Walter P. Zeller
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Walter Philip Zeller (October 21, 1890 - August 25, 1957) was a Canadian businessman and founder of discount retail chain Zellers.
Zeller was born in Waterloo County, near the city of Kitchener, Ontario. He founded a chain of 12 "stores for thrifty Canadians" (as he put it) in 1931, giving it the name "Zeller's". The name was eventually changed to "Zellers" to make it more bilingually appropriate. Zellers was originally concentrated in southern Ontario but gradually expanded across the country.
In 1952, American retailer W.T. Grant Company became the largest shareholder of the company, eventually owning a 51% controlling share. W.T. Grant Company sold its interest in Zellers in 1976 to Fields Stores Limited, however Zellers reversed the acquisition by becoming the owner of Fields and its hardware subsidiary Marshall Wells Limited. In 1978, Hudson's Bay Company purchased Zellers and maintains it as a wholly owned subsidiary.
Walter Zeller lived to see the W.T. Grant Company control the company carrying his name; he died in 1957 and is buried in Montreal, at Mount Royal Cemetery in the Lilac Knoll section.
