 | |
| Type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1897 [1] |
| Products | Clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, housewares |
| Parent | Federated Department Stores (1948–1985) Maus Frères (1985–1991) Proffitts Inc. (1998–2005) The Bon-Ton (2006–2018) Private (2018-2021) BrandX (2021–present) |
| Website | http://www.bostonstore.com/ |
The Boston Store is a digitally native retailer. It was established in 1897 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin as a department store.
Throughout the 1920s, and 1930s the Boston Store was run by Philip Irving Stone. His nephew, Irving Stone, worked as a manager and, beginning in 1927, dated Broadway ingenue and later MGM movie star Jeanette MacDonald for a time.
In December 1933, 600 of the store's 1000 employees walked out in a famous White Collar union strike. [2]
Julian Simon's control of Boston Store was sold to Federated Department Stores in 1948 and under Federated, branch stores were opened in several Wisconsin cities including Oshkosh, Sheboygan and Manitowoc. Ownership later passed to the Bergner's chain of Peoria, Illinois in 1985 (itself owned by Switzerland-based Maus Frères S.A., a retail conglomerate controlled by the Maus and Nordmann Families); soon afterward Bergner's relocated its headquarters to Milwaukee.
As cross-town rival Gimbels was being dismantled in 1986, Boston Store acquired three Gimbel's branches at Southgate Mall, Milwaukee, East Towne Mall, Madison and Mayfair Mall, Wauwatosa.
In 1989, P.A. Bergner bought Chicago's Carson Pirie Scott for over $450 million. Carson's itself had just bought Minneapolis-based Donaldson's in November 1987. With this, Bergner's was a major Midwestern presence, with stores in five states: Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Indiana, and Iowa, operating under the Bergner's, Carson Pirie Scott and Boston Store names.
In 1991, Bergner's filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, with Maus Freres S.A. losing control of the company in a bitter fight. In 1993, the organization emerged from bankruptcy court under the name Carson Pirie Scott & Co, trading under the symbol CPS. Eventually, Proffitt's Inc., now Saks Incorporated, bought Carson Pirie Scott in 1998 and its purchase increased the northern presence of the Saks Incorporated company.
In July 2005, Saks completed the sale of its Southern Department Store Group consisting of Proffitt's and McRae's to Charlotte, North Carolina-based Belk, Inc. On October 31, 2005, Saks announced that it was selling Boston Store and its other Northern Department Store Group stores (Carson Pirie Scott, Bergner's, Younkers, and Herberger's) to Bon-Ton Stores in a $1.1 billion deal. The transaction was completed on March 6, 2006. [3] Younkers stores in the Milwaukee area were rebranded Boston Stores, simplifying the company's ads to feature one Bon-Ton banner per market.
On April 17, 2018, two liquidators, Great American Group and Tiger Capital Group, won an auction for the company, with a bid estimated at $775.5 million (~$895 million in 2022). Stores were closed within 10 to 12 weeks. [4] [5]
On September 14, 2018 a message was released on the Bostonstore.com homepage stating “We’re Back!”. An agreement had been signed the previous week by CSC Generation Holdings to use the rights to Bon-Ton and its subsidiaries. [6]
On October 1, 2018 The Boston Store officially debuted as a digitally native retailer.
Parisian Inc. was an American chain of upmarket department stores founded and headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. Competing mainly through the 1980s against Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, and Gus Mayer, Parisian underwent a series of restructurings and mergers during its 130-year history, and was taken over by Proffitt’s, Inc. in 1996. In September 2006, Belk purchased Parisian from Saks for $285 million with twenty-four locations later becoming Belk by September 2007. Parisian was quickly sold once more in October 2006 to The Bon-Ton with stores operating in Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio. Parisian operated individually under its own separate division until 2013 when the exclusive rights to operate Parisian had expired, marking the end of this upmarket department store.
Younkers Inc. is an American online retailer and former department store chain founded as a family-run dry goods business in 1856 in Keokuk, Iowa. The retailer had evolved over more than 150 years to include a presence in locations throughout Iowa and bordering states in the Midwest region of the United States. It is pronounced yong-kers. Younkers became influential as it acquired several rivals throughout the 20th century both inside and outside of Iowa. The chain itself was sold by the late 1990s, with ownership transferring out of state, and its Des Moines-based headquarters closed by 2003 as a part of a corporate consolidation. Following its last sale in 2006, Younkers operated as a subsidiary of The Bon-Ton, with locations in seven Midwestern states, primarily in shopping malls. As of 2013 the chain operated more than fifty locations in the region. On August 29, 2018, Younkers closed its doors one last time.
Saks, Inc. was an American holding company founded in 1919. Before acquisition by the Canadian-founded Hudson's Bay Company in 2013, it held ownership of department store chains including New York City-based Saks Fifth Avenue (1998–2013) and Tennessee-based Proffitt's (1919–2005). It acquired several mid-range department store chains in the 1990s, however, refocused on upscale retailing and divested of them in the mid-2000s.
Gimbel Brothers was an American department store corporation that operated for over a century, from 1842 until 1987. Gimbel patriarch Adam Gimbel opened his first store in Vincennes, Indiana, in 1842. In 1887, the company moved its operations to the Gimbel Brothers Department Store in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It became a chain when it opened a second, larger store in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1894, moving its headquarters there. At the urging of future company president Bernard Gimbel, grandson of the founder, the company expanded to New York City in 1910.
