Afterthoughts (retailer)

Last updated
Afterthoughts
Defunct2002
FateAcquired by Claire's and merged into The Icing
SuccessorThe Icing
Number of locations
809 (1996)
768 (1999)
Parent F.W. Woolworth Company (1980s-1998)
Venator Group (1998-1999)
Claire's Stores, Inc (1999-2002)

Afterthoughts (occasionally stylized as After Thoughts) was a chain of accessory and jewelry stores in the United States, from the 1980s to 2002.

Contents

History

Woolworth's/Venator Group

Then stylized as After Thoughts, the chain was created as one of the many specialty store subsidiaries of F. W. Woolworth Company (later Venator Group) in the 1980s. [1] By 1996, the chain had grown to a total of 809 stores, and grew further that year with the Venator Group's merger of 109 Accessory Lady stores, previously bought from Melville Corporation in 1993, into their various formats, including Afterthoughts. [2]

Claire's Stores, Inc.

The chain, then reduced to 768 stores, was acquired by major competitor Claire's in late 1999, as the Venator Group began selling off or closing many of its specialty store chains to focus on Champs Sporting Goods and Foot Locker. [3] As stated in their 2000 annual report, Claire's at the time planned to convert their stores under The Icing name to Afterthoughts, as they targeted the same market, and Afterthoughts had higher sales and margins at the time. [4] In first-quarter 2000, Claire's announced that they were closing a total of 300 stores- 100 Claire's, and 200 Afterthoughts, in malls that could not support multiple stores. [5] Despite previously announced plans, by February 2, 2002, the Afterthoughts brand had been consolidated into Claire's existing The Icing brand, following a tumultuous 2001 fiscal year. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Winfield Woolworth</span> American businessman (1852–1919)

Frank Winfield Woolworth was an American entrepreneur, the founder of F. W. Woolworth Company, and the operator of variety stores known as "Five-and-Dimes" which featured a selection of low-priced merchandise. He pioneered the now-common practices of buying merchandise directly from manufacturers and fixing the selling prices on items, rather than haggling. He was also the first to use self-service display cases, so that customers could examine what they wanted to buy without the help of a sales clerk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">F. W. Woolworth Company</span> Retail company

The F. W. Woolworth Company was a retail company and one of the pioneers of the five-and-dime store. It was among the most successful American and international five-and-dime businesses, setting trends and creating the modern retail model that stores follow worldwide today.

Shoppers Drug Mart Inc. is a Canadian retail pharmacy chain based in Toronto, Ontario. It has more than 1,300 stores in ten provinces and two territories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Variety store</span> Retail store that sells inexpensive general merchandise

A variety store is a retail store that sells general merchandise, such as apparel, auto parts, dry goods, toys, hardware, furniture, and a selection of groceries. It usually sells them at discounted prices, sometimes at one or several fixed price points, such as one dollar, or historically, five and ten cents. Variety stores, as a category, are different from general merchandise superstores, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, grocery stores, or department stores.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Best Buy</span> American multinational consumer electronics retailer

Best Buy Co., Inc. is an American multinational consumer electronics retailer headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. Originally founded by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler in 1966 as an audio specialty store called Sound of Music, it was rebranded under its current name with an emphasis on consumer electronics in 1983.

Claire's is an American retailer of accessories, jewelry, and toys primarily aimed toward tween and teen girls. It was founded in 1961 and is based in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. The company is primarily owned by Elliott Management and Monarch Alternative Capital, but, in 2022, announced plans to go public with an initial public offering.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Safeway</span> American supermarket chain owned by Albertsons Companies, Inc

Safeway, Inc. is an American supermarket chain. The chain provides grocery items, food and general merchandise and a variety of specialty departments, such as bakery, delicatessen, floral and pharmacy, as well as Starbucks coffee shops and fuel centers. It is a subsidiary of Albertsons after being acquired by private equity investors led by Cerberus Capital Management in January 2015. Safeway's primary base of operations is in the Western United States, with some stores located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the Eastern Seaboard. The subsidiary is headquartered in Pleasanton, California.

