128:, T. Eaton Co. Ltd. President Robert Butler observed that consumers could be classified as shoppers and buyers. "Your wife goes out to buy the groceries or a pair of hose or kiddies' underwear, but she goes out to shop for furniture, for interesting gifts, expensive dresses." This insight guided both changes to their main line of stores, but also the creation of Horizon, a discount chain that the company referred to as "convenience stores". It was focused on the "buyer" section of the market.
390:"Newest in cash registers is checked by John Craig Eaton, left, at opening of new T. Eaton Co. chain called Horizon stores at Sheppard Ave. and Victoria Park Ave. Centre is W. A. (Al) Kelley, general manager. Operating the register is Lynda McElwain, who holds the Magic Wand. The wand scans a special ticket and the register totals the items, figures tax, makes total, all automatically"
115:
during a downturn in the market, it was T. Eaton's attempt to court "buyers", as opposed to the "shoppers" courted at its Eaton's stores. Instead, the chain was generally unprofitable, cannibalizing sales from its sister Eaton's stores, and misplaced, according to analysts. Intended to be a 122-store
151:
While the
Scarborough and Yonge-Eglinton locations were successful, the remainder were not, with most locations not adhering to the researched requirements. Stores were launched during a general downturn for discounters. While the company was privately owned, woes surrounding its Horizon stores were
171:
T. Eaton decided in
January 1976 to end its catalogue division, sparking analyst suggestion that Horizon would be wound down immediately after. T. Eaton announced the end of this format in October 1978, with the transition to be complete by January 1979, less than seven years after opening. Unnamed
163:
reported that
Horizon stopped carrying refrigerators in autumn 1973, as they weren't selling because of the store's lack of delivery service. A latter book countered that the store's self-serve format were to blame, as "...there was no floor staff to explain the different features on something such
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claiming sales dipped after the 1972 Christmas season. Stores were cutting into the sales of traditional Eaton's stores, as opposed to the other discounters. Horizon brand general manager W. A. Kelley was promoted to vice-president of distribution soon after the stores began operating, part of a
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were well-established, and didn't expand enough to be noticed in the market. The company claimed that the change wasn't representative of the stores' performance, but rather a marketing strategy for smaller suburban stores "that has been extremely successful in the United States and
Australia".
147:
Plans for
Horizon were first announced in May 1972. The first location was to be in Scarborough, Ontario, opening in August 1972. The earliest stores were meant as a pilot, "to test different types of community". The company planned 122 locations, each intended to have 200,000 people within a
131:
Stores were to be roughly 60,000 square feet, and either located in neighbourhood malls "or smaller communities often close to a grocery supermarket". The "'fast-moving' lines of merchandise" included clothing, "housewares and notions, sporting goods, small and large appliances and seasonal
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The six Metro
Toronto and two London locations were to be branded as Eaton's, whereas the four Quebec locations would keep the existing brand, but be managed by Eaton's Quebec division. The stores remained smaller than most Eaton's locations, but with the same products and a "softer" look.
164:
as a line of refrigerators. That foray wasted another six months as heavy goods were moved into all the stores, then had to be wheeled out again when they failed to sell." In an attempt to shore up the concept and block competition, Eaton's partnered with
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at checkout, which received media attention; the store was deemed "the most automated self-service store in Canada". The company also used Eaton's credit cards and computer system, which allowed them to prevent over-spending and keep track of inventory.
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chain, it only reached 18 locations before closing in 1979, less than seven years after opening. The financial drag of the chain in the 1970s is said to have contributed to T. Eaton's significant financial problems in the 1980s.
883:
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139:, the name Horizon "reflects a forward-looking, contemporary life style—the image these stores will project". This extended to the store's use of a
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merchandise". Horizon locations would have centralized check-out counters, versus the in-department desks of the main Eaton's stores.
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Rexdale Plaza (Etobicoke, Metro
Toronto, 2 October 1973): This location was intended to be the second opened in the chain.
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620:
327:
Picton, John (19 July 1972). "Malls and shopping plazas main attractions as major retailers scramble for new sites".
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646:
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Howe, Patrick (15 January 1976). "Simpsons-Sears is seen as big winner in closing of Eaton's catalogue division".
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on a "joint study" in 1974. In 1975, T. Eaton expected profits for their
Horizon division within two years.
209:, leading to cuts in the 1980s that sparked unionization in various store locations and a strike in 1985.
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The company's poor financials in the 1980s have been attributed to
Horizon and its involvement in the
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833:
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lists this as
Sheridan Mall, opening 15 November 1972, but Rockwood had yet to open by March 1973.
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The Archives of Ontario's Archives Descriptive Database does not allow static linking.
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MacKay, Gillian (6 October 1978). "Eight Horizon outlets to be Eaton's stores".
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Howe, Patrick (26 March 1975). "Eaton's public offering will wait for a while".
420:
Picton, John (17 August 1972). "First Horizon store's stock sells quickly".
