Stores
Last updated February 05, 2010

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
Aldershot	23	124 Plains Road Burlington, Ontario	Aldershot Plaza	Towers	1962-63
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	-
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
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	1961-62
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. Lauier Québec City, Québec		Bonimart	October 12, 1961
Ste. Roche	41	Ste. Roche Québec City, Québec		Bonimart	-
Stoney Creek	31	640 Queenston Rd. Hamilton, Ontario		Towers	-
Stratford	57	1067 Ontario St., Stratford, Ontario		Towers	-
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	1962-1963
Welland	36	1000 East Main St. Welland, Ontario		Towers	-
Woodstock	56	645 Dundas St. Woodstock, Ontario		Towers	-

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

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

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.