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Company type | Department store |
---|---|
Industry | Retail |
Founded | 1879 |
Defunct | 1998 |
Fate | Acquired by Dillard's, Inc |
Headquarters | Mobile, Alabama |
Products | Clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, and housewares. |
Parent | Formerly Mercantile Stores Company, Inc.(1950-1998) |
Website | None |
Gayfer's was a regional department store chain in the southern United States. Based in Mobile, Alabama, the chain of stores operated from 1879 until 1998 when it was taken over by Dillard's.
C.J. Gayfer migrated to Mobile, Alabama, from Southwold, England, sometime after the Civil War. He opened a retail department store, Gayfer's, in downtown Mobile in 1879. At the time of his death in 1915, Gayfer's employed 150 people and averaged over $500,000 (~$10.9 million in 2023) in annual sales. Gayfer became well known for his philanthropy and was one of the earliest proponents of employee health care benefits. [1]
During the 1950s, the Mercantile Stores chain acquired Gayfer's, which then worked aggressively on the expansion of the chain. The first branch store was opened at Town & Country Plaza in Pensacola, Florida, in 1956. This successful move was followed four years later with the opening of the Springdale Plaza store in Mobile, Alabama, becoming the company's flagship store. The Downtown Mobile store closed in 1985. [2]
Gayfer's expanded into the Western Gulf Coast in 1963, opening a store at Edgewater Plaza Shopping City (later Edgewater Mall) in Biloxi, Mississippi. This store was expanded in 1974 and again in 1987; it was severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 (by this time it was Dillard's) and had to be rebuilt. In 1969 a store was opened in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
In 1970, the apostrophe in the company name was dropped. [2] This was clearly a banner year for the company, as it opened stores in Montgomery, Alabama (through the purchase of Montgomery-based Montgomery Fair); Jackson Mall in Jackson, Mississippi, and started construction of a second store in Pensacola, Florida, at Cordova Mall.
For the next twenty years, new stores were opened or remodeled, and by 1981 there were 18 stores bearing the Gayfers name. In 1989, the Gayfers flagship store anchoring Springdale Plaza and Mall in Mobile expanded to 285,000 square feet (26,500 m2). In February 1992, parent Mercantile acquired Maison Blanche by converting their Orlando (Altamonte, Florida, Fashion Square), Daytona Beach (Volusia), and Jacksonville (Roosevelt, Regency, Orange Park, Avenues) stores under the Gayfers banner. This led to their becoming one the largest department store chains in the Southern United States as well as the largest stretching from Miami to Atlanta to Houston.
In 1998, Mercantile Stores was purchased by Dillard's, Inc., and the stores that were not closed or sold to other retailers were converted to Dillard's, which ceased expanding through acquisitions after this happened. [2]
The Florida Mall is a super regional enclosed shopping mall located south of Orlando in unincorporated Orange County, Florida, United States, on the southeast corner of Orange Blossom Trail and Sand Lake Road; it opened in 1986. The mall features JCPenney, Dillard's, Macy's, Dick's Sporting Goods, and Sears, in addition to the Crayola Experience.
Metrocenter Mall is a defunct shopping mall located in Jackson, Mississippi, United States. The largest enclosed shopping mall in Mississippi, it contained 1,250,000 square feet of retail space on two levels, including four anchor spaces. Regional real estate developer Jim Wilson & Associates built the mall in Mississippi's capital city in 1978, as one of its portfolio of properties throughout the southeastern United States. The mall is located near the junction of Interstate 20 and Interstate 220/U.S. Highway 49, along West Jackson's U.S. Highway 80 corridor. After years of ownership by Cannon Management and Jackson Metrocenter Limited, a decade-long decline at the mall led to a foreclosure in November 2012, and subsequent sale to Metrocenter Mall, LLC. Though the mall itself is closed, some portions of the mall are used as City of Jackson offices, including the former Belk anchor store. There are 2 other vacant anchor stores that were once Sears and Dillard's.
Dillard's, Inc. is an American department store chain with approximately 267 stores in 29 states and headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas. Currently, the largest number of stores are located in Texas with 57 and Florida with 42. The company also has stores in 27 more states; however, it is absent from the Northeast, most of the Upper Midwest, and most of the West Coast, aside from three stores in California.
McRae's was a mid-range regional department store chain founded and based in Jackson, Mississippi, with locations in Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, and Florida. The nameplate was in existence for more than a century.
Joslins was a chain of department stores that was based in Denver, Colorado, United States.