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Picton, John (25 May 1972). "Eaton's to open a discount chain, 10 stores".
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A location of the store existed at Mississauga, Ontario's Rockwood Mall.
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lists 13 Horizon stores, a number that aligns with era media coverage. (
240:
Victoria Park and Sheppard (Scarborough, Metro Toronto, 16 August 1972)
189:
112:
185:
108:
107:. Attempting to compete with established Canadian brands like
514:"Not lost but cloudy, Horizon dims Eaton's discounting hopes"
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suggested that T. Eaton entered the discount too late, after
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The Eatons : the rise and fall of Canada's royal family
719:"Vintage Toronto Ads: British Days at Yonge and Eglinton"
621:"When strikers stormed Eaton's flagship department store"
276:
Les Galeries des Mille-Iles (Rosemere, 15 November 1973)
750:"The Rotting Decaying Corpse of Zellers Gerrard Square"
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535:
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The Eatons: the rise and fall of Canada's royal family
236:(1999) claims, however, that there were 15 opened.)
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Northland Shopping Centre (London, 1 November 1972)
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484:"Penney called in to help booster Eaton's Horizon"
212:Some documentation of the stores survives at the
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808:. Mississauga ON. 21 March 1973. p. 8
782:. Mississauga ON. 21 June 1978. p. D3
776:"Rockwood Mall Western Days advertisement"
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545:. Toronto ON. 10 November 1973. p. 12
451:. Toronto ON: Stoddart. pp. 172–173.
377:. Toronto ON. 5 October 1978. p. B12.
18:
884:Canadian companies disestablished in 1979
690:Kopytek, Bruce Allen (21 October 2014).
282:Gerrard Square (Toronto, 14 August 1974)
864:Retail companies disestablished in 1979
308:
285:Place Montenach (Beloeil, 6 March 1975)
879:Canadian companies established in 1972
543:"Eaton's Horizon not lost, but cloudy"
512:Goldenberg, Susan (10 November 1973).
7:
859:Retail companies established in 1972
619:Wainwright, Kaitlin (8 March 2019).
717:Plummer, Kevin (20 November 2007).
482:Goldenberg, Susan (20 April 1974).
844:Defunct retail companies of Canada
16:Canadian line of department stores
14:
874:1979 disestablishments in Ontario
207:Ontario Downtown Renewal Program
693:Eaton's: the Trans-Canada store
297:Eaton's: the Trans-Canada store
230:Eaton's: the Trans-Canada store
869:1972 establishments in Ontario
1:
273:(Montreal, 15 November 1973)
267:(Montreal, 15 November 1973)
261:(Toronto, 26 September 1973)
101:discount department retailer
849:Department stores of Canada
900:
854:Companies based in Toronto
735:. Torontoist itself cites
839:Defunct department stores
586:. Toronto ON. p. B3.
571:. Toronto ON. p. B1.
424:. Toronto ON. p. B1.
351:. Toronto ON. p. B1.
331:. Toronto ON. p. B5.
246:(London, 1 November 1972)
152:publicly known, with the
737:The North Toronto Herald
490:. Toronto ON. p. 35
373:"Horizon gets the axe".
291:(Montreal, 6 March 1975)
802:"New store for Eaton's"
520:. Toronto ON. p. 1
271:Les Galeries St-Laurent
255:(Toronto, 27 June 1973)
172:analysts quoted by the
696:. Arcadia Publishing.
394:Toronto Public Library
218:T. Eaton Company fonds
30:; 52 years ago
806:The Mississauga Times
780:The Mississauga Times
442:McQueen, Rod (1999).
253:Yonge Eglinton Centre
105:T. Eaton Co. Limited
28:August 16, 1972
756:. . 27 October 2012
647:Search the database
388:Geo, Mario (1972).
214:Archives of Ontario
103:founded in 1972 by
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606:The Globe and Mail
584:The Globe and Mail
569:The Globe and Mail
449:(Internet Archive)
422:The Globe and Mail
349:The Globe and Mail
329:The Globe and Mail
148:ten-minute drive.
137:The Globe and Mail
126:The Globe and Mail
216:, as part of the
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63:Headquarters
74:Area served
828:Categories
723:Torontoist
458:0773760784
303:References
35:1972-08-16
228:The book
224:Locations
812:11 April
786:11 April
760:11 April
729:10 April
631:10 April
549:10 April
524:10 April
494:10 April
464:10 April
400:10 April
43:, Canada
834:Eaton's
625:TVO.org
190:Zellers
120:History
113:Zellers
97:Horizon
55:1979-01
53: (
48:Defunct
33: (
25:Founded
20:Horizon
700:
455:
201:Legacy
186:Woolco
182:K-Mart
109:Woolco
84:Parent
67:Canada
178:Globe
814:2020
788:2020
762:2020
731:2020
698:ISBN
649:for
633:2020
551:2020
526:2020
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453:ISBN
402:2020
188:and
176:and
174:Star
111:and
124:In
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