In 1953 he attended the U Manitoba graduating with a BSc. He attended UWO in London, ON and received an MBA there in 1956. Returning to Winnipeg, by 1974 he was the T Eaton Co. Vice President, Western Stores. By the 80s he was Eaton's Exec Vice President, Toronto and Ontario Stores, and by the late 80s was the Eaton's COO, operating as a triumvirate with Fredrik and George Eaton. Greg resigned in 1991, at the age of 60, for health reasons. That same year Fredrik Eaton also resigned to become the Canadian High Commissioned to the UK. Thus began a decade of decline which saw the demise of that iconic company by 1999.
In 1996 Greg Purchase co-authored with his wife Dorothy, a self-published book; Hard Rock Merchandising, focused on his Eaton's experience. In 2003, the Ivey Business School at University of Western Ontario established the;
"Gregory Purchase 125th Anniversary Alumni MBA Award (Faculty of Graduate Studies, Business Administration)" |