Company type | Public [1] |
---|---|
Industry | Retail |
Founded | 1968[2] |
Founder | Leonard Weinglass [1] Harold Goldsmith [1] |
Defunct | 1996 |
Fate | Bankruptcy liquidation |
Headquarters | , United States [1] |
Number of locations | 536 stores (1996) [3] |
Area served | North America |
Products | Clothing |
Parent | Merry-Go-Round Enterprises, Inc. |
Merry-Go-Round was an American clothing retail chain owned by Merry-Go-Round Enterprises, Inc., that thrived from the 1970s through the early 1990s. The chain fell into bankruptcy during the mid-1990s, and eventually ceased operation in 1996. [3] It was famous for its ability to profit from short-lived fashion fads [1] and also owned men's clothing retailers Silverman's, by purchasing 273 stores from Retail Ventures, Inc. (RVI), parent of American Eagle Outfitters, in 1989. In May 1993, it purchased the Chess King clothing chain from the Melville Corporation. [4] It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1994 and began liquidation sales by February 1996. [5] At its end, the company operated just over 500 locations, [3] primarily in enclosed malls. [1]
Their mid-1980s commercials parodied Quiet Riot's "Cum On Feel the Noize", with teens and young adults walking down a hallway with massive sized speakers blaring the song.[ citation needed ]
Merry-Go-Round's unsuccessful reorganization led to the 1998 lawsuit Devan v. Ernst and Young against Ernst and Young for violating the standard of care as turnaround advisor. The case resulted in the largest single defendant settlement in Maryland history. [6] [3]
Eastern Mountain Sports is an outdoor clothing and equipment retailer in the Northeastern United States headquartered in Meriden, Connecticut.
Woodward & Lothrop was a department store chain headquartered in Washington, D.C. that began as the capital's first department store in 1887. Woodies, as it was often nicknamed, maintained stores in the Mid-Atlantic United States. Its flagship store was a fixture of Washington, D.C.'s downtown shopping district, competing with Garfinckel's and acquiring Palais Royal. The chain filed for bankruptcy in January 1994 and completed liquidation in November 1995, with most locations sold to either J. C. Penney or May Department Stores Company. The flagship building is a D.C. historic landmark that became the center of controversy over competing visions for DC's urban renewal after the chain's demise, and the former service warehouse in the city's northeast is also listed as a landmark.
Melville Corporation was a large retail holding company incorporated by Ward Melville in 1922 from Melville Shoe Company. Formerly based in Rye, New York, it became CVS Corporation in 1996 under a massive reorganization plan. The company traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker MES, before changing its ticker to CVS.
Sports Authority, Inc. was an American sports retailer based in Englewood, Colorado. At its peak, Sports Authority operated 463 stores in 45 States and Puerto Rico. The company's website was on the GSI Commerce platform and supported the retail stores as well as other multi-channel programs. A joint venture with ÆON Co., Ltd., operates "Sports Authority" stores in Japan under a licensing agreement.
Builders Square was a big-box home improvement retailer headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. A subsidiary of Kmart, its format was quite similar to The Home Depot, Menards, and Lowe's with floor space of about 100,000 square feet (9,300 m2), and inventories in excess of 35,000 different items. In 1997, a Los Angeles leveraged buyout specialist acquired Builders Square and merged it with Hechinger but the new combined company failed to thrive and all remaining stores ceased business operations by the end of 1999.
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.
Modell's Sporting Goods Online, Inc. is an online sporting goods and related apparel retailer. Modell's began with operating retail stores between the late 1980s and the late 2010s. In 2020, Modell’s became a brand owned by the private equity firm Retail Ecommerce Ventures.
Ritz Camera & Image is a photographic retail and photofinishing specialty store, headquartered in Edison, New Jersey. The company owns and used to operate a chain throughout the United States under the names Wolf Camera, Inkley’s and Ritz Camera. In 2012, Ritz Camera was acquired by C&A Marketing.
Anchor Blue Inc. was an American clothing retailer which had over 100 stores in the western United States. It generally sold its own Anchor Blue brand name of youth-oriented denim, graphic T-shirts and casual clothing. Sometimes the company was referred to as the Anchor Blue Inc., but their retail clothing chain of stores was labeled as Anchor Blue. The Anchor Blue and Miller's Outpost brands were acquired by Perry Ellis International in 2012.
Steve & Barry's was an American retail clothing chain, featuring casual clothing, footwear and accessories. Headquartered in Port Washington, New York, the chain operated 276 stores in 39 states before liquidating throughout 2008 and 2009.
Chess King was an American men's clothing retailer created by the Melville Corporation. From its founding in 1968, it grew to over 500 locations by the mid-1980s, before an eventual decline, sale, and closure of the chain in 1995.
Bob's Stores was a chain of retail stores in the northeastern United States owned by GoDigital Media Group. Founded as Bob's Surplus in Middletown, Connecticut, by Robert "Bob" Lapidus in 1954, the chain expanded gradually until it was acquired by Melville Corporation and has been reacquired five more times since then. The chain targets moderate-income customers with a selection of footwear, workwear, teamwear, and activewear.
Crown Books was a bookseller headquartered in Prince George's County, Maryland, with a Largo post office address. It was founded in the Washington, D.C., metro area by Robert Haft in 1977. Crown Books (retail) is of no relation to Crown Books (publisher), although the former carried inventory from the latter.
Heilig-Meyers was a retail furniture store chain founded in Goldsboro, North Carolina, in 1913 by two Lithuanian immigrants, W. A. Heilig and J. M. Meyers. Its corporate headquarters was in Richmond, Virginia. The chain grew to become the largest furniture retailer in the United States in the 1990s, ultimately having over 1,000 stores nationwide.
Leonard "Boogie" Weinglass is an American businessman who founded retailer Merry-Go-Round, a chain of restaurants named Boogie's Diner, and whose early life was portrayed by actor Mickey Rourke in the 1982 American film Diner.
Weiner's Stores, Inc., was a clothing retailer with its headquarters in Spring Branch and in Houston, Texas.
Devan v. Ernst and Young is a 1998 lawsuit filed in Baltimore City Circuit Court against Ernst and Young that resulted in the largest single defendant settlement in Maryland history.
Edison Brothers Stores, Inc., was a retail conglomerate based in St. Louis, Missouri. It operated numerous retail chains mainly located in shopping malls, mostly in the fields of shoes, clothing and entertainment, with Bakers Shoes as its flagship chain. The company was liquidated in 1999, though some of the chains it operated continued under different owners.
1968: Merry-Go-Round Enterprises Inc., founded by Leonard "Boogie" Weinglass and Harold Goldsmith, opens first store in Atlanta.