La Maison Simons
 |
This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. (Consider using more specific cleanup instructions.) Please help improve this article if you can. The talk page may contain suggestions. (September 2008) |
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | Quebec City, Quebec (1840) |
| Headquarters | 20 Côte de la Fabrique Quebec City, Quebec |
| Key people | Peter Simons, John Simons |
| Products | Twik Contemporaine La Guêpière La Lingère Le 31 |
| Employees | 1,800 (2006) |
| Website | http://www.simons.com/ |
La Maison Simons, commonly known as Simons, is a fashion retailer in Quebec, Canada.
Contents |
[edit] History
La Maison Simons was founded by the Simons family in 1840 in Quebec City, and is headquartered in that city. The store began operations as Simons House, where retail operations began in 1889. Simons is a retail chain consisting in seven store locations, currently headed by Peter Simons.[1] The birth of the family business took place in 1812. Peter Simons who was born in Scotland in 1785 settled into the Quebec City area where he lived on a farm and raised his family including his five children. His 17 year-old son, John Simons, opened a dry goods store where he sold imported products from England and Scotland. In 1870, La Maison Simons moved to its current location at 20 côte de la Fabrique. From this time and on the store grew to be even more successful. In 1952 the Postwar brought brand new market opportunities. This is when Donald Simon entered the company and lead the store into a new era, transforming it into a department store where it became leader in popular fashion. As well as high quality fashion, La Maison Simons also sells home decor. 1961 marked a turning point for Simons as it entered a growth phase with its new store in Place Sainte-Foy where home decor was introduced and bringing up new brands for men and women in their thirties and forties. In 2012, Simons expands to its seventh location at the West Edmonton Mall. [2]
[edit] Operations
_2006-01-27.JPG)
The chain includes seven stores throughout Canada including:
- Laval (Carrefour Laval)
- Montreal (Saint Catherine Street), (Galeries d'Anjou) (Spring 2013).
- Quebec City (Old City, Place Sainte-Foy, Galeries de la Capitale)
- Saint-Bruno (Promenades Saint-Bruno)
- Sherbrooke (Carrefour de l'Estrie)
- Edmonton (West Edmonton Mall) (Autumn 2012)
It also has business offices in London, Paris and Hong Kong.
[edit] Cultural
As a gift to the city of Quebec for its 400th anniversary, La Maison Simons offered a restored fountain, imported from France. The fountain was originally positioned in Bordeaux's Allées de Tourny, named after Aubert Tourny, a French intendant remembered for his contribution to the beautification of Bordeaux, Quebec City's sister city. The Fontaine de Tourny, which was built in the mid-19th century, won a gold medal at the Paris world exposition of 1855. The fountain was installed in front of the Quebec provincial legislature in April 2007.[3]
In August 2008, the retailer chose to withdraw its fall catalogue after complaints its models were too thin.[4]
[edit] References
- ^ Canadian Business Magazine
- ^ [1]
- ^ Hansard
- ^ "Quebec retail chain pulls catalogues over too-thin model photos". Ottawa Citizen (canada.com). 2008-08-27. http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=edb27dd5-e897-4415-83de-b8cff5e59fb9. Retrieved 2008-10-01.
