cafeteria in the store and a waitress would serve you. Biway, Woolco, Consumers Distributing and Bargain Harold's were OK stores at Rexdale plaza (at least to me until I was 10) - now all those chains are gone :(

Finch and Warden
A remembrance:
I used to love the Towers Department store in Bridlewood Mall. Personally, I think the mall just isn't the same without it. I think I liked it better in the mid-1980s. I saw a Towers shopping cart outside of a storeroom at The Bay not too long ago.

Bonimart

Brief glimpse of Bonimart photos in this video -- Montreal in the 1980s..

Towers is Hiring!

August 12, 1961	Cashiers, part-time for furniture department
October 4, 1965	Experienced Cashiers - Allied Towers Merchants Ltd.
August 11, 1966	Sales Help - Experienced - For Camera & Record Dept.
October 11, 1972	Personnel Supervisor - Head Office - Orfus Rd.
June 19, 1973	Sales Clerk for the Television & Sound Shop - Galleria
June 20, 1974	Restaurant/Cafeteria Manager - Barrie
November 8, 1974	Rexdale - Camera and Record Department - Department Manager - Sales Clerks
January 13, 1975	Short Order Cook - Night Shift Supervisor
October 7, 1975	Towers Head Office - Do you want to supplement your Income? Wehave interesting part time positions available
July 8, 1976	Jane and Finch Mall - Cosmetician
June 2, 1983	Towers Department Stores Metro Toronto Requires Manager Trainees
April 17, 1984	Systems Analysts
March 1, 1988	Human Resources Manager
January 4, 1989	Retail Department Managers - Are you getting the RESPECT you deserve in your Career?
January 14, 1989	Retail Dept. Managers - Dept Manager Trainees
April 1, 1989	Retail Assistant Managers - Are you getting the respect you deserve?
October 7, 1989	Retail Department Managers - Are you getting the RESPECT you deserve in your career?

Going. Going. Gone. How much for a store?

Chain	Date	$Millions/Store	Store Size (sq.ft.)
Simpsons	1979	14.0	150,000
Future Shop	2001	7.0	25,000
Towers/Bonimart	1990	3.6	67,000
Miracle Food Mart	1990	3.4	25,000
Woolco	1994	2.9	120,000
Dominion	1984	1.5	25,000
Zellers	1980	1.2	65,000
K-Mart	1997	1.2	85,000
BiWay	2001	0.4	5,000

Retailers Graveyard
Found this website and enjoyed looking around. Click here for the Towers Department Store listing.

