Shop-Rite
Encyclopedia
Shop-Rite was a chain of catalogue stores
in Ontario
, Canada
that operated from the 1970s to 1982. In a catalogue store, customers would browse the catalogue in the store, select their merchandise and apply to the store clerk for the item.
The chain began in London, Ontario
, and was acquired by the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) in 1972 when it had just four stores. HBC, which operates the Bay
department store chain and other retailers expanded the chain to 60 stores within three years and built a large distribution centre in Brampton.
In November 1981, the chain had 65 stores in Ontario when HBC announced that it would close the unprofitable chain on January 30, 1982. Shop-Rite had been running annual losses of $3 million as a result of waning consumer interest. It was expected that it would cost the Bay $8 million to close the chain, and that about 10 per cent of Shop-Rite's staff would be offered jobs in the Bay. Wally Evans, president of the Bay at the time, said that in order to make the business viable, it would have to expand outside of Ontario, but that it did not have the money to do so.
Shop-Rite was unable to compete with Consumers Distributing
, which had over 400 catalogue stores in 1981 and sales of 40 per cent more per store than Shop-Rite. Consumers closed in 1996.
Catalog merchant
A catalog merchant is a form of retailing. The typical merchant sells a wide variety of household and personal products, with many emphasizing jewelry. Unlike a self-serve retail store, most of the items are not displayed; customers select the products from printed catalogs in the store and fill...
in Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
that operated from the 1970s to 1982. In a catalogue store, customers would browse the catalogue in the store, select their merchandise and apply to the store clerk for the item.
The chain began in London, Ontario
London, Ontario
London is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, situated along the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. The city has a population of 352,395, and the metropolitan area has a population of 457,720, according to the 2006 Canadian census; the metro population in 2009 was estimated at 489,274. The city...
, and was acquired by the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) in 1972 when it had just four stores. HBC, which operates the Bay
The Bay
The Bay is a chain of 91 department stores that operate across parts of Canada. It is the main brand of Hudson's Bay Company , North America's oldest company. It has its headquarters in the Simpson Tower in Toronto. In French, the chain is known as la Baie, short for "Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson"...
department store chain and other retailers expanded the chain to 60 stores within three years and built a large distribution centre in Brampton.
In November 1981, the chain had 65 stores in Ontario when HBC announced that it would close the unprofitable chain on January 30, 1982. Shop-Rite had been running annual losses of $3 million as a result of waning consumer interest. It was expected that it would cost the Bay $8 million to close the chain, and that about 10 per cent of Shop-Rite's staff would be offered jobs in the Bay. Wally Evans, president of the Bay at the time, said that in order to make the business viable, it would have to expand outside of Ontario, but that it did not have the money to do so.
Shop-Rite was unable to compete with Consumers Distributing
Consumers Distributing
Consumers Distributing was a catalogue store in Canada and the United States that operated from 1957 to 1996...
, which had over 400 catalogue stores in 1981 and sales of 40 per cent more per store than Shop-Rite. Consumers closed in 1996.