Proffitt's
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| Proffitt's, Inc. | |
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| Type | Department store |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1919 |
| Headquarters | Maryville, Tennessee |
| Industry | Retail |
| Products | Clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, housewares |
| Website | None |
Proffitt's was a department store chain based in Alcoa, Tennessee. On March 8, 2006, the Proffitt's and McRae's stores were converted into Belk stores. Belk acquired the two chains in July 2005 from Saks Incorporated.
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[edit] History
[edit] Beginnings
The Proffitt's story began in 1919 when D.W. Proffitt and James Ellis founded the Ellis-Proffitt Co. on Main Street in downtown Maryville, Tennessee. The first store had seven department consisting of ladies ready-to-wear, ladies accessories, millinery, men's shoes, dry goods, and bargain basement. Ellis sold his share of the company to Proffitt in 1921 due to illness. The company expanded by opening its second store in Athens in 1936. In the 1960's, the Maryville store moved from downtown to Midland Plaza in Aloca and from there to Foothills Mall in Maryville in 1982 where 2 stores remain, one for Women and the other for Men, Kids, and Home. A warehouse and distribution center were opened in Maryville in 1970. The first Knoxville location was opened in 1972 in West Town Mall with an Oak Ridge store following in 1974. A second Knoxville store was added in 1984 at East Towne Mall (now Knoxville Center), the same year the family-owned company was acquired by RBM Acquisition Co led by R. Brad Martin.
[edit] Going public
Proffitt's Inc. went public on July 3, 1987 on the NASDAQ market under the symbol PRFT. The West Town Mall location in Knoxville was expanded to 122,000 square feet later that year making it the largest store in the chain. Proffitt's purchased the Chattanooga based Loveman's Department Store adding four Chattanooga stores and one in Dalton, Georgia, its first location outside of Tennessee. A new 80,000 square feet store is built in Biltmore Square Mall in Asheville, North Carolina in 1989, bringing the total stores to eleven. The 1992-1993 years saw a number of acquisitions making Proffitt's one of the fastest growing retailers in the US. During that time, the company purchased 18 Hess's locations in Tennessee, Virginia, Kentucky, and Georgia. This added new stores in Rome, GA, Elizabethtown and Ashland, KY, Bristol, VA, and Kingsport and Johnson City, TN. In early Fall 1992, just shortly before the Hess's purchase was completed, a new Proffitt's store opened in The Mall at Johnson City in the company's entry into the Tri-Cities market. The Hess's purchase led to a dual-store format in the mall, similar to the one in the Foothills Mall in Maryville. In Johnson City, once the Hess's store was vacated and renovated, the Men's and Home Stores were moved to that building, leaving Women's and Children's in the newly constructed Proffitt's building.
[edit] Acquisions of McRae's and Parks-Belk
Proffitt's purchased the Jackson, Mississippi based McRae's chain in 1994. The McRae's stores, unlike the previous acquisitions, would continue to operate under their nameplate and operational division In 1995, Proffitt's purchased Parks-Belk, an independently owned affiliate of Charlotte, NC based Belk, Inc. This purchase gave Proffitt's a presence for the first time in Greeneville, TN and gave it the company an additional store in each mall in Kingsport and Johnson City. A Parks-Belk location in Morristown, TN was part of the deal, but the store was closed instead of being converted to a Proffitt's. The Johnson City Proffitt's was already operating under the dual location concept and this gave the company three stores in the same mall. The former Hess's store (now home to Goody's Family Clothing) which housed the Men's and Home Store was vacated and relocated to the former Belk site along with the Children's department. This move created the largest Proffitt's Men's Store in the company and allowed the Women's department its own store. The former Hess store in the Fort Henry Mall in Kingsport was transformed into the largest Proffitt's Home Store, with all other departments remaining in the former Parks-Belk location. Proffitt's would later open stores in Spartanburg, SC, Morgantown and Parkersburg, WVA, and they would eventually build a new store at College Square Mall in Morristown, TN.