Other defunct Canadian retailers

Andrew's
The Arcade - St. John's, Nfld.-based discount variety store chain (1938-1995).
Ayre and Sons - Newfoundland-based department store chain. Once operated as many as 80 stores coast-to-coast (1859-1991).
Bargain Harold's - A 135 location Discount store chain based in Ontario with locations in Ontario, Manitoba and the Maritimes went Bankrupt in 1992.
Biway - Discount store based in Ontario, defunct 2001.
The Bon Marché - Independent discount variety store in St. John's, Nfld. (1919-1971).
Bowring - St. John's, Nfld. department store. Also national home decor store chain.
Bretton's - High end department store 1985-1996.
Consumers Distributing - Catalogue store 1957-1996.
Corvette
Creaghan's - New Brunswick department store chain.
Creed's - founded 1916, defunct 1991, high-end family-owned retailer.
Dupuis Frères - Quebec-based chain, symbol of French-Canadian commerce and pride.
Eaton's - Went Bankrupt in 1999, and acquired by Sears Canada. Defunct in 2002.
Freimans - Longtime Ottawa retailer, acquired by The Bay in 1972.
Fortin - In downtown Trois-Rivières, Quebec; bought by Dupuis Frères.
Greenberg - Merged with SAAN.
Horizon - Discount department store operated by Eaton's, 1967-1978.
Kmart Canada - Discount department store, usually in the suburbs, created by S.S. Kresge - sold Canadian stores to Hudson's Bay Company in 1997.
S.S. Kresge - Smaller, downtown locations.
Laroque's Department Store - 169-177 Rideau Street, Ottawa, Ontario. Catering to the Francophone community of
Lowertown - Closed circa 1970-1971 - Now The Mercury Court Building housing offices and shops.
Lasalle - Discount department store.
Letendre - On Saint Catherine Street East, Montreal; bought by CDS, then Eaton. The store closed after Eaton's expansion in the west. The building remains at the corner of Montcalm (NE).
The London, New York and Paris - St. John's, Nfld. department store chain (1916-1991).
Marks and Spencer - Closed Canadian stores in 1999.
Metropolitan Stores Ltd. - Sister chain of SAAN, stores later converted to the SAAN name.
Miracle Mart - Discount department store operated by Steinberg's, defunct 1996. Some stores acquired by Dominion Stores.
Morgan's - Merged with Hudson's Bay Company.
Murphy-Gamble - Ottawa store, acquired by Simpson's.
Ogilvy's (Charles Ogilvy Limited) - Ottawa-area chain, merged with Robinson's in 1980s, defunct 1990s.
La Compagnie Paquet - 6 stores in Quebec City area. Closed June 1981. Some stores acquired by The Bay.
Peoples - (1914-1995) discount store closed in the same time as its parent company Wise Stores.
Plazamart - On St-Hubert Street in Montreal.
Pryce Jones - Calgary branch of United Kingdom mail-order company, operated 1911 to 1916.
Pollack - In Quebec City area and Trois-Rivières - bankrupted in 1978.
The Right House - Higher-end department stores, last store closed in the 90's.
Robinson's - Southern Ontario chain, merged with Charles Ogilvy Limited in 1980s, acquired by Hudson's Bay Company in 1990s.
Royal Stores - Newfoundland department store chain (1895-1977).
Sayvette - Discount department store, defunct 1970s.
Sentry - Ontario chain of retail department stores. Chain closed in mid-1980s.
Shop-Rite - Catalogue store operated by Hudson's Bay Company in 1970s-1992.
Simpson's - Acquired by the Hudson's Bay Company.
Simpsons-Sears Limited - Renamed Sears Canada Inc.
Spencer's - Western Canada, bought by Eaton's.
Le Syndicat de Québec - Acquired by La Compagnie Paquet in 1974.
Target - Newfoundland discount variety store chain (1981-1995) - never related to American company.
Towers Department Stores / BoniMart - Sold out to Zellers in 1990.
Walker Department Store - Galt, Ontario.
Wise Stores - Similar to Hart Stores.
Wood Brothers - Halifax department store chain.
Woodward's - Western Canada, defunct 1993. most stores converted to Zellers and The Bay.
Woodwynn - Junior department store owned by Woodward's, defunct 1993.
Woolco - Discount department store, usually in the suburbs, acquired by Wal-Mart in 1994.
Woolworth - Closed Canadian stores in 1994, though some became Woolco (such as the Whitehorse outlet).
Young Canada - Toys and children's clothes; around since at least the early 1960s.

Miracle Mart - Discount department store operated by Steinberg's, defunct 1996. Some stores acquired by Dominion Stores.

Woolco - Discount department store, usually in the suburbs, acquired by Wal-Mart in 1994.

Biway - Discount store based in Ontario, defunct 2001.

Simpson's - Acquired by the Hudson's Bay Company.

Hudson Bay Company

The Canadian company has been founded 1670. Today Hudson Bay is in its fourth century of retailing business in Canada. Hbc's main channels include: the Bay, Zellers, Home Outfitters, Designer Depot and Fields. All of these channels together offer more than 2/3 of the retail needs of Canadians.

It all started when two Frenchmen, Radisson and des Groseilliers, found a wealth of fur in the north and west of the Great Lakes. The two needed permission in order to explore the region. They contacted Prince Rupert, who was the cousin of King Charles II and were able to acquire the Royal Charter. In May 1670, the charter granted the Frenchmen the territory of Hudson Bay watershed to "the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England trading into Hudson Bay."

In the end of the 18th century the firm decided to expand its activity due to competition. It opened a chain of posts that ranged along the river networks and end up in such cities as: Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton.

After the beginning of the retail era, Hbc steadily shifted their activity from ordinary posts into sales shops that featured a wider range of goods. 1912 started with an aggressive upgrading program within the company. In the end Hbc had six department stores located in Victoria, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon and Winnipeg.

In 1980 HBC rethought its priorities and decided to return to its main activity. It sold all non-retail businesses. In some time the company acquired: Zellers (1978), Simpsons (1978), Fields (1978), Robinson's (1979), Towers/Bonimart (1990), Woodwards (1993), and K-Mart Canada (1998) following in the tradition of Cairns (1921), Morgan's (1960) and Freiman's (1972).

Zellers faces deluge of U.S. hardballers
Canadian discount retailer faces increased competition from US firms

Discount Store News, Feb 20, 1995 by Jim Fox

MONTREAL - Zellers, a Canadian retailing institution since 1931, is in the midst of an intense mass-marketing battle but stands determined to remain Canada's leading discount department store retailer.

Facing an onslaught of invading U.S.-based megastore chains, Zellers is moving ahead, "confident that we have a time-proven formula that works," Paul Walters, president and chief operating officer, told DSN.