H. C. Prange Co., sometimes shortened to Prange's, was an American department store chain begun by H. C. Prange in 1887 in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. At its peak, it operated stores in the states of Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan. It also operated discount stores under the Prange Way name in the former two states, although this division was sold off in the 1990s. Prange's was dissolved and most of the stores converted to the rival Younkers chain after sale in 1992.
Proffitt's was a department store chain based in Alcoa, Tennessee. The chain was founded in 1919 by David W. Proffitt and James Ellis. In 2006, the Proffitt's and McRae's stores were converted into Belk after Belk had acquired the two chains in July 2005 from Saks, Inc. At the time of their demise they operated 47 Proffitts & McRae's stores.
Carson Pirie Scott & Co. is an American department store that was founded in 1854, which grew to over 50 locations, primarily in the Midwestern United States. Sold to the holding company of Bon-Ton in 2006, but still operated under the Carson name, the entire Bon-Ton collection of stores, including Carson's, went into bankruptcy and closed in 2018. Bon-Ton's intellectual property was quickly sold while in bankruptcy, and the new owners reopened shortly afterwards as a BrandX virtual retailer.
G. R. Herberger Inc. is a digitally native retailer. It was established in 1927 in the Midwestern United States as a department store.
Bonton Holdings Inc. operating as Bonton is an American digitally native retailer. It was established in 1898 as a department store. Along with Bergner's, Boston Store, Carson's, Elder-Beerman, Herberger's, and Younkers, the retailer is owned by BrandX.
P.A. Bergner & Co. was an upscale Midwestern department store in the United States, that was established in 1889. The chain is now an online retailer operated by BrandX.com, Inc. The flagship store was located in Peoria, Illinois at The Shoppes at Grande Prairie.
Southridge Mall is a regional shopping mall located in the Milwaukee County suburbs of Greendale and Greenfield, Wisconsin. At 1,177,783 square feet it is Wisconsin's second largest mall behind Mayfair Mall in Wauwatosa, tied with Fox River Mall in Appleton. The mall's anchor stores are TJ Maxx, Dick's Sporting Goods, Golf Galaxy, Macy's, JCPenney, and Round 1 Entertainment. There are 2 vacant anchor stores that were once Boston Store and Kohl's. Sears closed in September 2017, Kohl's relocated to a mixed use development on September 29, 2018, and Boston Store closed in Summer 2018 as parent company Bon-Ton went out of business. The former Sears was replaced by Dick's Sporting Goods, Golf Galaxy, Round 1 Entertainment, and TJ Maxx.
East Towne Mall is a shopping mall located on the northeast side of Madison, Wisconsin. The anchor stores are JCPenney, Shoe Carnival, Barnes & Noble, Planet Fitness, Flix Brewhouse, and Dick's Sporting Goods. There are 3 vacant anchor stores that were once Gordmans, Sears and Boston Store.
Spring Hill Mall is a shopping mall in West Dundee, Illinois. The mall's anchor tennants are Kohl's and Cinemark. There are four vacant anchor stores that were once Carson Pirie Scott, Sears, Macy's, and Barnes & Noble.
Maus Frères SA is a Swiss holding company based in Geneva that owns the Lacoste brand, department stores and other businesses.
Regency Mall is an enclosed super-regional shopping mall in Racine, Wisconsin. The mall has a gross leasable area of 872,409 square feet (81,049.4 m2). It features 110 retail spaces, and six anchor stores, Dunham's Sports, Bob's Discount Furniture, Planet Fitness, Ross Dress For Less, Party City, and Joann. There are 2 vacant anchor stores that were once Boston Store and Burlington. The fourth original anchor store structure, formerly JCPenney, has been subdivided into three in-line stores. Located at the junction of state highways 31 and 11, the building is surrounded by several freestanding stores and restaurants, including a Target store.
Harlem Irving Plaza is a shopping mall located in Norridge, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. The mall features over 100 stores and a food court. The mall's anchor stores are Kohl's, Nordstrom Rack, XSport Fitness, Xfinity, Best Buy, Target, Hobby Lobby, DSW, Five Below, and Dick's. It is one of the oldest shopping malls in the Chicago area.
The Lakes Mall is an enclosed shopping mall serving the city of Muskegon, Michigan, United States. Opened in 2001, the mall features more than sixty retailers, plus a food court, in 645,677 square feet (59,985.4 m2) of gross leasable area. Anchor stores are Bed Bath & Beyond, Dick's Sporting Goods, and JCPenney, with two vacancies last occupied by Sears and Younkers.
Randhurst Village is a shopping center located at the corner of Rand Road and Elmhurst Road in Mount Prospect, Illinois. The shopping center took its name from combining the names of these two roads.
Eastland Mall is a shopping mall in Bloomington, Illinois. It opened in 1967 and has expanded several times in its history. It features more than 90 stores and a food court. The anchor store is Kohl's. There are 3 vacant anchor stores that were once Macy's, Bergner's, and Sears. The fifth anchor store, JCPenney, has been rebuilt, partially demolished, and subdivided into in-line mall retail space. The mall is owned and managed by CBL & Associates Properties.
Hickory Point Mall is a shopping mall in Forsyth, Illinois, United States. The mall opened in 1978. The anchor stores are Kohl's, Von Maur, TJ Maxx, Hobby Lobby, Ulta Beauty, Ross Dress for Less, and Shoe Dept. Encore. The mall is managed by Namdar Realty Group. There are 3 vacant anchor stores that were once JCPenney, Sears, and Bergner's.