Sam Steinberg

Sam Steinberg

Samuel Steinberg, OC (1905 - May 24, 1978) was a Hungarian-born Canadian businessman, investor and philanthropist. He was an immigrant to Canada who transformed the grocery store founded by his mother, Steinberg's Supermarket, into one of the largest chains in the Province of Quebec.

At age four, Steinberg's family immigrated to Canada, settling in Montreal where his mother opened a small grocery store. In 1934, Sam Steinberg opened his first self-service grocery supermarket in the city.^[1] A visionary, he transformed food retailing through mass merchandising, mechanization, and personnel management that included a bilingualism policy for all company employees. By the end of the 1950s his stores were a dominant force throughout the Province of Quebec and in 1959 expanded into the Province of Ontario with the acquisition of 38 Grand Union stores.

Sam had an exceptional ability to choose optimal locations for his grocery outlets. He would drive around the city and size up an area very quickly, acquire the property and build a store on the site. This later translated into one of Steinberg's most profitable business ventures, Ivanhoe Investments.

By the time of his passing in 1978, Steinberg's was the largest supermarket chain in Quebec. A benefactor to his community, Sam Steinberg and his wife funded a number of philanthropic causes including The Pavilion of Judaism at Expo 67, the Helen & Sam Steinberg Foundation's Geriatric Day Hospital, the Family Career Scientist Award and the Sam Steinberg Award For Young Jewish Entrepreneur of the Year given by the Jewish Chamber of Commerce of Montreal.

Sam married his cousin Helen (née Roth) in 1929, who provided him with strong encouragement and a warm family life. She died in 2007 at the age of 98, and was buried next to him in Montreal's Shaar Hashomayim cemetery.

Sam Steinberg's contribution to the Canadian economy was recognized with being made an Officer of the Order of Canada and his induction into the Canadian Business Hall of Fame. He was the subject of a 1974 National Film Board of Canada documentary, After Mr. Sam, which explored the issue of his then-impending retirement and his replacement.^[2]

Sam was survived by his three daughters, Marilyn, Evelyn (died 1993) and Mitzi. Disagreement among the daughters led to the sale of the family business in 1989, and the Steinberg family name disappeared from the stores in 1992. Nevertheless, the Steinberg family remains today one of the wealthiest and most respected in Canada.

Notes

Further reading

• Book: Ann Gibbon and Peter Hadekel, Steinberg: The Breakup of a Family Empire (1990).

External links

• Samuel Steinberg at The Canadian Encyclopedia