Venture Stores
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| Venture Stores, Inc. | |
 |
|
| Type of Company | Defunct (NYSE: VEN) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1970 St. Louis, MO |
| Headquarters | St. Louis, MO |
| Key people | Robert Wildrick, Julian Seeherman |
| Industry | Retail (Department & Discount) |
| Products | Clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, electronics, and housewares. |
| Employees | 10,000 |
| Slogan | High Quality, Low Prices |
| Website | none |
Venture Stores, Inc., was a former chain of retail stores that operated in the American Midwest. The company operated over 70 stores, and was based out of the St. Louis suburb of O'Fallon, Missouri.
[edit] History
The first store opened in 1970, as a subsidiary of May Department Stores. In 1978 Venture Stores purchased 23 Turn Style locations in the Chicago area from Jewel food stores, and expanded to over 40 locations. In 1990 Venture separated from May and became a private corporation.
Venture's advertising slogan during the 1980s was "Save With Style."
[edit] Bankruptcy
By the late 1990s, the chain found that it was unable to compete against other retail chains, such as Wal-Mart, Target, and Kmart. Venture tried to rebrand as an upscale discounter and remodeled most of its 90+ stores. While facing vast competition Venture made a fatal mistake trying to expand into Texas instead of protecting its core markets. Venture sold the Texas stores to Kmart in 1996 and closed its distribution center in Corsicana, Texas. The company entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy on January 20, 1998, and tried to operate with a smaller number of stores. The effort was not successful, and the company announced its closing on April 27, 1998. Most of the former Venture buildings were absorbed into other chains, such as Kmart and ShopKo.
