Walter Philip Zeller (October 21, 1890 – August 25, 1957) was a Canadian businessman and founder of discount retail chain Zellers.
Zeller was born October 21, 1890, near the city of Kitchener, Ontario (then Berlin). His great-grandfather settled in Breslau, Ontario after arriving from Germany.
Zeller began his career with the F. W. Woolworth Company, where he started as a delivery boy in 1912. He left after two years to move to the U.S. and work for S. S. Kresge Co. and later Metropolitan Stores.
In 1928, he returned to Canada and started his own chain of stores, with locations in London, Guelph, St. Catharines and Fort William (Thunder Bay). They were acquired by Schulte-United.
References
External links
- hbc Heritage: Walter P. Zeller