Princess Auto Ltd. is a Canadian retail chain specializing in farm, industrial, garage, hydraulics and surplus items.
Headquartered in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Princess Auto owns and operates 55 stores in ten provinces and three distribution centres (Winnipeg; Calgary, Alberta; and Milton, Ontario).
History
Originally called Princess Auto Wrecking, the company was founded in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 1933, and located on Princess Street in the Exchange District. The business was struggling and the founding owner, a former merchant marine, sold the company in 1942 to Harvey Tallman. Tallman expanded the auto wrecking business into war surplus, and later, tools and equipment.[1]
The company went through a few name changes in its lifetime, beginning with its founding as Princess Auto Wrecking, changing to Princess Auto and Machinery, and finally, to Princess Auto Ltd.
In the mid-1940s, Tallman expanded into war surplus, buying salvaged items that returned from WWII and selling them. Since much of the customer base at that time were men returning from the war, the war surplus performed well and became a part of the business in addition to auto parts. Princess Auto converted surplus parts into farm and industrial equipment, repurposing engines and other items from military vehicles and machinery.[1]