Hills Department Stores
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| Hills Department Stores | |
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| Type | Defunct Discount store |
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| Founded | 1957 Youngstown, Ohio |
| Headquarters | Canton, Massachusetts |
| Industry | Retail |
| Products | Clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, electronics and housewares. |
| Website | None |
Hills Department Store was a Canton, Massachusetts-based department store chain that existed from 1957 to 2000.
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] Beginning
Herbert H. Goldberger, the founder of Hills, sold the chain to SCOA Industries of Columbus, Ohio in 1964. He remained as president of Hills until 1981, when his son succeeded him. Goldberger was the vice president and director of SCOA when, in 1985, when he led a management buyout of Hills.[1]
[edit] Big years
Hills went public in 1987, becoming the nation's eighth-largest discount retailer. In November 1990, Goldberger's son resigned, according to a Hills statement, and was replaced by Jack Brouillard. Goldberger's resignation from his family business surprised some observers. He had been the chain's president and CEO since 1981, and assumed the role of board chairman when his father died in 1987. Stephen Goldberger also introduced several other changes, including acceptance of credit cards, rollout of UPC scanning, a scheduled opening of distribution centers beginning in 1991, and the introduction of a new prototype in 1991.
[edit] Trouble
Hills filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February 1991, and the number of stores declined, from 214 to 151. Hills emerged from bankruptcy in 1993. In 1998, Ames acquired Hills. After the Hills acquisition, Ames expanded from 301 to 456 stores and became the nation's fourth-largest discount chain behind Wal-Mart, Kmart, and Target. Almost all Hills stores were renamed Ames by the end of 2000, except the North Huntingdon, Pennsylvania location. There was an Ames store close nearby and that Hills store remained vacant for several years; however, in Plattsburgh, New York Ames ran two stores within a mile of each other for several years. Many critics cite this acquisition as the main factor in causing the eventual demise of Ames in 2002.
[edit] Trivia
- During the winter holidays, Hills was known for its catchy advertising jingle, "According to legend, little folk know, Hills is where the toys are."
