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Originally Posted by Holden West
CMD UW, those US stores are truly amazing but wasn't that Eaton's last marketing gasp--desperately trying to emulate the upscale US department stores? Failed miserably and was the final nail in the coffin.
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No, it wasn't.
You have to go back to the early 90s to see what was going wrong with Canadian department stores. In the case of Eaton's, they used to kick ass. Then the dip-shit spoiled grandsons decided that certain departments weren't making enough money so they had Eaton's stores go to 75% clothing. SEVENTY-FIVE percent! That's outrageous considering the high volativity of the fasion market.
Then they decided that Canadians didn't want sales and started the whole 'Warehouse Direct' thing. It didn't work. Eaton's was a department store, not a Winners.
Their last push could have done something, but by that time there just wasn't enough money kicking about to help the store.
After Sears took over Eaton's, there was again a chance, but Sears just wasn't interested enough. Plus they relaunched the brand AFTER the holiday season which was idiotic. The Aubergine commercial was brilliant, but unfortunately for most people inbetween Vancouver and Toronto, it didn't really mean much.
What Eaton's should have done is renovate all their stores just as HBC was doing at the time, keep their awesome selection, and make it a destination.