Eaton's grew to become a retail and social institution in Canada, with stores across the country, buying-offices around the globe, and a mail-order catalog that was found in the homes of most Canadians.

Over time, the competition between the Simpson's and Eaton's department stores, facing each other across Queen Street West, became one of Toronto's great business rivalries.

Although Timothy Eaton initially had misgivings over the difficulties involved in managing a store 2,100 kilometres (1,300 mi) from Toronto, John Craig was eventually able to convince his father.

American retailers flocked to view the stores on Yonge Street and Portage Avenue, anxious to replicate Timothy Eaton's methods south of the border.

The complex—stretching 400 metres (1,300 ft) on multiple levels between Dundas and Queen Streets and boasting 200 stores—was anchored at the north end by a nine-storey Eaton's store.

At a time when Canada's population was predominantly rural, often living in isolated settlements, the Eaton's catalogue provided a selection of goods that was otherwise unavailable to many Canadians, much like the Sears Roebuck catalog in the United States.

It served an important economic role, as it broke local monopolies and allowed all Canadians access to the prices and selection enjoyed in some of the larger cities.

As the family is francophone, the mother does not order using the catalogue forms (which are in English only) but instead writes a note and sends money to the department store.

Because of the prevalent language and cultural barriers of the English and French-speaking Canadian populations, his family is unaware that the item could be exchanged, and they do not wish to offend Mr. Eaton by returning it.

As Canada's population became more urban over the course of the 20th century, Canadians had access to a greater number of local stores, and were less reliant on catalogue purchases.

In the 1970s, Eaton's tried to expand its reach in Canadian retailing by opening a chain of discount or "junior" department stores called Horizon.

Nearly all these malls—in cities such as Sarnia, Brantford, Guelph and Peterborough—had high vacancy rates and poor patronage, and contributed to the store's financial problems.

Aside from that controversy, the new retailing strategy was not only unsuccessful, it also gave rival Sears Canada the opportunity to move up to the market segment long dominated by Eaton's.

In 1998, George Kosich resigned as chairman of the board and was succeeded by Brent Ballantyne, under whom the company was taken public for the first time in its history, issuing 11.7 million common shares at $15 each, while the Eaton family retained control with a 51 percent stake.

Though it had reduced its retail outlets, it finished 1998 with a net loss of $72 million, and it announced further closures and a corporate restructuring plan.

[17] In October 1999, Sears Canada added five downtown stores to the suburban locations it had purchased earlier in September with an option to buy yet another Eaton's outlet.

[20] The ten suburban locations that Sears Canada acquired would be converted to its nameplate while the six downtown stores would operate under the Eaton's banner.

[20] However, it was later decided that the suburban Yorkdale location would be run as a Eaton's store instead of a Sears contrary to what had originally been stated, thus bringing to seven the number of Eaton's-branded outlets.

Sears had great ambitions for its seven Eaton's stores which included staffing them with spas, entertainment, food, personal-shopping assistants and brand-name merchandise.

It was also because of doubt in Sears' ability to manage an upper-end chain, since until recently their merchandise was of lower price and quality compared to the old Eaton's and The Bay.

George Heller, then-president of rival department store The Bay, publicly warned vendors not to supply the new Eaton's with merchandise.

By March 2001 Sears announced they were ceasing publication of the newly resurrected Eaton's catalogue "due to a lack of interest".

Sears Canada's difficulties continued throughout the 2010s; the company filed for creditor protection in June 2017,[28] forcing it to put all its stores in liquidation by October that year.

[29] On January 14, 2018, Sears Canada went out of business and permanently closed all its remaining stores, succumbing to the same fate as Eaton's had 19 years earlier.

Eaton's College Street in Toronto, opened in 1930, is a highly regarded Art Deco building, and is currently used as a retail, office and residential complex.

The Seventh Floor, occupied by the Eaton Auditorium and the Round Room restaurant, was recently restored and now operates as The Carlu event venue.

Similarly, the main Vancouver store, connected to the downtown Pacific Centre mall, was also built in the 1970s as a large, white box.

In one concession to history, red bricks were incorporated into the design of the arena façade, evoking the memory of the Eaton's store that had once graced Portage Avenue.

After a tussle with the Eaton family, who wanted to move the statue to St Marys, Ontario, the Manitoba government declared it a provincial heritage object.

[30] The chain's intellectual property subsidiary applied for new trademarks incorporating the name "Timothy Eaton", and continued to pursue registration of these into early 2009.