La Maison Simons
A Canadian family-owned department store retailer offering fashion, accessories, home goods, and private-label merchandise.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
La Maison Simons, commonly known as Simons, is a Canadian department store chain founded in Quebec City in 1840 by John Hamilton Simons. The business began as a small dry-goods shop specializing in imported English and Scottish merchandise and gradually developed into a fashion-oriented department store. It remains privately owned by the Simons family and is headquartered in Quebec City. The company’s identity combines curated fashion retail, private-label design, home furnishings, architecture, and cultural programming. Its merchandise includes women’s, men’s, and children’s apparel; footwear; accessories; beauty and lifestyle products; furniture; textiles; tableware; and other home goods. House labels such as Twik have been central to the retailer’s fashion positioning, while the company also sells selected Canadian and international brands. Simons has increasingly emphasized its own labels and online assortment, particularly as wholesale relationships and retail conditions have changed. For much of its history, the chain was concentrated in Quebec. A major transformation began in the 1950s under Gordon Donald Simons, who expanded the business from a traditional dry-goods operation into a modern department store and introduced youth-focused fashion concepts. The first store outside the original Quebec City location opened at Place Sainte-Foy in 1961, followed by additional Quebec expansion in the 1980s and 1990s. Stores were later opened in Montreal-area markets, Sherbrooke, Laval, and other Quebec communities. Simons began national expansion in the 2010s. Its 2012 West Edmonton Mall location was the company’s first outside Quebec and became an important test of its ability to operate as a national anchor retailer. Further stores followed in Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, and Gatineau. The retailer’s stores are individually designed rather than treated as standardized boxes; architecture, public art, interior installations, and distinctive building elements are used to create destination-shopping environments. The company has worked with artists and designers, including Canadian artist and author Douglas Coupland, on selected projects. The chain faced significant commercial pressure during the COVID-19 period. Canada Goose ended its wholesale relationship with Simons in 2020, while credit-insurance constraints and disruptions affecting designer inventory contributed to a shift of some merchandise toward the company’s website. Simons subsequently told vendors that it intended to preserve cash, delay some fall deliveries, and meet payment obligations. The company later reported a return to profitability. In March 2022, Bernard Leblanc became chief executive officer, succeeding Peter Simons and becoming the first chief executive from outside the Simons family. Simons continued expanding its Canadian footprint, including its first Atlantic Canadian store in Halifax in 2024. The retailer’s later Toronto expansion at Yorkdale Shopping Centre and the Toronto Eaton Centre further strengthened its presence in Canada’s largest metropolitan market. Simons remains one of the few large Canadian department-style fashion retailers to continue operating and expanding after the contraction or closure of several historic competitors.
History
La Maison Simons traces its origins to 1840, when John Hamilton Simons opened a small dry-goods store in Quebec City at the age of 17. His father, Peter Simons, had arrived in Lower Canada from Scotland in 1812 and settled near Quebec City. John developed the early business by sourcing merchandise from Britain, reportedly making numerous Atlantic crossings to obtain English and Scottish goods. The company operated under several partnership names, including Simons & Foulds and Simons & Minguy, before becoming solely owned by the Simons family in 1934. The store moved to 20 Côte de la Fabrique in 1870, a historic Quebec City location that remains associated with the company. During the early decades, the business was primarily a dry-goods retailer. In the postwar period, however, Gordon Donald Simons helped redirect the company toward ready-to-wear clothing and department-store retailing. Beginning in 1952, the business adopted a more modern fashion orientation and developed youth-focused concepts, including the Twik label, whose name referenced the fashion influence of model Twiggy. Expansion beyond the original flagship began in 1961 with a store at Place Sainte-Foy in Quebec City. That location broadened the assortment to include home decor and additional men's and women's brands. A second Quebec City location opened at Galeries de la Capitale in 1981. During the 1990s and early 2000s, Simons extended its Quebec network to Sherbrooke, Montreal, Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, and Laval. The company also became associated with design and public culture. In connection with Quebec City’s 400th anniversary, Simons donated the restored Fontaine de Tourny, a nineteenth-century French fountain, to the city. The fountain was installed in front of Quebec’s National Assembly in 2007. The retailer has also designed individual stores around distinctive architecture, art installations, and local context rather than applying one uniform format. Its work with artists and designers, including Douglas Coupland, reflects an effort to make stores destination environments as well as sales locations. The 2010s brought national expansion. In 2012, Simons opened at West Edmonton Mall, its first store outside Quebec and at the time its largest location. The company subsequently entered Ontario with stores in Mississauga and Ottawa, expanded in Alberta through Calgary and Edmonton, and established a British Columbia presence at Park Royal in West Vancouver. A Gatineau store opened in 2015, and the chain continued adding large-format locations in major shopping centres. Simons encountered difficult trading conditions in 2020. Canada Goose ended its wholesale arrangement with the retailer, and the COVID-19 crisis affected credit insurance, deliveries, designer inventory, and store traffic. Some designer stock was moved to the online channel. The company said it was preserving cash, delaying certain fall deliveries, and assuring suppliers that payments would be made in full; it later stated that profitability had returned. In 2022, Bernard Leblanc succeeded Peter Simons as chief executive officer. This leadership transition was notable because Leblanc was the first CEO from outside the founding family. Simons continued its Canadian growth, opening in Halifax in 2024 and subsequently entering additional Toronto locations. The business remains privately held by the Simons family and continues to operate as a Canadian fashion and home-goods department store with a substantial private-label component.
