You got it - the 'Viking' automatic laundry appliances from the late 60s until the Eaton's stores went bankrupt in 1999 were GE/Hotpoint models. Curiously, their dishwashers, ranges, and refrigerators were made by Westinghouse until Westinghouse was absorbed by White Consolidated Industries. Not sure of when, but these appliances also became GE-Hotpoint rebadges.
Eaton's had been Canada's number 1 department store for most of the 20th Century. Their reputation was built on a simple promise - Goods Satisfactory or Money Refunded. The death knell sounded for them in the high-inflation years of the 1970s - the discount chain Woolco knocked Eaton's out of the position of 'Canada's No. 1 Retailer'. The store struggled into the 80s and 90s but enough loyal shoppers (like me!! LOL) kept them from tipping over the edge. This was still not enough and the store declared bankruptcy in 1999. In 2000, most stores were closed and Sears Canada bought 5 or 6 select stores and attempted to re-launch the Eaton 'brand'. The venture failed, alas, and the last Eaton's stores were converted to Sears stores in 2001. I believe I cried when I shopped in the Vancouver store just about a week before it closed....