[edit] Acquisions of Parisian, Younkers and Carson Pirie Scott
Birmingham, Alabama based Parisian and Younkers of Des Moines, Iowa were both acquired in 1996 and retained their names and operating units. Herberger's was purchased in 1997 and kept its nameplate and the company moved from the NASDAQ to the NYSE and began trading under the PFT symbol. The company purchased the Carson Pirie Scott chain in 1998 which also consisted of Boston Store and Bergner's and they continued to operated those store under their respective names. Later in 1998, the company purchased North Carolina based Brody's and those stores were converted to the Proffitt's name. 1998 also saw Proffitt's acquire a group of 15 stores from Dillard's after its buyout of Mercantile Stores. Five former Castner Knott store in Nashville, Tennessee were renamed Proffitt's, but sold in 2001 to May Department Stores after proving marginally profitable under Proffitt's management. The former Brody's stores were sold to Belk in 2004. Also, in 2004, Proffitt's opened a store in Alabama at the Riverchase Galleria in the Birmingham suburb of Hoover in the location vacated by Macy's.
[edit] Merge with Saks Fifth Avenue
Late 1998 would see the biggest name change when Proffitt's purchased Saks Holdings Inc, the holding company for luxury retailer Saks Fifth Avenue. Upon closing of the acquisition the company name is changed to Saks Incorporated and the NYSE symbols changes to SKS.
[edit] Sale to Belk
The McRae's operations would ultimately be consolidated into the Proffitt's division's Alcoa, Tennessee based offices. They would however, continue to operate under the McRae's name. The year 2005 would signal the end of the Proffitt's and McRae's with the purchase of those stores by Belk. On March 8, 2006, all McRae's and Proffitt's stores were converted into Belk stores which ended two of the most well-known retailing names in the south. The only exception were the McRae's stores in Tuscaloosa and Gadsden in Alabama - these were converted to Parisian.
[edit] Former Proffitt's Locations
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[edit] Alabama
- Birmingham - Riverchase Galleria (opened 2004 - originally a Macy's store)
[edit] Georgia
- Dalton - Walnut Square Mall
- Rome - Mount Berry Square Mall
[edit] Kentucky
- Ashland - Ashland Town Center
- Elizabethtown, Kentucky - Towne Mall
[edit] North Carolina
- Asheville - Biltmore Square Mall (2006) Belk moved to the Proffitts Location 80,000 square feet
- Goldsboro - Berkeley Mall ( - originally a Brody's store)
- Greenville - Colonial Mall (formerly The Plaza Mall - originally a Brody's store)
- Kinston - Vernon Park Mall ( - originally a Brody's store)
- Rocky Mount - Golden East Crossing (opened 1998 - originally a Brody's store)
[edit] South Carolina
- Spartanburg - Westgate Mall
- Greenville - Greenville Mall (formerly Parisian)
[edit] Tennessee
- Athens - Proffitt's Plaza
- Chattanooga - Eastgate Mall
- Chattanooga - Hamilton Place Mall
- Chattanooga - Northgate Mall
- Cleveland - Bradley Square Mall
- Greeneville - Greeneville Commons
- Johnson City - The Mall at Johnson City Ironically, Proffitt's purchased the Parks-Belk store in the late 1990s and converted the store to their nameplate operating two locations in this mall. Both stores here are now Belk.
- Kingsport - Fort Henry Mall Proffitt's also purchased the Parks-Belk store in the late 1990s and converted to their nameplate operating two locations in this mall. Both stores here are now Belk.
- Knoxville - Knoxville Center Mall Now Belk
- Knoxville - West Town Mall Now Belk
- Maryville - Foothills Mall - Now Belk
- Morristown - College Square Mall Now Belk
- Oak Ridge - Oak Ridge Mall Now Belk
[edit] Virginia
- Bristol - The Bristol Mall Converted to 2nd Belk location for this mall.
- Chesapeake - Chesapeake Square Mall Sold to Dillard's in 1997
- Chesapeake - Greenbriar Mall Sold to Dillard's in 1997
- Hampton - Coliseum Mall Sold to Dillard's in 1997, building now torn down.
- Newport News - Patrick Henry Mall Sold to Dillard's in 1997
- Virginia Beach - Pembroke Mall Sold to Dillard's in 1997
- Richmond - Virginia Center Commons Sold to Dillard's in 1997
[edit] West Virginia
- Morgantown - Morgantown Mall - Now Belk
- Parkersburg - Grand Central Mall - Now Belk