The Montreal-based subsidiary of Hudson's Bay Co. is giving customers "more value for their hard-earned shopping dollars," while spending millions on renovations and new stores, he said.

At yearend, Zellers added 12 new stores for a total of 292 from coast to coast. It also plans another 14 this year and 80 more by the end of the decade.

Canadian retailers are repositioning their businesses "to deal with an entirely new set of economic, competitive and consumer realities in the '90s," Walters said. "What we've learned so far in this decade is that the consumer in Canada today is quick to bankrupt retailers who are not extremely well-focused, efficient and meeting their value expectations."

The move into Canada last year by Wal-Mart, with the purchase of 122 Woolcos, "substantially intensified competitive activity in the mass market segment," Walters said.

Regarding the new competitive forces, Walters said: "The emergence of several U.S.-based power formats are just beginning to reveal their impact. [PriceCostro] is eating up significant market share. Aikenheads [Home Improvement Warehouse stores!, now The Home Depot, are redefining the DIY market with tremendous customer response. Electronic superstores, office-supply depots and sporting goods superstores, office-supply depots and sporting goods superstores are all looking to duplicate in Canada their success south of the border."

Zellers is building upon its position of strength to create more value for Canadian consumers committed to "low-price leadership that is stronger than ever." The company's positioning statement is "Zellers. . . Because the Lowest Price is the Law!" - a phrase well-known by Canadians.

The mass merchandiser targets the budge-minded customer with the assurance of the lowest price. The primary target is women 25 to 55 years old with a family, who shop frequently to satisfy basic or staple clothing and leisure needs. They have low discretionary income, require credit and are very responsive to price promotions. The secondary customer is the department store shopper with more discretionary income who buys only household basics or consumable-type merchandise at Zellers.

Its stores are characterized by self service and central checkout. Most are in shopping malls and the average size is 70,000 sq. ft., with new stores about 120,000 sq. ft. Although some analysts suggested the company is exploring a supercenter concept, Walters declined to comment on the possibility.

The Zellers merchandise strategy is to offer "narrow" but "deep" assortments in the low- to moderate-low price range for each category. Price ceilings are determined for each category to ensure that the offerings suit the target market. The strategy also embraces change and acknowledges that assortment modification is a never-ending process.

Stores are configured in a racetrack format that flows customer traffic through all major merchandise categories, with hard lines on the outside and fashion on the inside. Power displays and clear item/price message.

Zellers plays on nationalistic sentiments. It is positioned as the "truly Canadian" store working hard to give hard-working Canadians more for their money.

The highly successful customer-reward program, Club Z, has expanded with more rewards with the accumulation of fewer points.

Since its inception in 1986, Club Z has become Canada's most successful customer loyalty rewards program, now topping 8 million members. Zellers has issued 1.6 trillion Club Z points and redeemed several hundred billion points for 5.5 million gifts and services.

The value people place on their Club Z points is "particularly gratifying" to Walters, who noted some customers have included the points in their wills, passing them down to family members and carrying on the tradition of shopping at Zellers.

The company was founded on July 31, 1931, by Walter Zeller, who opened a small "Five and Dime" in Waterloo, Ontario.

From the start, Zeller positioned his business on outstanding customer value with a slogan: "Zellers ... Serving the Needs of Trinity Canadians." While agreeing the positioned today is "perhaps a little bit more aggressive," Walters said the underlying premise is still the same.

In 1952, Zellers stores became affiliated with U.S.-based W.T. Grant Co. and a period of expansion began over 24 years when more than 100 stores were added. Fields stores of Vancouver acquired control from W.T Grant in 1976 and remains part of the company today. Two years later, Zellers was acquired by Hudson's Bay Co., of which the Thompson family of Toronto controls 25%.

Fueled by the acquisition of the Towers/Bonimart chain in 1990, Zellers added 58 stores. In 1993, Zellers acquired Woodwards' 10 stores in British Columbia and Alberta adding sought-after retail space in Western Canada.

Despite the economic recession, Zellers had record sales, surpassing $3 billion ($2.1 billion U.S.) in 1993 for the first time as operating profits reached $256 million ($179 million U.S.).

In the third quarter of 1994, sales and revenue were up by 5.1% at $8.28 million ($5.81 million U.S.).

However, earnings before taxes were lower - off 23.2% or $15.2 million ($10.7 million U.S.) to $50.1 million ($25.2 million U.S.) - "due to reduced margins resulting from more aggressive price competition in the discount store segments."

Zellers Timeline

Retailers Graveyard Found this website and enjoyed looking around. Click here for the Towers Department Store listing.

Other defunct Canadian retailers

Retailers Graveyard
Found this website and enjoyed looking around. Click here for the Towers Department Store listing.