Robert Simpson (store founder)
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Robert Simpson (16 or 17 September, 1834 – December 14, 1897) was the founder of Simpson's Department Store.
Born in Strathspey, Moray, Scotland in 1834, he was trained in the drapery trade before emigrating to Toronto, Canada at the age of 21 where he worked in a dry goods store. Before long, Simpson started up his own store and in 1872 he opened a pioneer department store in Toronto that eventually expanded into a major national chain.
In 1894, the company began issuing catalogues that are still produced today under the Sears (Sears-Roebuck) name. Originally the giant U.S. Sears company formed a partnership called Simpson-Sears but would later take over the complete operations.
Robert Simpson died in 1897 and is buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto.
External links
- Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online (http://www.biographi.ca/EN/ShowBio.asp?BioId=40554)