Eaton's Queen Street, Toronto (1869, 1977)
This was Eaton's first store and was built in 1869, and was expanded until about 1920 when it had 1.6 million square feet of retail in its main store and annex. In the mid-1970's, a new modern facility was built, which would become the CF Toronto Eaton Centre of today. The first phase was opened in 1977, and included a 1.0 million square foot Eaton's flagship store at its northern end.
Eaton's, Winnipeg (1905)
Timothy Eaton was reluctant to expand his growing retail empire westward, until his son persuaded him to do so. In 1905, a five floor store was built in Winnipeg, which grew to eight floors only a couple years after opening. The store was 700,000 square feet, but included a 135,000 square foot annex and a 720,000 square foot Mail Order building.
Eaton's, Montreal (1925)
Eaton's entrance into the Quebec market may seem late-coming, considering its Montreal store opened in 1925, 20 years after the Winnipeg location. The Montreal location opened when Goodwin's was acquired by Eaton's, and the Goodwin's store was expanded upon this acquisition. In 1960, Eaton's expanded the Montreal location to 1.1 million square feet, making it the largest store in the company.
Eaton's, Vancouver (1948, 1973)
Eaton's introduction to Vancouver, like Quebec may seem late-coming, but the Vancouver market was already dominated by three retailers, Woodward's, HBC and Spencer's. In 1948, Eaton's acquired Spencer's, and the 270,000 square foot Spencer's store became the flagship Vancouver store until 1973. In 1973, a new 650,000 square foot store was on built as part of the CF Pacific Centre.
Eaton's College Street, Toronto (1930)
In 1928, Eaton's announced grand plans for a new flagship store at the corner of Yonge and College. The plans called for a nearly 700 foot tower, and 4.2 million square feet of retail. The Depression cancelled these grand plans, and a smaller 600,000 square foot store opened in 1930.
Hudson's Bay Company, Winnipeg (1882, 1926)
The Hudson's Bay Company opened its first flagship store in Winnipeg in 1882, but it was replaced by a large, 650,000 square foot store in 1926. The Winnipeg location remained the flagship store of the company until 1991, when the Simpson's store in Toronto, acquired a decade later, became the company's flagship.
Hudson's Bay Company, Calgary
The Hudson's Bay company opened its Calgary store in 1913. It was the first of the new monumental stores being constructed in Western Canadian cities and is nearly 500,000 square feet.
Hudson's Bay Company, Vancouver
The Hudson's Bay Company opened its Vancouver store in 1927. The store, at 650,000 square feet was Woodward's biggest competitor.
Hudson's Bay Company, Montreal
The Hudson's Bay Company made its first entrance into Eastern Canada with the acquisition of the Morgan's department store in 1960. The Montreal location is 650,000 square feet.
Hudson's Bay Company, Toronto
The current flagship store of HBC was originally a Simpson's store. In 1978, HBC acquired Simpson's and gave the downtown store a major face-lift a decade later, becoming its flagship store in 1991. At 850,000 square feet it is the largest HBC store.
Woodward's, Vancouver
The largest and arguably most successful store in Vancouver was the Woodward's store, which went bankrupt in 1993. The store was built in 1903, and expanded multiple times to a 650,000 square foot store. In 2006, the store was imploded to make way for a new development.