- 2024
First Atlantic Canadian store opens
[1]Simons opens at Halifax Shopping Centre, entering Atlantic Canada.
- 2022
First non-family CEO takes office
[1]Bernard Leblanc succeeds Peter Simons as chief executive.
- 2020
Retail disruption and supplier pressure
[1]The pandemic, supplier changes, and credit-insurance constraints lead to inventory and cash-management measures.
- 2015
Expansion reaches Gatineau and British Columbia
[1]New stores open in Gatineau and at Park Royal in West Vancouver.
- 2012
First store outside Quebec opens
[1]The West Edmonton Mall store launches Simons’ national expansion.
- 2007
Fontaine de Tourny installed in Quebec City
[1]The company donates and restores the historic Fontaine de Tourny for installation before Quebec’s National Assembly.
- 1961
First expansion beyond the original store
[1]Simons opens at Place Sainte-Foy and adds home decor and broader fashion assortments.
- 1952
Modern department-store transformation begins
[1]Gordon Donald Simons enters the business and helps develop its department-store and fashion-focused model.
- 1934
Simons family becomes sole owner
[1]The family assumes sole ownership as the business begins shifting from traditional dry goods toward ready-to-wear clothing.
- 1870
Move to Côte de la Fabrique
[1]The store moves to 20 Côte de la Fabrique in Quebec City, a site that remains part of the company’s identity.
Products and positioning
Upscale, design-led Canadian department store combining private labels, curated brands, home goods, architecture, and cultural retail experiences.
Women's private-label fashion
Twik
Twik is a long-running Simons fashion label associated with youthful, trend-conscious women's apparel. It emerged during the company’s postwar transformation and was named in reference to model Twiggy, reflecting the retailer’s interest in contemporary youth culture and fashion.
Private-label apparel and lifestyle goods
Simons private-label collections
Simons develops and sells a broad range of house-brand merchandise across women's, men's, and children's apparel, accessories, and selected lifestyle categories. Private labels provide the retailer with control over design, pricing, and assortment and form an important part of its differentiated Canadian retail proposition.
Home furnishings and decor · 1961
Simons home collection
The home assortment includes furniture, decorative objects, textiles, tableware, and related household products. Home decor became a more prominent part of the business during the expansion of the 1960s and remains a major component of the department-store format.
Multi-brand fashion retail
Curated fashion-brand assortment
Alongside its own labels, Simons carries selected Canadian and international fashion brands. The assortment has included contemporary and designer-oriented merchandise, although specific wholesale relationships and available brands can change over time.
Controversies
Marketing campaigns
- 2008Fall catalogue withdrawal
Canada
Simons withdrew its fall catalogue after public criticism that the models used were excessively thin. The episode highlighted changing expectations around body representation in fashion retail advertising.
Outcome. The catalogue was withdrawn.
- 2007Fontaine de Tourny restoration and donation
Quebec City · Canada
As part of Quebec City’s 400th-anniversary celebrations, Simons restored and donated the Fontaine de Tourny, a nineteenth-century French fountain, for public installation.
Outcome. The fountain was installed before the National Assembly of Quebec.
Brand decisions
2024
Enter Atlantic CanadaStrategyBackground
Simons continued broadening its geographic reach across Canada.
Action taken
The company opened its first Atlantic Canadian store at Halifax Shopping Centre.
Aftermath
The opening extended the chain’s physical presence into Nova Scotia.
2022
Appoint the first non-family CEOOtherBackground
After decades of family leadership, the retailer undertook a significant management transition.
Action taken
Bernard Leblanc succeeded Peter Simons as chief executive officer.
Aftermath
Leblanc became the first person outside the Simons family to lead the company.
2020
Protect liquidity during pandemic disruptionStrategyBackground
COVID-19 disruption affected store traffic, credit insurance, supplier deliveries, and designer inventory. Canada Goose also ended its wholesale agreement with Simons.
Action taken
Simons moved some designer inventory to its website, delayed certain fall deliveries, and communicated with vendors about preserving cash and paying obligations.
Aftermath
The company later said it had returned to profitability.
2016
Expand into major Ontario shopping centresStrategyBackground
The retailer was extending its national model beyond Quebec after establishing a western Canadian presence.
Action taken
Simons opened a major store at Square One Shopping Centre in Mississauga and later opened at Ottawa’s Rideau Centre.
Aftermath
Ontario became an important part of the company’s national store network.
2012
Enter the market outside QuebecStrategyBackground
Simons had historically concentrated its store network in Quebec and sought a national growth platform.
Action taken
The company opened a large-format store at West Edmonton Mall, its first location outside Quebec.
Aftermath
The location’s reported success encouraged further expansion and interest from shopping-centre operators seeking anchor tenants.
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