Discount stores offer a retail format in which products are sold at prices that are in principle lower than an actual or supposed "full retail price". Discounters rely on bulk purchasing and efficient distribution to keep down costs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">B&Q</span> British multinational home improvement DIY store chain owned by Kingfisher plc

B&Q Limited is a British multinational DIY and home improvement retailing company, with headquarters in Eastleigh, England. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kingfisher plc. It was founded in March 1969 by Richard Block and David Quayle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franklins</span> Defunct Australian supermarket chain

Franklins was an Australian discount supermarket chain selling packaged groceries and perishables throughout New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and South Australia. It sold the "No Frills" home brand generic products. In 2011 the chain was bought by Metcash and the stores were sold off, shut down or converted into new supermarket banners or other brands. The final store closed in April 2015.

Dylex Limited was one of Canada's largest retailers during the 1970s and 1980s, where it operated a number of specialty retail stores, including womenswear, menswear and family stores, including BiWay, a large and now defunct Canadian discount chain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foot Locker</span> American multinational footwear and sportswear retail company

Foot Locker, Inc. is an American multinational sportswear and footwear retailer headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, and operating in over 40 countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goody's (department store)</span> Former American retail chain

Goody's Family Clothing Inc. was an American chain of department stores, owned and operated by Stage Stores and headquartered in Houston, TX. It specialized in retailing on-trend apparel, accessories, cosmetics, footwear, and housewares.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stage Stores</span> American retail company

Stage Stores was a department store company specializing in retailing off-price brand name apparel, accessories, cosmetics, footwear, and housewares throughout the United States. Stores were usually located in shopping malls and centers or in standalone locations. The corporate office was located in Houston, Texas.

Charming Shoppes, Inc. is a specialty and plus size clothing retail holding company based in Bensalem, Pennsylvania; a suburb of Philadelphia. Its subsidiaries include Lane Bryant, Cacique, Fashion Bug, and Catherines Plus. Clothes were sold from over 2300 retail stores in the United States, as well as numerous catalogs and online sites. In 2012, the company and assets were acquired by Ascena Retail Group.

The Bargain! Shop Holdings, Inc., also known as TB!S, is a Canadian discount variety store chain operating in all Anglophone provinces in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Safeway (Australia)</span> Former supermarket chain

Australian Safeway Pty Ltd was a chain of supermarkets in Australia from 1963 to 2017. The supermarkets were initially part of Safeway Inc. but were absorbed by Woolworths Limited in 1985. On 22 August 2008, Woolworths Limited announced it would discontinue the Safeway name, and former Safeway stores were rebranded to Woolworths or closed. The final Safeway store to be rebranded was Wodonga, occurring on 6 June 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Champs Sports</span> American sports retail store

Champs Sports is an American sports retail store, it operates as a subsidiary of Foot Locker. Products sold at Champs Sports include apparel, equipment, footwear, and accessories. As of June 2019, there were 540 store locations found throughout the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The stores are mainly located in shopping malls, and are 3,500 square feet (330 m2) on average.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Off-price</span> Retail format based on discount pricing

Off-price is a trading format based on discount pricing. Off-price retailers are independent of manufacturers and buy large volumes of branded goods directly from them. The off-price retail model relies on the purchase of over-produced, or excess, branded goods at a lower price, thus being able to sell to consumers at a discount compared to other stores which purchased an initial run. Among the largest retailers of this type are TJX Companies and Ross Stores. The model is more common in countries that import fashion-oriented or household goods, as the discount role in producer countries is usually filled by factory outlets or small-scale open-air marketplaces.

Retailing in New Zealand is an important sector in the economy of New Zealand, as a channel for a large proportion of household spending and international visitor spending.

References

  1. Barmash, Isadora (December 13, 1992). "Chain by Chain, Woolworth Reinvents Itself". The New York Times. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  2. "Woolworth to Switch Formats Of Its Accessory Lady Stores". The Wall Street Journal. May 22, 1996. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  3. Chandra, Shobhana (November 3, 1999). "CLAIRE'S STORES BUYS RIVAL AFTERTHOUGHTS". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  4. Claire's 2000 Annual Report (PDF). Claire's Stores, Inc. January 29, 2000. pp. 8, 9.
  5. "Claire's Stores Third Quarter Sales Up 35%". Claire's Stores, Inc Financial Press Releases. November 16, 2000. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  6. Claire's Stores, Inc Annual Report. Claire's Stores, Inc. February 2, 2002. p. 2.