Nostalgic Retail Series
This seemed appropriate for the day. Christmas Tree Shops was founded in 1970 by Charles Bilezkian and his wife, Doreen, in the Cape Cod area of Massachusetts. Expanding to other northeastern states in the early 1990s, the chain was acquired by Bed Bath & Beyond in 2003. This allowed the
Nostalgic Retail Series
Montgomery Ward was started by Aaron Montgomery in 1872 as a mail-order business selling to farmers in rural areas near Chicago. Along came competition ni 1886 with the introduction of the first Sears' general catalog. The first retail stores opened in 1926 as the company expanded beyond mail-order only,
Nostalgic Retail Series
Founded in 1908 by Sam Stein, the first Stein Mart store was opened in Greenville, Mississippi. Sam's death in 1932 led to his son, Jake Stein, assuming the leadership position and converted the core offerings from general merchandise to discounted clothing. "Under Jay Stein's leadership,
Nostalgic Retail Series
Fotomat was a retail chain of drive-thru kiosks that handled photo development and sold a limited supply of flim and photo accessories. Founded by Preston Fleet, the first location opened in Point Loma, California in the early 1960's. At its peak, over 4,000 Fotomats filled shopping center
Nostalgic Retail Series
KB Toys was founded in 1922 as Kaufman Brothers, a wholesale candy store.Kaufman Brothers opened a wholesale toy store in 1946. The toy business was an acquisition from a candy client who could not pay its outstanding debts. The retailer ended its candy wholesale business two years later to
Retailer
Now an online only retailer, hhgregg was founded in Indianapolis in 1955 by Henry Harold (the "hh") and Fansy Gregg (you get the drift). In 2009, despite pressures on margins on electronic and high-tech devices, hhgregg plotted aggressive expansion (this was also the flat screen tv boom era)
Retailer
I have personal interest in this one as I grew up with my family in the catalog showroom business in Georgia and the Carolinas, founded by my grandfather, Harold Ellman. The business was sold to Service Merchandise during my senior year in high school. (Ellman's) Service Merchandise'
Nostalgic Retail Series
Founded in 1977 by Richard Thalheimer, the retailer started as a watch catalog business. Sharper Image expanded to close to 200 stores in 38 states at its peak. Litigation and turmoil with their Ionic Breeze air purifiers started the descent (and reputation) with the stock price reaching "penny stock&
Nostalgic Retail Series
Sports Authority opened its first store in late 1987 in Southern Florida. In 1990 Kmart (yes...the Kmart) acquired the company and they converted their two Sports Giant stores to Sports Authority locations. In 1995, having grown to over 135 stores, Kmart spun off the sporting goods chain. In 2003,
Nostalgic Retail Series
"In November 1958, Eugene Wallace Kalkin established a leased-linen department in the New Jersey discount retailer Great Eastern Mills. In August 1970, Great Eastern Mills opened the first Linens 'n Things store in East Brunswick, New Jersey. After a succession of corporate ownership changes and the bankruptcy of
Nostalgic Retail Series
CompUSA was the epitome of a big box retail electronics chain. Founded in 1986 as Soft Warehouse by Errol Jacobson and Mike Henochowicz, its first megastore opened in Atlanta, Georgia in 1988. Changing its name to CompUSA in 1991, it operated almost 230 locations with over $2B in revenues at
Retailer
Teavana was an American tea company created in 1997 in Atlanta, Georgia by Andrew T. Mack, and his wife. After making a splash (grew to 650 stores), especially in the mall world, Teavana was acquired by Starbucks in 2012 for an estimated $620 million. A short five years later, based