Stedmans V&S
Encyclopedia
Stedmans V&S is a Canadian
variety discount department store
chain.
Stedmans operates its stores mainly in smaller towns and cities in Canada. The chain's stores today are comparable in size and merchandise offered to similar chains such as Fields
, SAAN
and The Bargain! Shop
, with a number of stores also offering such services as photo finishing, laminating, faxing and photocopying, and dry cleaning
drop-off.
The first store was in Brantford Ontario, started as a stationery store in 1907. During the 1950s and 1960s, there were over 1000 Stedmans and affiliated stores in Canada. The affiliated stores were privately owned variety stores operating under different names, though purchasing through Stedmans. During the late 1960s through the 1970s, there were several stores across Canada that were "combination" stores (that is, Stedmans and its sister chain Macleods Hardware) in operation. Some stores today still contain a restaurant named The Copper Grill.
From about the 1960s into the 1980s, though, many Stedmans stores were also located in larger cities. Those stores were similar in size to those of the K-Mart and Woolco
chains, with a large selection of merchandise; those locations often served as anchor tenants for suburban shopping centers and malls
.
Stedmans was at purchased by Gamble-Skogmo
in 1962 from Stedmans Brothers Ltd. Wickes Corporation in 1980, later becoming a wholly owned division of Macleod-Stedmans Inc. and is now a member of the Tru Serv group of companies (which also includes True Value Hardware
).
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...
variety discount department store
Department store
A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...
chain.
Stedmans operates its stores mainly in smaller towns and cities in Canada. The chain's stores today are comparable in size and merchandise offered to similar chains such as Fields
Fields (department store)
Fields is a brand of Canadian discount stores owned by Hudson's Bay Company, with 165 locations in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Yukon, and Northwest Territories.- History :...
, SAAN
SAAN Stores
SAAN was a chain of discount department stores in Canada that began in Winnipeg, Manitoba.SAAN had more than 350 stores in the late 1990s, but by May 2005, after it emerged from bankruptcy protection, this was reduced to 142 outlets in a number of communities across Canada...
and The Bargain! Shop
The Bargain! Shop
The Bargain! Shop, also known as TB!S, is a discount variety store chain operating in all Anglophone provinces in Canada.The Bargain! Shop originated as a closeout store division of Woolworth Canada, developed out of some of the bankrupt assets of Bargain Harold's in 1991...
, with a number of stores also offering such services as photo finishing, laminating, faxing and photocopying, and dry cleaning
Dry cleaning
Dry cleaning is any cleaning process for clothing and textiles using a chemical solvent other than water. The solvent used is typically tetrachloroethylene , abbreviated "perc" in the industry and "dry-cleaning fluid" by the public...
drop-off.
The first store was in Brantford Ontario, started as a stationery store in 1907. During the 1950s and 1960s, there were over 1000 Stedmans and affiliated stores in Canada. The affiliated stores were privately owned variety stores operating under different names, though purchasing through Stedmans. During the late 1960s through the 1970s, there were several stores across Canada that were "combination" stores (that is, Stedmans and its sister chain Macleods Hardware) in operation. Some stores today still contain a restaurant named The Copper Grill.
From about the 1960s into the 1980s, though, many Stedmans stores were also located in larger cities. Those stores were similar in size to those of the K-Mart and Woolco
Woolco
Woolco was an American-based discount retail chain. It was founded in 1962 in the city of Columbus, Ohio, by the F.W. Woolworth Company. It was a full-line discount department store unlike the five-and-dime Woolworth stores which operated at the time. At its peak, Woolco had hundreds of stores in...
chains, with a large selection of merchandise; those locations often served as anchor tenants for suburban shopping centers and malls
Shopping mall
A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...
.
Stedmans was at purchased by Gamble-Skogmo
Gamble-Skogmo
Gamble-Skogmo Inc. was a conglomerate of retail chains and other businesses that was headquartered in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. Business operated or franchised by Gamble-Skogmo included Gambles hardware and auto supply stores, Woman's World and Mode O'Day clothing stores, J.M...
in 1962 from Stedmans Brothers Ltd. Wickes Corporation in 1980, later becoming a wholly owned division of Macleod-Stedmans Inc. and is now a member of the Tru Serv group of companies (which also includes True Value Hardware
True Value
True Value Company is a retailer-owned hardware cooperative with over 5,000 independent retail locations worldwide. Members of the True Value cooperative own their individual stores and operate independently of True Value Company....
).