The Jones Store Company was an American chain of department stores located in the Kansas City area formerly operated by Mercantile Stores Company and the St. Louis, Missouri-based May Co.
Volusia Mall is a super-regional shopping mall located in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the largest retail shopping center in the Volusia-Flagler market. Opened on October 15, 1974, the mall comprises more than 120 stores on one level, as well as a food court. Anchor stores are JCPenney and three Dillard's locations. The mall is owned and managed by CBL & Associates Properties.
Joske's, founded by German immigrant Julius Joske in 1867, was a department store chain originally based in San Antonio, Texas. In December 1928, Hahn Department Stores acquired the company along with the Titche-Goettinger department store of Dallas, and three years later Hahn became part of Allied Stores. Allied was taken over by Campeau in 1986, and Campeau in turn sold the Joske's chain in 1987 to Dillard's. All Joske's stores were then quickly converted into Dillard's locations.
Maison Blanche was a department store in New Orleans, Louisiana, and later also a chain of department stores. It was founded in 1897 by Isidore Newman, an immigrant from Germany.
Northpark is a two-level enclosed shopping mall located on County Line Road in Ridgeland, Mississippi, United States. It is managed and co-owned by Pacific Retail Capital Partners. Mississippi’s premier indoor shopping destination, Northpark is home to more than 120 in-demand stores and specialty shops. A community hub and destination, Northpark recently completed a multi-million dollar redevelopment fusing Southern charm with modern reinvention.
Springdale Mall is a shopping center located in Mobile, Alabama, United States, directly across from The Shoppes at Bel Air. Opened in 1959 as an open-air shopping center, Springdale Mall was later redeveloped as an enclosed shopping center. Facing competition from larger shopping centers in the area, Springdale was demolished in stages in the 2000s, with most of the former enclosed mall being replaced with big-box stores.
Cordova Mall, located in Pensacola, Florida, is the largest shopping center on the northwest Gulf Coast of Florida.
Kenwood Towne Centre is a shopping mall northeast of Cincinnati, at the corner of Montgomery and Kenwood Roads, adjacent to Interstate 71.
Southwest Plaza is an enclosed shopping mall in unincorporated Jefferson County, Colorado, immediately south of Denver. Littleton, Colorado is commonly indicated in the mall's postal address because its ZIP code is primarily associated with that city, which lies some two miles east. The mall has two levels with over 150 stores and a food court.
The Shoppes at Bel Air, formerly Bel Air Mall, is a super-regional shopping mall, located in Mobile, Alabama, United States. The mall has a gross leasable area of 1,345,000 sq ft (125,000 m2). It is the oldest continuously operating enclosed super-regional mall in Alabama and serves as one of the primary retail venues for the west Mobile shopping district located at the vicinity of Airport Boulevard and Interstate 65. Currently, Belk, Dillard's Surge Entertainment Center by Drew Brees, and Target serve as the mall's anchor stores; the mall also features more than 130 stores and restaurants with one vacant anchor that was once JCPenney.
Regency Square Mall is an enclosed shopping mall in the Arlington area of Jacksonville, Florida, United States. Opened in 1967 and once one of the most successful malls in the country, the mall now features around 20 stores, including one anchor store, Dillard's Clearance Center, Impact Church, and a food court. It is owned by Namdar Realty Group and Mason Asset Management.
Altamonte Mall is a super-regional shopping mall located in Altamonte Springs, Florida, United States, a suburb of Orlando. The mall features the traditional retailers JCPenney, Dillard's, and Macy's, in addition to an 18-screen AMC Theatres. The mall features prominent specialty retailers such as Apple Store, Volcom, Cotton On, Sephora, and White House Black Market.
Orange Park Mall is a shopping mall located in Bellair-Meadowbrook Terrace, an unincorporated suburban area just west of Orange Park, Florida, United States. It features Dillard's, JCPenney, Belk, Dick's Sporting Goods, and AMC Theatres as anchor stores.
Montgomery Mall was an enclosed shopping mall in Montgomery, Alabama, United States. Opened in 1970, it closed in 2008 after several years of declining traffic. In February 2013, redevelopment began on the vacant mall property. There are 3 vacant anchor stores that were once Steve & Barry's, JCPenney, and Parisian.
Edgewater Mall is an enclosed shopping mall located in Biloxi, Mississippi, United States. Opened in 1963, its anchor stores are Belk, Dillard's, JCPenney, and Premiere Cinemas.