Aikenhead's Hardware was a chain of Canadian

hardware store Hardware stores (in a number of countries, "shops"), sometimes known as DIY stores, sell household hardware for home improvement including: fasteners, building materials, hand tools, power tools, keys, locks, hinges, chains, plumbing ...

s located in Greater Toronto, Southern Ontario and northern Ontario. The original store was founded in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

in 1830 as "Ridout's Hardware Store" by Joseph Ridout and was located on the corner of King Street and

Yonge Street Yonge Street ( ') is a major arterial route in the Canadian province of Ontario connecting the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto to Lake Simcoe, a gateway to the Great Lakes#Geography, Upper Great Lakes. Ontario's first colonial administrator, ...

. In 1868, two employees, James Aikenhead and Alexander Crombie, became partners in the company and renamed it "Ridout, Aikenhead, & Crombie". It became Aikenhead's in 1893, when Aikenhead bought out Ridout and Crombie. In 1971 the Aikenhead family sold their chain to

Molson The Molson Brewery is a Canada-based brewery based in Montreal and was established in 1786 by the Molson family. In 2005, Molson merged with the Adolph Coors Company to become Molson Coors. Molson Coors maintains some of its Canadian operati ...

, which later started a warehouse in 1991 to head off American chain

The Home Depot The Home Depot, Inc., often referred to as Home Depot, is an American multinational corporation, multinational home improvement retail corporation that sells tools, construction products, appliances, and services, including fuel and transportat ...

. Molson sold their 75% stake to Home Depot in 1994, and it became the Canadian unit.http://www.trentu.ca/admin/library/archives/89-014.htm (Molson exited the hardware business with the sale of

Beaver Lumber Beaver Lumber (Castor Bricoleur in Quebec) was a Canadian building supply chain owned by Molson. It was once Canada's fourth largest building supply chain with 138 stores. In 2000, it was purchased by Home Hardware, a cooperative of over 1,000 ...

in 1999 to

Home Hardware Home Hardware Stores Ltd. is an independent home improvement retailer located in Canada. Co-founded by Walter Hachborn in 1964, and headquartered in St. Jacobs, Ontario, the company has close to 1,100 stores that operate under one of four banners ...

. Molson had acquired a year after the purchase of Aikenhead's.)

References

The Home Depot Defunct retail companies of Canada Hardware stores of Canada Companies based in Toronto Retail companies established in 1830 Retail companies disestablished in 1994 1830 establishments in Upper Canada 1994 disestablishments in Ontario Molson Coors Beverage Company Canadian companies disestablished in 1994 {{canada-retail-company-stub