|
Dominion Stores was once a national chain of supermarkets in Canada, which was still known as the Dominion of Canada at the time of the company's founding. The chain was founded in 1919 in Ontario and was later acquired by the Argus Corporation. It was later sold to The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company (A&P), which ultimately restricted the chain to the Greater Toronto Area, with stores outside Ontario sold to third parties. A&P's Canadian division was later acquired by Metro Inc., which rebranded the remaining Dominion stores to its namesake banner in 2008. ==History== Dominion store started from one Toronto store on May 23, 1919. The store was founded by American businessmen Robert Jackson of New Hampshire and William J. Pentland of Connecticut. Pentland was manager of A&P stores in Connecticut and was hired by Jackson. By the end of 1919 they had a 20 store chain with 18 acquired from rival Loblaws and 61 stores a year later.〔 In 1929 it tried to acquire a stake in Loblaws, but the stock market crash ended the growth. During the Depression, Dominion lost both founders: Jackson went bankrupt and Pentland was killed in an auto accident in 1933.〔 Dominion's leadership was not resolved until 1939, when J. William Horsey became president. He in turn sold Dominion Stores to Argus Corporation. Smaller stores were consolidated from 574 to 195 by 1954.〔 In the 1950s, Dominion began to build large stores with airy ceilings and large glass fronts. The chain also expanded beyond Toronto to other parts of Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, Manitoba, and Atlantic Canada. Dominion Stores was acquired by A&P's Canadian division, A&P Canada, from Hollinger in 1985. Some Dominion locations, rebranded Mr. Grocer in an attempt to break union contracts and convert company-owned stores to franchise locations, were not part of the A&P transaction. These were sold to National Grocers, which has now phased out the "Mr. Grocer" brand and signage. In the 1990s, A&P re-branded all of its stores in the Greater Toronto Area as Dominion stores (absorbing Miracle Food Mart), while Dominion locations elsewhere in Ontario took the A&P or Food Basics name. The territory of Dominion stores was approximately the following: Toronto; York Region, excluding Stouffville; Mississauga and Oakville; and Pickering and Ajax. In northwestern Ontario, Safeway acquired at least two stores in Thunder Bay. (Safeway's presence in Thunder Bay prevents Metro from offering Air Miles at its Thunder Bay locations.) In Western Canada, Dominion stores were closed, leaving many suburban shopping malls scrambling to fill large, now-vacant sections. This event, coupled with the subsequent collapse of several department store chains, sparked a wave of mall renovations in many parts of the country. Alberta stores were acquired by Safeway in the late 1960s. The remainder of the chain in eastern Canada was acquired by Loblaw Companies, through several unrelated transactions: * Newfoundland: Dominion stores in Newfoundland were sold to local owners, who then resold them to Loblaw in 1995. The Newfoundland locations are the only ones to continue under the Dominion banner to this day; see Dominion Stores (Newfoundland). * New Brunswick: Shortly after the A&P acquisition, these stores were sold to Food Group Inc., which operated them under the Village banner until they themselves were sold to Loblaw and merged into its Atlantic Superstore unit in 1995. * Nova Scotia: These locations were sold to Oshawa Group and became IGA stores. However, after Sobeys purchased Oshawa in 1999, Loblaw took over IGA's Atlantic Canada locations due to competitive concerns. * Quebec: Dominion stores in Quebec were sold to Provigo in 1983; Provigo was itself acquired by Loblaw in 1998. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Dominion (supermarket)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|